Chapter 26: Toxic.

Chapter 26: Toxic.

"Are you going to the after-party?" Adam asks me.

"Not another High School party." I groan.

"It's not a High School party." He says and I roll my eyes at him.

"Then it's what?" I ask him.

"It's a pre-college party. You know, the last party with the whole class before we go to college." Adam says, slinging his arm around my shoulders.

"Whatever." I say, letting out a sigh.

"Well, I gotta go take pictures with my family now. See you at the party." He tells me before he hurries off.

"Congratulations." I hear someone say behind me. I turn around to look and I see Stephanie standing there with her baby in her hand. They named him Drew.

I realize that the person who spoke wasn't referring to me, they were congratulating Stephanie.

I watch closely as Zachary calls Stephanie over to him and they take a picture together.

That should be me and him, but it's okay. Maybe this is probably for the best.

"Whatcha looking at?" Ashton asks me as he stands beside me.

"Beautiful weather today, huh?" I ask him.

"Would you like to smoke pot with me?" Ashton asks, showing me the bong he hid inside his graduation gown.

"I'll pass." I tell him.

"Suit yourself." He says, about to walk away from me.

"You deserve better than watching him be happy with someone else." He adds before walking away.

I think he's right. We go round and round in this toxic circle. I think we're better off without each other.

My cousin Megan calls out my name and I run to meet her. I give her a warm hug as she laughs.

"You came." I say, smiling.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." She tells me.

Megan is my cousin on my dad's side. She's twenty-one and a neuroscience major at Harvard. She's kind of a big deal in my family. Every parent wants their child to be like her, every teenager wants to be her.

"How's Harvard?" I ask her.

"Boring as usual, but I wanna talk about you." She says with a smile on her face.

"I heard you got shortlisted for Bradford." She says.

"Yeah." I say, looking down at my shoes.

I actually picked Bradford because Zachary was gonna go there. It's the best school for sports in Chicago. I was going to follow him and become a Journalism major, but now that everything's turned to shit. I don't even know if I want to go to college.

"What's wrong?" Megan asks me.

"Nothing. We should really get going now. My mother invited so many people to the house and I bet they're all waiting for me." I tell her and she nods.

Andrè parked the car in the school parking lot, so we had to walk there. It's a long walk but we finally make it. We get into the car and Andrè starts driving.

"So, tell me everything. How's Spencer?" She asks me.

"Oh, we broke up when I moved here." I tell her.

"Oh, that's a shame. I really liked him." She says, frowning.

"Yeah." I say awkwardly.

"So, how's that boy that almost killed you....um what's his name? Levi? Lacrosse? Lennon?" Megan guesses.

"It's Zachary. And Lacrosse, really?" I say chuckling.

"It doesn't matter, you almost died." Megan snaps back.

"Yeah, but he's not that bad." I tell her.

"Don't tell me you've been hanging out with him." Megan says.

"Eww, no." I lie.

"Good, because your mother will have your head." She says, laughing.

"Yeah." I say with a fake smile.

"We're here." Andrè tells us.

I get out of the car and I walk up the porch steps with Megan trailing behind me.

I open the door and the next thing I hear is "Surprise!!!"

Why did my mother even bother throwing me a 'surprise' party when she made me plan it all?

I smile at the people in my living room as they all congratulate me.

"You're so big now." My aunt Claire says, squeezing my cheeks.

"Yeah." I say with a fake laugh.

You kinda grow when you're freaking eighteen.

"Come take pictures by the cake." She tells me, grabbing my hand as she pulls me towards the dining table.

After decades of taking pictures with every family member, including the babies, I am finally in the comfort of my bedroom.

It was a long day. I sink into my bed clinging to my pillow. I stay like that for a while before my phone rings

Why can't I have peace and quiet in here?

I pick up my phone and I see Adam's face on the screen. I click answer and I put the phone on speaker.

"Yo Vee, where you at?" He asks me.

"In my bedroom." I tell him.

"The party started two hours ago. I got here early thinking you'd show." He replies.

"When have I ever been early to a party?" I ask him, laughing.

