Fleeting

Beneath Your Beautiful

7th August 2021 (continued)

"I'll meet you at the party," Evie said, disappearing before anyone else had even moved.

I didn't even have time to answer before she was already gone.

"Time to party!" Jaxon shouted out, a chorus of cheers responding to him as we walked out of the cinema.

"So you and Evie looked cosy," Hazel hedged, batting her eyelashes at me.

Jaxon looked between us. "What did I miss?"

"They were holding hands," supplied Tori, making my mouth drop open.

"How the hell d'you see that?" It was pitch black, and Tori had been on my other side.

He shrugged. "I was watching."

"So was I," chimed in Hazel.

"Damn, I miss all the exciting things," Jaxon grumbled as we all climbed into Tori's car.

"It wasn't that exciting." I was quick to explain, but I could see Tori's raised eyebrow from the rearview mirror.

"It was something though, Sam. And you both looked pretty happy," Hazel said.

I clamped my mouth shut because the truth was; I was happy. In the cinema's darkness, it had felt like we were in our own bubble. Just me with the girl I had loved.

But now that I was back in the real world, the doubts had crept back in.

"What if it is all a coincidence, and she isn't the Evie we knew? What if this is a mistake?" I asked desperately.

The car was silent as my nerves returned to full force.

"I say we use tonight to find out if she is our Evie or not." Jaxon summed up.

"I agree. If she's not, then she's not, but what if she is Sam? Are you just going to let her leave?" Hazel asked, turning to look at my torn expression.

"I don't think I could cope if I lost her twice," I whispered.

Jaxon patted my back. "You won't. We're all with you on this."

"Jax is right. You're not alone in this, Sam," Tye agreed.

Tori's whistle saved me from saying anything, though I hoped my gratitude was visible on my face.

"This is one hell of a place," he said with appreciation.

We all crammed our heads against the window, Jaxon complaining about his lack of view because of me and Tye.

Tori drove through the gates, following the other cars up a winding double driveway. But it was the house at the end that we were all glued to.

Calling it a house was an injustice; it was an L.A. mansion with all the bells and whistles.

A parking valet stepped forward as we exited. He handed Tori a ticket and disappeared, taking the car with him.

We followed the flow of people round the side of the house. Someone had wrapped twenty foot white ribbons around the mature trees, which were also decorated with white fairy lights. Overhead were strings of lanterns going between the house and trees stretching right over the backyard, which was half the size of a football pitch.

They had built a stage in the far corner with a large dance floor whilst a huge buffet stood waiting on the patio. Waiting staff stood ready in their crisp shirts as they began offering drinks to the arriving guests.