Thicker than blood, p.9
Thicker Than Blood, page 9
I didn’t like to lie to Luke. I mean, he was my fucking best friend, and we told each other everything. To the fucking tiniest secret. It wasn’t like we spent hours chatting away, like a couple of silly girls. But, you know, we just didn’t lie to each other. The only thing I hadn’t told him, was the love I felt for Audie. How could I possibly tell him that? I mean, how would that go? Like ‘Hey man! What’s up? Yeah, I’m fine, nothing really… I’m just completely, disgustingly yearning for my own baby sister. But other than that, I’m perfectly fine man!’ Nah, I don’t think so.
“Where’s Audrina?” Luke suddenly asked, looking around the cafeteria, his question pulling me back to reality with full force. The blood drained from my face, yet my heart went into high gear. Why would he ask that? I questioned worriedly. He couldn’t suspect anything? He didn’t suspect anything, did he?
Forcing myself to play it cool, I shrugged my tense shoulders. “I don’t know, why?”
Luke also shrugged. “Nothing, really, she’s just usually here by now.”
Ooookay… “I guess…”
“Anyways, are you listening to me right now?”
“Yeah,” I promised, nodding my head as I took my first bite from the food I had bought. Internally I was breathing a sigh of relief.
“Okay, good. Well, tonight Justin’s having a party, and I just wanted to make sure you’re going to come.” Luke looked at me questioningly.
The mere mention of Justin’s name made my blood boil. I did not like him right now. Sure, yesterday I had told him to back the fuck off my sister, but I wasn’t completely sure he would obey. That depended on how much he wanted her and I guessed it was pretty badly, like the way a lot of guys wanted her. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had invited Audie to his party... and then it would be a good thing if I was there, so I would be able to keep an eye on her. Well, more like, I would be able to keep an eye on the guys that would try to seduce her.
Then again, I wasn’t sure she would say yes to the impending invite. Sure, Audie went to parties, but mostly only ones that took place on weekends. She didn’t like going to parties on school nights, but sometimes she did go, if Sarah nagged her about it enough. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to miss being there and protect her if she did decide to come.
I faked a smile. “Yeah, of course, like I would miss that!”
“Great!” Luke grinned.
Suddenly, the all too familiar voice that always sent shivers down my spine, was heard, and I could soon spot Audie and Sarah approach our table. I was shocked. Even though Sarah and Audie mostly sat at our table, they didn’t always do so. Today of all days, I had thought they would have decided against sitting here. I guess I was wrong...
Since Sienna had the same class as them before lunch, she was also one of the arrivals. By the look on her face, I knew she wanted to sit next to me. Thankfully, the seats on either side of me were occupied. I continued on my food, all the while observing Audie in my peripheral vision.
Guess I should have saved the thought of being lucky... I soon felt a weight on my lap, and realized Sienna had sat herself there.
“Hi baby!” She squealed and landed a smack on my lips.
I almost choked on my food and quickly pulled away. "Hey! I’m trying to eat here. If you don’t mind, I would like to continue with that,” I growled.
By the look on her face, I knew I had hurt her, but I couldn’t care less. Really. As Sienna reluctantly moved away from my lap, I stole a glance at Audie. She had been looking at me, but looked away when I met her gaze. With a frustrated sigh, I stabbed the fork into the meat.
I had to talk to her. At least to tell her that kissing Sienna had meant nothing to me. But how did you even start to explain something like that, to your own sister for fucks sake?! God, I was so screwed!
Audrina
I didn’t know what to feel when I heard Isaac tell Sienna to get off him, but I tried not to get my hopes up. After all, he had kissed her this very morning. And not shyly, I might add…
I didn’t get him! It annoyed the crap out of me and made it hard for me to eat my lunch. I felt Isaac’s stare several times, but I refused to meet his gaze.
