So, no jackets it is. We’ll have to hope we can find a relatively close place to park so we don’t have to walk in the cold for too long. Once we get to the party, the house should be hot enough.
I still don’t think it’s a good idea, me going to this party. The last time I went somewhere before the semester began was when I went home with Logan and lost my virginity to him, and we all know what happened after that.
Logan. As I get ready for the party, I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing tonight. What if he shows up at the same party? What if I see him hooking up with other girls? It’s not so far-fetched; he told me he’s never had a relationship and that he’s used to girls throwing themselves at his feet. I clearly wasn’t important at all to him, because he never once checked in on me after the accident. It’s like I fell off his radar completely.
Guess he was pissed off at me for knowing he’s Pope from Black Sacrament. Like, really, really pissed.
But you know what? Even if he is hooking up with every girl he can get his playboy hands on, it doesn’t matter. We were never together. We weren’t an item. We sure as heck were notexclusively seeing each other. Things were always hot and cold between us, a constant tug of war. In reality, that guy shouldn’t take up my thoughts anymore.
Screw him. Even if he is there tonight, it won’t matter. I don’t want to talk to him or see him.
I don’t do anything fancy with makeup or my hair. I do straighten it so the weird kinks that always seem to show up after a shower are gone, and then I do a bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner. Nothing crazy.
I didn’t tell Sloane about Reese asking me out. A part of me feels like it didn’t really happen, that it was all in my head and not truly real. Like, I’ll only believe it if it actually happens. Obviously, if he does text me and try to make plans with me, I’ll have to tell her then, but in case it doesn’t, I’d rather skip that conversation for now.
They might’ve met at the hospital a few times, but if they did I don’t know how it went; I didn’t ask her. I was too busy, you know, reeling with having been hit by a car and wondering why Logan never visited.
Ugh. My life would be so much better if I never went home with him at that club. I let myself get so tangled up with him without even realizing it. It’s like…
Well, it’s like I fell in love with him when I wasn’t looking, which is just ridiculous.
A knock on my bedroom door alerts me to the fact that I’m not alone, and I turn away from my mirror to see Sloane standing there. She wears all white—much like me, only she wears tight white leather pants, while I have a knee-length dress on with white tights beneath it. A fluffy white blouse hugs her slim figure, and her blonde hair is as straight as it’s ever been. Those green eyes of hers are done up in silver eyeshadow. She holds a pair of feathery wings in her hands.
She got one for me, but no way in heck am I going to stroll anywhere while wearing fake angel wings that belong on a slutty Halloween costume. It’s bad enough I have to wear this white dress and these uncomfortable tights. I think wearing white is good enough.
“You ready to go?” she asks, taking a single step into my room. As she does so, I see that she applied glitter to her collarbone and cheeks. She sparkles every which way.
I hold back a sigh, and instead of saying what I really want to say—as in, that I don’t want to go to this party—I force myself to tell her, “Yeah, I’m all set.” New year, new me, right? I can go to a party and have fun, can’t I? I don’t need to hook up with anyone or fall into a tangled web that’ll last all semester and end with me in the hospital again.
Nope. It’s a new semester. Things are different. I’m different.
At least, I like to think so.
I join Sloane in the hallway, and together we walk down the stairs and meet Elias near the door to the garage. He wears all black—and I hate to say it, but he looks darn good. With his black hair and his equally black eyes, he doesn’t even need the horns that hang loosely in his hands, along with his keys. He and Sloane are a gorgeous couple, even if they seem hot and cold sometimes, too.
I grab my jacket and shrug it on, while Sloane forgoes her jacket entirely as she approaches Elias with a wicked grin. “Looking good,” she purrs out, and I instantly feel the need to leave and give them some privacy. They’ve been together for, what, two years now? And they still act like they can’t get enough of each other most of the time.
If that’s what my and Mike’s relationship was missing… we never stood a chance at making it in the long-run. After feeling that fire with Logan, even though it was only for a short while, I get it now. There needs to be some kind of passion, some kind ofinexplicable pull to the other person, something you couldn’t put words to.
Elias only rolls his eyes at Sloane, but I note the way the corners of his mouth tug into a tiny smirk. He acts like he hates going out, hates putting on a show for her, but he never complains, so I think his supposed hatred for it is all a show.
He’s the first to push out into the garage, and we trail after him, funneling into his vehicle as he opens the main garage door. I sit in the back, alone, while Sloane sits in the front with him. My eyes are glued to the window as we get going.
It’s a world of night outside, only the night is lit up by both the moon in the sky and the numerous streetlights. Both those things bounce off the accumulated snow, making the world appear lighter than it should be.
Sloane tried hyping me up for this party, saying it’s the perfect opportunity for me to try to meet someone new. Clearly, she’s used to acting before she thinks, but I am the opposite of that. The one and only time I acted without thinking is when I got tangled up in Logan, and by now everyone knows how that turned out.
Not good.
So, yeah, I don’t think I’ll be hooking up with anyone tonight.
This party is being held at a pretty big house that must be a multi-person rental a few blocks away from campus. There is no parking nearby, so we have to park a few blocks away and quickly walk in the cold so we don’t freeze. I am beyond hesitant to leave my jacket in the car, but Sloane keeps assuring me the party will be hot enough, so in the end I survive by rubbing my hands on my bare arms while we walk.
Seems a stupid time of the year to have a costume party, but what do I know?
We make it to the house, where a big guy wearing a devil’s costume—mask, pitchfork, and all—guards the door. He’s busytalking to a girl, but when he sees us approach, he gives us a nod and lets us in.
Thankfully, Sloane was right. The house is warm, and the moment we step across the threshold, I breathe out a sigh of relief. Sloane and Elias head in search of the kitchen, and I follow them, not knowing what else to do. They grab drinks, but I refrain.