Lawless

Chapter Thirty

The smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol is instantly evident as soon as Ivy pushes the front door open. The air inside appears to be hazy with smoke; so many people crowd the house that it's hard to move around.

I grab onto the back of Ivy's dress as she manoeuvers her way through the crowd of people. There's so much more people here tonight then the night I left Class.

"Ivy" I call over the music, unsure about this.

She looks over her shoulder, making sure I'm following "everything's okay Dove, come this way".

I follow closely behind, not wanting to lose her in the sea of people, unsure whether I'd find her again. Ivy shoulders her way through groups of people, giving up on being polite when they refuse to move. A few turn around, ready to give her a peace of their mind but they turn back around once they see her face. Apparently Sage isn't the only one with a reputation around here.

We make it to the room that holds the fire pit, the glow illuminating peoples faces, I recognise no one. Everyone is dressed the same as Ivy and I, minimal clothing covers bodies loitering around even though it's barely six degrees inside the house.

Five men sit in the chairs surrounding the fire pit that once held Sage, Gunner, Ryder, Gabe and Hunter. Girls occupy three out of the five mens laps.

Ivy leads me past them, although I don't miss the glare she throws in their direction. We end up in the joint kitchen, still as empty as the day I first saw it.

"They aren't meant to be sitting there" Ivy grumbles under her breath. I look up and see the guys watching us and smirking, obviously not too concerned about Ivy's anger.

"What are we doing here?" I ask, directing her attention away from the men and back to the reason she dragged me here.

I watch as she opens the cabinets, one after another looking for something. She opens a corner cabinet and then pushes the side wall open, revealing the copious amounts of alcohol hidden behind it.

"Found it!" Ivy shouts, a smile taking over her face.

"How'd you know that was there?" I question, looking over the top of the counter, keeping an eye out for people.

"The guys keep their alcohol back here" she grins proudly. The mischievous look on her face gives away to the fact that this alcohol is not meant for us.

"They'll be mad, Ivy" I complain. I am less worried about Sage being mad and more worried about looking after an intoxicated Ivy, in a place I don't know and people I don't trust.

"They won't know Dove, they're not here" she says pulling cups out of the cabinet and pouring some kind of liquid into two cups, the colour unknown due to the lack of light.

Ivy shoves a cup in my hand, filled half way. The glint in her eyes shows her excitement, I guess there weren't a lot of times she can leave the house by herself, let alone go to a party without someone accompanying her.

"Ivy, I don't drink" I shout at her over the noise of the room, more people had showed up and I'm sure the music could be heard all the way to Class.

I swish the liquid around and give it a sniff. I had had a glass of wine with dinner once or twice but this for sure doesn't smell like wine.

"We'll do it together. Ready?" I give her an unsure nod. She's so excited and I don't want to put a downer on her mood.

Ivy counts down from three to one. She manages to finish the whole cup while I only manage a mouthful. The liquid is surprisingly sweet until it hits the back of my throat; the sting is ticklish and hurts the small cut on my lip from where I'd nervously chewed the skin off. I finish off the cup in several mouthfuls before Ivy refills both.