Chapter 38: XVI. Say That Again-4

I couldn't really engage in the conversation as I was struggling to hear them, so I found myself looking around the large, open plan rooms that was the ground floor of Zoey's house. There had to be at least two hundred people in this room alone. There were so many bodies that I was getting too hot for my cardigan. I quickly removed it, hanging it over the staircase, leaving only my plain tank top. I noticed a lot of people stealing glances in my direction. A lot of them looked confused or curious, exchanging frowns and unspoken thoughts with their friends as they made judgements about me. Of course, I knew I could be completely paranoid, but after this week, people staring seemed like a normal occurrence. I couldn't see Shea. I didn't even know if he would be coming. He hadn't been at school all week, so I doubted it. But Cece would probably be here. Zoey was her friend after all. I didn't like how things were with Cece. Things hadn't been normal all week, but especially now that she had told me to figure things out for myself. Every time she saw me, she kept looking at me with expectation. I didn't understand why she couldn't just tell me. "Do you want a drink?" Josh yelled in my ear, the sheer volume of the music meaning I could only just hear him. Did I want a drink? Screw it. I've had a tough week. I nodded, but then followed Josh through the crowd of people to choose what I wanted. I didn't have a lot of experience with spirits, but I wanted to have some say over what I used to get trashed for the first time in my life. As we reached the kitchen island, we were confronted by dozens of bottles. All kinds of alcohol that were opened and had pourers attached. It looked like a professional bar. Josh seemed to know what he was doing as he grabbed a cup and started mixing a drink. I followed suit, deciding that pink drinks had to be safe for my first proper drink. I grabbed a cup myself and filled it a quarter of the way with raspberry soda. I then grabbed a bottle of vodka and filled up the rest. I didn't really know much about ratios, but I hoped it would taste okay. I brought the cup to my lips, the scent already burning my nose, and just as I was about to drink, the cup was snatched from me. "Are you insane? You'll end up in the emergency room with a virgin stomach like yours," Shea snapped angrily in my ear. I hadn't noticed him approach me, or enter the party, but it was hard to miss him now. Anger seemed to increase his size, and his furious eyes were directed at me. Shea took my drink and immediately tipped it out down the sink. Irritation, frustration, and utter fury filled me. What gave him the right to just show up and boss me around when it suited him? "Leave me alone!" I screamed at him, though I could only just barely hear myself. I seized the bottle of vodka, not bothering about a cup and quickly disappeared into the crowd, hoping to find my way back to Josh's friends. I didn't get far, however. I was suddenly pulled into a room I hadn't noticed was off the kitchen, and the door was shut behind me. The music was muffled slightly. I rounded on Shea, and just as I would about to go off at him for interfering, I realised that he hadn't been the one to grab me. Zoey stood before me, having dragged me into what looked like her walk-in pantry, looking utterly pissed off. She was completely dressed up and looked like she belonged on a runway. I felt thoroughly underdressed next to her. Zoey's fists were balled at her side. "What is wrong with you?" she spat. I recoiled. "What is wrong with you?" I countered. "What did I do to you?" "You … you skip from one guy to the next!" she accused angrily, her eyes flared. That was rich, coming from her. "You have Shea all over you, he is freaking obsessed with you!" she cried. "And yet you still need to bed hop to Josh!" Her voice sounded like what I imagined venom to taste like. Oh my God, she hated me. "Why should you care if I spend time with Josh?" I shot back, deliberately trying to provoke her into admitting feelings for him. It was obvious that was why she was pissed off with me today andhad been all week. Josh liked Zoey, too, for some odd reason. I mean, of course, she was beautiful. But I had yet to see any endearing features in her personality. And in that moment, I though Zoey was going to slap me. But she didn't. She looked like she so wanted to, but couldn't, and I wondered if Shea and his strange hold over people had anything to do with that. "It's not cute to be a slut," Zoey seethed after a minute. She was practically shaking with rage. "It's not cute to slut shame," I retorted, frowning. "Come on, Zoey." Zoey recoiled, and she actually looked like she was going to throw up. Okay, it wasn't cute to bait her like this. I couldn't let her think that I had slept with Josh when it was so obvious that she liked him. I was not that girl. "Josh has feelings for you, too, you know. If you like him so much, then just tell him. I think he would take you back, no matter what happened between you in the past," I offered softly. Zoey recoiled again, but this time, she looked a lot more vulnerable. Her anger immediately softened, her eyes widened, and her sneer disappeared. "What did he say to you?" she asked, an edge to her voice. "Not much," I admitted. "But