I had changed my mind. After this morning’s escapade, I had decided that Isaac had to make the first move. And I wasn’t even sure I wanted to talk to him. I mean, even though he had told Sienna to get off his lap, he had kissed the girl this very morning! What did that tell me about his feelings of the kiss the two of us had shared, if not that it didn’t mean anything to him. At least not what it meant to me...
When lunch was finally over, I went to my locker to get the necessary stuff for my next class. Sarah walked with me. We had the next class together, which was math. I kind of liked math. It had always been an easy subject for me. Then again, there were not many subjects I found difficult. I guess I was lucky that way.
“Feeling okay?” Sarah asked for the hundredth time today.
“I’m fine,” I repeated, fighting hard to not roll my eyes.
Yes, I loved her never ending support and all, but sometimes her compassion could become an annoyance. She finally registered I didn’t want to talk about it, and we walked through the corridors in silence. A strong arm appeared over my shoulders. Wow, that was so not like Sarah. Sure, we hugged each other every once in a while, but putting an arm around my shoulders... that wasn’t very us. And did she really have such a strong grip?
Hmm...
Looking to my right, I realized it wasn’t Sarah’s arm. And the tall person with a five o’clock shadow certainly wasn’t Sarah. Justin had appeared between us and had placed his arms on both Sarah’s and my shoulders. “What’s up girls!” He said cheerily.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. Even though my mood had seen better days, Justin was a joyous guy. Always seemed to be smiling. “Not much, you?” I asked.
He grinned at me. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you guys come to my party tonight.”
Party on a Tuesday… I didn’t normally go out on school nights, but I could surely need something to occupy my mind with. Still, we did have school tomorrow, and I wouldn’t like to miss it because of some stupid hangover. Then again, I didn’t have to drink just because I was at a party. Sure, drinking had a tendency to make the evening more fun, but drinking wasn’t obligatory in order for me to have a good time.
I was just about to tell Justin I had to think about it, when Sarah spoke up. “Of course, we’ll be there!”
Her words had me frowning, but I didn’t have time to object. “Great!” Justin exclaimed, only looking at me.
I forced a smile as he said his good byes. Of course he couldn’t leave without sending me a wink first. When he had left, I turned to glare at Sarah. “What was that all about? What makes you think I want to go to a party, and on a school night?” I asked her, annoyed.
“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun! Besides, you have to get your mind off of a certain person, and a party is the perfect way,” she smiled mischievously. I knew she was right... but was a party the solution? “Come on, or we’re going to be late,” Sarah urged and grabbed a hold of my arm, dragging me to the classroom.
Isaac
As soon as I got home, I walked over to Audie’s room and knocked on her door. Apart from the lunch break, I hadn’t spotted her one single time in school. And she hadn’t been waiting by my car, like she usually did when school had ended. God, I hated it when she was mad at me. If someone would ask me what I hated most in life, that would be it. Audrina being mad at me. God, I’m such a fucked-up pussy! I thought for at the billionth time today.
I had waited in the parking lot for about half an hour, just in case Audrina would show up. But as I had watched the students scatter from the school yard, one by one, until no one was left but me, I had decided to drive home, hoping to find her there instead. No such luck. After waiting outside the door to her room for an appropriate amount of time, I opened it. It was empty. Just like yesterday. I punched the wall with a frustrated growl. Thankfully, it didn’t leave a mark. Audrina didn’t need more reasons to be mad at me.
Okay, what to do now? Nobody was home. The party wouldn’t start until a couple of hours. Believe it or not, I only needed like half an hour to look amazing.
Sighing heavily, I decided to do some homework.
An hour later, while I was still sitting by my desk and doing my homework, I heard the front door open. My whole body tensed. Was Audrina finally back? I couldn’t stop myself from getting my hopes up.
Even though I didn’t know what to say, or how to begin my apologies, I still needed to give it a try. I would sacrifice anything in this world for a chance to be with her. To be in a real relationship.
“Hello darlings, I’m home!”
Great, I’m so fucking lucky, aren’t I? I thought angrily, recognizing the muffled voice as mom’s. It didn’t take many minutes before someone knocked on my door.
