I came to groggily, feeling slow and disoriented.
Had I drunk something at the party after all? I doubted it, I hated the idea of alcohol and would never willingly seek it out. Maybe someone slipped something in my water earlier? At that thought a thread of panic slipped into my awareness, brushing away a little of the weariness.
As my eyelids cracked open light pierced straight through to my skull, igniting a fierce ache throughout my head. I quickly squinted my eyes, fighting against the feeling of razor blades digging through my brain. It was daylight, that much I could tell.
My panic grew - hours must have passed since I'd fallen asleep. I was so dead. This time she'd kill me for sure. This couldn't be happening. I couldn't believe I'd allowed this to happen.
My hands curled into fists, nails digging in as I slammed my hands against the ground like a petulant child. The pain distracted momentarily from my headache, clearing my mind enough to realise that I'd been pounding against hardwood floors. Not the carpeted floor of the bedroom I'd fallen asleep in.
I shot up straight into a sitting position, but a rolling swell of nausea had me landing back on the floor just as quickly into a crumpled ball of misery.
My eyes had adjusted enough to register a massive east facing window that was allowing the bright morning sun to filter in. Shadows fell across the floorboards where thick metal bars ran over the window, and I managed to shuffle myself just enough to shade my eyes. This was definitely not a room in Rocky's house.
If it weren't for the room being so utterly immaculate - from the flawless finish of the paint, or the entirely unscathed timber floor that seemed as though no one had ever dared walk on it, to the gorgeous features in the cornices and carved woodwork surrounding the door frames - I would think this place were a prison. Though the thought of being trapped was frightening, I was more concerned by how weak I felt. The slightest movement began an agonised symphony that strung up a chaotic chorus of aches and pains.
Time blurred as I lay there, fighting against the blind panic that was overwhelming my thoughts. The glare from the sun faded as it slowly rose over the house, and eventually my breathing had evened out, my headache fading to a dull pounding. My brain relentlessly sputtering out the same morbid mantra: she's really going to kill you this time.
My skin was dewy with sweat, my whole body feeling itchy and unclean as though I'd been lying here for days. The stiffness in my joints made it feel like it could have been weeks. My mouth was so parched that my tongue stuck slightly to my lips as I tried to wet them, opening my mouth wide just to breathe deeply enough to feel alive. I was finally contemplating trying to get up again when something creaked upstairs, directly over my head.
I froze, barely daring to draw a breath as I listened, though my body burned in protest as though it were being starved of oxygen. Other sounds came from above, and when I listened harder, from below as well. I wasn't naive enough to pretend it was only the house settling. Something was here with me.
A scream shattered the silence, the feminine voice breaking halfway through, startling a strangled squeak out of me. It was followed soon after by another scream, a different voice this time, both from upstairs.
I rolled onto my stomach, pushing slowly up to my feet. I fought against the dizziness that wanted to send me toppling back to the floor and staggered to the door, still unsure if I was preparing myself to fight or to run for my life.
I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, letting the door swing back in towards me. The screams were louder now, and I peered out cautiously, ready to duck back in at any moment. The outward facing side of the door had been marked with the number 8 in black spray paint, slightly tacky to the touch as though it had only recently been put there. Across from me another door, this one painted with the number 9, was opening slowly, so slowly that my heart skipped a beat, before I could register the familiar wide brown eyes staring back at me.
Karen's face was paler than I'd ever seen it, her usually neat pixie cut wildly mussed. It was almost like seeing a stranger. Her usual self-assured nature, the confidence, all of her attitude was gone. Karen's lip trembled, her dark red lipstick smeared slightly, mascara running as though she'd already been crying, and hollowed eyes watering like she was about to start again.
"Karen," I whispered, waving her closer.
I was used to her being in charge, demanding, even. But she ran to my side, throwing herself against me like I could lift her up and carry her to safety. My 5 foot frame trembled, already weak and struggling with my own body weight, let alone hers. I steeled myself, locking my knees and trying not to feel the panic or the way my arms shook as they wrapped around her.
