Chapter 13

                “You know,” I started off, trying to break the thick tension between Everett and I, as we sat in his car to drive to Katie’s party, “I didn’t think that you would be willing to come with me to this party so easily. I thought that you would throw in a catch, or something.”

                Everett glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, as a small smile faintly appeared over his lips. His hands turned the steering wheel, as we made a swift right turn into the street that Katie lived on. “You know me too well.” He smirked, before pulling his car up to an empty parking space on the side of the street.

                You could hear Katie’s party before you saw it. Even before Everett and I pulled up to Katie’s street, we could hear the faint music that was blaring from the insides of her house. I was surprised that nobody had bothered to call the cops about the noise yet. It was either that Katie had magically bribed her neighbors not to call the police, or that her neighbors were joining her at the party.

                “Have you ever been to one of these parties before?” Everett asked, as we began walking up the sidewalk.

                I stared down at the sparkly flats that I had borrowed from Cassandra earlier today to wear to the party. The black glitter seemed to shine in the moonlight, as I counted each step I took. I finally let out a long sigh, noticing that Everett was still watching me. “No.” I whispered. “I’ve never even been to a party before.”

                “I guess the one where we were chased by the cops didn’t count, right?” Everett asked lightly.

                I looked up at him astonished; shocked that he was actually making a joke out of it. I felt my heart beating faster by the second, as I saw the gleam of amusement sparkling in Everett’s eyes. I let out a shaky laugh, as I dropped my head low, letting my brown locks fall into my face. “I don’t think it counts.” I muttered. “I mean, I was barely in the party, anyways.”

                Everett stared at me, long and hard, as we reached the end of Katie’s driveway. His lips parted slightly, before his fingertips went up to brush away a loose strand of my hair that fell in my face. His fingers brushed against my cheek so gently, that it felt like a feather had tickled my cheek. But, even though he hardly touched me, I could feel my skin burning from where his skin came in contact with mine. “I’m sorry about that night.” He whispered so lowly, I wasn’t sure if I could hear him properly. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

                I opened my mouth, waiting for me to say something, but nothing could come out. My throat suddenly went dry, leaving me speechless. It was funny, because I had so much that I wanted to say to Everett. I wanted to tell him how much I missed him, how much I wanted us to be best friends again, and how much I still wanted to be with him.

                “We should head inside.” Everett mumbled under his breath, dropping his hand from my cheek. He turned his back towards me, as he began walking towards the front door. I didn’t follow him right away, because I was still paralyzed from what had just happened between the two of us. Once Everett was walking up the front steps though, I eventually came and followed him inside.

                The party inside was one of your stereotypical high school party scenes. The lights were all dimmed, the music was unbearably loud, and there were half naked girls rubbing themselves against any guy they came across. The atmosphere was thick, with a strong scent of beer, smoke and cheap perfume from the many girls that had poured a bottle of fragrance over themselves.

                Everett was eyeing the party for a while in silence, and I could tell by his face that he was mentally cringing inside his thoughts. I knew that Everett was never comfortable around alcohol because of the drunk that killed his mother. “Are you okay?” I asked.

               Everett’s eyes snapped towards mine, before he nodded slowly. “I think I’m going to be okay.” His voice was tense, and his jaw was tightened as he spoke. I stared up at him with worried eyes, wondering how he managed to survive every intoxicated party he went to, because rumors were that he has gone to plenty. As soon as Everett caught the sense of pain in my eyes, his features softened up. “Don’t worry about me, Riley.”

                I licked my lips, before staring at the beige carpet a foot away from us that already had some vomit on it. “I’ll try not to.” I muttered, before running a hand through my wavy brown locks, which were done by Cassandra a few hours ago.

                Everett and I stood by the dark corner, just watching as everyone looked as if they were having the time of their lives grinding up against each other, and taking as many shots as they could. I glanced over at Everett, wondering if he was miserable that he had to stick by me for the entire night. I wondered if he was hating his time here being with me, and wished that I hadn’t dragged him to come to Katie’s stupid party tonight.

                I sighed deeply, wondering what I could do to take away Everett’s misery. I could’ve suggested to Everett to get some chips from the bowl that was resting on the counter in the kitchen, but just a few minutes ago, I saw some poor girl throw her guts up in it. There was always strip poker happening at the far end of the room, but I decided that it wasn’t such a good idea, considering the fact that I wasn’t completely comfortable in my own body. There was only one option left, as I watched as everyone swayed their hips to the loud beat of the music blaring from the speakers. “Do you maybe want to dance?” I asked, giving Everett a weak smile.

                Everett stared down at me with surprise, before blinking. His eyes bored into mine, as if he was trying to figure out if I was being serious or not. After a long moment of hesitation, he nodded slowly. “Okay.”

