Luciens Takeover

The Party

James:

Two hours in and most people are completely drunk. Eldon has proceded to down three bottles of beer in the last hour alone. Stephanie has invited most of A- and B-troupe, lots of people from her school and even some from mine. There must be at least 100 people lounging in Stephanie's kitchen and living room alone. It's a big house, so the crowd spreads out easily. I've only really been holding conversation with Riley. It's hard to seriously communicate with anyone else. That is besides the fact that it's always nice to talk to my girlfriend.

"Do you ever drink," she asks me, nervously glancing at Eldon, who is now lying across the dining table, singing old fisherman tunes. What should we do with a drunken sailor...

"Oh no, he doesn't. Although no one knows why. Not what you'd expect from a guy like him," a voice says.

Tiffany joins our conversation, the red circles around her eyes clearly indicating that she is also completely wasted.

"Some kind of moral high ground you both have. I really don't get it. Getting drunk is fun!"

She dances away into the kitchen holding an empty bottle. Probably to get another beer. Or a bottle of vodka.
We don't get back to the question and I don't feel the need to explain myself.
Truth is, my dad abuses alcohol. Way too often. After seeing what it does to him, I could never let myself lose control to act the way he does. Drinking can be fun, sure. But at what cost?
Looking over at Riley I can see she's feeling anxious. You really can't blame her. Stephanies parties are a lot to handle.

"Wanna step outside?," I ask.
She nods, grateful for the suggestion.
The air is cold and Riley is only wearing a shirt, so I offer her my sweater. We sit on the front steps and watch the few cars passing by. Riley takes my hand and leans her head onto my shoulder. Moment like this make my life worth living for.

"Now I'm actually considering to come to another one of these," she says.

"You mean another one of her parties? They are quite something. Although I must warn you. You have not been to the second floor," I joke. I doubt that Riley can even imagine what goes on on the second floor.
She looks into the distance, her voice sounding dreamy as she answers me:
"I was thinking we just stay here. Together forever. Us against the world."

"I like that," I smile,"let's do it."

My lips touch hers and I can taste her cherry lipgloss. This moment could last forever. Right then, my phone rings, ruining the moment. I am tempted to decline the call because it's probably just West or Eldon drunk dialing me again. I catch a glance of the display and am surprised to see my sister's name instead.

"Piper? What's up," I ask, slightly alarmed. She doesn't ever call me. Not when she could just text.

"James, can you come home? I need you."

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Piper:

I stayed out late tonight. Laney stole a G-rated movie from her older brother, so we made popcorn and ate lots of candy while watching "The Apocalypse P.2". Officially, we were working on a school project. Although I don't think my parents really care about where I go and what I do. My dad is always out working late and mom is busy with work around the house and at her office. James is the only one that cares, but he's busy too, with dance and school. Sometimes I miss my older sisters. When they used to be home, it felt like a proper family. Lately, we've been more of a dysfunctional family. I hope things will get better soon.

No one had time to pick me up, so I walked home. Laney doesn't live too far, around half an hour by foot. I see our house in the distance, but to my surprise , there is no car parked infront of it. That's weird. Is no one home yet? Or maybe James has driven my moms car out again. But dad should definitely be home by now. It's Friday, the day he gets off work early.
I reach our front door and ring the doorbell. No lights are on and there is no movement in the house. Where is everyone? I rumage through my bag to try and find my spare key. No luck. I must have taken it out. I'm running out of options. Think, Piper, think! We did hide a spare key years back. Under a garden gnome... Yes! Finally. A key! I unlock the door and step inside. What I see shocks me.

The room is a mess. Books and shards of pots are scattered on the floor, a window is broken and pictures lay on the ground, glass shattered. What happened? Did someone break in? I look around and I don't know what to do. Call the police. I should definitely call the police. I reach to grab my phone, but then I notice something lying on the table, in midst the mess. A note.

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James:

I drive Riley home before going to meet Piper. She didn't want to keep me, but I insisted on it. Emily is kept busy with Stephanie and Hunter, she won't be able to drive Riley home. And staying overnight at her first party with a bunch of drunk teenagers is not a good idea. Besides, I can tell she was glad to get out of there. It's not her scene.

I don't know what happened at home. It was hard to make out what Piper was trying to say- she talks too fast when she's excited or upset. I don't think I've ever heard her this frantic though. I hope my mother is able to calm her down. That is if they were not fighting. They rarely fight, but when they do it's usually bad. And she is one of the well behaved children...

The house looks dark. Is everyone asleep? There is no way Piper went to bed. I stop the engine and run towards the house. The door is unlocked. This is not a good sign. I step inside the house, calling my sisters name.
No answer.
"Piper! Piper,where are you," I try again.

"I'm here," a small voice chokes from below. Piper is sitting on the floor, her eyes red and swollen. She's been crying.

"What's wrong? What happened," I ask, taking her into my arms. She sobs, leaning her head against my chest. Then she motions to a paper in her hand. I take the crumpled paper from her, unfolding it carefully.

Deborah,

I must admit that you were right. This is not going to work out. We were never meant for each other, it just took us all these years to realize it. I cannot make myself come back here every day, pretending that our marriage is not ruined. I want to be upright and honest with you. I have found someone else. I have found someone, that is able to support me and love me the way I am and therefore I will be moving in with them. I hope you will be able to understand that this is the best solution for us and that you can try to be happy for me. If you deem it necessary, I will be seeing you in court to settle the open questions that remain.

I wish you all the best and I hope you can find true happiness with someone else.

Robert.