Chapter 10

The party was already in full swing when we made it back to the sorority house. The lawn had all the overflow of either underclassmen trying to get in, or people waiting to have their IDs checked by the guy outside.

The floors were bouncing with the frequency of the bass. There were people dancing, drinking, and bumping into one another. Jessica pulled me through the crowded living room to the much less crowded kitchen.

“Do you want club soda, like usual, or are you drinking tonight?” Jessica asked over the music, grabbing herself a canned mixed cocktail. I took note that there weren’t really any open containers aside from the cups for the keg. Most of the drinks came in either a can or bottle.

I still preferred the club soda. “Yeah, a club soda please!”

She grabbed me a carbonated water from the pantry and started chatting away with the other partygoers. She introduced me and I nodded politely.

“Club soda, huh? You underage? Pregnant? I don’t judge,” a guy asked me while I took a sip.

I raised my eyebrows at the blunt question and shrugged. “Just don’t drink.”

The guy laughed and said, “Well, that’s lame! Come on, have a drink!” He grabbed one of the canned cocktails and pushed it practically into my face.

“I already have my drink,” I stated, taking the can and putting it down on the table next to me.

The frat guy clearly didn’t like that answer and said, “I’m just trying to be nice. Don’t be such a bi*ch!”

And there it was. I was expecting this sort of misogynistic sh*t, but not this early. That is why I don’t drink at parties. I was usually quiet, shy even when it came to social situations, but I don’t cave to peer pressure. Never had, never will.

Jessica was chatting with another group not far from me and noticed one of the frat guys bothering me. She slid over to my side and the frat guy put on a nice face for her. “Is there a problem here?” Jessica asked, drinking down her cocktail.

“No,” the guy said, “But you need to loosen up a little.” He pointed at me.

Jessica looked over at me and guessed, “Tried to force a drink on you?”

I sipped at my club soda, “Mhmm.”

Jessica looked back over at the frat guy. “If a girl says no, she means it. Don’t make me kick you out.”

The frat guy scowled deeply, but ultimately let it go. He filled his red cup with some beef from the keg and stormed off. This happened to me so frequently that Jessica and I practically had their responses down to a science. Jessica finished her first drink and picked up her second.

She’s drinking those down fast, even for her. “You need to slow down a little,” I warned gently.

Jessica looked over at me and cocked an eyebrow. “I’m just catching up, Astrid. Don’t worry about me.”

But I was always worried about her. I didn’t have enough fingers to count the times that I’ve cleaned up after her. You’d think for a girl that partied so much that she’d know her limits, but I guess she still hadn’t learned her lesson. I couldn’t stop her, but I could at least keep an eye on her.

I wasn’t much for conversation, especially around thumping music. I stepped out onto the deck in the backyard, Jessica still in view. Thankfully it was so much quieter out there that I could think. I looked around for an unoccupied place to sit down, but it seemed like most of the benches were in use by couples.

Wow. Some people were not ashamed of PDA, that’s for sure. It seemed like some of them were trying to climb into each other’s mouth. Gross. I think one of those guys was in my food theory lecture. Yep, definitely knew that guy.

I wasn’t going to say anything. None of my business. Of course, the only other person I remotely knew at this party was busy making out in the backyard.

Finally, a free spot, I thought as I walked to the further side of the deck. I could still see Jessica from this spot. I sat down, sipping on my club soda as the music thumped along.

Dios Mio, I was bored. So bored.

I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that I hadn’t seen Rowan yet. I knew that he probably wasn’t going to show, but I still wanted him to. I knew that at the very least, he would have something interesting to say. I was curious how his paper was coming along. I hoped that he found all the citations that he needed.

Why was I thinking about him again? Especially here. Flashes of his lips and his intense eyes intruded into my mind. Immediately, my mouth went dry. I rolled my lower lip between my teeth, that tingly feeling rushing up and down my spine.

I looked up, scanning the crowd for a source of distraction. Jessica was very clearly getting more and more intoxicated as the night went on. She was in my sights though, and I was going to make sure she was safe.

The couples making out on the benches interchanged. However, I still noticed that this one duo hadn’t come up for air yet. Good for them. A cold breeze blew through the brisk night, and I buttoned my cardigan closed.

Even being surrounded by so many people, I felt lonely. I saw Jessica inside, still chatting and making friends with all sorts of people. I wondered what that felt like. Was it easy for her? Whenever I was surrounded by so many people that I didn’t know, I just felt even more out of place. I could put on a brave face and pretend, but that was about it. It didn’t change how I felt inside.

I looked up again, trying to get my eyes on Jessica.

Where was Jessica?

I shot up from my spot, my eyes jotting from side to side. It was my job to look out for her. My job to make sure she didn’t get hurt. She was always looking out for me and now it was my turn to look out for her.

I stepped inside the kitchen, and the music immediately got louder. I hated the noise, but it wasn’t any louder than my heart in my ears. I gazed through the intertwining bodies on the dance floor. It was moments like this that I was glad I was sharp minded. Jessica though, I was watching her get drunk. She always did stupid stuff when she was intoxicated. I should have stayed next to her.

I kept flashing back to the time we were at a restaurant together. I think I had just turned twenty-one, so we were sitting at the bar. This was before Marco. We left our drinks unattended for just a moment while we used the restroom.

When I came back to the bar, my drink tasted funny. Jessica had already finished her drink, but she noticed my odd behavior very quickly. It was scary how fast I deteriorated. One moment, I was laughing and having a good time, the next everything was black.

I woke up to hospital monitors. There was an IV in my bruised arm. I couldn’t move my jaw for a while. When Jessica held my hand, I noticed that hers was wrapped. Jessica never told me what happened, and that’s not a question that I wanted the answer to either. I still don’t like the sound of fluorescent buzzing or steady beeping.

That was never going to happen to me again. I’ll be d*mned if it happened to Jessica either.

I caught a glance of Jessica’s hair. She was being pulled away somewhere. I noticed that she was tripping over her own feet. I pushed through a few dancing partygoers.

They went back out the back door. I followed.

There was a lanky man pulling her behind him by her wrist. I saw Jessica trying to flinch away as they disappeared past the bushes and further into the backyard. She was too drunk and dizzy to get away.

I looked up at the man and saw dirty blonde hair, a lanky physique, and gaunt cheekbones like he was on something. Wait. I knew him.

“Hey!” I shouted as loud as I could, making the man stop and turn toward me. Jessica stumbled onto the grass. He yanked her back up to her feet and I got a good look at his face.

It was Claude.