                After pushing past many drunk bodies, Everett and I found ourselves in the middle of the dance floor, where it was so packed that everyone’s body’s were pressed against each others. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I reluctantly wrapped my arms around Everett’s neck, as his hands gripped my waist firmly- as if it had belonged there all along. I could hardly feel myself breathe, since I haven’t been this close to Everett in years. His chest was nearly a hair’s width away from mine, and if I moved any closer, I was almost sure that our noses would touch.

                “Relax,” Everett suddenly whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine as his hot breath tickled my ear, “you’re a bit too tense.”

                My eyes widened, knowing immediately that I was ruining Everett’s night by the second. “Shit,” I muttered, trying my best to loosen up my shoulders, “sorry.”

                For the first time in a while, I heard Everett’s laugh.

                The laugh that made me fall in love with him.

                “You don’t have to apologize.” Everett’s eyes were gleaming at me with amusement and happiness for the first time in years. My heart almost melted at how much I realized that I missed the way he used to look at me all of the time, like I was so precious and special. It was as if he would hold on to me too hard, I would shatter into pieces- like glass.

                The music suddenly died down, as everyone let out a frustrated groan. The lights suddenly went on, blinding everyone in the process. Standing at the top of the staircase was Katie, who had a microphone in one hand, and a red party cup in the other. I noticed that she was wearing nothing but a short skirt, and a tight top that revealed the deep plunge of the cleavage. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she started off, as her eyes suddenly darted towards mine evilly, “would you all please take a minute and turn your attention to Riley Monroe?”

                Suddenly, I felt all heads turn my way. My heart began to beat against my chest quickly, as I stared over at Everett, who seemed just as concerned as I was. “Riley, I think we should go-“  Everett started off, but was ultimately interrupted by Katie.

                “Girls, come in here!” Katie demanded, her voice getting harder and harder by the second.

                A shiver of fear suddenly ran down my spine, as the group of Katie’s followers surrounded my in a circle, all with party cups in their hands. I noticed that Everett was pushed back in the crowd, away from where I was. All of the girls who had me trapped in a circle were grinning at me deviously, waiting for Katie’s cue. “Ruin her!” Katie commanded.

                And all I once, I felt a cold splash at my face. It didn’t stop there, though. Each girl who had a cup of beer in their hands took their turns, throwing their drinks at me, until there were no more left. By the time each girl had her turn, everyone was snickering, taking their phones out to take videos and pictures.

                I stood in the center of the dance floor, the spotlight shining on me, as I glistened in the light from all the golden beer that I had tossed on me. I was soaking wet from head to toe, and I was sure that I reeked of alcohol. My lips began to quiver, as my eyes scanned through the crowd of flashes and laughter.

                My blurry vision finally captured the gaze of Everett, as by hands trembled by my sides. The look on his face was completely impassive. I had no idea what was running through his mind as he saw me get repeatedly humiliated. My breathing began to get ragged and heavy, as I glanced over at Katie, who was throwing her head back in laughter.

                I had no choice but to run.

*

                I stared at my reflection in the mirror, noticing how much of a complete mess I looked. The beer had soaked my hair completely, making it damp and tangled, and my makeup was running down to my cheeks. I wiped away the black eyeliner that made me look like I had a severe case of dark circles, but it only made it worse by smudging.

                There was another knock on my bathroom door, making me groan aloud in frustration. “I told you mom, I don’t want to talk!” I shouted, swinging the door wide open to scowl at my mother.

                Everett stared back at me with a blank expression, before raising a dark eyebrow. “Do I look like a woman to you?”

                My eyes set on his, before I crossed my arms, turning away from him. I turned my attention back to my reflection, trying to wipe away my smudged makeup, but I kept a close eye on him by glancing over the mirror every so often. “What are you doing here?” my voice was croaky from crying after I ran home. “Why did my mom even let you in?”

                Everett leaned against the doorframe, before getting up, and closing the bathroom door behind him. “I wanted to see if you were okay.” He paused. “And Audra let me in because she saw your tear stained face when you came running in the house.”

               I glared at his reflection, before throwing away the napkin that I used to remove my makeup. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine.” I grumbled. “You can leave now.”

                I began to reach over my sink for the brush so that I could comb out my tangled hair, but before I could grab it, Everett caught my wrist. He caught me off guard, turning me around so that I was facing him, and my back was pressed against my sink counter. Both of his hands were latched around my wrists, holding my back from escaping.

                “You’re horrible at lying.” Everett’s breath fanned against the bare nape of my neck, making my shudder.

                “At least I could say I tired.” I hissed, trying to wiggle out of Everett’s grip. Everett had every opportunity to come and rescue me, but he didn’t. He stood there with everyone else at the party, and watched me as I lost my dignity.

