Chapter Thirteen The Party

CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE PARTY

I examined myself in my bedroom mirror, making sure my mother’s tinted moisturizer had blended into my skin. I applied some of her bronzer to the high points of my face and added some blush to my cheeks. I rifled through her make-up bag and fished out a deep kohl powder, sweeping it across my eyelids, before applying gooey black mascara to my lashes. Then I stood back and appraised my reflection, marvelling at what the wonders of modern cosmetics could do for sun-starved skin.

My mother shuffled into the room and my gaze fell on the gift in her hands – a large rectangle covered in Disney princess wrapping paper. ‘Is that from Millie?’

My mother put the gift on the bed. ‘She dropped it off when you were in the shower. Open it. The suspense is killing me.’

I didn’t have to be asked twice. I ripped open the wrapping paper to find a grey shoe box. Inside was a pair of sparkly stilettos . The generous heel was coated in a subtle gold gloss.

‘I think I’m in love,’ I groaned.

My mother sighed. ‘I’ve never been so disappointed to have smaller feet than you.’

I slipped my bare foot into the left shoe and teetered upwards. ‘How am I going to walk in these without falling on my face?’

My mother grinned as she handed me the second shoe. ‘No one really walks in high heels. They just get by.’

After fifteen minutes of practising, I shimmied into the gold dress. Twirling in front of my closet mirror, I pulled out the pin that I’d wedged into my hair so that it tumbled down my back in waves. I barely recognized my reflection, but I had a feeling she was going to have a whole lot of fun.

When we pulled up outside Millie’s house, I could hear music blaring through the walls. Cars lined the streets and crammed into the driveway. I climbed out on to the curb.

‘Are you sure Millie’s parents are OK with this?’ I watched my mother survey the cars warily.

‘Yup.’ I turned away from her so she couldn’t see my brazen, lying face.

‘OK…’ she relented. ‘Have a blast.’

I watched the car until it shrunk to a small blue dot.

When I turned around, Millie was standing at the front door, wearing a short black dress that accentuated her bust and bandaged her in around the waist.

‘Mil!’ I exclaimed, making my way towards her in high-heel-induced slow motion. ‘Thank you so much for the shoes!’

‘Holy crap,’ she shot back, her red-lipsticked mouth agape.

I hunched my shoulders and covered my dress with my arms. ‘Is it too much? Should I change?’

She gestured at my dress, then made a botched attempt at a wolf whistle.

‘Pervert,’ I teased, reaching her.

‘What?’ She raised her hands in a gesture of feigned innocence. ‘You look hot as hell!’

‘Who are you talking to?’ Alex arrived behind Millie at the door. His blond hair was perfectly quaffed and he wore dark rinse jeans paired with a tight blue shirt. He was smiling goofily and clutching a red plastic cup. When he noticed me hovering in the doorway, he let his jaw drop so that, side by side and wearing the same expression, he and Millie looked like twins.

‘Sophie Gracewell,’ he spluttered.

‘I know,’ Millie murmured. ‘I know.’

Millie and I danced like maniacs across her hardwood floors, throwing our hands in the air and whipping our hair in circles. All around us, couples gravitated towards each other like magnets, pushing up against one another or peeling off to other rooms to make out. I barely recognized most of the people – the majority were Alex’s college friends, and those who heard about it from Millie were ignoring me, as usual. It didn’t matter. Everyone was laughing and having fun, and it was contagious – I was relaxed and energized. But more than that, I was eternally grateful to Millie, who had converted the entire downstairs of her impressive family home into a hub of energy, which meant I could spend my birthday having some much-needed fun.

The front living room had been cleared of its picture frames, knick-knacks and creepy porcelain dolls that usually peered out from glass cases in the corners – an obsession of Millie’s mother’s. The lights had been dimmed so low that the features of anyone standing more than two feet away were foggy and indiscernible, and the leather couches and upholstered armchairs were pushed back against the wall. Above the fireplace, a fifty-inch TV was blaring music through surround-sound speakers.

‘Where’s Dom?’ I asked, ignoring the dull ache in the balls of my feet.

