Chapter 11

Itake off running back to the dance, frustrated that I’m not very fast in heels. Time seems to stretch on endlessly as I run for my life, terrified that at any second the man in the mask will change his mind, jump out of the dark, and take me in the dirt.

I get inside finally, panting as I scan the room, and it takes me a while to spot Lizzy. At least it gives me a minute to catch my breath. I feel myself deflate as I make my way over to her. I’m safe.

She throws her hands up when I finally make it over to their table. I drop into the seat next to her as I fight to calm my racing heart.

Did all that really just happen?

“Finally!” She grabs my hand, yanking me out of the chair, and starts dragging me out to the dance floor. My feet ache, since these heels were absolutely not made for running.

Andrew follows closely behind us, and once we’re in the middle of the crowd, she starts dancing with Andrew, who’s holding her hips as she sways to the music. I just stand there watching them. I think I might still be in shock. My mind is having a hard time returning to reality after coming so close to the barrel of a gun.

Lizzy tugs my arm, trying to get me to dance, but I shake my head, standing here awkwardly.

“What’s the matter, Cora? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Slater teases, as he steps up behind me and pulls me against him. I look over my shoulder at him and hate how good he looks tonight.

“I’m fine.”

Slater isn’t buying it though. He spins me around so I have to face him.

“You shouldn’t be pouting on your birthday.” He lifts my chin with one hand and holds me to him with the other. I pull my head out of his grasp, but he seems unbothered.

He remembered my birthday? Why?

“Why did you ghost me? Why are you doing this now?” I ask, since I already feel out of control tonight, I might as well go all out. Ask the questions I’ve been dying to have the answers to.

His face darkens, and he refuses to meet my eyes now. He looks over my head, staring at something.

“Does it matter?” He sounds angry, still refusing to look down at me.

“Yes. It matters to me. I thought we were friends. Then over that summer you stopped talking to me, and when we got back to school, it was like you hated me. Your friends started bullying me, and you didn’t do a damn thing to stop them. Then you vanished. Now you’re… I don’t even know what you’re doing back. It makes no sense. Your best friend is dating mine, so you’re just using it to your advantage?” I step away from him, but he follows me, not letting me get away.

“Just enjoy your birthday. Have fun tonight. We can deal with the serious stuff some other time.” He’s dodging the questions. I shake my head.

“Is that a yes then? Well, I’m not going to let you back in, Slater. Not tonight, not ever,” I insist, and Slater just shrugs. Ass.

It’s clear I’m not going to get any answers tonight, so I decide to do what he says. I force myself to shake off the craziness of what happened at the baseball field and try to enjoy the dance. I try, but my mind constantly wanders back to the dugout. How close was I to being raped. Or bleeding out from a bullet wound?

Two hours later,Lizzy is begging me to go with her to the party at some rich kid’s lake house. Andrew has been all over her tonight, and I think I know exactly why she wants to go to the party. I’ve been dancing with Slater as well. It’s actually been a lot of fun, better than being on my own anyway, and I’ve almost managed to put the events from earlier tonight to the back of my mind.

I don’t want anything to ruin my birthday. Turning eighteen is a big deal. I want to make the most of it.

Not wanting to spoil my best friend’s fun, or go home yet, I agree to go to the party.

Apparently, she counted on me agreeing to go, because she packed a bag just for this occasion. She leaves me and Slater in the school hall while she and Andrew go grab the bag from her locker. A bag she left here before the end of classes yesterday. Sneaky bitch.

“You really do look beautiful tonight.” The compliment catches me by surprise, a definite change of attitude from earlier when he was avoiding my questions, and I look down at my dress.

There’s a smear of dirt on it from the Baseball field, and I use my hand to cover it. Hopefully Slater won’t notice. The dress doesn’t hold the same magic it did at the start of the night, but Slater’s compliment washes away some of my sadness.

“Thank you. You don’t look horrible, I guess,” I tease, looking up at him. He’s so tall, even with me in heels.

“Wow, that’s quite the compliment. I’m so flattered.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

After Lizzy and I get changed in the back seat of Slater’s SUV, Andrew and him get in the front seats and drive us to the lake house.

“Couldn’t you have packed jeans?” I complain, tugging the miniskirt she gave me down as far as I can. I would have been better off in my dress at this point. It’s really on the short side, and even though the shirt is comfortable, I can’t help feeling a bit exposed. Especially considering that the masked man that I refuse to think about stole my underwear, and I opted out of wearing a bra with my dress.

“I thought you might say that. And no, I couldn’t. Have fun tonight, Cora. You look hot as fuck. Let Slater get you off in the bathroom,” Lizzy wiggles her eyebrows at me, winking suggestively when I gape at her.

This is the problem with best friends. They know all your secrets. Of course Lizzy has never forgotten that I used to have a crush on my stepbrother, and is using his sudden reappearance to throw it back in my face.

“You shameless hussy,” I tease her, even as the thought makes me blush.

We park on the street and head to the shore, not even bothering to go into the house. There’s a massive fire, but I stay back, sitting on one of the benches as I sip the drink that Andrew got for me. It’s nice out tonight. Not too cold, and with the moon reflecting off the water, I don’t feel so alone.

Lizzy and Andrew have been making out for what feels like an hour. Slater disappeared shortly after we got here, so I’ve just been sitting here the whole time, with nothing to do but get tipsy.

I have to pee, and as much as I don’t want to go inside and deal with the many couples making out, or banging, I force myself to do it anyway.

Lizzy packed a change of everything except shoes, so I’m still in my heels. They make walking in the dirt, sand, and grass difficult, but I manage to make it to the house eventually.

Inside, I make my way upstairs. When I check the bathroom on the first floor, I find it covered in vomit. That’s foul. Hard pass.

Going in search of a slightly cleaner bathroom, I walk in on three different couples in various states of undress before I come to an empty bedroom, with a bathroom attached.

Thank goodness.

Once I finish using the surprisingly clean toilet, I wash my hands, and head back into the connected bedroom.

The lights snap off and the door to the bedroom slams shut in front of me. The room is plunged into darkness, and I can barely make out the shadows of the room.

My heart thunders but I force myself to remain calm. It’s just the reminder of what happened earlier that has me on edge.

“Cora.” The voice is muffled, but vaguely familiar. I frown, anxiety filling my stomach. After the night I’ve had, I’m easily startled. That’s to be expected.

Who just shut me in here with them? Whoever it is, they know me. They said my name. So it’s probably someone from school. Nothing to worry about.

“Who’s there?” I call out. “Are you near the lights? Can you find the switch? Or just open the door?” I know it’s pointless for me to fumble around in the dark. I’ll only bang into furniture and end up covered in bruises.

There’s no response.

“H-hello?”

“Dirty Cora,” the voice tuts, and dread flitters down my spine.