Unraveling Eden ✔ [ONC 2021]

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

As Ethan walked away, his shadow self flashed before my eyes. I squeezed them shut and counted to three in my head, hoping the illusion would disappear. Much to my relief, I was back in reality and Ethan was gone. Tully scurried up to me, making embarrassing noises that made my cheeks flush. She threw her arm around my shoulder and pressed her cheek to mine. "Oh, who was that? He's gorgeous!"

"I know right! His name is Ethan and all I know about him is that he just caught his girlfriend cheating on him, but I think I'm in love," I gushed, still feeling the lingering effect of his touch and the serene tone of his voice that sent shivers down my spine. "And I only spent like a half hour with him."

She squealed and threw her head back in excitement. "If this works out, we could finally have boyfriends at the same time. How much fun would it be to go on a double date?"

"We are not doing that," I said with a chuckle but my brain drifted, remembering the weird daydream that bombarded me earlier. "Something weird did happen..."

"What was it?"

"You know those dreams that I used to have, the ones where I was this girl from the past, Delphine?" She nodded and linked her arm with mine. "I've never had one when I was awake before, until now. When I bumped into Ethan, it was like I was transported. The weirdest part was that he was in my dream, or I think it was him. His name wasn't Ethan though, his name was Nik, yet it looked just like the Ethan I met. Weird, right?"

"Well, yeah it's weird..." she trailed off.

I sighed. "What?" Tully only shrugged, her lips pursed. "I know you, I know that look. There's something you want to say to me."

"Come with me." She dragged me back into the party. The sound of people chattering and music playing in the background became louder with each light footstep.

"Aw, come on, Tull. I'm so done with this party." A groan escaped my lips as my heels clicked back onto the tile floor. Thinking about interacting with the other people here seemed more dreadful than before. I'd gotten a taste of the good stuff and now nothing could compare.

"Trust me. Would I lead you astray?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation. She giggled as we walked past the bar. I watched as she looked back and forth, quickly, before swiping a bottle of champagne off the countertop. With a wink, she scurried toward the staircase, interlocking our fingers, and tucked the bottle behind her back where it couldn't be seen. "You're crazy, girl!" I would have been more surprised, except I knew Tully. It would never really have been a party if Tully didn't sneak some alcohol. This was just more ballsy with hundreds of strangers to catch us.

She shushed me and when we reached my bedroom she popped the cork on the bottle. The foam squirted up and she wrapped her mouth around the opening. "Your turn." She pushed the champagne into my arms and waited for me to gulp down a mouthful before she kicked off her heels. "Let's take this to the roof."

Tully opened the latch and let the window panes fly open. She scooped up the end of the dress and stepped out onto the rooftop. I could feel the breeze brush against my skin as the window swung open, instant chills coming down my spine and I wrapped my arms around my abdomen.

"Come on!" she called.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I followed her lead, stripping to my bare feet, and laid down beside Tully on the roof. "This is my kind of party. Now, what was it you wanted to say earlier?"