Chapter 2

An outfit still hadn't been picked out, and the girls had indicated that they would arrive at the front porch in quite some time. Considering my uncontrollable dillydallying, I would be extremely late to get ready, having no time left.

Rummaging through my closet, I looked back onto the bed that was stacked with a mountain full of clothes. I was not someone who had impeccable taste in fashion yet tried my utmost best. Nevertheless, I did receive many eye rolls from Lyra when she saw my outfits.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. It had become a habit, something I did when I was frustrated or nervous. A dragging 5 minutes later, I had finally settled for an outfit, which I thought was quite decent for someone who had a minimal taste in good fashion. Consisting of a blue full sleeve shirt which was rolled up to my elbows, I paired it with a mini black and white skirt that stopped half-way down my thighs. Soon, I was seated at my dresser, beginning the process of caking my face with unnecessary amounts of makeup, a request from Jess' mainly. With the necessary layers of primer, foundation and blush, I completed the look with a blue shade of eyeshadow and swiped on a good amount of lipstick. Today had given me luck because I had remaining time left. That was very rare. Straightening my hair and covering my feet with stilettos, I gathered the necessities needed for tonight (a simple combination of my keys and phone) all kept in a cute looking clutch.

Walking down the stairs, all I could focus on was the emotions that uncontrollably stirred around in my head. Nervousness and anxiousness settled within me as I began to doubt this whole process. What if my mum found out? What if someone tried to hurt me at the party? My throat felt dry just thinking about it.

I walked over to the fridge and opened it so I could gulp down some cold water. My eyes roamed over the photos which had been stuck on the fridge since I was a little kid. They were pictures of my family hanging out at the beach, sometimes in the park or that one time where we had gone to Disneyland. But it was different then. We were happy. A happy family. One photo out of the many stood out to me now. It showed me in the arms of a man who was smiling towards the camera. His dark brown hair shined in the bright sun as his brown eyes sparkled, radiating the happiness he must have felt. I traced my thumb over the picture, thinking about what he would have done if he was here right now. Would he have let me go to the party? Would he be as strict as my mum? I didn't know. But I knew one thing. The man in the picture would always be in my heart, him and his memories. The man I called dad.

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"Jess, where are you!!??"

Patience was not a word in my vocabulary list, so I decided to call Jess.

"Sorry, had to pick up the others!! I'll be there in 2 mins, Jenn."

"Yeah okay, bye."

I went around the house, turning off all the lights and closing the door. After I was out of the house, I sat down on my porch as I heard a familiar car drive-in.

"Hey, Jenn!" Ophelia squealed.

"It's great to see you finally out of the house!!" Lyra exclaimed.

She was wearing a black crop top along with a turquoise skirt that came down to her thighs. Rose shaped turquoise earrings were on each ear with a silver necklace on her neck. She had completed her outfit with black heeled booties and a black purse. Her hair was curled, and the makeup brought out her whole look.

Jess' outfit consisted of a black top, baby pink skirt and black heels. She was wearing diamond earrings, accompanied by a white handbag which was placed on her lap. A simple look was executed in a stunning manner.

Ophelia seemed to also be in the fashion of crop tops. Her perfect curves stood out as her get-up was a simple pink pencil skirt and a black crop top with a sweetheart neckline. On her neck was a simplistic black and gold necklace and her arm had a single gold bangle on it. Her hair was parted in the middle with it being straightened. Makeup and Ophelia didn't mix well (that was what she had said), so she had some eyeliner and mascara which was completed to perfection with a slight hint of blush on her cheeks making her look rosier than usual.

"Wow... you girls look, wonderful," I said in complete awe.

“Credit yourself too,” Lyra stated with a smirk.

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The car came to a sudden halt when we had arrived and I couldn't recognise the two-storey house in front of me. I approached the towering mansion and hooked my hand through Jess's. We both walked in with Lyra and Ophelia lingering behind us as we were welcomed with the loud blast of pop music.

The stench of alcohol was everywhere while I walked down the long corridors making sure I didn't get lost among the sweaty bodies. We had gotten to the kitchen which was merely empty with only a small group of girls which hung around in a corner chatting. I made myself to the fridge to be greeted with beers displayed in perfection. The small number of soft drinks apparent at the bottom of the fridge looked out of place. I took out a can of coke and sipped on it as the cold beverage travelled down my throat.

With the coke in my hand, I wandered around the large house trying to explore. When I was out of the kitchen, I found myself in what looked like a living room, but now transformed into a dance floor. People were grinding, dozing off into sleep or exhibiting overwhelming amounts of PDA.

I found myself face to face with Ophelia, relieved I had found someone.

"You found something to drink?" asked Ophelia.

I held up my can of coke as her face scrunched up in what looked like disgust.

"Seriously? That's the only thing you found to drink? Didn't you see any actual drinks?" she questioned me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like vodka or beer, something alcoholic?"

I wasn't thinking of getting a hangover by getting drunk. There wasn't anyone to give me Advil as mum would probably be sleeping until the afternoon when she came back in the morning. I simply shrugged. But while peer pressure wasn’t a positive influence on an innocent individual like me, I gained the urge to taste alcohol. Slyly, I opened the fridge and retrieved a beer. I placed one edge of the bottle cap on top of the table, held the neck of it tight and used my other hand to slam down on the bottle. After the lid had popped open, I took a sip and tasted the bitter liquid swivel down my throat. It tasted weird at first, but after a few more swigs, it seemed fine.

