I did not go to school the next day, which was Wednesday. My friends had called to find out if I was okay and I had to lie once again. I told them that I was sick, which was technically true. I was in no condition to go to school; physically and emotionally.

I didn't go to school on Thursday either. However, in the evening I went to the pharmacy to get some pain medications. Allan did not go anywhere either. Now that he was out of work, he was always going to be home or out drinking.

On Friday, I went to school. I had to wear a bit more makeup than usual to conceal the marks and bruises. My stomach and back were still in a small amount of pain, but I felt slightly better than I felt on Tuesday.

At the end of the day, I went to Jasmine's house to get ready for Eric's party. I didn't have one clothes in my closet that was suitable for a party, so Jasmine said that she was going to lend me one of hers.

I was now sitting on Jasmine's bed, after we had a shower. Jasmine was occupied as she searched for something for me to wear. She had already decided on a navy blue bodycon dress with lace at the top for herself and now it was my turn.

After going through a lot of choices and shaking her head at every one of them, Jasmine looked around at me and smiled mischievously.

"This is it! This is perfect." She grinned as she held up a red dress.

My eyes widen at the dress and I shook my head vehemently. "I'm not wearing that." The dress was a short halter top dress, that will definitely cling to my body.

"Why not?" Jasmine asks pouting her lips.

"Because this dress is not me. There's going to be too much attention on me." I exclaimed.

"Well of course. You're going to look hot." She countered. I didn't say anything, I just glared at her. There is no way I'm going to wear that dress. "Okay fine. How about this one?"

This one was similar, but it was less revealing. "Okay, I'll wear this." I said.

She grinned widely. "Perfect."

After we decided on everything, it was time to get ready for the party. I applied my own makeup in Jasmine's bathroom, which she didn't question me about. I also put on my dress in the bathroom, because I didn't want her to see the cuts and bruises on my body. Jasmine curled my hair and I straightened hers. I don't let my hair down much, so I decided to let it down now.

When we were done, we went downstairs to wait on the boys. Lucas told us that he would borrow his mother's car to take us to the party. The boys came exactly on time as promised and we head to the party.

The party was already packed and in full swing when we got there. People were already drunk and was either lounging around outside or making out. We all stepped out of the car and entered the house.

Even though Eric's house was big, the place was crammed because of the large turn out. The music was loud and people were dancing, drinking or grinding on each other. My friends and I pushed through the crowd to get something to drink.

I wasn't planning on getting drunk, so I took a diet coke. Kevin on the other hand said he planned on enjoying himself, so he was drinking. Lucas didn't take any alcohol either as he said he was the designated driver. After taking our drinks, Jasmine and I walked to the dancefloor to dance.

******

The party was still in full swing, but now I had lost my friends. I wasn't really surprised because the place was packed. I decided to take a walk around the pool, so I head outside through the back door.

When I was in the back yard, I realized that out here was crowded as well. As I walked towards the pool, I saw a crowd gathered there. They were shouting and chanting. I stepped closer to see what was going on. I squeezed through the group of people and saw Kevin standing on the side of the pool, about to jump in the water. The crowd was cheering him on.

"Kevin, what are you doing?!" I shouted at him.

He looked over at me and smiled widely. "Hey Kayla." He slurred. "I'm about to jump into the water."

"In your clothes? Are you crazy? You could get your clothes wet and worst of all something bad could happen to you because you are drunk!" I shouted back.

"Well, I was dared and I'm not going to turn down a dare. Plus...it's gonna be fun." Just as he said that, he jumped into the water, splashing water everywhere.

He resurface from the water and grinned at the crowd. The crowd erupted in cheer. He came out of the water and I walked over to him.

"You know you're an idiot, right? And you're drunk." I said.

"Oh, come on. I only had one drink." He said, holding up one finger.

"I'm sure. Come on let's go back inside." I replied.

When we were back in the house, Kevin said, "I'm going to continue playing Truth or Dare."

"Okay, but please no more drinking. I'm cutting you off. You already had enough." I said. Kevin just grinned at me and walked away.

I walked back towards the dance area, to see if I could find Jasmine. When I got there, she was nowhere to be found. I decided to walk over to the bar area and wait.

Just then, I felt a rough hand close over my arm as I was walking. I turned around and came face to face with a guy I didn't know. He had blonde hair and it was obvious he worked out. It looked like he was on the football team and was the linebacker. He tilted his head at me and gave me a crooked smile. I didn't get a good vibe from this guy at all.

"Hey sexy. You're looking good." He said, checking me out.

"I'm not interested." I said as I pulled my arm from him. I was about to turn around and walk away, but he grabbed my hand again. This time roughly.

