The Righteous Path

Black Sheep

It was Halloween night and Lilith was at Sam's house party. There were at least 40 sweaty people in the cramped old house, dancing and drinking. Sam had decided to wear a couple's costume with her sleazy boyfriend. She was a salt shaker and he was a battery.

"Get it! A salt and battery!" she exclaimed, hoping that Lilith would be as excited as her.

"Hopefully it's not a premonition." She hissed to Sam, disdain thick in her voice. After the comment, Sam had made herself scarce, clearly offended and hurt. Many of the people at the party were strangers to Lilith, adding to the feeling of isolation. She sat on the couch in the living room, drinking a screwdriver made from cheap vodka and pulpy orange juice, contemplating her decision to even come. The house was hot and cloudy from weed and cigarettes, the mind-numbing bass of the music beating into her head, slowly causing a headache. Beside her sat a young man, his unconscious body slumped over the arm rest of the lumpy, musty couch. Looking down at herself, dressed in a slutty little bow peep costume, she was starting to really wish she had stayed home. She chugged the subpar cocktail and stood to find something worthwhile.

It had been over two weeks since she had seen or heard from anyone in the band and for the better she thought. Initially she was angry, but that quickly turned into shame and embarrassment. How was she so incapable of containing herself around them? This had never been an issue before, but something was different. Focusing during class was difficult and nearly every night she suffered through seeing them. The idea of working with them seemed nearly impossible now. She had thought that maybe it was all a ruse, and she would never see them again. Her heart tugged at the thought though and she hated it. Weaving through the drunken crowd, Lilith made her way to the kitchen. There she found a group of girls, equally as slutty, chattering with excitement.

"There is a big party at the frat house near 5th street! Like huge!" a girl slurred and there was a chorus of agreement. Lilith felt this might be her chance to have a somewhat enjoyable Halloween. They decided to leave and she tagged along, talking with one girl about her dreams of become a veterinarian. The frat house was only three blocks away from Sam's, the blustery fall air making the trek feel much longer. When they got to the party she realized just how huge it was. The house was quite large, perhaps 6 bedrooms, with 20 people outside the house drinking and talking. Like many of the homes near the college, the house was old with large trees adorning the long, manicured front yard. She walked across the grass and onto the porch when she suddenly felt someone was staring at her, prickling the hair on the back of her neck. Looking around, she found nothing but drunk college kids fumbling around the dark yard. Trying to shake off the feeling, she entered the house. In the foyer and the two rooms off the entrance there were about 50 more people. The smell of sweat and weed was pungent in the damp, stale air. A stair case sat against the left side of the foyer wall, leading up to what she assumed were bedrooms. She walked further into the foyer, looking for anyone she may have known. Walking to the hall leading back behind the stair case, she heard the floor boards creak behind her.

"Hey, Lily." A thick, slurred voice came from behind her. She turned to see Matthew slowly swaying in the hall way. He stood at about 5'10 with thick red hair and bright green eyes. His face was flushed from the alcohol, the redness in his eyes accentuating his green irises. He pulled her in for a hug before she was able to stop him, the damp heat of his body making her slightly nauseous.

"Oh, hey Matt. I didn't expect to see you here." She tensed, not wanting his hug. He was the kind of guy that viewed women as an object rather than a human. He spoke of the "thing" he fucked every Monday in lab. Even though he was sleazy, he was also very intelligent and charismatic, making it easy for many to overlook his deplorable behavior. For the holiday, he had dressed as a greaser, his fire red hair slicked back and held there with copious amounts of gel.