Bastiana has a loving family, two amazing best friends, and a secret.
Over summer vacation, Bastiana and her besties do their best to focus on their bucket list in order to distract them from all the secrets they're keeping from one another. When a...
A/N: TRIGGER WARNING - This chapter contains detailed descriptions of violence and sexual assault.
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"I still don't understand why you want to go to Brittany's party." Mom says to me again. "I thought you hated each other."
"We do." I say, matter-of-factly. "Tonight is about burying the hatchet and letting it go so we can both grow up and move on before we both screw up our futures." I explain.
"But why aren't the boys going with you?" she asks as she pulls out of our parking lot.
"They weren't invited." I tell her. "Plus, they're part of the reason things got so bad between me and Brittany. Having them there would only make things worse than they already are." I shudder at the idea.
"Okay. Well, I'm proud of you for being the bigger person." She glances over at me quickly before looking back to the road. "You'll have to call one of the boys for a ride home, though. I have to go to work after I drop you off." She reminds me.
"Okay, that's fine." I sit back in my seat and watch the familiar scenery pass by.
15 minutes later, we pull up in front of Brittany's lavish house.
"I always forget her family has money." I say, looking up at her house in awe. It's huge and beautiful. Mom pulls up to the curb and stops.
"You've got your fully charged phone and your keys, right?" She asks.
"Check and check." I show her both before tucking them into my small cross body bag. "I don't plan on staying long. I should be back before midnight. 1 at the latest."
"Alright. Make good choices. See you later." Mom says as I get out of the car. "I love you, Bastiana."
"Bye. I love you too, mom. Thanks for the ride!" I say before I close the car door and turn towards the house.
I can hear the music and voices before I get inside. The bass is so loud that it feels like the whole house is vibrating as I open the front door.
The house is packed with people, most of them I recognize from school. It's a small town so there's only one high school. Though I recognize quite a few of them, they're not people I talk to. It's mostly female athletes and the popular cliques that I've never been a part of.
I wander around for a while, foregoing a drink because I'm here for a reason, not to have fun. It takes almost an hour, but I finally find Brittany sitting on a couch in a large room on the second floor. She has a red cup in her hand, and she's surrounded by a large crowd of people who are hanging on to every word of the story she's telling.
She finally looks up and sees me standing near the doorway. Her face changes into a knowing smirk and she stands up from the couch. As she moves towards me, the crowd parts around her, as if she has her own forcefield.
