Masked Risks

Chapter 12

In movies and books, it usually happens at a party in some stranger’s house. The main female character wasn’t planning on going to the party, so her boyfriend was free to do what he wanted. Then she changed her mind, got all dolled up and went to the party anyway. She didn’t see him, so she was planning on leaving soon.

Before she leaves she searches the unfamiliar house for a bathroom only to stumble into a dark bedroom, and notice, just as she’s closing the door, that it’s her boyfriend with another girl. Clothes on the ground, buttons undone, and zippers ripped open. She’ll leave the room heartbroken as he calls her name but doesn’t chase after her. Bathroom forgotten, once again sober, she leaves the party in tears.

Later on, she ignores his calls as she wallows over ice cream and movies with her best friend, swearing off the whole male population and wondering what went wrong.

It’s the story you’ve seen, read, and heard in thousands of songs. It happens to people you don’t know and you’re glad that it’s only fiction, at least to you.

But then it became real for me and all I had to do was walk across the street.

March turned into April and soon enough it was May, which only meant AP exams and finals were quickly approaching. Choreography was sort of hard to fit into that mess, but we did what we had to do and what we were capable of with stress and school.

As a couple, Erik and I were pretty strong for only being in a relationship for a few months and knowing each other for the same amount of time. I was happy, and I thought he was the same.

One weekend, his parents were celebrating their anniversary out of town. Like any teenager with friends and money, he wanted to throw a party.

So, our crew pulled together and set up the house for a party, hiding valuables, getting kegs, the whole ordeal. I was kind of excited because it was going to be a stress relief before we all really had to crack down in school. With luck, my parents also happened to be out of town, which wasn’t unusual, so I didn’t have to worry about them.

“I have to go get ready,” I said to Erik an hour before people were supposed to start showing up. I picked up the box of fragile vases and some other expensive-looking items. “I’ll take some of this stuff over to my house, so it doesn’t get broken.”

“Thank you,” he kissed me and smiled. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Then I was off to shower and get changed into a gold patchwork tank-top that flowed over a simple pair of skinny jeans and while flip-flops. Keeping it simple, I left my hair half up, half down, and dusted on some light makeup. I looked at my completed outfit in the mirror and realized I was missing the necklace Erik gave me for my birthday, which I tried to wear every day. I put it on and left my room, sticking my phone in my pocket.

As I was leaving my house and started walking across the street, the party was already started and in full swing. People were still arriving, as I got closer to the house.

I was kind of tired from setting up and running around for supplies, but I was ready to have fun and ignore how much time we would probably spend cleaning up the next day.

I walked into his house that had people drinking and dancing to the music booming from the stereo in the living room. I recognized most of the kids from school, but there were a lot of unfamiliar people, probably from Avery’s cousin’s school that she invited.

I keep moving through the house to the kitchen, hoping to find my friends. I grabbed a cup and filled it with the foamy alcohol from the keg sitting on the floor. I went downstairs to the game room where there were people lounging around and playing games.