Soraya's POV:
Well, just as I had expected... this party had turned into a fucking shitshow before it even started. That was an exaggeration but not much of one. The party had started an hour ago, but the fact it was already out of hand was something I assumed would happen. Even though there were roughly a hundred or more strangers in Xavier's house I was still able to locate the people that mattered to me.
Standing on the kitchen island while in a grand open space such as Xavier's first floor did indeed help the situation.
Xavier was caught in the middle of what had become the dancing area in the great empty expanse of the entry way, one that focused directly on the grand staircase in the background and had no furniture so that was where your attention was directed to. Zeke was watching Xav carefully as Xav took another shot from a red plastic shot cup. We were supposed to be watching each other's backs, keeping track of who was drinking what and making sure none of us went overboard. It would be easy enough for me, I had decided quite early on during the planning stage that alcohol would not be entering my bloodstream tonight and I had told everyone as such. Water and juice for me tonight, maybe some soda, but no mind-numbing alcohol.
Willow and Alistair were in the lounge room, keeping to the edge and constantly touching each other. I had no idea what they were saying to each other, but watching Willow's face start to flush as Alistair whispered something into her ear gave me a rough idea. He had an arm around her waist, keeping her flush against his side as they observed the party. They had also decided they wouldn't be drinking tonight, or if they did it would only be two max. Seeing Willow touch Alistair's neck with a gentle brush made me want to look away, to find the one person I wanted to be spending time with tonight.
I locked onto his blue eyes as he walked over to me, his hands on his hips as he looked up at me, standing on top of the marble counter.
"What are you doing?" He asked me, I squatted down on the top of the counter to match his height and looked him in the eye.
"Making sure everyone is okay, needed a good vantage point." I said before sitting down in front of him. He took hold of my thighs and pulled me to the edge of the counter, a leg on either side of his waist.
"And is everyone okay?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he brushed his nose against mine.
"For now." I said, he shook his head, incidentally brushing his nose against mine with each movement.
"You worry too much."
"I think I worry the right amount."
"Just take a breath, everyone is here for you. This is your birthday party after all."
"Belated birthday party, and I hardly know anyone here so I think they're actually here for the drinks." I said, a smile on my lips before Ashton gave me a feather-light kiss. Afterwards he pulled away and reached up to the 'Birthday Girl' crown that was sitting on my head to straighten it.
"Who cares about those guys? Just relax, have fun."
"I'm constantly waiting for something to go wrong. In case you forgot that's what we're trying to do, make Xav want to leave this place. And I still have the feeling that something really bad is going to happen." I said, he nodded and walked away from me for a moment, returning with a bottle of lemon flavoured water.
"Have some water, because worrying about everyone must be super dehydrating and then we can leave if you want to." He said, I smiled as I opened the bottle.
"But I thought this was my party?"
"Which means you can do whatever the hell you want, and honestly I would rather be snuggled in bed with you right now than in this mess." He said, I nodded slowly.
"And everyone else? We're supposed to be watching each other..." I trailed off. He shook his head.
"Alice, Will, Zeke... surely they can watch each other and babysit Xav at the same time." He replied, I nodded as I took the cap off my water.
"Okay, I would rather be curled up in bed with you too. There's too many people here for me..." I trailed off, just about to sip my water when I heard shouting coming from the middle of the dancing crowd. I looked over and saw fists flying.
"I'm just going to make sure that's not Xav and then we can go. You stay here, I'll be right back." He said, tapping my leg before running into the crowd that was now egging on the fight. I stood off of the counter, watching as he disappeared between all the people.
"Fuck me." I whispered, just before someone bumped into me. "Hey! Watch it!" I shouted at the man who was wearing his hoodie up inside like a mad man. "Asshole!" I shouted next, deciding that I should at least drink the water and calm down.
Ashton would have this situation sorted soon and then we could leave.
I made sure to chug half the lemon flavoured water and then put the cap back on, that way Ashton couldn't complain that I was dehydrated. Well, this could take a while. I walked around the edge of the people, towards where I had seen Alistair and Willow, but they were gone, probably also going into the crowd of people to see what the fight was about.
A few minutes passed by when my body began to start overheating, my pores sweating even though I wasn't doing anything. Or was I cold? Why was I sweating? My fingers trembled without cause. Something was wrong...
I looked at my bottle of water, surely this wasn't from the lemon flavoured liquid.
The room started spinning around me and I felt extremely lightheaded. As I turned around to try and lock eyes with someone I knew, the bottle slipped from my fingers. This surely wasn't happening, but as I tried to focus on people's faces I knew it was.
The asshole who bumped into me, he must have put something in my water. For it to be working this quickly it was more than the normal dose, it was far too much. I pulled my phone out to contact someone, to call Ashton so he at least knew that something was wrong, but I couldn't see straight I was that dizzy. My eyes turned back to the kitchen island, I just had to make it back and then I could get someone's attention, but I stumbled and fell right into someone.
The asshole with the hoodie.
"Hey Ray..." Their voice...
"No." Was all I could say as I tried to push off of him, but his hands were gripping my upper arms as he turned me to face him. Pale blue eyes, blonde hair. It wasn't a struggle to see him clearly because of the dizziness, it was because of the tears burning my eyes as I realised the situation I was in. "No." I said again, my voice broken as I plead.
"I know, this wasn't how I planned to do this but... I saw him, watched you two holding hands, saw you kiss in the car before you went into school yesterday. This was supposed to go slow, you were supposed to crawl back to me not go to someone else."
"I would never... ever... crawl back... to you." I managed to say as I felt my chest constrict with both anxiety and the drug.
"I thought you might say that." He said, my skin burning at his touch. The tears that had been sitting in my eyes spilled down my cheeks, and I didn't care that it made me look weak, I cared that I couldn't do so much as fight back. My body was becoming detached from my mind, my movements weren't my own as he directed me towards the door, everyone still focused on the fight.
"Adam, let me go..." I said, stumbling as he kept pulling me with him.
"You belong to me, Ray, I'm not letting you go ever again."
I turned my head around one more time in hopes someone would see me, but he forced me out of the door before I could lock eyes with a single soul. We made it down the stairs as the dizziness kept growing and every blink became longer.
We were halfway down the footpath leading back to the road where I could see his blue car that had been following me everywhere. Halfway down the path to what would be the end of my life as I know it before I closed my eyes to blink once again but they didn't open.
I felt my arms slip through Adam's hands as I fell, the cobblestones smashing into my knees before I lost all feeling in my body.
Before I fell unconscious.