Ch. 15
Evan stepped outside and immediately felt the night air on his face. It was refreshing and just what he had hoped for. It was quiet outside, with just the muffled noise of the music bleeding through the walls. It was so quiet that he was a little startled when he looked to the side and saw someone on their phone leaning against the wall. It was Alex Vaduva.
“Oh, uhh, hi, Alex,” he said.
“Hey,” she said.
Evan hadn’t seen her at the party until just then. Not that he would have seen everyone. It was a big house, and it seemed like most of the school was packed in. There was a den and several back rooms he hadn’t even been to yet. Not to mention what might be happening in the backyard.
Not wanting to bother her, he decided to take a seat on the steps leading up to the front porch. He sat down and enjoyed the cool night air. To his surprise, Alex soon joined him and sat down on the step next to him.
“Looked like you were having fun in there,” she said.
“Uhh, yeah, I was. It’s been a fun party,” he said.
Despite his worries, he had a pretty good time. It might even have been the most fun he had at a party before. Not that he had been to many.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said wondering what she could want.
“Did they tell you to sleep with as many girls as you could when they brought you here?”
“What?”
“Like, the people at the base or whoever brought you here,” she said. “Did they agree to, I don’t know, pay you for each baby you made or something?”
“What the hell? No, nobody said anything like that.”
“Ok,” she said.
“Why would you think that?”
She scoffed like it was ridiculous.
Evan didn’t understand why this girl kept giving him such attitude. He had barely interacted with her, so he was sure he hadn’t done anything worth being treated so harshly. It might have been the small buzz from the alcohol he had, but he decided he wasn’t just going to take it that night.
“What’s your problem?” he said. “I’m just going to school like everyone else. I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“I wonder if Clara’s boyfriend would agree,” Alex said.
Evan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Clara is just a friend,” he said. “All we did was dance.”
“Whatever.”
Alex stormed back into the house leaving Evan alone on the porch. He couldn’t understand what had just happened. He knew Clara had a boyfriend, but he hadn’t done anything inappropriate with her. She was a friend. The dance did get a little out of hand, but she was the one that started it. Evan briefly entertained the idea of chasing after Alex and restarting the argument, but he quickly squashed it. He wasn’t a fan of making big scenes.
Evan found he didn’t really want to go back to the party anymore. His mood was sour after hearing Alex’s complaints. He didn’t feel like he had done anything wrong, but she clearly felt like he was a villain. He didn’t even know how to change her mind. The fact was, he barely knew anything about her. If this was how it was going to go every time they met, he figured he would never know what her deal was.
“Fuck it,” he said with a big sigh.
Evan quietly went back inside to look for his friends. He scanned the living room, but it didn’t look like Clara had returned. The twins also did not look to be nearby, but he did spot Zayla and Barry on the dance floor. They were laughing as they jumped around to the music. He had hoped he might be able to convince Barry to give him a ride home, but he realized he couldn’t do that. Not only was Barry not done having fun, but he had also had too much to drink to be driving anywhere.
No longer in the mood for dancing or drinking, he went back outside to the porch. He fished out his phone and tried to think of how he could get back to campus. He ended up calling the number of the only person he thought might be able to help.
“Hey, Robin?” he said into the phone. “Is there any chance you could help me get home?”
“Of course,” Robin said in her normal business-like tone. “I’m just down the street. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Oh, wow, ok.”
“I guess they weren’t lying about security never being far away,” he said.
Sure enough, Robin pulled up in a black car shortly after he hung up. He got into the front seat, and they started the trip back to the dorm. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“So, you were keeping an eye on the party?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Is there ever a time you aren’t following me?”
“…”
The silence was answer enough. Something about what Alex had said earlier began to bother him. Nothing as ridiculous as what she mentioned had happened to him, but it was true he was being given special treatment. Maybe that was why she seemed to hate him.
“I’m sorry,” Robin said. “I try to give you as much privacy as I can. I don’t watch your every move. I’m mostly just securing the area.”
“It’s ok,” he said. “But you could have just come to the party. Would have been more fun than being out on the street.”
“I’m sure,” she said with her first smile of the night. “Maybe next time.”
Robin got him back to the dorm safely, and he fell straight into bed as soon as he got to his room. His thoughts as he tried to sleep were a mix of pleasure and pain. Pleasure at remembering the soft bodies that had been pressed against him at the party, and pain thinking about the stupid fight that ruined the fun. Even though he might regret the late night in the morning, he felt like the party had been a success overall. He made new friends, and he managed not to embarrass himself. As he drifted off to sleep, he began to dream about what kind of fun things might happen at the next one.
*****
Around the time that Evan was heading back to the dorm, Derek was also on his way home. He wasn’t happy after being publicly embarrassed, so he decided to bail on the party. His mom lived a few blocks away, so he decided to just crash there.
Derek had long been a heavy drinker. He never missed an opportunity to bust out the liquor, and he attended every party there was in Tourmaline. If you asked him, he wouldn’t be able to tell you why he drank. He just thought it was natural. It was what people did, especially in college.
He had taken several shots early on in the evening, and he hadn’t stopped drinking beer from the get-go. Even with his acquired tolerance, he was feeling the alcohol as he navigated the dark streets. Perhaps if he had taken it easier, he wouldn’t have been so easily taken by surprise that night.
Just as Derek turned the corner on his home street, a mysterious figure dressed in black appeared behind him and threw a bag over his head. Before he could protest, another cloaked person hit him hard over the head. Derek’s body collapsed as his consciousness was cut off.
If the people in the nearby homes had been looking outside, they would have seen two dark shapes dragging a man into a van before driving away. Maybe they would have been able to help. Unfortunately, nobody was looking. And there was nobody around to offer Derek the help he desperately needed.