‘He’s not coming.’ Millie’s face crumpled, but she waved her explanation away as though it didn’t matter. ‘I haven’t heard from him since our date. He didn’t even return my text.’

‘I’m sorry, Mil!’ I shouted above the music. ‘That sucks!’

‘It’s fine,’ she returned loftily, but I could tell it wasn’t. She had been hopelessly obsessed with Dom after their date, and the fact that he hadn’t bothered to follow it up was strange, not to mention incredibly rude.

‘I hope it’s not because of me,’ I suddenly realized, feeling the colour drain from my bronzed and blushed face. ‘Maybe Nic said something to him.’

Millie’s expression soured. ‘If it is because of you, then Dom is as spineless as his brother and they should both be shunned for judging you for your father’s accident . I don’t want to be with someone like that anyway!’

‘It’s his loss,’ I offered, feeling her anger ignite my own. ‘He’s an idiot.’

‘They both are! I hope they have a really boring time styling their stupid hair and overspending on their stupid Italian clothes while they all grow old together in that creepy mansion!’ Millie threw her head back and started swaying her hips, putting an end to the topic of Dom and his brothers for good.

Following her lead, I closed my eyes and let my body melt into the music. But deep down in my private bubble, I couldn’t help but imagine Nic’s hands around my waist; that he had shown up to apologize for his strange behaviour and that there was a reasonable explanation for his sudden callousness. But when I opened my eyes and twirled around again, I saw a collection of faces I didn’t recognize, all red-faced and panting.

After a while, my feet started to throb. I stopped dancing and slipped through the double doors that led into a large marble-fitted kitchen. Inside, a bunch of guys were leaning around a keg, chugging their drinks. At the table, two skinny brunettes in short skirts were squealing their way through a game of beer pong.

I squeezed by a red-haired girl who was inking a henna tattoo on her friend’s back, and made my way towards the fridge just as Alex slammed his beer cup across the counter and backed away from his friends with his arms up in victory. ‘Losers!’ he shouted. ‘You can’t beat the champ!’

I smiled. Alex had been so uptight at the basketball tournament; it was nice to see him in a lighter mood – even if he was still being abnormally competitive.

When his eyes fell on me, he stuffed his hands down by his sides and hunched his shoulders, adopting a sheepish expression. ‘Beer?’ he offered, gesturing at the keg behind him. ‘Or we have some harder stuff too?’

I pushed the matted hair away from my forehead, feeling beads of sweat underneath my fingers. ‘Maybe later,’ I said. I was already having a hard time standing up in my heels, I figured I’d better practise some more before adding alcohol to the mix.

‘You sure you don’t want one?’ Alex prompted with a smile that I used to daydream about in school. But something was different now.

‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ I opened the fridge, pulled out a can of Diet Coke and cracked it open while the boys behind me laughed among themselves. I wondered if they were laughing at me, but I was too chicken to confront them about it. Feeling myself blush, I moved away and shimmied past the girl with red hair, who was inking a dolphin on her own hip now. A ping-pong ball soared past my head and bounced off the marble island in the middle of the kitchen.

I made it back to the living room in one piece, squeezed by a couple who were making out against the door, and danced around someone doing the worm, to get to the nearest couch. When I reached it, I found Millie chatting to Paul and Alison from the diner.

‘… and then I thought, whatever, I’m going to have fun without him – hey, birthday girl, come sit.’ She patted the sliver of space beside her.

‘Hey.’ I squeezed in between Millie and the armrest, feeling instant relief in the balls of my feet. ‘When did you guys get here?’ I followed Millie’s gaze to Alison’s lap and saw that she and Paul were holding hands. They had obviously made it official.

‘Just now. Ursula let us off early.’

‘Happy birthday, Sophie,’ Paul added cheerily. ‘Great party.’

‘Thanks.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s not mine. I don’t know most of these people.’

‘Oh, sure it is,’ Millie interjected, waving her hand dismissively. ‘And if Alex’s friends didn’t know you before tonight, then they definitely will now, thanks to that dress.’ She drained her drink and sighed satisfactorily.

