The Perfect Storm 2

Chapter 166

The new heels I got with Stephanie are thin, gold and black. 

They click against the hall as we approach the exit quicker and quicker, trying our best to rush ourselves in our small dresses and high heels. 

No matter how often I'm persuaded into wearing dresses that I'm uncomfortable with for the sake of trying to start new in WSU, I still always find it uncomfortable and I think I always will. I close my eyes and take a small and quick breath before Stephanie's fake-tanned hand pulls me out of the door and into the freezing cold. 

My feet try to control the heels strapped to them that are trying to swim through the pebbles on the road leading to the parking lot. I breathe the fresh air into my lungs, trying to calm down the heart beating inside of me; the heart racing for what's about to come. My nerves are tight and all over the place.

"You're stiff." Stephanie points out the obvious before letting go of my arm.

"Here." She hands me a vodka bottle that weirdly reminds me of the night; the basement where Jacob and Miles told me the truth. The sick feeling rushes over me and I feel overwhelmed. She hands me a shot glass quickly after and I debate the foul and clear liquid before finally pouring the poisonous drink slowly down my throat. I feel it rush into every cell. 

I glance down at my hand and somehow instantly my body loosens up, it feels less tangled and less uptight. I take another deep breath, trying to breathe into what's left of my nerves and it works; the alcohol seeps into every part of my being, letting every inch of me relax.

"One more and we're going," Stephanie says, handing me one more drink out of a shot glass. 

I know that both my mother and Jace would be surprised that I have chosen to take the second shot glass from Stephanie's hands, but I've never needed it as much as I do now.

"I don't know how much we'll be able to drink at the club, but two shots should give us something to start with." Stephanie smiles giddily. I've never felt the nerves I do now. I've never before changed this much and gone through changes that tell me it's okay to have a small glass to calm down my nerves, even if I do feel slightly dizzy at the decision and slightly guilty as if my past is still haunting me; in a good way. 

I chug the other glass, disgusted at the feeling that follows but overwhelmed with the goodness that it brings my aching nerves. I hand Stephanie the shot glass and she sticks it in her small off-white purse before the both of us rush into her car. 

The engine turns on and I'm freezing in Stephanie's car. Any car that Isn't a Lamborghini feels odd to be in somehow. I got so comfortable with the leather seats, the enormous car, the buttons, the lights inside the car that now anything else feels odd. 

My mind runs back to the time when I first got into Chrissy's car, the idea of Miles not lending or giving her a better car made my head spin with confusion. 

But now I realize that the signs were all there, he didn't love her, and it was only when he did love me, that she realized and that I realized I loved him too. 

As we turn onto the main road the thought of Rebecca and Miles at the party makes me feel sick but I push the thoughts down. 

She can do whatever she wants and he can do whatever he wants. I have nothing to do with either of them.

"We're here!" Stephanie squeaks and electricity ushes through me at the thought of walking into this party in high heels and a short dress to meet Cody and Jace. I gulp down whatever feelings start to rise

"I'll pour us some punch while you find the boys, okay?" Stephanie suggests and I nod with my lips pressed into a line.

"Okay." I manage in a whisper. As I walk closer to the nightclub, I expect to see those dark eyes on me but I don't. I don't see him and I don't see her either; I don't see Rebecca. What if they're upstairs? I shake the thought out of my head, trying not to make my stomach twist and turn any more than it already has. I spot a dark head of hair sitting on the couch, but my yes don't catch his.