"Karen, it's okay, we're okay."
I wasn't sure she could hear me over her sobbing, or if she'd even believe the empty words considering how I was 'such a rotten liar', as well as the fact that three voices were now screaming over each other somewhere above us. I rubbed my hand awkwardly over her back, trying to be comforting, though I had as little experience in giving comfort as I had in receiving it.
I pulled Karen with me, feeling antsy and desperate to survey our surroundings. We came to a hallway with three sets of stairs, a main set leading down in the middle, one spiral staircase leading to a level above us on the right, and another spiral on the left that had access to the levels above and below.
I hesitated, unsure how to proceed, and knowing I wouldn't be able to support Karen much longer. My skin was slicked with sweat, and though I was shaking under the strain, shivers were also licking up my body as though I were running a fever. A floorboard creaked to my left, and my head shot up so quickly a muscle in my neck popped painfully in protest.
A thin boy stood in another door way, leaning against the frame as though it was all that held him up. Deep brown eyes locked with mine, flashing with recognition, though it took me a moment to place him through my sluggish thoughts. Wil's face had cleared of acne and he'd grown a lot taller since the last time we'd spoken.
In my first year at Ashley Waters, Wil had been a silent companion, someone to sit near while we both read, lost in our own worlds. Eventually silence became small talk, small talk became conversation, and we formed a routine out of sharing our meagre lunches and pretending to fit in together.
I had a feeling Rocky had been the one to put a stop to that, and it sort of stung that Wil hadn't bothered to try again, though I understood that I wasn't worth the trouble. It's just that I honestly thought we'd been friends. Even seeing him now sent a little shock of hurt through my system.
"Sang, are you okay?"
I bit my lip. "I'm fine. Can you take Karen for me?"
The girl in question seemed to have checked out, and though she was technically standing on her own, she was still draped over me and the weight was far too much to bear.
Wil moved forward instantly, wrapping Karen's arm around his neck while his arm went around her back. Whether it was his new height or new muscles hidden under his long-sleeve shirt, Wil didn't seem to have any trouble with Karen despite how worn he looked. I left them in the hall to silently creep to the foot of the staircase leading up, ignoring Wil's breathless pleas for me to stay.
I'd been too frazzled trying to keep myself and Karen upright to have noticed when the screaming had stopped, but now I could hear even more voices, some merely talking while others were raised to a shout. All of the words were muffled through the walls though, and I knew I would have to climb the stairs to know what was happening up there.
Heavy footsteps from the other staircase shocked me a few steps backwards until I was standing protectively in front of Wil and Karen. I was under no illusion that I would be able to put up much of a fight, but I didn't want to stand by and do nothing, particularly when Karen was in such a state.
A huge boy stepped out into the hallway, stopping in his tracks as he registered the three of us. We both did a double take, recognising each other from last night. Again, his intense dark brown eyes ran over each inch of my body, though the desire and judgement were both gone. As he saw my protective stance, and the two behind me, his eyes almost seemed to soften a little. Just as quickly though, the emotion was gone and replaced by a scowl.
"Who was screaming?" Dark and Broody grunted, eyeing Karen's slumped form critically as though she might be the culprit.
"Upstairs, three girls. There's at least three boys talking now too, I was going to go up and see-"
The hard glare shot my way was enough to have me almost swallowing my tongue before he even had a chance to speak.
"Like hell you're going upstairs where everyone's screaming their goddamn heads off! Stay here, or better yet go to your room," he boomed.
"Thank God," Wil muttered softly from behind me.
The boy shot a withering look at Wil before shaking his head at me with what could have been anything from disbelief to contempt. He then turned his back to us in order to peer down the stairwell he'd come up.
I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at him, considering that if he caught me he'd probably think I really was childish enough to deserve being sent back to my room.
"This level is clear, come on up," he called down.
