Oops, it's Saturday...
Enjoy
Song to the side : Light Me Up by Birdy (Currently obsessed with it)
Chapter 6: Stones
"Hey there's Jer-Bear!" Andrea squeaks in excitement pointing at Jared's black and surely expensive car.
Jer-Bear?
"Adri, you know he hates when you call him that" May says grabbing hold of our arms and guiding us to a silver car.
"Well tough shit, he's my brother's best friend, he should've gotten used to it by now" She defends opening the door to the car.
In the drivers seat is a guy with a very familiar face. Andrea lightly punches him in the arm and plops down on the smooth black leather seat next to him riding shotgun. "Stella, I'd like you to meet my not nearly as awesome twin brother, Drew"
So this is Andrea's brother, the one Nate said was the completely opposite of her. He was also the guy walking with Jared yesterday in the cafeteria if I remember correctly.
"Hey" He says, wasting no time in staring the engine up.
"Hi" I say quickly.
"So what's Jared doing behind us?" May asks, looking out the back window.
"He's coming, didn't want a lift though" Drew says simply opening his window letting the cold night air blow in as we drive off, May and I in the back.
We were half way through Birdy's Light Me Up when Drew parked the car outside a house. From the looks of it, the party is in full swing. We hop out of the car, Andrea already making her way through the wide open front doors. May and I follow behind her, the guys trailing behind us.
The thick stench of alcohol, smoke and sweaty bodies hung in the air as we made our way inside. Heavy bass vibrates around the house from the large speakers blasting overly loud music. In the middle of what I presume to be the living room, is a crowd of people grinding and dancing in a sexual manner against one another to whatever song was playing. Along the walls were groups of guys eyeing up the girls who happened to walk by, trying to chat them up in their chaste for getting lucky. I watch for a second as some girls fall victim to the charms of the intoxicated and horny guys, while other brush them off like flies.
I look to see Jared and Drew being brushed by scantly dressed girls on their way to the dance floor. They send the boys flirtatious winks, dramatically swaying their hips in attempt to seduce all the while.
Which I find hilarious because it looks like they're wobbling penguins.
Drew smirks and follows one of them, while Jared doesn't pay the girls a second glance and focuses his eyes on something else, or someone else.
Me.
I turn quickly before my cheeks turn red to see May and her boyfriend Luke in front of me. He stands tall next to her with an arm wrapped protectively around her waist to ward off any guys. She leans into his chest as he places a kiss to her temple.
"Fucking couples" Andrea spits is distaste, coming up behind us holding three red solo cups. She hands one to me and the other to May.
"One day you're going to meet your match and you'll regret talking shit about love." Luke says to Andrea, bending down to kiss May on the lips.
"One day blah-blah-blah who are you Dr.Phil?" Andrea mocks him shooting her head back and swallowing the contents of her cup in one shot. "Love is just a name for a jackass emotion given to much praise in this world. Love will inevitably fuck you up, and that's the end of it" she rants and I stare at her. I knew she wasn't too keen on love and relationships, but I didn't know she hated it that much.
"So now I'm going to take my very single-" she looks at me,"You are single right?" she asks. I nod a yes and she continues, "-friend to dance and have a good time away from you love struck idiots." Andrea grabs my arms pulling me towards the dance floor.
I don't even have time to sip my drink before it is whisked away from me by someone I didn't see. I don't think much of it as Andrea pushes us through the dancing bodies and into the middle of the dance floor. We start to dance to the beat making me remember the last time I was at a party like this. Carter got so drunk he passed out on the front lawn. I had to slap and dowse him in water before the boy woke up. I laugh recalling when we finally made it to his house that morning his mom starting yelling at him so loudly the cops came.
I am brought to attention when a tall guy glues his front to Andrea's back and grasps her hips. She doesn't seem to notice as she continues dancing as if he wasn't there. If I didn't know any better I'd say Andrea was already three sheets to the wind, but one drink can't do that to you.
Can it?
I feel someone press into me from behind and my hair being pulled to one side of my neck. Warning bells start to go off in my head as this person starts to breath heavily on my neck, the smell of beer and cheap cigarettes becomes overwhelming. He starts to move against me and that's all it takes for me to turn around and push him away. "Get off of me"
"Come on doll, I just want to have some fun" he says, pulling me against him again. His grip is tight, but somehow I muster enough strength to rip myself away from his grasp. I send Andrea one final glance -which she doesn't see- before walking out of the crowd. I feel a light sheen of moisture covering the back of my neck so I decide to get a drink.
I push through the kitchen door to see it vacant of people. On the counter are numerous bottles of alcohol, ranging from rum to fruit coolers.
They had it all.
One catches my eyes so I pick up the slender bottle. Looking at what caused so many problems for my family, the memories flood my mind like a tidal wave. The familiar sting returns to my skin in a flash. This liquid was what my dad was drinking that night. What fell on the carpet. What I set on fire.
I slam the bottle down on the counter and turn to lean my back against the cool counter.
"Don't think about this" I tell myself.
I hear a few girlish giggles when the kitchen door opens and a blob of unnatural red hair enters. I recognize her, I don't know from where though.
"You again" She spits, her hand pulling somebody into the kitchen behind her. Dylan.
Oh, now I remember. She was that girl I saw my first night kissing Jared. I think her name is Kelly. Behind her Dylan gives me a tiny wave, which I return.
"Who are you anyways?" She asks snappily.
"Stella"
"Well I've never seen you around before, Stella." She says advancing towards the drinks and pours herself one.
"She's new" Dylan tells her.
