Through The Dark

20 - Olivia

20 - Olivia

'Cheer up! This is gonna be great,' I assured Emmalyn as we got off my car. We had to walk a bit because the street was packed with cars. It seemed as if this was a big party after all. I had no idea William had this power of convocation. The insecure and hurt side of me immediately started wondering if I had ever had the same kind of power. Maybe I should get along with William. He could help me get back on track sooner than I would be able to do on my own.

I gave Emmalyn my best and broadest smile and hoped it would work. I knew I would soon enough get tired and irritated if I had a whining and upset girl trailing along behind me. I was here to have a good time and forget about what was going on in my life. All the wrongs would be right this night. I would make sure of that.

This was my chance to get my old life back. If everyone saw that I was the exact same girl just before the gigantic breakdown at the bridge's edge, I would get my life back, leave Emmalyn behind and forget about all of this. It would all be a terrible mistake that could be and was fixed. I dreamed of that, it was my one and only opportunity to get back to something, anything, good. I could still run away, but there was a condescending voice inside my head telling me I was not good enough to even run away, let alone survive on my own. And it was not only that I believed the voice, it was also that I knew this was not what Anna would have wanted for me and I still felt some obligation to her.

'I am happy,' Emmalyn rebutted. 'Just getting out of that house is good enough for me,' she muttered next and I pretended to not have heard because I assumed that last bit was not intended for me. For what I had just witnessed at her house, though, I was positive that Emmalyn needed this day out as much as I did.

We knocked on the door, but I was not sure if we would be heard, since the music was so loud inside. I felt myself growing nervous, because this felt like my social debut after the bridge thing. I did not like it. It felt as if I had to try really hard to get everything I had back.

The door opened up and I felt an adrenaline rush run through my veins. If I had to prove myself, that was exactly what I would do. I had no other choice at the moment. 'Hey! You came!' William celebrated as he stepped out and got an arm around my shoulders. I was about to smile when I noticed the look he gave to Emma over his shoulder.

I could still not shake off the feeling that there was something between him and Emmalyn I was not informed of, but I knew I would find out when the time was right -or when one of them was drunk enough to spill it out. I could tell, though, that William was eager for Emmalyn to relive whatever it was by telling it to me herself whilst he was around to watch her go down in flames. It was a very wicked thing of him, and I knew I was just making assumptions, but there was something about him that made me believe that what I thought was actually right.

I felt Emmalyn tense up right away beside me and suddenly I felt a pang of guilt for having made her come along when she clearly did not feel comfortable here. I had been selfish and had completely forgotten about what she felt or was going through. I hugged myself tightly, stealing a glance of her at the same time. She had lowered her gaze and I bit my bottom lip at the fragile sight of her. I was so not used to see this that when I did I was left at a lack of speech.

I cleared my throat once I noticed William staring at her amused. I was suddenly really despising this guy. Whatever it had been he had done to her was not enough for him, he had to come and make her feel uncomfortable and remind her of it as well. How rude and disrespectful of him. I could hear a voice at the back of my head asking me why I even cared about the whole situation and how Emmalyn felt with it, but I was far too upset to pay attention to it.

My rational side told me I had not really forced her. It was not as if I had literally dragged her by her hair here. After seeing what she had to endure in her house, I could tell what her real reason for coming was -and she had also explained it to me in the ride over. But I could not help but keep running through my head that this was all happening because I had agreed to come to this party. We could have just hung out somewhere else, like at that ice cream parlor she took me to that time or something. But I had insisted on coming here. I had cornered her.

I shook my head and got out of William's grasp. 'We should get inside,' I told Emmalyn, completely ignoring him.

She nodded in agreement and I could almost swear I saw some gratitude in her eyes. But, it was dark and we were both aggravated already, so it could have been anything. I let out a deep sigh as the door was closed behind us and we were sucked into a swarm of drunk and sweaty people. At the moment, all I could feel was Emmalyn's hand wrapped around mine and the resounding bass of the song beating inside my body.

Without intending to, I felt myself relax and allowed the people to finish sucking me in. I could still feel Emmalyn's hand on mine and even if I was sweating already, I felt happy. It was as if I belonged here. No one was staring oddly or mockingly at me, maybe because they were all drunk and did not care tonight, but it felt nice, it felt good. I let out an amused laugh of disbelief and turned to see Emmalyn. She was smiling, and once I figured out it was a genuine one, I let go -of my inhibitions and of her hand.