Broken

Chapter 9

Aurora’s POV

“This place is packed,” Mia shouted as we walked inside Jessica’s house.

She was right. Her house was huge, but it looked like it was too small to fit everyone. The music was blasting and people were shouting. I could barely hear Mia.

“Well, we won’t have to do much hiding,” Mia shouted. “There is no way that Rhys would be able to see you among all these people.”

I nodded and looked around, trying to find our friends.

“Ro!” I heard Holly scream.

I looked to my left and smiled. I grabbed Mia’s hand and pulled her toward our friends.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Holly screamed in my ear.

“You saw me in school today,” I said, chuckling and shaking my head at her.

“Yes, but we didn’t go out together in ages,” Holly said, frowning at me.

Jules pulled me away from Holly before I could answer.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” Jules said, giving me a tight hug. “I ran into Rhys earlier and he told me that you stayed home.”

I smiled and hugged her back.

“I changed my mind,” I said. “I wanted to spend some time with you guys.”

Julies squealed and grinned at me.

“I can’t wait!” she exclaimed.

Holly handed me a drink. I looked at the cup and raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s gin tonic,” she said. “I know your poison.”

I smiled and took a small sip of the drink. I wasn’t planning on drinking a lot tonight. I hadn’t eaten anything all day and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to handle too much alcohol. I was going to sip on this drink all night long. I didn’t come here to get drunk anyway. I came here to talk and laugh with my friends for a few hours.

“The bitch came about a half an hour ago,” Holly told me. “She was dragging your brother along. He looked like he was going to burn the house down. Trouble in paradise?”

I gulped and tried to take a deep breath.

“I don’t really know,” I said. “We don’t talk much.”

We didn’t talk at all, but it was hard for me to say that out loud.

“Still?” Jules asked, raising her eyebrows at me.

I just shrugged and took another small sip of my drink.

“Enough about those fuckers,” Mia said as she poured something into her cup. “I didn’t come here to talk about them. I came here to get drunk.”

I smiled and shook my head at her. It was a good thing I didn’t plan on getting drunk tonight. It looked like Mia would need a designated driver.

I spent the next hour talking and laughing with my friends. It felt amazing to be able to forget about everything else and talk about college, hot guys, and parties. I felt like a high school girl again. I felt like an 18-year-old again. I loved it and I didn’t want the night to end.

I kept sipping on my drink and enjoying every moment I spent with my friends.

“RoRo!” I heard someone shout.

I turned around in time to see Tim pull me into a hug. I chuckled and hugged him back.

Tim was one of Rhys’ and my brother’s teammates. We were always great friends.