"So tell me, how do you know Jared?" She likes to get straight to the point now doesn't she. I open my mouth to tell her, but snap it shut. Do I really want to tell her that I live with him? Hell no!
The kitchen door swings open again and this time the person that walks I know the name of. "Stella girl there you are!"
Andrea walks well more like stumbles to me, she defiantly isn't sober right now. When she notices Dylan and Kelly in here she stops. Something in her eyes sparks when they land on the Kelly, her hands clench into fists, "You fucking bitch" she yells at her.
"Oh, hello Andrea" Kelly tosses her hair over her shoulder and grins wickedly. At that Andrea looses it. She runs at Kelly and is right in front of her when Dylan steps I front of her. "Adri, she's not worth it" Dylan tries to calm her but Andrea looks anything but calm. She tries to reach around him and get to her.
"Andrea!" I come up behind her and try to get her attention, and I succeed.
"She deserves everything that's about to happen to her, Stella" What's gotten into her?
"It's funny because that's exactly what he was saying to me before, well you know" Kelly laughs humorlessly.
Andrea yells another string of profanities and it starts to draw attention. People walk in to see and start chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight"
Seriously?
"You're such a slut" Andrea seethes through her teeth finally breaking free from Dylan and tackling Kelly to the ground. She lands a punch right on Kelly's face before she is ripped off by Dylan. Kelly stands up slowly and goes to take a step forward but is held back.
By Jared.
She rips free from him and walks straight out the door, the crowd opening up to let her pass.
"Shh, shh" Dylan wraps his arms around Andrea trying to calm her down.
"Clear out!" Jared orders the people still hanging around. They all leave without protest until we are left alone.
I turn to Andrea and she is silently crying into Dylan's arms. It hurt looking at her like this. Even though I just met her I know she doesn't deserve this. I really wish I knew what this was all about though.
"Are you okay?" Jared asks from behind me. I turn and look at him. I didn't notice how great he looked till now, dark wash jeans and a black shirt adore his lean body.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but..." I shift my gaze to Andrea.
"She'll be fine don't worry" He says as if certain this is the truth. "Dylan take Andrea home"
Dylan obliges and steers Andrea out of the kitchen. I guess I won't be going back to hers tonight.
"Do you still want to stay here?" Jared asks, his eyes finding mine.
"Not really" The only reason I came is because I was forced by Andrea, and now she's gone.
"Come somewhere with me" The way we worded it doesn't make it sound like a question.
"Sure" I nod and follow him, I can't say no. I feel a few eyes on us as we leave the house and get into his car.
The subtle scent of mint and aftershave lingers in the car as he starts the engine and takes off. I don't know what people mean when they say a silence can be comfortable, but whatever this is now is as close as I think I can get. After a few minutes of driving we turn down a gravel road until there's a dead end. Jared stops the car and pulls out his keys, leaving us in pure darkness.
"Um.." I hear a car door open and I fidget trying to find the door handle. I feel of gust of wind hit me and my door is pulled open for me.
"Scared?" he asks and I swear if I could see, he would be grinning.
"No, I just can't see anything" I tell him. It's pitch black outside, but I can see the faint glow of the moon through the trees that surround us. I step out of the car and he shuts the door behind me. The fresh pine and woodsy scent along with the faint chirping of crickets is a dead give away. We are in the woods.
"We have to walk the rest of the way. It's not that far" I hear his voice but don't see him in front of me. I follow the sound of the gravel crunching under his feet as he walks until we are brought into a clearing. The moon, no longer blocked by trees shines down and illuminates the area.
"I'm surprised you haven't asked why I brought you here" He chuckles walking beside me with his hands buried in his pockets.
"Well, if you were going to murder me, I have a feeling you would've done it by now" I laugh lightly, "and well I'm not much of a talker if you couldn't already tell"
"Watch out" he puts his hand out before me. I look down and see and large rock in front of me.
"Don't need you falling, now do we?" Jared grins at me, making it harder to focus my attention on where I'm walking instead who is beside me.
After the clearing passes we walk for another few minutes when we come to a stop by a lake. The moon reflects off of the surface of the water angelically.
"It's beautiful" I say in absolute awe, watching as a white steam rolls off of the water slowly.
"I used to come here as a kid" Jared says, leaning his back against a large tree.
I see my breath coming out of my mouth is swirls as I exhale. "Not any more?"
"Not as much" He swallows, his adams apple moving as he stares across the lake. "My brother used to take me here as a kid. He told me that if you come here just once everyday, that there'd never be a reason to be mad about anything" He picks up a rocks and twist it in his hand before tossing it into the water. The stone skips over the surface of the water leaving ripples behind before sinking.
"Where's your brother now?" I ask, curious to know since I didn't see him at the house. Unless he is older and moved out, then that makes sense.
"Dead" he says monotonously throwing another stone. He turns to look at me in the eyes. "You don't have to say anything. I take you here, show you this, then tell you about my dead brother. You probably didn't want to hear it" he shakes his head a faint frown spreading across his lips.
"What was his name?" I ask soflty.
"Brendan"
I nod and turn to look back at the water. I feel him come closer to me and look out at the water beside me.
"Secret for a secret" he says bending down to pick up a stone. He places it in my hand, his thumb lingering for a second setting my skin ablaze. Throwing the stone into the water and watching it sink is almost metaphorical. As the stone sinks, so does the secret.
But why do I have a feeling there are so many more where that came from?
.........
Hey Reader,
So I was wondering, would you guys prefer 2 short updates or 1 long update, per week? It would all come out the same length so let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading.
Comment, maybe?
Vote, maybe?
-Elena