Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Don’t even think about showing your face,” I warn as she climbs the stairs. I’m willing to overlook the way she slams her door, since it means she’s on the other side of it.
If all goes well, I won’t have to see her face until tomorrow at the earliest.
For now, time to shift into party mode. I need this. I deserve this.
“Come in! First ones to show up.” Stepping back, I sweep an arm in a grand gesture, welcoming my guests inside. “You know where everything is. Make yourselves comfortable.”
Briggs and Tucker offer a fist bump as they come in, their other hands wrapped around the hands of their girlfriends. Kellan and the twins are behind them, and the almost hungry looks on the brothers’ faces tell me how much they’ve been looking forward to tonight.
“Drinks in the kitchen?” Easton asks, already on his way in that direction, with Preston and Kellan behind him. All three of them have bags in both hands.
“The keg is out in my truck—give me a hand with it?” Briggs, Tucker, and I manage to get it unloaded, then roll it into the house on a hand truck. There are other cars coming up the driveway, blaring loud music that instantly picks up my mood. It’s going to be a good night.
Or it could be, if it wasn’t for the reminder of a certain someone I want more than anything to forget. “Is Elliana coming down?” Maya asks once I’m back inside. The tank top and short skirt she wears couldn’t be more different from my stepsister’s. They might as well be two different species. Why does she even care?
“She better not,” I mutter on my way to the kitchen for a drink I desperately need.
“Why doesn’t she get to have fun?” Wren steps up close to me while I’m pouring vodka into a red plastic cup. This little routine she’s pulling might work with Briggs, but it’s not working with me. Getting in my face, playing the Good Samaritan.
“Because she’s allergic to fun.” And I’ve already talked enough about her tonight. A huge gulp of ice-cold vodka isn’t enough to dull my senses, so I take another gulp that almost empties the cup.
“Oh, come on,” Maya grumbles while the kitchen fills up with more guests. She raises her voice to ask, “Which room is hers?”
“Are you serious?” Adding more ice to my cup, I refill it, shaking my head. “It would be better if you left her alone. You know how shy she is.”
“You have already spent too much time thinking about anybody other than me,” Briggs tells Wren, winding his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzling her neck.
She only smirks and swats at his arms. “I’m just going to say hi. Maybe take her a drink.”
Maya’s eyes light up before she pulls a fresh cup from the stack on the counter so she can pour one.
For fuck’s sake. The more we argue about this, the longer I have to think about her, so I mutter, “Hang a left at the top of the stairs. It’s the room across from mine. The one with the door closed and locked.” It had better be, anyway.
“See?” Maya winks, before picking up two cups and winding her way through the crowd filling the room. She’s halfway through the kitchen with Wren close behind before calling out over her shoulder, “Was that so hard?”
“One thing I’m learning.” Tucker takes a drink from his freshly poured beer before shaking his head. “It’s just easier to give in right away. Because once one of them gets an idea in their heads, you can’t change their minds.”
I’m starting to figure that out. I’m also starting to figure out I’m going to need a lot more to drink tonight if there’s any hope of getting Elliana off my mind.
EIGHT
Elliana
Slowly, the noise downstairs gets louder. There’s laughter, music, and life. In other words, it’s easily the last place I would ever want to be.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy to ignore all the fun everyone else is having. I haven’t flipped a page in my book since I picked it up. I’ve been sitting here, staring at it—physically in my room, but mentally downstairs—wondering how it’s so easy for these people to have fun. What would it be like, going to a party and not worrying that somebody was planning to hurt or humiliate me?
I’m still remembering the humiliation of the last party I attended when a knock startles me. It’s not possible to call out with my heart in my throat the way it is now. Why can’t people leave me alone?
“It’s us! Wren and Maya!”
I didn’t expect them to actually come to my room. I’m too flattered to pretend I can’t hear them, so I get up from my desk and unlock the door for them. “What are you doing up here?” I ask with a shy, disbelieving laugh.