Love Bites

The hand that feeds

Friday, Everyone loves Friday, especially when it's the last school day of the year. Her old friends were already finished with their exams and now she too would be free after today. Cal pulled up outside her house as Tasha was applying the final coat of lipstick, calling goodbye to her grandparents she hurried out to meet him. A wave of sorrow hit her as she jogged down the path, her parents should be seeing her off today. But even though they weren't here in body, she knew they were here in spirit and if she hadn't lost them she never would have met Izzy, Lucas or Cal.

Cal sat in the drivers seat, dark sun glasses perched on his pale face. Izzy and Lucas occupied the back seat, leaving the front for her now that she and Cal were officially an item. Tasha hopped in, greeted her friends and lent over to kiss Cal. Wow! she thought to herself he just gets better looking every day.

"You ready for the most pointless school day in the history of school?" Izzy asked her. All the students knew that the teachers were counting down the hours of the day just as much as the students, and even though they were A Level students and apparently more mature, they didn't want to do anything that constituted work on the last day.

"Can't wait!" Tasha said injecting her response with fake enthusiasm.

"I'm looking forward to tonight though," Lucas said eagerly.

"Why? What happens tonight?" Tasha asked.

"We party of course!" Lucas said, and Izzy rolled her eyes.

"Apparently there's this creepy old Manor House on the outskirts of town, right in the middle of the woods," Izzy told them, Cal felt as though he'd been doused in ice cold water. "The place has been deserted for years and it's supposed to be proper eerie, but man, what a party we are gonna have!"

"Sounds awesome! Don't you think Cal?" Tasha said turning to Cal who kept his eyes firmly on the road.

"Yeah great," he replied, though his mind was churning ten to the dozen trying to sort this out in his head. "How many are gonna go?" He asked, surely not that many would be interested.

"Pretty much the whole college!" Izzy told him. "It's gonna be off the chain!" 

Cal smiled, but inside he was panicking, what the hell was he gonna do?! He remained quiet for the rest if the journey, trying desperately to think of a way out of this situation.

"You're quiet," Tasha commented after a few minutes of silence.

"Sorry just thinking," he smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. She returned the smile, the action lighting up her whole face. Lucas' voice broke through his haze. 

"Where did you hear about the Manor House, Izzy? I've lived here my entire life and I've never heard of a manor house out there." Cal's ears pricked up, suddenly interested in the conversation once more.

"This girl in year 13 err...Celeste, no Selena something or other. Really pretty girl but a bit weird, actually, totally off if you know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean," Cal said darkly under his breath, but Izzy heard him.

"You know her?"

"I should say so, she's my sister."

"Oh my God! Sorry ..I.. Mean err..." Izzy fumbled for words.

"Don't sweat it," he told her. "She is weird."

Izzy blushed, the colour of her cheeks matching the paintwork of Cal's car.

"I didn't realise you had a sister," Tasha said quietly, her thoughts tumbling towards that dark abyss that lived at the back of her mind.

"Yeah, and she's a pain in the fuckin' ass, I'd be better off without her." Cal said, trying to disguise the venom in his voice.