                “Riley,” he growled, dangerously low, “it’s not my fault.”

                For a split second, Everett’s grip loosened around my wrist, as I took the opportunity to shove his chest back away from mine. I glared at him with anger, before jabbing my finger against his hard chest. “Just like it wasn’t my fault that your mother died.” I whispered, making Everett’s face go pale. “Stop blaming me.”

                Everett’s gazed burned into mine, and suddenly, I saw angry flash through his green orbs. “This isn’t relevant to what we’re talking about.”

                I clenched my fists, slamming them against the sink counter. Even though I knew that my hands would be bruised by tomorrow, I couldn’t feel any pain at the moment. I was too numb to feel anything at the moment. “Stop brushing away this subject!” I snapped, as Everett’s face darkened. “Why won’t you just face it?”

                Suddenly, Everett had me pinned up against the sink counter, pressing my back against the cold marble. His face was just a mere inch away from mine, as I held in my breath because of our close proximity. Everett’s hands suddenly held my hips, his fingers brushing against the bare skin of my hip bones, from where my tank top had ridden up just a little bit. “Riley,” Everett’s voice was low, yet full of need, “I’m sorry for not stopping Katie.”

                My eyes closed because I didn’t trust myself around Everett any longer. The more I looked at him, the more I wanted to kiss him. And I knew I couldn’t- not now, anyways. “I promise that I’m never going to let anything like that ever happen to you again.” He whispered, his lips nibbling the edges of my ear. I almost wanted to start crying by how defeated and hurt his voice sounded. “I promise that I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.”

                I let out a shaky breath, before opening my eyes. “Not even you?” I asked.

                I knew my question had stabbed Everett in the chest, because his eyes darkened in pain, as I saw his left eye wince slightly. “Not even me.” Everett finally whispered, telling me exactly what I wanted to hear.

                I stared back up at Everett, his green eyes so soft and genuine. “Why are you being so protective of me?” I asked. “Why did you start caring again now?”

                Everett suddenly pressed his lips against my forehead, and even though it wasn’t a proper kiss, just the feeling of his warm lips on my skin made me tingle. “I never stopped caring about you.” He mumbled. “I just stopped showing it.”

*

                “I didn’t think that you would have the courage to show up to school today.” Cassandra whispered by my side, as everyone turned their heads to look at us, as we walked down the hallways together. “You have a lot of guts, Riley.”

                Max was also by my side, but he wasn’t speaking. Once he found out about the video that was posted up by everyone who had taken it, he was on the verge of choking someone to death. He was silently fuming beside me, shooting murderous glares at anyone who was whispering and snickering behind my back.

                A familiar blonde suddenly came pacing down the hallways in her too high heels, snorting with disbelief as she saw me. “Are you kidding me?” Katie scoffed, making everyone around her giggle. “Guess who actually had the audacity to show up to school! Weren’t you humiliated enough last week, bitch?”

                Max suddenly steeped forward, with his jaw clenched tightly, his fists balled up. “Why don’t you just leave Riley alone already, Katie? Don’t you have other things to do, like fuck the entire hockey team?”

                Katie’s eyes suddenly widened, as I heard a small gasp escape her lips. She glared at Max furiously, before crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly, only to make her cleavage more noticeable and prominent. “Max,” she said in a threatening tone, “I don’t have a problem with you, as of now. Don’t make me change my mind.”

                Max suddenly opened his mouth, but I cut him off. I nudged his shoulder, giving him a warning look. We all knew that Katie had many connections in this school, including the football team that Max was on. If Max got on Katie’s bad side, she could put his spot as the quarterback in jeopardy. “Max, she’s not worth it.” I whispered, trying to get Max to calm down.

                “Yeah, she’s really not worth it.” A voice suddenly interrupted us all, as our heads turned to face Everett. He looked angry, as he shot a glare at Katie. “What the hell is going on here?”

                Katie’s bitchy scowl suddenly dropped from her face, as she plastered an innocent smile across her face. She batted her eyelashes at Everett, before leaning against him with a flirtatious grin. “Oh, nothing’s going on here, Everett.” She purred, making me cringe. “We’re all here, just laughing at the video of Riley getting beer all over her at my party.”

                My cheeks turned bright red from the painful memory, as I felt Max stiffen up beside me. A glint of danger flashed across Everett’s eyes, as I watched his clench his fists, digging his nails into his palms. “You’re a bitch, Katie.” He said, before shrugging her off of his shoulder.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years!

I want you all to please do me a favor, and vote for my story, Don't Give Up, in the Watty Awards! Thanks to all of you readers, I got nominated in the Teen Fiction catergory for Undiscovered Gems. I would love it if you would all vote for me! Thank you! :)