‘Yeah,’ Paul agreed, causing Alison to dig her nails into his lap. ‘Ouch!’ he yelped. ‘Sorry, I was just saying.’

‘Time for a refill, I think.’ Millie sprang to her feet and sauntered through the parting crowd with more attitude than Beyoncé. I envied her ability to walk so effortlessly in her heels without experiencing the urge to lie down and chop her feet off.

I went in search of a bathroom. The sound of vomiting from downstairs prompted my journey to the second floor, where, after knocking three times, I swung the door open and came face to face with a half-naked couple. It was a traumatic moment for all of us.

I quickly shut the door and made my way further along the upstairs hallway, stopping outside Millie’s parents’ room and rapping my knuckles against the door. When there was no answer from inside, I eased my way in, praying I wasn’t about to encounter another scarring scene. The bedroom was empty.

The narrow door beside the wall of closets meant my memory had served me correctly and that they did have an en-suite bathroom. But as I approached it, the handle was yanked downwards from the inside and it swung backwards on its hinges. I jumped back and landed against the bed. I shot my hands up and covered my eyes. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here.’

My explanation was met with a deep laugh. ‘Relax, Sophie. I spilt some beer on myself and all the other bathrooms were ocupado .’

I unsheltered my eyes and found Robbie Stenson leaning against the doorway, holding a red cup in each hand. ‘Do you want one? I’ve got a spare.’

‘Um, thanks.’ I was glad to know Robbie wasn’t holding our basketball tournament debacle against me. ‘I’m not sure if I should drink – it’s hard enough to walk in these heels while sober. I don’t want to risk my life by doing it drunk.’

He flicked his floppy hair across his forehead and smirked. ‘It’s just cranberry with seltzer, but it’ll give you a nice buzz. I think it’s the sugar content or something.’

‘Cool.’ I reached for the cup in his outstretched hand, feeling hot all of a sudden. ‘I am pretty thirsty.’

‘No kidding.’ He sat on to the bed with a plonk and arched one of his perfect eyebrows at me. ‘You were dropping some killer dance moves earlier. Why didn’t you use some of that talent on the court? Then we might have had a snowball’s chance.’

I smiled into the cup. ‘I’m not sure I could have dribbled the ball and done the robot at the same time.’

Robbie snorted with amusement. ‘It might have intimidated our opponents.’ He stared unblinkingly at me as I drank. ‘You look great, by the way.’

‘Thanks.’ Suddenly I had a feeling our conversation might mean something different to him than it did to me.

‘I should get back downstairs,’ I said, setting the empty cup on the nightstand.

‘I thought you had to go to the bathroom?’

‘Not really any more. I think I was just feeling overheated.’ I rose and teetered to the door as my feet began to ache again.

‘Maybe I’ll catch you later,’ he hollered after me.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said, gripping the banister and lowering myself carefully on to the stairs.

Back in the kitchen, I found Millie cuddling up against a boy with a questionable goatee. She was leaning into his shoulder and giggling like a little girl. Her attempts to forget about Dom were obviously going well.

‘Sophie.’ She grinned broadly and stood up when she saw me. ‘Come meet Marcus. He’s so great.’ She shuffled closer and dropped her voice. ‘ So much more fun than boring Dom. I don’t know what I was thinking with that guy. Obviously we’re not compatible, he’s way too serious.’

Suddenly she was looming back and forth in front of me, and I was starting to feel funny. ‘Can you stand still?’

‘Have you been drinking, Soph?’

Her eyes grew too big for her face and her mouth was hanging open at an unnatural angle. I shook my head and felt it spin.

‘You sure?’ She came up close until I could see every freckle on her face. They moved around like a puzzle and then disappeared.

‘C-course.’ I slumped backwards against the wall. ‘I don’t feel very well, though.’ Alarm bells started to go off inside my head, but they got fainter and fainter.

‘You sure you didn’t do a shot of something?’

The music was thumping against my skull. ‘No, I–I just…’ I paused and scrunched up my face. ‘I forgot what I was going to say.’