“Honey, are you in there?” Mom asked in her soft voice.
“Yeah, come in,” I replied, turning my swivel chair so I was facing the door.
“Hi darling! How are you?” Mom asked as she walked into my room.
“Studying. You?” I asked, offering a forced smile.
“Oh, just fine,” she replied, smiling back at me. “Is Audrina in her room?”
I had to focus really hard not to let the anger take over my facial expression. “No, she’s not.” I replied shortly, turning around so I was facing the desk again.
“Oh... do you know where she is?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “She wasn’t by my car when school ended. I suppose she’s with a friend,” I replied, trying to keep my voice nonchalant.
“Okay, guess I’ll give her a call then...” I heard her retreating footsteps. My hands balled into fists as I realized how badly I wanted to eavesdrop on that call. Where is she?
“By the way, I’m going to a party tonight,” I informed. I didn’t have to ask for permission. Neither did Audie. But mom and dad still preferred to know where we were.
“Okay. Hope you’ll have fun,” mom said before closing the door.
Yeah, like that would ever turn out to be the case... I thought sarcastically, my knuckles turning white.
Audrina
Since Sarah had decided that we were going to attend Justin’s party, we decided to get ready together. With a quick stop by my place, just enough time for me to get a dress and a couple of high heels, we then went over to her place.
Aside from the lunch break, I hadn’t bumped into Isaac again. I couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing. I felt kind of bad for not telling him that I went over to Sarah’s after school, and that I wouldn’t need a ride home, but I just couldn’t face him. Not so shortly after everything that had happened.
“You chose the dress you bought when I bought my red one, right?” Sarah asked, popping her head into the bathroom, interrupting my thoughts as I was fixing my makeup.
I met her eyes in the mirror, nodding my head. “Yeah.”
“Good, cause I’m going to wear the one I bought,” she smirked before leaving the bathroom.
Even though my parents went away on trips every once in a while, mom usually joined dad on most of his work trips, Sarah’s parents were almost always away. Her dad was a film director, thereby filthy rich, while her mother was a former model. I don’t think I have to mention how gorgeous Sarah was with her blond hair, big, baby blue eyes, and long, slim figure. But she wasn’t cocky or thought too highly of herself. Just like me, she felt comfortable with herself, but didn’t feel the need to show off. Although, she had more confidence than me, and never thought twice about giving her opinion to anyone.
On the outside, we were complete opposites. On the inside, we were very similar. I completely agreed with Aristotle’s quote “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” It was so true when it came to real friends. I swear I couldn’t have gotten a better friend than Sarah. As long as I had her, I didn’t need more, real, friends... apart from Mariah of course. But she was no longer with us, and no matter how much I might have wanted to, nothing could change that.
“Sarah, what do you think I should do with my hair?” I asked when I was back in her bedroom, having a hard time deciding for myself. Sarah came out from the walk-in closet, already wearing her dress. “Wow, you look amazing!” I exclaimed.
“Why, thank you!” She giggled as she walked up to me and studied my hair. “I think we should use my curling iron and make your hair look wavy, like an actress on the red carpet,” she explained and I smiled in agreement.
As I was sitting on a chair, while Sarah styled my hair, I couldn’t stop from wondering if Isaac would be at the party. The thought had my heartbeat increase. I was pretty sure he would come. He barely ever missed a party. He could even have a cold and skip school, but wouldn’t miss a party the same evening. He had literally done that. The thought had me smiling. But the smile withered when another thought hit me. What if he would flirt with some girl at the party? God, just the thought made me angry. But if that were to happen, what should I do? I hoped I could just try to ignore it. The other part of Sarah’s plan sneaked into my thoughts, and I came to a decision. If Isaac flirted with another girl at the party, I would do the same... except I wouldn’t flirt with a girl, I would flirt with a guy, of course.
“So, what do you think?” Sarah asked, turning me around so I could study her handiwork in the mirror.
