Once Upon A Surf

Chapter Sixteen

And with that, the door slammed shut.

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"Dumb party," I said through my teeth, dumping another bag of chips into a bowl. "Dumb food, dumb music, dumb people—"

"What are you going on about now?" Kelly brushed into the room, some of her hair still clipped up, needing to be styled. "This does not look ready for tonight. At all."

I put my hands on the counter, my jaw tight. "I'm working on it."

Kelly put a hand on my shoulder, a water bottle in her other hand. "Work faster, darling."

With that, she walked to the hallway, turning and raising a hand. "One more thing. Change your clothes, you look like you got chased by a bear."

"More like my sister."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I said, rolling my eyes and wiping my forehead. "Everything will be perfect, Kelly."

Kelly spun, heading back to her room to finish getting ready. I glanced at the clock, letting out a sigh and continuing to set everything up. I had been working the majority of the day getting this set up, starting after the brawl Kelly and I had had that morning.

I closed my eyes, forcing thoughts of the morning away from me. All I wanted to do right now was sleep, which I could do after getting everything set up. I spent the next hour setting out snacks and cleaning up the kitchen, making sure there was plenty of space in the living room for dancing. I rearranged the tables on the porch, and by the time I was finished people had begun trickling into the house.

I dashed back to my room before Kelly could see me, changing into a pair of white jean shorts and a teal blue blouse. I wrapped a light brown belt around my waist and put on a matching pair of sandals, pulling my hair up into a messy ponytail before heading back out into the madness.

The house was already crowded, and the party hadn't even officially started yet. I bumped into a dozen people as I made my way into the kitchen, running into Kelly almost immediately. She wore a skintight black dress and had way too much makeup on, her dark brown hair falling in curly waves.

"Good, you're ready," she said, shoving me towards the garage. "Mom needs your help with the drinks."

I stumbled forward, opening the garage door to see Donna opening her trunk, which was loaded with all types of alcoholic beverages. As far as Donna was concerned, she would rather have people drinking at her house than at somewhere dangerous. I disagreed completely, but I had gotten used to my opinion being pushed aside in this house.

Without a word I began grabbing cases of drinks, carrying them into the house and putting them in coolers. Kids surrounded them like wild animals, and once everything was unloaded I leaned against the counter, letting out a sigh.

After only an hour of the party, I was already exhausted.

The music was thumping loudly enough to give me a migraine, kids stumbling around slightly tipsy. The house was darker than usual, the air sticky and hot, making it hard to breathe. Kids were sticking together in clusters, different social groups separated. Kelly and Taryn were in the midst of it all somewhere—last I spotted Taryn, she was dancing in the living room, way too close to a random guy I had never seen before.

Totally not my scene.

"Lindsey!" I heard a familiar voice and turned, my eyes widening slightly.