Chapter 106 Chapter One Hundred And Six
Meanwhile, I stood there with my hand over my mouth, too shocked to even speak.
I watched in horror as Jace moved fast, much faster than anyone with a barely healed knee injury should have been able to move.
His fist connected with Noah's jaw with a sickening crack.
"OHHHHHHH!" The crowd erupted.
Noah's head snapped back, but he recovered quickly, his own fist flying up to catch Jace in the ribs.
They went down in a tangle of limbs, crashing into a side table and sending drinks flying everywhere.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" The chant started immediately, the entire party surging forward to watch.
I stood frozen, my eyes wide open in shock, unable to process what was happening.
Jace got on top, landing another punch, then another until Noah rolled them over, slamming Jace's shoulder into the tile. They were a mess of flying fists and cursing, blood already appearing on Noah's lip.
"Stop!" I finally found my voice, but it was drowned out by the yelling crowd. "Stop it! Please!"
But nobody was listening. People already had their phones out, recording, screaming encouragement. Some of them were even placing bets on who would win.
Though it all, the music was still pounding, making everything feel surreal and nightmarish.
Jace landed a brutal hit to Noah's eye and Noah retaliated with a punch to Jace's already injured ribs that made Jace grunt in pain.
They were going to kill each other!
I opened my mouth to scream at them to stop when suddenly the wail of sirens cut through the music, getting closer and closer with each passing minute.
"COPS!" Someone shouted from near the front door. "THE COPS ARE HERE!"
The entire house descended into absolute chaos.
Half-drunk teenagers suddenly sobered up, screaming and running in every direction. People poured out the back doors, trampling through gardens, and jumping over fences.
Someone knocked over an antique standing lamp, sending it crashing down in a million pieces in their haste to escape.
They ran past two practically naked students who had just been having sex in a bathroom, scrambling out the door to run away too.
"Can the person who did all those lines of snow in the bathroom get rid of it?" Mason was yelling, his voice cracking with panic. "For fuck's sake, someone flush it down the toilet! I’m not going to jail for you people!"
Glass shattered somewhere. A girl was in one corner crying, checking frantically everywhere going “Did anyone see my inhaler?”
The music finally cut off, leaving only shouting and the approaching sirens.
"This is all your fault, Lena!" Allison appeared out of nowhere, her perfect face twisted with rage. She was already backing toward the side door. "You ruined my party! I'll get you back for this, just you wait! You’re going to pay if it’s the last thing I do!"
She turned and ran, her white dress disappearing into the crowd. I heard her voice fading: "Fuck, my mom's going to kill me!"
The sirens were right outside now, red and blue lights flashed through the windows.
Reality crashed back in and I suddenly found my footing again.
I snapped out of my shock and ran to Noah's side where he was still on the ground, breathing hard, one eye already swelling.
"Are you okay?" I crouched beside him, my hands fluttering uselessly. "Why did you do that? You shouldn't have fought him, Noah, this is ridiculous…”
There was blood on his cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb, my hands shaking.
"I'm fine," he muttered, but he winced when I helped him to his feet.
He was still glaring at Jace with pure hatred.
Jace had pulled himself up using a chair, his hand pressed to his ribs, breathing hard. His lip was split, blood trickling down his chin.
"You’re still keeping up with this shit, Lena?" Jace's voice was rough and furious. "Really? This whole fucking charade?"
I stepped in front of Noah, my own anger finally finding its voice.
"Enough!" My words were sharp and biting, finally sick of his nonsense. "I never asked you for any help, Jace. I don’t even know why you came back here!”
“Really? Did you have anyone else lined up to protect you from Allison? Your new boyfriend loves you so much he abandoned you to fend for yourself at a party full of strangers!
“Shut up, that’s not how it happened at all.” I spat, “We got separated in a crowd which is perfectly normal, unlike you who tried to blackmail me, then you helped spread rumours about me on the Internet and then ran off to another country!”
Jace growled, “Really?”
“Yes, really! So why don’t you keep running? Noah is my boyfriend. I love him! Not you! So leave us alone."
Jace's eyes widened, then narrowed to slits.
"Fuck that," he spat. “I don’t fucking believe you—”
“Stop fucking talking to her!” Noah roared.
"POLICE! Nobody move!"
Three officers burst through the front door, hands on their belts, scanning the nearly empty room.
Most of the party had already escaped. Only a few stragglers remained, me, Noah, Jace, Mason hiding inside the bathroom frantically flushing drugs, Shae and Diane huddled by the pool doors.
One officer; a woman with her hair pulled back severely, stepped forward, her eyes landing on me.
"Which one of you is Lena Hartwell?"
My blood turned to ice.
How did they know my name?
"Um—" My voice came out as a squeak. "That's me."
The officer's expression was grim. "We have it on good authority that you're the one who organized this party. You're also being charged with disturbing the peace, public nuisance, and contributing to the delinquency of minors."
"What?" The word barely made it past my lips. "No, I didn't—this isn't my party—"
"Ma'am, we received a call specifically naming you as the host." She pulled out handcuffs. "Lena Hartwell, you're under arrest."
The room spun.
"Wait—" Noah stepped forward. "She didn't organize anything. She's not even from around here—"
"You her boyfriend?" Another officer, a tired-looking older male, turned to Noah. "What's your name, son?"
"Noah Dawson."
"Dawson?" The officer's eyebrows rose. "Any relation to Jace Dawson?"
"He's my cousin," Jace said from behind us, his voice dark.
The female officer looked between the three of us, then sighed heavily.
"Alright. All three of you are coming with us. You…" She pointed at Noah. "For assault. You…” She pointed at Jace. "Also assault. And you…" Back to me. "For everything I just said."
"This is insane!" I could hear the hysteria creeping into my voice. "I didn't do anything!"
"You can explain that at the station." The officer pulled my arms behind my back. The metal cuffs were cold against my wrists. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"
Her words blurred together in my mind as she continued reading me my rights.
This couldn't be happening!
I was being arrested! Actually arrested! How the heck had we even gotten here?
I looked at Noah as police locked handcuffs on his wrists, his face pale under the swelling bruises.
Then at Jace, being cuffed as well, his expression unreadable but his eyes still burning into mine with a dark, brooding expression.
"Let's go." The female officer guided me toward the door with a firm hand on my elbow.
The walk to the police car felt like a nightmare with red and blue lights painting everything in harsh colours while neighbors standing on their porches watching and a news van pulled up at the corner.
This was going to be everywhere.
Everyone would see; my mom would see, and Mrs. Dawson would see, not to mention the school would see.
They put me in the back of one car, Noah and Jace in separate ones behind me.
Through the window, I watched the massive beach house get swarmed with cops documenting the damage.
My phone was still in my clutch, vibrating relentlessly with notifications I couldn't check with my hands cuffed behind me.
The officer slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, and as we pulled away from the curb, I caught one last glimpse of Jace through the window of his police car.
He was staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched, blood still on his face.
And I realized with a sinking feeling that whatever fragile new life I'd been trying to build…
It would take more than a new dress to get it. I would have to do something about both Noah and Jace if really wanted it, or else...