Rayston Point Road || Editing

Chapter Twenty-Three

"You want a drink, Loren?" He asked, holding out a brown paper bag with a glass bottle peeking out of the top. I looked at it hesitantly. "It's vodka," he continued, his eyes searching my face. "It's been passed around, if that bothers you." I was about to reach out to take it from him, not caring if a few other people had shared it with the countless bottles I'd shared over the last few months, but faltered at the sound of a quiet voice from the bed of the truck.

"It's perfect for her, then." The comment was made under Izzy's breath, but still intentionally loud enough for everyone around to hear. Andie's eyes widened slightly as she looked at me. Mac, Vi, and Mariana all smirked and snickered, but the rest of the group either rolled their eyes or turned to glare at her.

"Seriously, Iz?" Alex spoke up. "If you're going to start already, you might as well leave. Nobody wants you to ruin this night." Izzy huffed as she looked down at Alex, Mac's arm tightening around her shoulder as he leaned towards her, whispering something in her ear. I looked away from them, to Alex, offering him a small smile as I mouthed a silent thank you to him. He returned the expression, his eyes lingering on my face as I reached out for the bottle Diego was still offering me, desperate now for the relief of an altered state of mind, especially if I was going to have to put up with Izzy all night.

As I was lifting the bottle to my lips, letting the alcohol pass through my lips, wincing at the sharp burn that traveled down my throat with it, headlights illuminated us as Isaac's jeep rolled into the parking lot. He pulled up next to my car, hopping down as he adjusted a black baseball cap over his ears, grinning as he rounded my car to approach us.

"Whoa, who died?" He joked, his eyes scanning over our blank expressions, the combination of dark clothing not helping the dull mood Izzy had set.

"Nobody, unfortunately," Izzy piped up from the back of Mac's truck, her eyes landing maliciously on my face. The crowd around me erupted into groans and complaints at Izzy's comment, Andie turning her head up and snapping at Izzy to grow up.

"You okay?" I peeled my eyes away from Izzy's smug expression to look up at Isaac who had stopped beside me, his eyes cast down at my face, concern etched into his own expression. The grin on his face faltered slightly as he looked at me. Concern and confusion started to etch its way into his eyes as they flashed between Izzy and me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, swinging the bottle by its neck in my hand. "You want any?" I held it out towards him, and he glanced between it and my face before shaking his head.

"Driving, not a good idea. That didn't seem to stop you, though," he frowned, glancing back at my car.

"Maybe someone else will take me home," I bumped his hip with mine before leaning forward to pass the bottle off to Andie, who was reaching for it, purposefully watching Izzy's face for her reaction instead of Isaac's, wondering if he would register that I made the comment to get under her skin more than anything.

"Alright, are we gonna do this or what?" Diego called out, gently nudging Sasha forward so he could fall from the edge of the truck. Alex and Lee followed suit, Mac and Izzy following suit, Mac pausing momentarily to push up the tailgate. Excited comments and cheers started to pass through the group as we started walking away from the cars, down the dirt parking lot, back towards the woods that enclosed it, running parallel to the third base line.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing now?" I asked, my question directed at Andie, but it was Isaac who spoke next, throwing his arm around my shoulder as we walked. I looked up at him, admittedly surprised as how casual he was acting, debating shrugging him off until the content, playful smile on his face convinced me otherwise. We hadn't spoken since our last confrontation in the study at Andie's house, when he had begged me for an explanation I couldn't give him before finally storming off. I hadn't thought that he had fully gotten over that night, and I wasn't entirely sure that I had forgiven him for what happened at the marina, but I forced myself to push down my feelings, not wanting to ruin whatever was about to happen,                        or be the reason he stopped smiling.