Page 13 of Shattered Saint
"Grab your drink because we're going to head out soon."
Lucy's words cut through my thoughts like a knife, and I was brought back to the present.
I poured a small amount of vodka and mixed it with cranberry juice in a red Solo cup and took a sip. I could barely taste the vodka, but I wasn’t going to complain.
"I'm ready whenever you guys are," I said more cheerfully than I felt. I was beginning to wonder why I'd said yes, but I tried to shove those feelings to the side because maybe socializing would be good for me.
We left the dorm room and began to walk to who knew where. Darkness surrounded us, but thankfully, the streetlights on campus provided enough light for us to be able to see. A breeze provided a slight chill in the air as it rustled the tree leaves. At first, I couldn't hear anything, but then I heard the sounds of people chatting and light giggles as they embraced their alcohol-induced haze.
Lucy looked down at her phone and said, "I think the house is down this street and then we need to make a left."
I slowed down enough to take another sip of my drink but once my thirst was quenched, I picked up the pace. When we reached the corner of the block, there was no question that this was where the parties were going on.
Everyone was laughing and drinking, stumbling around, and I couldn't help but shake my head at the scene before me. People watching was so entertaining.
"This way, Bianca!" Lucy called out, bringing a halt to my people-watching party. She was walking up the front steps of a random house, but before she could get to the front door, someone else came stumbling out of it.
"WOOHOO!" the drunk student yelled at the top of his lungs. The group I was with laughed at his antics before he took off running down the stairs. Either he was drunk before he arrived at this house or whatever they were serving here must have been strong.
Lucy opened the door and the first thing we were greeted by was the sound of music pumping out the speakers. As we made our way through the party, I couldn't help but take the atmosphere in. The bass created a steady rhythm that was almost hypnotic. There was no way anyone was falling asleep with the pounding, but it created a trance-like state that brought me to the makeshift dance floor we found in the basement of the house.
I didn't go to many parties that students from Brentson High hosted although I'd been invited to several, but the fun that was being had here made me wonder if I should risk it. Nonetheless, this still made me nervous, and I took a large gulp of my drink to calm my nerves a bit more.
It was becoming very apparent that I was out of my depth, but I wasn't upset about it. So far, no one had made it obvious that they knew who I was. Being able to blend in here was more fun than I was expecting. The weight of my parents’ disapproval was lifted for the time being. For tonight, I wasn’t the mayor’s daughter, and it was amazing. Although there was this nagging pressure point in the back of my mind due to my upbringing, it was as if anything could happen here, and I was embracing it.
"I think we all need a refill!" Lucy darted across the room.
Everyone in our group followed behind her and she grabbed some more cups to hand out to us. I stuck the new cup into my old cup and walked to the table to see what was available.
There was a reddish liquid on a table with a keg next to it. Before I could decide, Lucy turned and handed me another cup.
"Taste this," she said excitedly. She stood next to me as I grabbed the cup in my other hand and took a sip from hers. The fruitiness hit my tongue first, almost completely masking the sting that I would have assumed would come from the alcohol. Drinking a lot of this could be dangerous, and normally I would have been all for it. But being in a strange place and around people I barely knew had me more cautious.
"I think I'm going to grab some of the beer from the keg over here."
Lucy nodded and moved out of the way so I could get to it. I stared at the keg and froze. I'd seen one in movies but hadn't actually used one before. I preferred the art of stealing my parents’ liquor when they weren't around, which was pretty often.
"Need any help?"
I looked at the person who had appeared next to me and my mouth dropped open in shock.
"Uh, yeah sure," I said as he got to work on getting me my beer.
I watched as he masterfully poured the beer from the keg. Once he was done, he handed it to me.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." I was about to walk away, but then his voice stopped me.
"I'm Landon."
Oh, so he wanted to keep this conversation going. "And I'm Bianca."
I mentally slapped myself in the forehead for not giving a fake name. Lucky for me, nothing on his face indicated that my name rang any bells, and I was relieved.
"You're new here? I haven't seen you around."
"Something like that." I flipped my hair back over my shoulder and looked to my right.
My breath left my body and it felt as if I was caught in an invisible grip. My eyes connected with Easton’s, much like they had the night of my parents’ party. I hadn't expected to see him tonight, although he did appear as a passing thought in my mind earlier. It was as if fate decided that tonight it would have the last laugh. Confusion clouded his face for a split second before his expression became more relaxed as he recognized who I was.
