One

"We'll be back at the end of the week. Be good and stay safe, okay?" My mother kissed my forehead as she walked out the door with her suitcase trailing behind her. "Don't stress Sonia out too much!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes, a smile slowly forming on my face. We both knew that Sonia loved me, especially since she claimed that I was a good influence for her daughter who just so happened to be my best friend.

"No boys!" called my step-father from the car, pointing at me, a stern look on his face. I put my hands up in a mock surrender and chuckled.

"No promises!" I replied and he laughed in response, climbing into the driver's seat. I had offered to drive them to the airport so they didn't have to leave their car there but they insisted on driving themselves.

They were flying out to Seattle where my grandmother from my step-father's side lived. Apparently she had some run in with a woman at the dog park and now she's in the hospital. I guess it was really bad and now she's hospitalized. As soon as the news got to my mother she booked a flight immediately.

My mother offered for me to tag along but I didn't want to miss the first week of school, plus my grandmother didn't really like me — something about me not being blood, I don't know, I zoned out. My mom knew how she felt about me so she understood why I didn't want to tag along.

As soon as my parents were out of my sight, I texted Nevena, my best friend, to let her know that I was packing a bag and then coming over.

I arrived at the Ivanov's house, entering without knocking. It was a habit that both Nevena and I had. I went straight up the stairs to Nevena's room. The house had five bedrooms in total which was three more than they needed. It's suffice to say that the Ivanov's were pretty well off.

I entered her room and found Nevena admiring herself in the mirror. She was examining two different shirts. Once her eyes landed on me in the reflection of the mirror, she yelped. She spun around, pressing a hand to her heart. "Oh my God, Charlie! Don't do that ever again!" I couldn't help but laugh, dropping my bag by her door and moving to sit on the edge of her bed. "Knock next time, would ya?"

I rolled my eyes, still smiling, "Yeah. Sure. Anyways, the pink shirt is cute." I nodded at the shirt that was bundled up in the hand that she had pressed to her chest. She placed the yellow shirt on her dresser and held up the pink one against her torso.

"You think so?" She spun back around to the mirror, her long light brown hair falling behind her shoulders. She examined her outfit. "Do you think—"

"Yes, Vena," I groaned. "He'll notice you."

Nevena has been obsessed with this boy since the sixth grade. His name's Justin Hall and anyone with half a brain could tell that he doesn't have much going for him besides being the quarterback on our high school's shitty football team. He barely managed to pass every year with a C-average despite cheating in every single class. His parents were loaded so it's not like he had to really fend for himself, plus his parents gave him anything and everything he wanted.

I have no clue why Nevena wanted him so badly. She and I were on the lacrosse team together and she was an amazing offensive player. The two of us were considered the dynamic duo of the team. Somehow, she also managed to get good grades despite how much time she dedicated to lacrosse. Not to mention the fact that she's gorgeous. She's tall and fit with straight long hair, big brown eyes that sparkled in the sun, and an impeccable sense of style. She could have anyone but she decided to go for a boy who's definitely going to peak in high school.

After I helped her decide on an outfit along with various accessories, we decided to get something to eat before we headed off to the party. She wanted to get food in her system before she started drinking so she didn't black out after three shots — she's a lightweight.

We arrived at Justin Hall's house nearly an hour later than it had started. We had to park one street over since the main street was full. On the lawn, there were already people passed out. There was also a girl throwing up in a bush off to the side. She had a friend with her who was holding her hair back.

We walked up the main pathway. The loud music could be heard from outside. Multi-colored lights shone through the living room windows. It was the annual end-of-summer-vacation party. Soon-to-be sophomores, juniors, and seniors all attended. Of course, there was booze, weed, and the usual grinding against one another in the middle of the living room.

Upon entering the house, we noticed that there were more people here than there was last year. Outside in the backyard, people were either trying to get some fresh air or they were polluting the air with the stench of weed. Upstairs, in the multiple bedrooms, people were having their usual I'll-regret-this-in-the-morning hookups. Some were even having their hookups out in the open. I never understood how they could just do something like that.

The two of us made our way to the kitchen and Nevena immediately spotted Justin. Before she strutted off in his direction, she downed three shots of whiskey back to back. Guess she needed some liquid courage.

I sipped on room temperature Coca-Cola. There was no ice; they had already run out. I awkwardly leaned on the counter beside Nevena, nodding my head in greeting towards anyone who noticed my existence.

God, I really wish I wasn't here right now.

She's dragged me to many of his very illegal parties and I only agreed because I didn't want her to mope around, also because I had to keep an eye on her just in case things went south.

Nevena giggled and placed her hand on his bicep, leaning in. Justin placed his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He took a swig from his beer bottle. Nevena nudged me with her right elbow which was closest to me and I sighed, rolling my eyes and pushing myself off the counter. I knew what this meant. It was only going to get more awkward for me if I stayed here.

