Chasing Shadows

04 The Bet

A L E C 

Ella Pruitt's house was way bigger than I had imagined. Made up almost entirely of brick and stucco, it looked like one of those high-end mansions that were only in magazines. I had never been much of a house guy, but this one was impressive. From the perfectly manicured lawn to the large picture windows in front and the four-car, attached garage, everything looked immaculate. Even with all the cars parked on the front lawn. I could already hear the music blaring over the whir of my air conditioner. The thumping of heavy bass vibrated through the seats of my car. Ella Pruitt obviously knew how to throw a party.

"It's basically Coachella," I said to Reagan.

"Only we don't have to travel across the country to attend." She laughed nervously.

I was glad that she had finally opened up about her parents. But there was still an air about her that made me anxious.

"Hopefully, there are fewer people than the real Coachella," she stated with a shrug.

I gazed out at the sea of cars. Some of them I vaguely recognized from the school parking lot. Others, I didn't. I wondered who all had been invited and if I should already regret this decision. Maybe I shouldn't have forced Reagan out to an overcrowded party like this.

"Do you think we're going to have to pay for parking?" I joked. Reagan rolled her eyes.

"To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised. How else is Ella gonna pay for this party?" Her eyes scanned the lawn. "I don't see a parking attendant, maybe we're in the clear." She chuckled at her own joke silently.

It took me over twenty minutes to find a place to park my car, and when I did, Reagan already seemed as though she'd had her fill. The music cut through the sound system in my car. People cheered whenever a song ended and from the sound, the gathering had to be huge. I looked out the corner of my eye at Regan. She played with the hem of her dress and fidgeted in the passenger seat. What was I even thinking with this?

"Would it be awful of me to say I want to go home already?" she said weakly, looking at me with pleading eyes. I put the car in park and lifted the emergency brake.

"It would," I said solemnly. I knew this would be good for Reagan. Even if we went back to my house instead of hers, she'd still be twenty feet from the drama. She needed to be out of the house and as far away from it as I could get her. "Besides, we have a mission tonight."

She raised her eyebrows. She licked her lips and then bit her bottom one. "What mission?"

"The bet. What, you already forgot?" I put my hand to my chest in mock horror. "How could you?"

She rolled her eyes and huffed, sending a strand of her hair moving across her face. For a second, I had the urge to brush it away. I could just say screw the bet and lean over and kiss her. It wasn't what she wanted though, so I resisted. The last thing she needed was for me to make her life more awkward or weird. I couldn't imagine what she was going through with her parents.

When I was little, and I heard about people whose parents got divorced and it baffled me. I saw the way that my parents loved each other, saw the intensity and the passion, and I just assumed that was how it was for everyone. I wished now that it was the case for Reagan. The Bells impending divorce cut through Reagan like a knife. My own gut twisted in knots just thinking about it. I wasn't sure how Reagan was still dry-eyed honestly.

"Right. The bet," she said sullenly. "We're playing matchmaker tonight." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. She continued to twist the fabric of her dress. "You know that you could have pretty much any girl you want, right? I don't know why you want me to pick."