deCIPHERED (Book 1)

~Chapter 24~

Ever since the last party I went to was crashed by zombies, the idea of going to another one had been something I dreaded. But I was invited to a party in a mansion, and if I chose not to go, everyone would think I'm crazy, since few people have been invited.

But it's not like I care what people think of me. Regardless, everyone in the Society was going, and since the Society was the only way I could be safe from Bill, it meant I would be foolish not to go.

I put on a long, sleeveless emerald green dress embellished with a diamond belt. I also wore a pair of white heels, and pulled my hair up in a braided bun. I wore long, shiny white gloves on my hands and completed my look with a diamond necklace. I looked sort of like a princess.

I rode in the same car as Tiffany and Nathan, who also looked very stylish. Tiffany wore a shimmery, sleeveless gold cocktail dress with silver heels and silver hoop earrings. She had her hair pulled up in a French braid instead of a fishtail braid, and one jasmine flower was tucked in at the bottom of her braid. Nathan simply wore a tuxedo, shiny black shoes, and parted his hair differently.

Crowds of people were huddled outside the mansion, some with tents, backpacks, and cameras. Others looked like they had been camping outside the mansion for days, maybe even weeks.

The interior of the mansion was incredible- if I even tried to describe everything about it, I wouldn't just fail. I would fail miserably.

"And I thought the Society was fancy," I muttered a little bit too loudly.

"Michaela! These people are not like us! You have to be more careful than that!" Tiffany whispered, her green eyes moving in different directions. I was almost certain that she was wearing a green colored contact in her left eye. Why she was doing this, I had no idea.

"Sorry, Tiff...wait, who are you staring at?" I asked.

Tiffany didn't answer. She just kept staring at everyone until she found who she was looking for. Then she gasped and pulled me aside.

"It's Mel," She said huskily. "She's here."

She pointed at a red haired girl with blue and green eyes, a short, lime green cocktail dress, and a flower crown in her hair that was pulled up in a fishtail braid. She looked so much like Tiffany, but at the same time, she also looked like...like me.

"What is she doing here? I thought she lived in California!" Tiffany whispered to herself.

"Didn't you say you had a cousin who lived here?" I asked Tiffany.

"That's right! Skylar, Alyssa, and Brittany, how could I forget? God, please don't let them be here, too!" She groaned.

"Do you want to show your sister the memory?" I asked impulsively.

"I left it back at the Society. I didn't think she would be here, and I didn't want to lose it. Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" Tiffany weeped.

"Um, Tiffany? Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay, Michaela? I'm sorry, I just need a minute to collect my thoughts. You can go dance with Nathan or something, I don't really care anymore. At least you have someone who loves you." Tiffany answered, running to the garden outside, the one with peacocks roaming around in it.

"Hey, have you seen Tiffany?" Stephanie asked me after Tiffany disappeared. "She just ran away crying. I wonder what's wrong with her."

"Yeah, I saw her. She just needs some alone time, that's all." I responded.

Stephanie frowned and stared at the ground. "Crap." She mumbled.

"What?"

"Devon said he was going to try to apologize to her. That's only going to make her feel worse, though." Stephanie explained.