I watched as the other six boys from last night trooped out into the hallway one after the other, filling me with a sense of deja vu as their eyes met with mine.
"Well shit, Trouble, I'm not sure whether or not I'm happy to see you here."
I locked onto Gabe's crystal blue eyes, surprised at the amount of relief I felt at hearing his deep voice.
"I'm glad to see you too, Meanie."
Gabe narrowed his eyes at me, probably hearing the slight tremble in my voice, but the small smile he wore softened it. As much as I might have wished I wouldn't see him again, today, not knowing where on earth I was, and without the immediate threat of my mother looming over my head, I was hoping that maybe we would be able to pretend a little longer.
"You're the only ones on this floor?" Kota asked, stepping forward.
I glanced back at Wil and Karen, before looking back at the boys. "I think so, no one else has-"
"Hey pretty lady! What's going on?" Came a loud voice.
The ten of us watched, dumbfounded, as Mike staggered around the corner into the hall with a grin stretched across his face like it was Christmas, his pale freckled cheeks puffed out. Mike headed straight for me, launching me up onto his shoulders like he had last night.
My breath left me in a huff. A few outraged voices shouted out as Mike propped me in place with a hand on my butt, keeping me from toppling to the ground. Mike's friend, Jer, I think, watched with furrowed brows, scratching nervously at the unshaven scruff that lined his jaw.
Hands grabbed me at the waist and pulled me firmly away from Mike into a steady hold. I looked up into deep blue eyes, breathing in the faint scent of Cyprus and leather as I fought against the lightheadedness that wanted to send me falling.
The blood that rushed to my head when Mike lifted me must have seriously messed with my brain function, since the urge to run my hands through this boy's red-brown hair was almost overwhelming. It just looked so darn soft, it couldn't hurt just to...
The boy's eyes crinkled up with amusement as he chuckled, "Maybe later, let us check what's going on upstairs first."
"Huh?" Was all I could think to utter, before my brain caught up enough to realise I'd spoken aloud, and then I was mortified and blushing, stumbling away from him.
"Keep your fuckin' hands to yourself, fucker," Gabe was spitting at Mike, who seemed to be catching up somewhat to the serious situation we appeared to be in.
Mike rubbed at the back of his neck, looking at me with wide puppy dog eyes. "Sorry Sang, you looked a little down, I was only trying to cheer you up."
I coughed a little, trying to clear the lump in my throat, feeling overwhelmed with everyone looking my way. "It's fine, I'm fine. Can we find out what's going on now?"
Kota nodded, looking back to his six friends. The boys traded loaded glances, seeming to come up with and agree to a plan within seconds. Without a word spoken, Dark and Broody stepped forward with the red head, whose blue eyes were set seriously now, his expression so solemn, he almost seemed a different person. They were closely followed by an absolute giant of a boy whose soulful brown eyes landed on mine with a quick wink before his face settled into something that might have even intimidated me had I not just seen him acting so playfully.
Kota waited until the three were halfway up before following with the wavy-haired gossiper at his heels. Gabe stayed where he was, while the remaining blonde haired boy leaned against the wall between the two sets of stairs leading down, appearing as though he hadn't a care in the world as he stared off into space.
Mike and Jer caught on enough to stay quiet while we waited, so all of us stood listening as hard as we could for any noise above. We caught a few voices, then a brief moment of silence, before an uproar of shouting began.
"Are they going to be okay?" I asked worriedly.
Gabe stayed quiet as the blonde just smiled slightly, waving me off lazily as someone started bellowing upstairs, "Nah, nothing to worry about, sugar. Everything's just peachy."
It took a few more minutes of shouting before a thick silence fell, followed by the sound of feet on the stairs coming down. The five boys appeared again, led by Kota, who all shuffled over to stand in a group by the blonde and Gabe.
I sucked in a breath, stomach sinking as I registered the eight additional teenagers now standing in the hallway with us.