The cold beer bottle was in my hand as I made my way out of the kitchen to see if I could find the others. Sighting Jess had made it apparent that she was drunk. I placed my beer on a table so I could help her get up and took her to a couch. As soon, as Jess had reached the comfy couch, she started to doze off. I had soon found my way over to Ophelia, who was dancing on the 'dance floor' enjoying herself.

"Hey, Ophelia," I timidly said.

"Oh, hey! Having fun??"

"Yeah sure," I replied even though my voice didn't seem like it.

Ophelia wasn't convinced, so she escaped from the resonate music to confront me.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"I have a small headache. I'm going outside for some fresh air, okay?"

"Yeah, we'll go in 30 minutes."

"Yep, see you back here," I said, ending the conversation.

I wandered away from the boisterous crowd of partiers to find myself a bench to sit in the cool breeze. It was dark, but with the bright solar lights, I could make out a cream coloured dainty bench under a tall tree. I made myself comfortable as I crossed my legs and leaned back on the seat. I closed my eyes and let the wind blow my hair about.

But with my closed eyes came the daunting images of one particular day. July 13th. I always avoided thinking about it because I thought to forget it was much better. Accepting my past wasn't something I was great at, but I had taught myself well for the past two years.

Mum had been on the floor with bloodshot eyes, her hair messily everywhere. She had been crying. Hard. I wondered what had happened as I slowly approached her. She had spilled the news to me in light sobs, and it was like the world had shattered.

"Mum, what's going on?"

"Honey... he's gone."

I took a deep breath and stood up from the bench. I looked around the backyard to try and distract myself from thinking about it again. There wasn't much in sight except for a few trees here and there. Plants lined up around the sides of the house. I looked across the streets, which were clearly visible with streetlights and noticed a large park filled with weeping willows and numerous places to sit. It looked like a perfect place for a picnic or to just relax. I wanted to go there just so I could run around and distance myself from the pounding of the music which could still slightly be heard even from where I was currently sitting. Before I came here, Ophelia had told me that we would be leaving in half an hour, and it looked like I had a good 20 minutes to explore.

I walked back inside the house, trying to find one of the girls. I walked past the couch, which I had dumped Jess on to see if she was still sleeping. She wasn't there so she must have woken up and taken off somewhere. I kept on pacing around but then bumped into someone absentmindedly. When I looked up to see my target, I came face to face with Lyra.

"Where are you going?" she asked me

"I'm just going across the street to that park, I'll be back soon, " I told her.

She looked confused, probably thinking as to why I would head there.

"Why?" Lyra said, stretching out the word as if I was going to do something suspicious.

"Relax, I just want to chill for a bit," I reassured her.

She still didn't seem convinced, but she let me go making sure that I took my phone.

My clutch was still probably in the car as I had refused taking it because I didn't want to hold onto it while I was at the party. I went outside towards where Jess' car was parked, hoping that her car wasn't locked. Luckily, it was open, so all I had to do was get my phone out and walk across the street. I grasped onto my phone and walked on the concrete pavement before reaching where I needed to cross. Cars were moving in all directions; however, it wasn't busy like it would be earlier in the day. When it came to a point when the road was free of cars, I speed walked to the other side, making sure I didn't trip on the heels. Once, my stilettos had reached the grassy area, I let my pointy heels sink into the surface and slowly made my way over to an old bench under a weeping willow. As I sat down, I could hear the long seat creak, which made me stand up suddenly.

The frigid wind blew on my skin, making me shiver. I wanted to make my way back to the house so I could leave, as soon as possible. I wrapped my arms around to make myself warm, which was failing terribly. I rubbed my hands together and blew some hot air into it, which gladly succeeded in making my hands warm. Well, the quicker I get to the house, the quicker I can get home. I continued walking but face-planted as I lost my balance and soon enough had fallen on the grass. I checked my heels, and sure enough, they had snapped. I wondered what had made me trip since I wasn't running; therefore, it wouldn't be my fault as my hands went to my dress where I brushed of the grass and took of my heels, standing up.

When I bent down to pick up my heels, a gold object shined in front of me. I peered down even closer so I could see what it was. The object seemed valuable, and something told me that it belonged to someone; therefore, I should just leave it. But at the same time, I wanted to see what it was, to take it back with me. My hands reached out so I could grasp the shining object, but just at that moment, my phone started vibrating. Ophelia was calling, probably to ask me where I was. I stood up properly, to attend the call and reassure her that I would be coming back soon. Once, the conversation with Ophelia was over, I picked up my heels in one hand with my phone and the gold shiny gem thing in the other. My head wasn't spinning anymore, but I really needed to get back to the girls.

Even with my hands full and barefoot, I managed to make it back in time. To tell the truth, I probably looked like a mental person running around in the middle street. The thought made me stifle a giggle.

I entered inside, where instantly I felt stuffy and disgusting.

"There you are!!" screamed a worried-looking Lyra with a very drunk Jess leaning on her.

Ophelia trailed behind them with what looked like Jess' car keys. She exchanged the keys for Jess with Lyra, and I followed behind them. Jess wasn't in a state to drive so Lyra would be the designated driver. I didn't care who the driver was, I was just glad to be out of here for good.

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"Bye guys, see you on Monday!" I shouted, waving as I trudged my way up the door.

After they had sped off and left me alone on my driveway, I grabbed my keys from my clutch and opened the door. I was expecting it to be dark, but the lights were turned on. I was pretty sure that I turned off all the lights before getting in the car, so why were they on? I dropped my heels in front of the door and walked into the living room, planning on lying down on the sofa for a while. Except, a figure was already seated there with their arms across their chest and eyes filled with anger. Mum.