"Oh come on, sweetheart. Dance with me." He spun me around and brought me close to his chest. He then brought one of his hands around and rest it on my butt.

"Let me go." I said, as I tried to move from his hold. It was useless however, because he held me tight.

"Come on, you can't keep that body all to yourself." He said. His face was close to mine and I turned my head from him. I was trying to struggle from his grasp, but it was no use. He was too strong.

An idea popped into my head. I used my fingernails to dig into his back. He hissed in pain and loosen his grip on me a little. Taking advantage of the little space between us, I lifted my knee and kicked him hard in his groin. He let go of me instantly and bend over clutching his groin in pain.

However, he did not stay down for long. It was like he was used to pain and attacks. He was now angry as he grabbed my hand again. "You bitch." He said.

"Leave me alone." I said once again as he smirked at me.

Just then the guy was being pulled roughly from me. I looked up just in time to see Carson punched the guy in the face. The boy stumbled a little and looked around at Carson.

"She said to leave her alone, Oliver." Carson growled out.

What?

Carson knew this guy?

I looked at Carson. He looked murderous. I have never seen Carson so close up in his fight mode before. It was like he was a different person. He was a mask of fury and he was ready to attack.

The boy wiped the blood from his lips and smiled cynically. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Carson Knight." He replied scornfully. "You don't have to be so hostile. I was only trying to get a dance from the girl."

"That's not the way I see it." Carson said through gritted teeth. "Now, it's best you leave before something terrible goes down."

Oliver laughed bitterly. "That's funny, Knight, because that's exactly what I want. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time." He said, clenching his fist, getting ready to fight. Carson stood there ready for the attack. He was fuming and his fist was clenched by his sides. By now a large crowd had gathered, watching the scene unfold before them.

Before Oliver could charge at Carson, Eric came into the room and shouted at him, holding him back. "Hey man, I don't want any trouble in my house, so it's best you leave."

Oliver looked pissed off for a second and then he smiled cynically again. "I was so looking forward to beating the shit out of you, Carson, but then I remembered that we have a fight match coming up." He stepped forward threateningly and Eric blocked his path again. "I can't wait to finish you off in the ring." As he said his final words, he shoved Eric roughly out of his way and walked from the room.

When he was gone, Carson looked over to where I stood, then walked towards me. The crowd went back to their own business.

"Are you okay?" He asked when he reached me.

"I'm fine." I replied. "What does he have against you?" I didn't ask who he was because based on their conversation, I gathered that he was an underground fighter as well. I wasn't surprised, because when I had hit him, he had shown the instincts of a fighter.

"Let's just say, he lost a fight against me and he never got over it." Carson replied. He casually leaned his back on the wall behind him.

"Oh, he really looked bound on revenge." I said as I remembered the murderous look Oliver had in his eyes.

"I'm not worried about him." Carson replied. We were standing there in silence for a while, before Carson looked at me again. "By the way, for a second there I didn't know it was you. You look different tonight." He looked me up and down, before back to my face again. "You should wear your hair down more often."

His checking me out and his words caused my cheeks to heat up with a blush. I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet. I turned my head from him in order to hide my red cheeks. Through the corner of my eyes, I spotted Jasmine.

I turned to Carson. "I'm sorry Carson, I have to go. I'll see you around." He nodded his head at me and I walked in the direction where Jasmine stood.

"Jasmine, where were you? I looked for you everywhere." I asked when I reached her.

"I was with Lucas, but I lost him." Jasmine explained. "And just so you know, he is drunk."

"What? I thought he said he wasn't drinking." I queried.

"That's what I asked him and he said that it just happened." She explained, rolling her eyes.

"What are we going to do now?" I questioned.

"Don't worry about it." Jasmine reassured. "I'll ask Eli to take us home when we're ready."

"Eli's here?" I asked.

"Yes, I was actually with him a few minutes ago." She explained.

Just then, I heard my phone ringing. I took it out of my purse and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number. After thinking about it, I accepted the call.

"Hello." I said into the receiver.

"Where the hell are you?!" I heard my step father snarled into the phone.

I removed the phone from my ear and sighed. If I had known it was him, I wouldn't have answered the call. He had the nerve for calling my phone. I put back the phone to my ear, where Allan was still shouting at me. I hung up the phone on him. I wasn't going to let him ruin my night.

With determination, I turned to Jasmine. "Come on, let's head to the bar."

"Why?" She asked frowning at me.

"I'm going to have a drink."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A/N: Hey guys!

I hope you all are doing great.

I hope you liked this chapter.

Until next time...

Happy reading!

Alecia