Phantom [h.s]

Nine

"Where are you now?"

"Corner of Windsgrove and Flagstaff."

"Okay, take a left and keep going straight. You'll see it on your right."

"All right."

I hang up my phone, repeating the directions under my breath that Jenna just spoke to me. I turn the corner and immediately step on the brakes of my car.

Almost the entire street is lined with cars, with people meandering around the vehicles, most moving towards a grand house sitting a bit up on a slope. The house looks to be two stories high, with a huge driveway in the shape of a C, connecting to the street twice. A grand staircase rises from the driveway to the front door, which is thrown open as more and more people file in. The many windows are lit up, and music can be heard from inside. Ria and Jenna spoke the truth-it almost does look like a hotel.

I drive down the street and park my car around the corner, where more cars have begun to cram into. It's barely six o'clock, and it seems that the entire teenage population of Castle Hill is at Nate's house.

I make sure to lock my car doors before walking towards the house, nerves beginning to build inside of me. I keep reminding myself that the only reason I'm here is to find answers for Harry, since he deserves them. If I was in his position, I'd want someone to help me out, too.

I walk up the steep driveway and up the stairs. Cadence Manor seems almost like a doll's house compared to this one. I wonder what Nate's parents do that allows them to afford a complex as grand as this one.

I step through the large oak doors and into the house.

Crowds of people move throughout the house, drinks and cigarettes in their hands. I hear the music from the other room along with laughter and shouting. I search for familiar faces, but there are so many people that it's difficult to focus on any one face.

Someone grabs my arm and I turn to face a smiling Max. He wears a green plaid shirt and jeans, his dirty blonde hair styled up. He holds a red cup in his hand.

"Jane Alison, didn't expect you!" He says over the loud chatter.

I chuckle lightly at the use of my middle name. "Hi."

"You're looking lovely," he says, smiling when a slight blush rises to my cheeks. He leans over and sets his cup down on a small table. "Come on, all of us are over here." He closes a soft hand around my wrist and tugs me lightly through the crowd in the foyer.

He guides me up a staircase and to the second floor, opening a door to a room that I decide must be a parlor. The floor is tiled salmon pink and the wallpaper is crv®me colored, with grey couches and a minibar positioned off to the side. Jenna and Ria sit with a boy I don't recognize, and Ava is sat in an armchair, picking at her nails. Another boy stands at the minibar, surrounded by bottles of alcohol that he mixes and shakes.