I nearly gasped. My hair looked... absolutely amazing! “Wow, thank you! You’re the bestest!” I squealed and hugged her tightly.
“Ouf! Um... chocking over here!” She yelped. I retracted my arms, giggling as she took a deep breath. “Man, your strong!” She wheezed. My giggles turned into laughter. “Not funny,” she glared at me as soon as she had caught her breath, and I had to struggle hard to stop laughing.
“Sorry,” I grinned, “but thank you, it really does look amazing!” I confirmed as I gave my hair a once over in the mirror.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Now, go get dressed, or we’ll be late,” she grunted and started to fix her own hair.
I walked over to the bed where I had left my bag and changed into the dress I had bought this last weekend when we had been shopping. The midnight black, strapless dress hugged my body tightly and ended mid-thigh. I had chosen a pair of lilac high heels to make the outfit more edgy. To top it off, I went with a lilac diamond necklace and two bracelets in the same color on their diamonds. I had to admit, I did look good!
“Damn Audie! If Isaac is there tonight, he will not be able to tear his eyes off of you, I promise!” Sarah squealed.
I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “And the way you look, you can choose any freaking guy you want at this party.” I said in return, being honest. She did look amazing. Like a movie star. I couldn’t even begin to describe how happy I was that she didn’t have any feelings for Isaac, and that Isaac didn’t seem to have any feelings for her. I mean, I bet they would look like the perfect couple together.
“Shall we go?” Sarah asked, barely able to contain her excitement.
With a shudder of exhilaration, I nodded my head and we made our way to Sarah’s car. Wow, talk about quick changes in my mood. As I sat down in her car, I absentmindedly wondered what I would feel within the next hour.
Chapter 11
Audrina
I was still standing by Sarah’s car, gawking at the scene before me. Trust any of the guys from the ‘it group’ to throw a party like this. Sure, I had been to parties thrown by some from our group before, but I could never fully get used to what was always going to greet me.
The garden was filled with laughing and chatting people, most of them drunk already. The music coming from inside the house was blasting through the speakers, making the glass on the windows rattle. Justin’s house was huge, alright. It was more like a mansion than a house. Then again, his mother was a rather famous lawyer. I guess I should be used to it, most people in our group, Isaac and I included, came from wealthy families.
“Do you want to gawk some more, or can we go inside already?” Sarah joked, grabbing a hold of my arm and dragging me across the lawn, maneuvering between clusters of teenagers.
I rolled my eyes at her so-called joke and glanced at my clock. It was not more than nine p.m. Talk about people getting drunk early. I bet not even half of them would remember most of the night come morrow morning.
We didn’t bother to knock since the front door was already open, we just walked straight in... only to be met by more people fooling around, talking and laughing, drinking and swaying. Taking off my jacket, I felt stares in Sarah’s and my direction. I didn’t bother to look at the guys, though. Whether I was ready or not to talk to him, all I could think about, all I was secretly hoping for, was to see Isaac’s painfully gorgeous face.
“Well hello there gorgeous, I’m glad you guys could make it!” A familiar voice cheered just as we had reached the kitchen. I blushed, meeting Justin’s gaze.
I was about to answer, but Sarah’s teasing voice beat me to it. “Didn’t we say we would?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Justin chuckled, glancing briefly at Sarah before returning his focus on me. I felt a bit guilty for the way Justin was neglecting Sarah. I mean, I wouldn’t care at all if Justin was interested in her. But thankfully, Sarah didn’t seem annoyed by this. On the contrary. She kept wiggling her eyebrows at me, urging me to flirt with Justin. No, I was not going to do that. At least not yet. “So, can I get you guys something to drink?” Justin asked, still only looking at me.
Hm, should I drink or not? I pondered the question. I definitely didn’t want to wake up with a hangover. But a drink or two couldn’t hurt, right? It would probably just help me relax.
“Sure, why not,” I smiled at Justin, earning a huge grin in return.
“I’ll be right back.”
