Vienna pulled into the car port underneath the home. She rolled her eyes at the house, mostly at the fact that it was hardly ever used. Her family used it more when she was younger. It all stopped when she was about seven, her family stopped coming. She never understood why.
She sighed as she unlocked the front door and took in the scenery of the empty house. It was decorated nicely, her parents always had good taste. She picked up a picture frame that held her family in it and smiled, placing it back on the small table in the foyer.
The house was modest, not too big, not too small. A two story, four bedroom home on the sound side of the island, overlooking the marsh.
Vienna didn't care about the size though, she could be sleeping in a tent and would still be ten times happier than she could ever dream of being back home.
A few hours later she found herself sat on the deck, watching the sun set over the marsh, knowing tomorrow would not be as relaxing of a day. She slowly strummed her guitar and jotted a few lyrics down, although she felt none of them were good. It didn't come easily to her anymore. Not since that night.
"Yo, dude, do you see that?" The brunette boy asked, pointing towards one of the marsh homes.
The blonde continued rolling his joint, "See what, dude? The nice ass kook homes?" he scoffed without lifting his head from his work, "yeah, bro I see them everyday."
The brunette slapped his arm, "JJ look." He said in a more serious tone.
JJ looked up to the abandoned Miles home, to see a girl sat on a top deck strumming her guitar. Sending a smirk towards John B he replied, "pull up to the dock."
"No, JJ, we can't just pull our boat up to a random girls house."
Except, she was only a 'random girl' to JJ. John B knew exactly who she was. And he couldn't lie, he was overjoyed to see her up there.
"Why not? I'm sure she'd be down for the kegger tonight. How would she know if she didn't get a personal invite?" The boy questioned, slapping his friend's chest and smirked, placing the joint between his lips and lighting it.
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Vienna's POV
I groaned, frustrated that I couldn't find the words to write this song. Songwriting usually came easily to me, it was the one thing I could always do. But since everything happened, I haven't had the words to express what I was feeling. Songwriting was my escape, but it seemed I couldn't escape this one.
I sighed, putting the pick in between the guitar strings, picking up my lyric journal and began to make my way back inside the home.
"Hey, don't leave yet! You haven't even said hello!" I heard from the water.
"What the fuck?" I muttered to myself before slowly turning back around, to see a boat now docked at the pier, two boys walking toward my house.
I leaned over the railing, looking down onto the lawn where they now stood, "Do I know you?"
"No you see, that's the problem." The blonde one spoke, "everyone knows everyone on this island, how come we don't know you?"
"Maybe I don't want to be known!" I called back down to him.
"Well what are you doing in the Miles house? No one's ever here." He questioned.
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to answer his question and decided to just go back inside hoping they would leave me alone.
"Hey, hey, wait!" The second voice called, causing me to turn back around before I made it to the door, "I apologize for my friend here" he spoke before slapping the back of his friends head, "we just wanted to invite you to a kegger tonight at the boneyard! Starts at sundown." The boy turned towards the sunset. "Which is now."
"Not interested" I smiled and turned around, irritated at the boys.
"Not fancy enough for you, pretty girl?" The blonde asked, "Would Mommy and Daddy disapprove?"
I stopped abruptly, deciding whether I should respond or not.
"Hey, dude, what the fuck? Chill out, JJ. Don't be a dick like that." I heard the second boy say. I rolled my eyes and shook my head before making my way back inside the house before slamming the deck door.
I threw my guitar and journal down on the couch before making my way up to my bedroom. I took my hair out of the braid it was currently in, and brushed my hands through it to calm some of the frizz.
Looked out my window to see the sun was finally down. I ran down the steps, grabbed my keys off the counter and pulled the front door closed behind me, locking it. I ran down the front steps, and began walking towards the boneyard
Other than the trips we took as a family when I was young, I had been here once, last year for a little over a month. Right before school started last year was when life started going to shit. I needed an escape. My mother offered the vacation home. I came down by myself. I wrote some of my favorite songs I've ever written here.
My family wasn't incredibly rich, but they had money. I wasn't left anything though, besides this house. It was all I was given by them, but I wasn't complaining. This house meant more than anything to me. It was the only place I remember experiencing full and true happiness.
