A Piece of Me

2

Elizabeth's pov

I didn't eat the food Stas made, knowing that the alcohol I'd be drinking later would fill me up just fine.

My father would not approve of my partying and drinking habits, that's for sure.

This was technically his house, but he owned about three or four and gave one to each of my siblings, with one for himself.

I had no idea what he did for a living, I never asked and I never cared.

But he does stop in on occasion, usually when he's in town. Our homes are strategically placed to be within an hour's driving distance of wherever he works.

When he is around, it's his house, his rules.

No boys over past eleven, only sleepovers on the weekends. It's like he thinks I'm still in high school even though I graduated last year.

I lied and told him I have a job, so the money I get from him is less than before but still enough to get what I need.

But when I find out he's coming I have to mark my calendar with random hours and days off so it seems like I am organized.

And then I'll just leave for those hours and come home afterwards, it's not hard to do.

Life would be better if I lived on my own, sure. But I am incredibly grateful for what my father has given me.

He tried to be both parents growing up, having full custody of both of my siblings and myself. He did good, and I let him know that every now and then.

I glanced through my closet, unsure of what to wear to the party. I didn't know what people dressed like there, and I didn't want to stand out.

I picked out a white bralette with a dark red shirt to go over it, having so many holes that were so big it practically did nothing on my body.

I picked lightwash jeans with a ridiculous amount of holes, using a belt to hold them up along my belly button line.

I presented my outfit to Stas, walking down the stairs dramatically and into the living room where she was eating.

Oh, yeah. My dad wouldn't like that either. Food in the living room is a big no-no unless he's the one doing it.

"You're so holy I almost forgot it wasn't Sunday," Stas teased, making a joke with the holes in my outfit.

"What are you going to wear?" I asked, plopping down beside her.

"This," She motioned to what she's been wearing since I left the house this morning.

"Really?" Her outfit, if I could even call it that, was just a tight fitting light gray dress with the sides scrunched a bit.

"Alright, get it I guess," I encouraged, patting her leg before standing up, "Let's go before I change my mind,"

Before I could even blink, she had her plate of half-eaten pierogies in the kitchen and her shoes on, waiting for me at the front door.

"Why don't we try sneaking in through the back?" I asked, shimmying my shoulders, "It'll be more fun,"

Stas stood there for a moment, considering the situation, "Done. Let's go,"

Both of us jogged out to the back of the house, pausing once we got to the fence.

"What if people are in the yard?" Stas asked in a rushed tone, keeping her voice low.

"It's like, eight o'clock. We have about ten minutes before people start floating outside," I gave an educated guess based on how late it is when the house gets so packed that people have to go outside. "I'll go first,"

I grabbed the metal part of the fence, which was higher because it sat on sandstone bricks. I pulled myself up, sliding over to the other side to see that the yard was, in fact, empty. "Hurry before someone sees us,"

Stas hurried after, and I quickly jumped down and sat in one of the chairs, grabbing one of the solo cups that must have been left here from some other time and putting it in my hand like I owned it. There were too many for us to claim, so I threw the other four or so back over the fence and into our yard.

She quickly understood what I was trying to do, sitting in one of the chairs and grabbing a cup too.

"Well that was easy," She sighed, "I'm surprised no one saw us,"

"Don't jinx it. They don't know who we are," I pointed out, "If one of them realizes that we don't belong here then we could get kicked out,"

"It'll make a good story though," She smiled, not seeming as worried as I was.

"Yeah," I fell quiet as the back door slid open, revealing a boy with brown hair.

"See I told you people were out here already!" He said to a brunette girl who was walking beside him.

"It seems kind of early though. Usually people don't come out here yet," Her voice was soft, looking back and forth between us.

"I didn't know we weren't allowed out here," Stas said before taking control of the conversation, "Have I seen you two before? I feel like I should know who you are,"

"Oh, my bad," The boy said, waving, "I'm Jake, and this is Gabby,"

"Nice to meet you," Gabby smiled, "What's your names?"

"I'm Stas and that's Liz," Stas gave a soft smile, one that looked like relief to me, but to other people it would just look like she was being polite.

"Did the lawn guy pick up those cups we had out?" Jake said, narrowing his eyes as he studied the outdoor furniture,

"What do you mean?" I asked, watching as Stas faked a sip from the cup she had.

"I was over a couple of days ago and we made awful smoothies for a Youtube video," Jake grimaced, "They had stupid shit like barbeque sauce and gum and stuff like that,"

I briefly rememberd tossing cups into my lawn, and it made me reconsider whether or not that was a good idea.

"Well, Stas and I are gonna go in and get drinks. Have fun," I said, standing up and pulling Stas into the house.

"Time to party," Stas sang, and I knew that I would be able to push away any feelings of sadness.

For a little while, it'd be worth it.