Blood Bride

Chapter Eleven: Life of the Party

A week came and went, and now it was Friday evening, Ophelia seven feet in the air, her life nearly flashing before her eyes. A boring, and bland life she led.

Her feet were thrown out from beneath her and she clenched her eyes shut, the air leaving her lungs before she could fully inhale. A frightened squeak followed the impact of her landing in the strong embrace of two team members.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Ophelia opened one of her eyes, wondering if she was dead. When she saw Marissa, she realized she hadn't been blessed with such a thing.

"Yes. It was. I was terrified." Ophelia countered. The two guys set her on her feet, leaving Ophelia still shaking in her sneakers.

"It was not that bad. Ophelia, you just were in a full, and you did great! Have some pride!" Marissa said slapping her on the back.

First, it started out with easy things, like thigh stands, half-ups, and pops. What she had just done was absolutely nerve-wracking. This entire practice was. She didn't trust any of these people with her life.

"Next practice we'll continue to practice stunting 'cause you can use a little work, but still. You advanced a lot faster than the other people on the team. You just look a little petrified up there. You can be petrified, but smile." Marissa chirped, clapping her hands together.

"Can't wait," Ophelia muttered, fixing her ponytail that had gone askew while she was being tossed around.

Thankfully practice was over and she could take her aching body home to bed where she would be out like a light early tonight.

"Pheli! Wait up." Marissa went after Ophelia as she had gone to get her backpack.

Ophelia turned to look over her shoulder at Marissa walking her way.

"Hey, I know you just got here like two weeks ago, so you wanna get to know people better, right?" Ophelia raised her brow.

"Of course I do."

"Well, there's this party we have every first Friday of the month, and it's like a really big thing around here, so," Ophelia's mouth was agape. Was she getting invited to a party? "I was wondering if you were available tonight." Her first party?! A million thoughts raced in her head. She's never been invited to one. Not that she could ever recall.

She was excited and nervous all the same. Would Jon let her go? Why would he care right? As long as she came back to him, he should be fine with it.

"Yeah, sure-" She nearly stumbled over her words, managing to compose herself long enough to appear neutral about the situation.

"Great! I'll text you the details. See you there!" Ophelia was enthralled, because to a teen, what was more exciting than being asked to a party with all the popular kids?

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When she returned home that evening with Everly, Ophelia flew upstairs in her little uniform that Jon described to be "revealing" and "Not something a girl her age should wear". An outfit he didn't favor very much. She burst through the door without knocking. When Jon glared at her coldly, she immediately realized her mistake, crept back outside the study and shut the door before knocking.

"Come in, child." His gravelly voice invited.

"Good evening, Ophelia." Tobias greeted, and Ophelia politely returned the gesture, then turned to Jon. She immediately went straight to the point; she was so excited.

"Marissa invited me to a party tonight." She beamed, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"And?" Ophelia stopped her movement and her smile faltered in the slightest.