A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter Twenty-Two

I laid there in Tristan's dorm-sized twin bed, nothing in between us. He Turned over on his side, grinning ear to ear. My stomach was screaming. There was hunting to be done. I climbed over him, without a word, in order to get to my clothes on the floor. I shook them off and threw my cloak over it all.

"W-was I not good?" Tristan asked.

"You were fine. Don't be insecure," I said, fastening the last button. "I'm starving. I'll be back in thirty minutes."

He didn't say anything else before I departed. Down the hall, the elevator, through the lobby. Outfits were getting shorter. Teenagers were getting louder. I made my way past Proctor Hall and to the park. It was as if last weekend had never happened. Molly, young and idiotic as she was, moved on. Her shoes were probably somewhere in the Gulf by now.

I caught three lizards and a squirrel before I was finally full. It was almost nine by the time I made it back to Tristan's room. His roommates were back. Liam was sleeping. Drake was reading a textbook on his bed. Tristan sat at his desk, watching a movie on his computer. I walked over and sat in his lap.

"Hey, all nice and full?" he whispered.

"I am now, yes...can I take a shower?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

I took one of his towels and went into the filthy bathroom that his room shared with the double next door. The floor of the shower was littered with shampoo bottles and the drain was clogged with hair. The cleaning staff must've forgotten to come this week. I turned the water on anyway and stepped inside. I was grateful to have any shower at all, not a sink in a bathroom.

Would the reward that Hiatus give me be anything like this? Would it be even better, perhaps? I washed my hair and daydreamed about the condo I'd buy. Somewhere close to the strip. I'd be able to double the reward money with ease.

After getting cleaned up and changing out the bandages on my stomach, I went into Tristan's bed. He closed his computer when I got under the covers and came over. We talked with his roommates while they were over at the sink, getting dressed. Tristan leapt off the bed and joined them. A few minutes later they came around the corner. I laughed hard enough to make my abdomen hurt. In front of me was a banana, Batman, and Drake in a pirate hat.

"The pirate parade isn't until January," I said to Drake.

"Yes, but this hat is on clearance for a dollar," he said.

"That's not a legitimate costume," Liam said, poking his face farther out of the yellow fabric. "At least I took it seriously."

"Says the guy in a banana suit," Tristan said.

"You guys are making too big a deal of this. We're gonna be way too out of it to even remember what we have on," Drake said.

I cleared my throat and the guys looked over. "Did you remember to pick up something for me?"

"How could I forget?" Tristan said. He opened the closet, held up a plastic bag, and came over. "I have something special for you."

I took the bag in my hands, opened it, and pulled out the perfect, pink princess outfit with the glitter all over the skirt. I looked at all of the boys' faces, then my eyes went to my covered arms. Before I could say anything, Tristan stopped me.

"Don't worry about your scars," he whispered into my ear. "Wear the costume you want. You're gonna look amazing. It'll be really dark in there, and we'll all be really wasted. No one will notice, if you're that worried about it."

"What are you waiting for? Go try it on!" Drake said.

I scurried into the bathroom, took off my cloak, and wiggled into the tight outfit. Since costumes for young girls were as revealing as possible, it was mainly a leotard with a shirt attached to it, but I didn't mind. I opened the door, scars and all, leaping into the middle of the room.

"Thank you for picking this out, guys," I said to them. "I haven't worn something like this in a long, long time."

"You look amazing," Tristan said.

Liam shed his banana suit and left the room to go fetch someone who was accompanying us. The three of us turned on the television above Tristan's middle desk and flipped through the channels, eventually finding a terrible monster movie. Liam walked in about fifteen minutes later with a tall female who he said was named Liza. I assumed her to be a friend with benefits, although she didn't seem like much of a whore to me. She was already tipsy, though.

I took it upon myself to speak with her on the cab ride to Richard's with Tristan talked with his friends, his arm around me the entire time. Although it was nice to have the company of a female, Liza didn't have much to say. Whatever she had with her friends was smashing all her words together.

When we got to Richard's, the line wrapped all the way around the renovated theater. I let my eyes settle on a performer dressed like a robot across the street. It was beginning to dawn on me that I wouldn't see Seventh Avenue for a long time. Tristan didn't need to know that.

We made it inside just two minutes before eleven. The five of us went down a long, open hallway to the largest room of the club, which was a cesspool of scantily clad girls and guys trying way too hard to get them. A group of drunk girls walked by and said, "Great costume!" to Liam.

"See, I told you it was a good idea!" he said over the loud noise while wagging his finger at Drake.

We went over to the bar, then the dance floor. The back of the stage in the front of the room was lit up in all different colors. The smoke machines were going off almost constantly. The music was loud and the lights on the ceiling were flashing in red and blue. Tristan pressed up against my back. I sang along with the booming music to cancel out my head. While I was dancing, a few people caused me a lot of fright, asking me about Molly. Asking for her. I realized that it was just another one of the drugs. Apparently, it was a new thing.

We went to the bar and got drinks every so often. The night became more fun with every sip. Dancing—well, grinding with Tristan while on a contact high and drunk was quite the rush. I swear, I was getting so lost from just the smoke in the open room. Visual-wise. I could breathe easily. Dance battles broke out in the middle of the room. Boys were doing handstands. Girls were shaking their backsides in ways that would burn the eyes of their parents. I was five drinks in. Tristan had his lips running up and down my neck. The room was becoming distorted. I put my hand on my head.

"I'm thirsty. Can you get me a soda?" I said into Tristan's ear.

"Of course. I'll be right back," he said.

I watched Liam and Liza kissing, their tongues everywhere. On my right, Drake had his hands all over the tight denim shorts of a blonde. Hey.

"Shush!" I yelled. No one noticed. Hey, Tali. "Be quiet."

Tristan handed me the cup right as the song changed. The crowd was cheering. I'd heard this song played in the courtyard during every campus function: the one about going to a party and having fun. Liam, Liza, Drake, and the mystery girl joined us in a circle. The lights were going, everyone was dancing, there were no worries. There was no barrier between me and them, the humans. Just beings enjoying a night out together. That you don't deserve.

"Everybody, just have a good time!" I sang with Tristan.

I had him twirl me around, and I became frozen. I was met face to face with a pair of sunglasses and a trench coat. As I said, you don't deserve this. You don't get to have fun, Tali. Not on my watch. Ace pointed to the exit and said, "Let's go. Now."