the only exception

chapter 13

Hayden, however, was standing up right after her, "Need me to show you the way?"

"Sure," she smiled sweetly, swaying as they walked back into the house. Their arms bumped every once in a while, Phoebe's skin feeling warm in every place they touched.

"Right down that hall, to the left," Hayden told her once they'd made it inside, "I'll be in the kitchen. Some of the others just got here."

Phoebe looked over, seeing a couple of the other freshmen had arrived, the same ones she'd sat with at lunch. She tried to recall their names, but at this point she's sure she could easily forget her own name as well.

She was only gone for a few minutes before she walked out, spending most of her time in there just staring at herself in the mirror, zoning out. When she did exit, however, one of the other guys from lunch was standing there, sitting on his phone.

When he heard the door open, he looked up, instantly grinning, "Hey, Phoebe right?"

"Yeah," she smiled politely, not even trying to remember his name. Josh or Jake or something of the sorts.

"You having fun?" He asked, his face full of amusement as she squinted at him. It was louder out here than in the bathroom, taking her a minute to adjust.

"Yep, and you?"

Josh or Jake or whatever just shrugged, "Not really my scene. It's a little better in the company of a cute girl, though." He grinned, causing Phoebe to blush.

"Oh," was all she could get herself to say. The boy took a few steps closer to her, pushing some hair behind her shoulders. Phoebe welcomed it happily, because it felt caring and kind and maybe she'd missed having some affection thrown her way.

She didn't realize she'd backed up until her back was against the wall, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Can I?" He asked, bringing a hand up to her face. Phoebe felt her heart quicken as she quickly nodded, and moments later his lips were against hers.

It's not exactly how she thought her first kiss would go, it felt sloppy and quick. Suddenly she felt trapped against the wall and was pushing him away.

"You okay?" He asked, and for a moment she felt bad she couldn't remember his name. He seems like he genuinely cares and is worried, but all that does is just make her feel worse for some reason.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just really hot in here." She laughed, because truly she felt like she was sweating at this point.

"The hell are you doing, Jay?" Another voice broke through, causing Phoebe to jump slightly. Okay, so his name was Jay? She tried to sear it into her cloudy memory.

She turned her gaze to see Hayden looking angry as ever.

"Nothing," Jay mumbled, taking a step back.

Hayden just shook his head, grabbing Phoebe's arm, "Come on, let's go back outside."

Phoebe shook her head, feeling sick at this point from the mix of weed and alcohol, "I think I'm just gonna-"

"Leave her alone, dude." Jay shook his head, pushing Hayden back slightly. Phoebe took a step back at the contact, a little scared of what could come next. She didn't fully understand why it was escalating so quickly, but wasn't even sure she wanted to stick around and find out.

"Seriously?" He scoffed, "Fuck you."

"Calm down, if Phoebe doesn't wanna go back outside with you, she doesn't have to." Jay shook his head.

Hayden's face tightened as he pushed Jay back, with more force than the other boy had used, "Mind your own business."

The moment Jay raised his fist and connected it with Hayden's face, Phoebe was turning in the other direction and walking away.

"Hey," Henry, Hayden's brother, stopped her, "You good?"

"Your brother is fighting someone," Phoebe just mumbled in response, continuing on walking towards the front door. The night had quickly turned into one she wanted nothing to do with, and between the fight and her feeling sick, all she could do was sit on the front porch.

She was supposed to hang out with Jess, Ryder, and Kristen today, but ditched them, thinking the idea of going to a real party was the funnest idea she'd ever heard. Then, she had her first drink, and smoked weed for the first time, and had her first kiss. And all of that was fun, really, she enjoyed it.

But everything had switched so fast.

She didn't like violence, didn't like what it reminded her of.

Didn't like that she could barely walk straight or keep her focus on something for too long. She felt too far away from herself.

She was also supposed to spend the night with Emily tonight, but knew that Emily and her sister would be staying for at least a few more hours. Plus, she didn't want to ruin their fun too, so she dialed the only number she knew by heart. The only person she really felt like she could reach out to while in this position, not wanting to know how her foster parents would react.

"Hello?" A scratchy voice spoke, sounding confused and laced with sleep.

The sound of her voice had Phoebe instantly crying. Her voice came out mangled, a sob escaping her throat as she forced the name out, "Hayley?"