Secrets

Chapter Five

By the time the girls arrived at the party, it was in full swing. They had parked around the corner on a side street and walked the few minutes to the house, that in Aubrey’s opinion was suited for someone with 20 kids. The driveway felt like a mile long, and the house was all made out of brick. It was enormous and probably had about 8 bathrooms. If you looked in the backyard, you would see an Olympic sized swimming pool, a tennis court, and even a fancy guest house. She will never understand people who need a house that big, or that much fancy stuff. Then again, it was perfect for a party, so who was she to complain? As she made her way up the rest of the walkway, with her friends all bubbly and excited for the night to begin, she felt a smile creep up on her face. Whatever happened tonight, she would not be with Nate. She would do whatever she could to stay as far away from him as possible, even if that meant being with someone else. It was a challenge she made to herself, and she wasn’t going to fail.

          “You ready for this Shayla and Sarah? It’s the first time you actually get to party with us!” Marissa told the younger girls as she slung her arms around each of their shoulders.

          “If you think we’re going to hang out with you, you’re kidding. We just wanted a ride. Our friends are already here.” Sarah said with a little laugh as she pushed her sister’s arms off of her. Marissa stuck her tongue out at her and laughed a little as they opened the door to the house that lead them into their friends.

          The house was full. The music was blaring. There were people dancing, on the floor and on tables. There were people out in the pool, and alcohol everywhere you looked. Before Aubrey even had a chance to get a drink, she turned and saw that her sister was gone. They weren’t joking when they said they weren’t sticking around. They had barely made it in the door. She scanned the room quickly in search of Shayla, before she picked her out in a small crowd of kids in the corner. They were already drinking, and laughing to each other. They really didn’t waste any time. For a split second, Aubrey thought about confronting her sister for a minute and reminding her to watch herself and to be careful. After all, she didn’t want anything to happen to her, but she decided against it. Shayla was a good girl, and she knew better. Besides, she could check on her periodically throughout the night. Aubrey and her friends made their way into the living room, which was roaming with most of the kids from their classes at school.

          “Aubrey! Katie! Sophie! Marissa! You guys made it! Ohmygod. I’m so excited to see you all.”

          The girls turned around to see Markai running towards them. She basically jumped on each girl, giving them each a hug. As she leaned over to hug Aubrey, she lost her balance a little, and spilled a little beer on the floor. “Oops, sorry! Guess I’m drunk already.” Markai cried, laughing at her own joke. The girls gave an uneasy laugh as Markai pointed across the room. “There’s tons of drinks over there. Help yourself. You guys all better be drunk by the end of the night!” She squealed with delight before she ran off in search of some more people that she knew.

          The girls all started to separate, each grabbing a drink off the counter and going off into different groups. Aubrey and Sophie clung to each other’s sides as they made their way over to some friends. Quick conversation was made and exchanged. Everyone laughing and joking around about school, friends, and other drunken parties. Aubrey’s attention was drawn to the person over in the corner of the room. She felt his eyes staring her down, almost piercing holes in her. She kept sneaking glances at him. She couldn’t help herself. It was Nate.

          “Aubrey! Let’s go! We’re all going to dance!” Sophie exclaimed, snapping Aubrey back to reality. Sophie grabbed her hand and pulled her to the center of the room. The music was loud, with a quick beat, easy to dance to. Aubrey moved her hips with the music. She looked across ther room, and caught her sister’s eye, who was dancing with her friends. She gave her a little smile, and Shayla smiled back. Aubrey was beginning to think that she really didn’t have to worry about her sister at all. She was behaving. Taking a few more swigs of her beer, she continued scanning the room.