‘I think someone should take you home.’ I wasn’t aware of much, but I could tell the amusement had drained from Millie’s voice, and the guy with the goatee had disappeared.

‘I have a headache. C-can you get me something for that?’ I heard myself falter over the words and grimaced. They sounded so clear in my head.

‘What’s going on, Sophie?’ Out of nowhere, Alex had appeared and was standing in front of me, holding me up. Suddenly I realized that, if he let me go, I would crumple into a heap on the ground. I fell into him, stubbing my nose on his chest.

‘I think she’s had too much to drink,’ he said, holding me steady again.

‘I didn’t,’ I slurred as the room started to fade into darkness. And then I was lying down in a quiet room at the back of the house, staring at the crystal chandelier above me. Nausea gathered in my stomach. ‘I want to go home.’

‘Crap,’ Millie muttered from somewhere far away. ‘Celine is going to kill me if she finds her like this.’

‘I’ll take her home,’ someone suggested.

‘You sure, Robbie?’

‘Yeah, I know the way. She can’t go on her own. Not like this.’

‘I don’t know.’ Alex’s face contorted above me, his eyes spinning like little rainbow wheels. ‘Maybe we should just call her mum.’

‘Alex, I’ll take her. I haven’t been drinking. You don’t want to get this whole rager shut down, do you?’

I groaned and clutched my sides. ‘I don’t want to go with him,’ I whispered into a cushion. ‘Get Nic.’

The cushion didn’t reply, and Nic never came.

‘OK, Sophie, let’s go.’ Alex placed his arms under mine and lifted me off the couch until I teetered unsteadily against him. The world spun around until the faces of Millie, Alex and Robbie blurred into one strange mosaic of humankind.

‘Hang on,’ Millie said. ‘She can’t walk home in those.’

Suddenly there were only two faces in front of me and I couldn’t remember who was who. I thought Alex had blond hair, but the other guy was wearing his blue eyes. I shook my head back and forth to get rid of the fuzziness.

‘How much did she drink?’

‘I bet she polished off that tequila, man.’

And then I was at the front door, wearing a pair of Uggs that didn’t belong to me. My chin got stuck to the top of my chest, and the ground started pulsating up and down.

‘Robbie, get her to call me when she’s home, OK? Don’t forget.’

And then we were galloping down the driveway and rounding the bend into an empty street that loomed ahead of me like a black river. Suddenly my head was swelling like a balloon.

‘I’ll fall in.’

I jumped across the cracks in the pavement.

Robbie slid his arm around my waist and scooted me forwards in a straight line. ‘Just chill out. You’re a little buzzed right now, that’s all.’

At the mention of the word ‘buzz’, I felt something in my ear. I jerked my head and slapped my hand against my face. ‘Get off, get off, get off!’

And then I was outside a row of small box houses that looked like they had been punched in.

‘They look so sad,’ I moaned into Robbie’s shoulder.

I blinked my eyes, and when I opened them again I was gliding along the sidewalk and squinting into the overbearing starlight. The Priestly house climbed into the sky ahead of me, like a castle.

‘There’s a princess in there.’ I felt an urgent need to rescue her. And then I forgot what I was thinking about. ‘I’m exhausted,’ I realized as the world around me became silent and still.

We had stopped walking.

‘I know.’ Robbie propped me against a wall. I was vaguely aware of the uneven stones scratching against my back.

‘I haven’t slept for nearly a hundred years,’ I remembered. My head lolled until I was looking down at the pavement.

He lifted me back up like a rag doll and squeezed his hands above my waist. ‘I’ve got you.’

‘Am I home?’ I asked wearily. Everything was so hard to concentrate on, and I had a bad feeling that any minute now, I would vomit.

‘Yeah, just relax, Sophie. Everything is fine.’ I felt a finger under my chin, nudging my head. My eyes rolled back as the sensation of warm breath tickled my face. I struggled against my drooping lids, forcing them open. When I did, I found myself staring into two hawk-like grey eyes an inch from my face. And just as my body relinquished control of my limbs completely, I felt his hands on my dress.