The boneyard wasn't a far walk from the house, which is how I found it last summer. It was the last week I had here and I decided to take a walk one night, and ended up finding a bunch of teenagers drinking on the beach. I smiled at the memory, feeling a sense of deja vu and I walked towards the same scene.
There were probably a hundred kids spread out across the boneyard. I walked up to the keg and filled up a red cup, downing it before filling it up again.
I went and sat on one of the many trees that were laying across the beach.
"Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you around here. Are you here on vacation?" Someone asked from beside me, sitting down and holding his hand out.
I stared down at his hand and narrowed my eyes at him. Then took a sip of my drink and looked back at the ocean before answering, "No, I'm not. I live on the sound side, in the Miles home." I answered, remembering what the boys from earlier called it.
"Oh shit the Miles home?" He questioned, looking over to me. I nodded in response.
"Shit, I haven't seen anyone there in ages." He paused, taking a sip from his drink.
"Actually come to think of it, there was rumors a girl stayed there last summer too, was that you?"
I smirked into my drink, "smart man."
"What can I say?" He smiled before wiping his hand on his shorts, holding it out again, "I'm Luke. Are you going to shake my hand this time or am I embarrassing myself again?"
I downed the last sip of my beer before responding, "embarrassing yourself." I stood up,"I'm not here to make friends, Luke." I said before making my way back to the keg to fill my cup up again.
"Then why would you come to a kegger with a hundred kids?" Luke asked, next to me again, following me back to the keg.
"Free beer" I smiled, filling my cup back up, Luke stood behind me as I did. I knew that was a lie though, something about the brunette boy from earlier seemed familiar, which made me nervous, if he was who I though he was. I wondered if he remembered me too.
I also secretly wanted to prove to the blonde one I wasn't some stuck up rich kid living in her parents beach house.
I backed away from the keg, motioning for Luke to fill his up. I decided to down this cup like my first one, wanting desperately to feel the effects of the alcohol already.
I filled my cup up again, before starting to head back to where I was sitting, but instead saw a new group of people there. I rolled my eyes and turned around, going to find a new place to sit.
"Can I at least get your name?"
"No"
"Why not"
"Because, like I said, I'm not here to make friends, and I don't plan to be known." I said, sitting down on a tree that was more in the middle of things, but I didn't really mind, it was closer to the keg.
"Oh come on" Luke said, "I'm not asking to be friends, lighten up. Have a good time with me tonight and we never have to speak again"
"I'm sorry?"
"I didn't mean it like that." He laughed, shaking his head, "I mean here, at the kegger, let yourself have a good time. I can tell you want to or you wouldn't be here. I get wanting to distance yourself from people, trust me, but the best thing you can go is let go every once and a while." He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his beer, "Just relax and have a good time. Forget about all the problems for a night. That's what keggers are for."
I thought about what he said for a second. One night of fun doesn't mean anything. He's right, I don't need to talk to him ever again, and I probably wouldn't.
"Fuck it." I sighed, "I'm Vienna." I held my hand toward the boy.
"Well alright Vienna, let's go have fun." He smiled at me before taking my hand and pulling me back towards the keg.
"Now I already saw you down a few by yourself" Luke said, filling up two cups, "but now" he paused to hand me one, "we're gonna race." He smirked over the cup, intertwining our arms so that they were crossed together as we held the cups to our mouths.
"One"
"Two"
"Three"
We both started downing our beers, I finished seconds before he did, and threw my cup to the ground.
"Beginners luck, Vienna, beginners luck."
"If that's what you need to tell yourself to sleep tonight, be my guest." I smiled to the boy. "Is the only drink here beer?"
"Usually, yes" Luke spoke, "but since you agreed to have fun..." he trailed off and pulled a fifth of Titos from his backpack.
"Looks like I made the right decision." I gave him my now empty cup to fill with a shots worth of vodka, which I instantly took. I pulled a sour face at the taste and wiped my mouth before looking back up at Luke who was holding his cup in his hand, staring at me.
"We were supposed to take them at the same time, come on Vienna." Luke joked, pouring me another shot. I noticed this one was bigger.
"I think you're just trying to get me drunk" I joked back.
"I'm trying to get you to have fun." Luke winked, holding his cup up to me, "cheers" he said before taking it at the same time as me.
I looked over my shoulder as I wiped the residue of the shot from my lips, to find a pair of eyes staring right back at me.
It was him. I knew it was.
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