he did tell me that it was you who suddenly went cold on him, and then you were all over Shea the next minute. He sounded quite upset when he told me that," I said honestly. Zoey did her best to mask her emotions then, putting on the cold, hard exterior that she seemed to reserve especially for me. "If you sleep with him, I'll cut you," she threatened. "Why don't you sleep with him then, if you like him so much?" Zoey laughed, a snarky, facetious laugh. "You wouldn't understand." She shook her head, but then stopped, "Well, I suppose you would. My parents want a better pedigree for me." What a bitch. Pedigree? What the hell was this, a dog show? What was so wrong with Josh? Was he not rich enough for Zoey's snob parents? "Well maybe you aren't good enough for Josh," I snapped angrily, before pushing my way out of the pantry and back into the party. I was immediately assaulted by the sheer volume of the music and the scent of alcohol and sweat in the air. I was disoriented for a minute, before I spotted the staircase and made an effort to get back over to Josh and his friends. "Sara!" Shea was doing his best to manoeuvre through the crowd to get to me, and that was the opposite of what I wanted. I couldn't take another lie. If he was as obsessed with me as Zoey claimed, then he wouldn't have treated me like crap. "Leave me alone, Shea!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, just as the loud song finished, and just in time for everyone on the lower floor of Zoey's house to hear me. Shea stared at me as two hundred people stared at us. I didn't know whether to feel liberated, embarrassed, or just plain miserable. "Dude, Luna's gone cold!" a drunken voice slurred. Luna? I wasn't sure who said it, but that was the second time someone had called me that. First Lex, and now this person. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it? What, or who, was Luna? I managed to avoid Shea for the rest of the night, or perhaps he finally got the message and left me alone. Although I constantly felt his eyes on me, he didn't approach me again. When I managed to get him out of my mind, I was able to enjoy myself with Josh and his friends. I got my hands on a beer and we toasted to the team's loss that night and for the hope of a win next Friday. I danced, I sang along poorly to the songs I knew coming from the speakers, and I drank a bit more, to the point where I was feeling a little lightheaded. I had never been drunk before. Was this what it felt like? The next thing I knew I was being helped into the cab of a car as my attention kept dropping in and out. I would have been scared had I not recognised the scent of the person helping me. I knew Shea's cologne. My head felt heavy as I leaned back on the headrest. I did my best to turn it to the left to look at Shea in the driver's seat. He was staring straight ahead at the road. His face, his neck, his shoulders, everything looked very tense. "Are you angry with me?" I asked, amused, though my words coming out a little slurred. "No," he replied calmly. "I think you are," I laughed. "That's rich considering how you've treated me. I ought to take a Louisville slugger to both headlights or however that song goes." "I didn't cheat on you," he scoffed, as though the idea was ridiculous. "Perhaps I ought to take a slugger to your headlights, huh? Josh was too drunk to take you home, though, so I don't consider him to be a very responsible choice in boyfriend." I heard the ice in his voice though, even as he was trying to be light and casual. "Josh is just my friend," I tiredly confessed. "He and Zoey like each other but won't do anything about it. Or she won't. I don't know why." "Zoey?" repeated Shea, sounding shocked. "Zoey and Josh?" "Yeah," I confirmed. "I don't know what her problem is. He's a nice guy. She said something weird about her parents wanting a better pedigree or something." My eyelids were starting to feel very heavy as they fluttered closed. Oh my God, I was tired. I don't even think I drank that much, but Shea had been right. I had a virgin stomach. "Hey, Sara," I head Shea say quietly. "Mm," I mumbled. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. You can't know how it kills me to cause you any sort of pain. I promise, I'll do better. I want to be the kind of boyfriend you deserve, and I want to give you a life free from anything that can bring you pain. I'm trying, I promise you." I was too tired to concentrate on his words. I couldn't process them or even hear them, really. Sleep was the only thing I could focus on, and the soft rumble of Shea's truck lulled me into an easy slumber. ---- I know it's been more than 24 hours since I last updated but I had to take my dog to the vet this morning to get snip snipped!! He's going in a man and coming out a boy hahaha. He got so excited when I got the lead out and he thought we were going for a walk. But when he saw the vet he nervous peed on their scales omg. He does that when he's excited or nervous, pees. So gross. Hoping this stops that and he grows out of it! Anywayssss, vote and comment and tell me what you think xxx PS. I know a lot of you are thinking omg hurry up and reveal what's going on, but you're feeling frustrated right? Hahaha I've done my job ;) Evoking emotions in my readers. Be patient, it's coming …