Damaged Together

Chapter Fifty Two

Finally Friday comes. I wake up in a great mood and psyched for the party. Most of the uneasiness has settled and I’m more excited than anything. It’s time for me to be a teenager. And that’s what I’m going to do this Winter Break- starting with this party and this vacation with Jesse. I feel the anxious pit in my stomach grow every time I think about it.

I move through the motions of my daily routine at school until lunch comes around. Jesse and I are walking through the courtyard, hand in hand, when we are waved over by a group of people. I feel hesitant but Jesse gives me a reassuring look and a squeeze of the hand and we gravitate to the crowd.

As we get closer I recognize some of the people but most faces are not too familiar. The greet us with smiles and I relax a little bit. Although I am not fully comfortable I have yet to receive a dirty look which is encouraging.

I do see Bryan and a girl named Tris that is in my Psych class, her long, curly brown hair cascades down her back as she turns to wave to me. Her eyes smile in sync with her mouth. Compared to the many girls that I typically see, she never wears makeup, yet she’s absolutely beautiful. She only talks to only one person during Psych class, who is also sitting at the table, but I’ve never caught his name. Along with the other 3 people sitting at the table. I smile and take the seat they offer me.

“Alyssia, right?” Tris asks me. I nod in response as she continues, “Well I’m Tris. This is Hadley,” She gestures to a tall girl that I recognize from my math class last year, she was always quiet, but her features were always striking- different. She gained more facial piercings since then and her hair is now half black and half blonde, split down the middle. Despite her edgy look her smile is warm.

“And that is Kayley” She points to a girl across the table who is sitting with a boy that I’ve never seen before. Her makeup is the first thing you notice about her. Her long false eyelashes that reach up her face and her porcelain skin make her look like a doll. The boy’s arms are wrapped around her and a smile never leaves her face.

They are all unique- yet gorgeous, leaving me feeling slightly inadequate. “I’ve heard about you.” Hadley speaks up.

Of course she has. Who hasn’t heard of the girl who “killed her sister” but before I can get any words out defending myself she speaks up again, “Jesse, talks about you all the time in Economics with me and Bryan.” I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. Maybe I can be normal with these people. Not have to constantly worry about my previous reputation.

“Oh god. Let’s just hope they are good things.” I laugh, I feel his hand grab my thigh while he continues a conversation with the guys at the table.

“Very good things,” she adjusts the hoop that pierces through her nose and smiles. “He told us that you guys were coming to the party tonight, is that right?”

The boy that Kayley was with has disappeared from the table and she has joined our conversation. “It’s going to be so much fun; we are doing things slightly different than what we typically do.” It’s the first time I’ve heard her talk and her voice does not match her appearance. It is quiet and timid, compared to her brave looks that few people could actually pull off.