calling out to you

11. anna

08:16pm

"Leah awaits." I pat Addy on her back and gently nudge her towards the pool side. It is only now that I realise how the past few days sucked because I didn't have Addy by my side and it finally feels good now that I have started my redemption.

I pulled out my phone with 3 unread messages popping on the top of the screen. As much as I appreciated the fact that Lucas wanted to pick me up from my house, I had rather not give him any false signals. Even though he makes my heart jump five to six beats doesn't mean that I like him.
I turn back to see if my attempted plan had become successful and I think the fact that the two of them were kissing is a testament to it.

My hands instantly turn sweaty when it hits me that I am in fact at the party which wasn't my vibe and even though Isaac would already have figured out that I was ditching him, I don't want to actually run into him.
I put my hair in a bun without a scrunchie and move towards the punch-bowl because if anything is going to help me this evening, its alcohol.

"Been hiding from me?" a voice startles me but not in a way I didn't like.
"Are you kidding me?" I play teasingly, "Why would I hide from my date."
I know that all of this is supposed to be fake but the redness on his cheeks says something else. "So," I say handing him a glass, "Where is this alleged ex-girlfriend of yours?"
And without any response, he took two steps closer to me and lowered his head to my ears. "3 o'clock." He whispered.
My heart doubles over when my eyes look up at his, those dark brown eyes with so much to hide. I have always liked mysteries and something about him says that this is going to be a difficult one. I remind myself that even though this has to be fake doesn't mean that I can have some fun with it.
I grab the back of his neck slowly, taking my time and pull him closer and when there is nothing but an inch of air between our lips, I whisper, "Is she looking here?"
"Mh-hm" he barely says with a lump in his throat, his eyes dead-locked on mine.
"Then should we kiss?" I say even softer now.
"Yeah I think that will sell it." His expressions unwavering.
"Now where is the romance in that." I said teasingly pushing him back towards the crowd.
"Don't be a tease Annie Blythe." His voice gets washed out as he backed into the crowd and left me with a warm feeling in my chest.

I grabbed two cups of punch and walked towards the pool side, towards fresh air. It had been long since I felt this kind of happiness but some kind of siren goes off in my mind, warning me to stay away from Lucas.

"Hey babe, how is that fake date of yours going?" Addy said, emerging from the glass sliding door and into the chilled night.
Maybe this might not be the best time to talk about her mom and maybe this is just another way for me to deflect her question but I hand her the second cup of punch which I irresponsibly got for myself.
"At the risk of sounding like a shitty friend," I begin, "I talked with my mother about Peter and the circumstances during his abandonment."
Her eyebrows pull together and a grimace appears across her face which I totally get. How sad would I be to talk about my asshole of a father in the middle of a party but something about that conversation seemed off to me.
I get that my father was jealous of John but if someone were hypothetically jealous, I could think of a lot more he could have said than
stay away from him, its for your own good.

And who the hell would be jealous enough to run off, if anything that would have only pushed my mom closer to John. And even if he was tired of being a father, why wait until I was a year old. There are a lot of crossed paths which I cannot seem to untangle but I think that two heads would be better than one.

"Mom told me about the accident and about how since Theresa was driving, she couldn't survive. She also told me about how she stepped up which made Peter jea-"
"No." she spat out. "What no?"
"No, my mom was not driving." She said, chugging the entire cup which made me doubt her ability to recall stuff.
"Who told you that?" I jumped.
"Dad. He told me that since she was not wearing a seat belt, she was hurt more."
"That doesn't make sense. Are you sure you remember correctly?"
"Yeah dude." She said emphasizing the U. "He told me she couldn't even drive, that's why Dad was going to drop her off to an open house that day."
As much as I hated the fact that either mom or Mr. Gilbert was lying to us, I had my next lead. It could easily have been a misremembrance of the incident but John wove Addy a completely different story and there has to be no coming back from that. Its not characteristic of my mom to lie but maybe she thought she was protecting me or maybe protecting someone else.
I analyze Addy's drunken face and it is a testament to the fact that there is no way she could lie right now, even if she wanted to. This investigation has messed up my mind, has me doubting the closest people in my life but it also a good distraction and I need it, I need to hold onto to something.

The glass door slowly slid open and Leah appeared in a group of four other people. She took a detour from the rest of the group as soon as she saw the barely conscious Addy and rushed to lend a hand.
"How many did she take?" She asked cautiously.
"Enough." I smiled.
"Well, I have got her from here. You can go enjoy the party, she's my headache now." Leah chuckled.
"You sure?" And even if she were sure, I'd rather not go into that party where a run in with both Isaac and Lucas was waiting to happen.
"Hell yes. She is gonna start saying nice things in about two minutes now." Leah beamed and pushed me towards the party while screaming, "Some kid Lucas was looking for you."

09:13 pm

I nudged aside two huge guys and a number of empty plastic cups from my path as I scanned the room for familiar faces and at the same time, trying not to run into Isaac.
"Hey Blythe. Been looking for you." Lucas screamed trying to make his voice audible over the loud music.
"Miss me so early?" I screamed trying to do the same.
"Its so loud here." He said, pressing his hands against his ears, "Lets get out of here."

~~~