In My Skin

CH 15 || Red Alert

True to her word, Suzy started dragging me to a different party every week. Halloween was just around the corner and two weeks before the actual event, everyone was already going crazy. My skin had calmed down enough that I was able to get a decent amount of sleep. I only had a few spots right now but nothing major.

After the breakup, I felt much better overall. But Chris had somehow evolved into a walking, talking problem. Despite my attempts to avoid him, he'd persistently tried to stop me to chat. We were starting to draw attention.

As I took a sip from my cup filled with a mixture of water and red juice, I nodded here and there as a guys covered in bandages told me about their latest soccer game. The room was packed with college students dressed in all sorts of costumes such as witches, mad clowns, and nurses. I felt a bit out of place in my simple attire of skinny jeans and a thin, long V-neck pullover.

"So yeah, with me scoring that penalty kick we actually beat them two to one in the end," Dan, or Daniel—I couldn't remember his name—said excitedly. His brown hair stuck out from under the wrapped dressing that covered his whole body. He wasn't too tall, which was nice since I didn't need to crane my neck like crazy.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for Suz. The last time I saw her she'd been busy stalking a guy named Nick, and I realized that it was wiser to let her do her own thing without getting involved in any potential weirdness. Which was how I ended up with D—the mummy.

My phone buzzed, indicating the arrival of several text messages. "Sorry, I need to check this," I said to the guy and stepped to the side.

By the time I unlocked my screen, I had seven alerts from Suzy and more incoming.

Suz: TAY!!! Red alert, I repeat. RED ALERT!!!

Suz: Chris and some others just showed up.

Suz: I can't call, they're right next to me.

Suz: He's looking for you.

Suz: Like you better get out of here, his friends look like they've been fighting or something.

Suz: Tay. Seriously I don't like this, did you read this?

Suz: They entered the house.

Suz: SHIT. Somebody said they saw you here.

Suz: Tay.

And then the last one arrived.

Suz: Run.

Five seconds of staring at my screen was all I needed before springing into action. I whirled on my feet and dashed out of the living room.

"Hey, where are you going?" mummy boy called after me.

The hallway was filled with people and I lost valuable time trying to push my way through.

I stopped in my tracks when I caught sight of Chris making his way towards me, flanked by two guys that I recognized from a few parties before. My alarm bells went off as soon as I saw their battered appearances, with one sporting a split lip and the other covered in bruises. No wonder Suz had sounded so alarmed.

Their heads turned. Shit. They were going to spot me any second—

Two girls jumped in front of me, and I used the cover to duck back inside the living room. I dodged around another group, rushed through the second door, and sprinted down a hallway that led into the backyard.