I made my way to the living room, squeezing through an opening between the sweaty bodies. Finally, I found an empty corner to sit in. It was where one of the multi-color changing lamps had been placed. I watched as teens grinded against one another. Sweat glistened on their skin. Mascara had smeared on a few of the girls' faces under their eyes. Most of the girls had resorted to tying their hair back, a few strands sticking to their necks and foreheads from the sweat.

Two girls that were standing on the edge of the dancing group stumbled over to the front door. I watched them curiously, taking a sip of my drink as I sat on the floor. The pale redhead opened the front door. A man dressed in tattered clothing with blood running down one of his arms from his shoulder stumbled in, tossing himself onto her. She let out a terrified scream and fell backward. The two hit the floor and she continued to scream as she tried to get him off. He was too big for her to push off on her own. I placed my drink on the floor and stood up, pushing through people to try and help her.

Trent, a large defensive player on the football team, stumbled over, obviously not sober. He picked up the strange man by the collar of his shirt and threw him aside, his forehead smashing into the corner of the coffee table that had been pushed against the wall to create more open space. The man laid against the wooden floors, blood flowing from the cut on his temple.

"Trent, what the fuck?" I shouted over the music, rushing over to aid the stranger. I kneeled down and placed my fingers on his wrist. No pulse. I moved my fingers to his neck. Still nothing. "Oh my God," I breathed. "He has no pulse."

"What?" chortled Trent nervously. "What do you mean he has no pulse?"

"I think you killed him!" I exclaimed, whipping my head around to look at him. Someone had shut the music off, clearly feeling the tension in the room. He took a step back, his eyes wide with fear. Suddenly the group of teens began to whisper amongst each other.

"We have to call the cops," said the redhead that had answered the door, she was shaking. Her friend with deep brown skin was kneeling beside her, trying her best to comfort her.

"No! No. We can't do that," shouted Justin with worry in his eyes. He was now standing beside Trent. My jaw dropped. There was a dead man lying on his living room floor and he didn't want to call the cops. "If we do, we'll all get into a lot of trouble." The murmurs began to grow louder. Everyone was agreeing with Justin. If we did call the cops, we'd all get busted for underage drinking, but if we didn't, we'd all be charged as an accessory to the murder.

The stranger then began to groan. Everyone's attention turned to him. We were all shocked, to say the least, especially me. I hadn't felt a pulse, yet somehow he managed to start stirring around. My gut told me to back away and get some distance. So I did. I started scooting backward until I couldn't anymore. My back was pressed against someone's legs.

"He's okay!" exclaimed the redhead, taking my spot in aiding him.

"I don't think you should get too close," I warned her, however, she ignored me. She was now sitting on her knees beside him. She had placed her hands over the gash on his forehead.

"Someone get me —" An ear piercing scream escaped her lips. The stranger had shoved her forearm into his mouth, clamping down tightly. She tried to wrench herself out of his grip, tears streaming down her freckled face, but it didn't work. I clambered to my feet and stared incredulously at the scene in front of me.

His face was a sickly pale, the whites of his eyes had turned yellow, and both his iris and pupil were a milky white. A majority of the people screamed and ran out the back door while others tried the front door. They were all shoving one another, stepping on each other's feet just to get out. He looked up at me hungrily. Blood covered a majority of his face, dripping from his chin.

The redhead clutched her arm to her chest, still screaming. Her friend had ditched her, running out the front door with Trent. I was frozen in place, too shocked to do anything.

A hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me away from the site. I was now sprinting through the house and out the back door. It was Nevena who had snapped me out of it. "Do you have my keys?" she asked impatiently as we continued to run down an alleyway. "Where are my keys?"

I pulled my hand from her grasp but I kept running. I had a lanyard around my neck which held Nevena's keys. I left my car at her house and since she already knew how to get here, she decided to drive, she just didn't trust herself to hold onto the keys tonight. I pulled it off quickly and pressed the unlock button multiple times before reaching her car. I was now seriously regretting parking so far, but there was no parking on the street in front of his car since Nevena decided that she wanted to show up fashionably late at almost nine o'clock instead of eight.

She hopped into the back seat, not wanting to waste time running around the car to get into the passenger seat. As soon as I had gotten in, the car lurched forward and I sped away. The tires squealed on the road as they tried to get a grip. I wasn't the best driver out there and the fact that I was in a hurry definitely didn't help.

Nevena crawled into the passenger seat and without having to look at her, I could tell she was trembling. Neither of us knew what to say. We were too shocked to say anything. I tightened my grip on the wheel, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

I could've sworn that that man was dead. He had no pulse. He didn't even budge when I touched him. Maybe he had only been knocked out cold… but that still doesn't explain the lack of pulse. And his eyes. They were opaque and the scleras had turned yellow. Other than that, he just looked like a regular man from the street.