Secrets of Adeline (Book 2)

Chapter 23: Run

The firsts to exit the party was Jordan and Jasper. I was half asleep but the sudden noise of the door closing jerked me out of my daze. Jordan glances up, noticing my smug glare, Jasper following. They jog over swiftly, sitting quietly on a stump beside the hammock.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asks. "Wait, don't answer that. Don't even think. I have an idea!" Jasper perks up. I curiously lift my gaze to him as he pulls his phone from his pockets and types out a text. His phone dings seconds after. Jordan peers over his shoulder.

Breaking the silence, to my surprise, Tucker rounds the corner of the driveway, noticing Jasper, Jordan and I. He jogs over as well, curiosity glimmering in his eyes. It took me a minute to realize he was actually talking to us. "Tucker?" I question, straightening my posture. "Yeah. Jordan texted me an hour or so ago." He nods towards Jordan. "Oh, yeah! Right, sorry. I totally forgot! Change of plans, we're goin' on a walk." Jordan explains. I listen, just as curious as Tucker.

Groups of people flow out of Paris and Jessica's house; Zack, Todd, Paris and Jessica heading our way. It had looked like the party was over. Cody stops at the edge of the driveway, gesturing for me to make my way to him. Sliding out of the hammock, I shuffle over to him. "What is it?" I yawn. "Looks like Kat and I are headed out." Cody shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking on his toes. "Oh?" I raise an eyebrow. "Well some of us are going on a walk, you wanna come?" I perk up. "Well I don't know... Kat wants to go home and I kind of... Can't hang out with you alone anymore. She might flip." He slouches. "Well... Oh. But what if we aren't alone? I mean there's tons of others going?" I shrug. "You know what I mean..." Cody drags on. "Right, no. Yeah, of course." I pretend to understand, shrugging awkwardly. Of course, he'd ditch me to keep Kat happy. Always Kat. Couldn't he just be my friend and still be a boyfriend to Kat? There was no reason he couldn't.

I wave him goodbye just as Kat exits the house. She flashes an eye to Cody, some unspoken language I'd never understand. He shows a weak smile in return. Choosing to ignore the absence of them, I return to the rest of my friends. "Kat and Cody bailed, something about Kat wanting to go home." I shrug, biting my lip. "Their loss." Paris shrugs it off, as well. "So, ready to go then?" Jordan runs ahead. We quicken our pace to keep in a tightly knit pack.

Our first stop was a smaller, darkened building. Slipping through the dirty glass door, we entered a vacant bar. Quiet country music bounced through the air, a few men shoot pool. Other than them, we were the only customers here. Jasper sits down at the counter first, ordering us all a shot. The bar tender didn't even bother ID'ing us, thankfully.

Slamming the glass cup down in front of me, the tender fills the glass half full with a reddish liquid. With a swift motion, I gulp down the drink. My friends do the same, one by one. I knew right then that it was a start of an unforgettable night. After one drink, Tucker's phone goes off. He answers, a muffled voice on the other end. "Fine." He groans and clicks the phone off. "What is it?" I ask. "Gotta go." He huffs, heading out the door. "We should hang out again tomorrow? This was fun." I call to him. "Defiantly." The door bell sounds behind him.

After casual conversations with them, we decide to head out. We end up following the sidewalk in a random direction which leads us to a pizza place. Taking a seat on the curb, I fumble around in my pockets for loose change. "Hold up a sec." My fingers meet with a slip of paper in my pocket. Pulling it out, I notice it's a wad of one-dollar Bills, three to be exact. They sit on the curb as well, doing the same. I set my spare change in the middle, starting a pile. Soon, we all had emptied our pockets enough to afford a bag of breadsticks. After a few moments of debate, we decide that Todd would be the one to go in and buy. He huffs, but grabs the wad of money as he heads into the pizza place.