"I don't know. You need to get here fast. There's gonna be fireworks at dusk." He says with an English accent.

"Dusk." I say, imitating him. "I'm on my way." I tell him before I hang up.

I grab a black velvet dress that stops mid-thigh. I pair it with fishnet stockings and red boots. I let my hair down, the luscious curls sitting on my shoulders. I grab my phone and I head out my room door. I call Andrè to warm up the car as I walk down the staircase.

"Where are you going?" My mother asks me.

"Out." I tell her with a tight smile.

"To where? It's 11:30 pm. Do you think that I'm going to let you go out by this time?" She says, crossing her arms.

"Ashton's coming. He asked me to meet him." I lie.

"Okay then. I don't want to get in the way of your relationship." She says, lifting her hands in fake surrender.

Relationship?

Yeah right.

"Bye, mother." I tell her.

"Bye honey. Use protection. And the condom goes on him." She yells out.

"Eww. Can you stop?" I say, utterly disgusted.

"Have fun." She says as I walk out the door.

***

"All my friends." by Snakehips featuring Tinashe and Chance The Rapper, plays through the stereos in the cabin. Apparently, the party was in the woods. I got here at 12:30 am because Adam sucks at giving directions. The whole party is going to go on until the sun comes up. Then at dawn, we'll watch the sunrise and then go home.

"Hey Valarie, did you know that Hannah got into Stanford? That's so cute. Two best friends in the same college." Sasha tells me.

"Well, number one, I'm not going to Stanford. Two, Hannah and I aren't best friends anymore." I say, folding my arms as I stare at her.

"I'll be on my way then." Sasha says smiling.

"Yeah, you should probably do that." I tell her.

Sasha walks away and I smile, feeling accomplished.

I see Zachary laughing it up with his football friends. De'Andre grabs his shoulder and laughs with him. I look away, feeling so alone.

Where the hell is Adam?

I grab a drink from the table that's set out beside the campfire. It tastes like a mixture of cola and vodka. I spit it out, it burns.

"Looks like someone can't hold her liquids." A voice says behind me.

I turn around and I stare up at a very tall boy who is standing in front of me. He has to be at least six feet tall.

Okay, maybe 5'11.

"Whoa." I say really staring at him. He has a muscular build and has a whole sleeve of tattoos on his left arm.

"You're staring." He says, smirking at me.

"I can't help it." I admit.

He laughs and I smile awkwardly.

"I'm Valarie. And you are?" I ask him.

"Devon." He says, smiling.

God, he has perfect teeth.

"Well, what brings you to this party?" I ask him, sipping on my drink.

"I heard about it from one of the boys in my fraternity. So, I decided to swing by. I'm glad I did, great energy here." He says, eyeing me up and down with a smile on his face.

God, his smile is something else. It's like I've been love-whipped.

"Frat boys?" I ask.

"Yeah. I'm a sophomore at Bradford." He tells me and I smile.

"Really. Well, I got into Bradford. I start this fall." I inform him.

"No way. That's so cool. I'd love to be your tour guide when you arrive." He tells me.

"That'd be great." I say, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

Zachary's POV.

De'Andre cracks another joke and everyone laughs again. From the corner of my eye, I see this huge guy talking to Valarie. She's laughing so much that you'd think this guy was a comedian.

"You good, Zach." Blake asks me.

"Yeah bro." I reply.

"Where you going, Henderson." De'Shaun asks me.

"What?" I ask him, confused.

"What college are you going to?" He asks again.

"Bradford." I reply.

"Football scholarship?" He asks.

"Mhmm." I hum.

"What did you expect, he's the freaking quarterback." De'Andre says, chuckling as he squeezes my shoulder.

"But you know a huge part of my scholarship is based on academics. So, I'm not just a quarterback, I'm a smart one." I tell them, folding my arms.

I see Valarie put a strand of hair behind her ear. That's what she does when she's flirting.

Is she flirting with him?

"Yo, boys. Beer pong now." Ashton yells.

Everyone moves out. I stare at Valarie one last time and she looks so happy talking to that dude.

Maybe I am toxic after all.