The Red Lake Murders

49

I maneuvered my way through the cramped party, a red plastic cup in my hand, the mysterious 'punch' inside it swishing around. I glanced at the bodies around me with disgust. All those sweaty, drunk, and underage teenagers grinding, singing, and laughing made me want to vomit. The pushing and shoving on all sides was like the ocean. A high, giddy, and gross ocean of teenagers.

A glanced around and saw a girl throw up in a potted plant, two half-naked teenagers making out, and Lea Jones singing her heart out on the 'stage'.

My heart throbbed. Lea Jones. Lea was the most beautiful girl ever in my opinion. She had stick straight blonde hair, brown eyes, and freckles, so nothing special. But her personality shone. She was exuberant, outgoing, friendly, affectionate, and wild, yet still managed to be sweet, smart, witty, funny, and a huge nerd.

So maybe I had a little crush. Okay, maybe more than a little crush. Maybe I was madly in love with her. But it didn't matter because-

Someone bumped into me, jolting me out of my thoughts and spilling my mystery punch all over me. "Dude!" I thought, but didn't say anything out loud.

He said something so slurred that it was intelligible. I assumed he was trying to say sorry, so I muttered, " 'S okay" and stumbled away.

I craned my neck above, scanning the area for a bathroom. I found none. Damnit.

I turned around to keep searching, but I ran into someone midway.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking down and trying to maneuver around the person.

"It's alright," a breezy, cheerful voice responded.

I looked up swiftly, hoping to make a witty remark and get the hell out of here, but froze.

"H-hi Lea..." I  stuttered, my voice rising up an octave and getting squeaky.

She giggled. "Hey."

I smiled. I couldn't help it. She just gave me this warm feeling inside.

She smiled back. Oh my gosh. She smiled at me. I'm freaking out on the inside right now.

She smiled once more, but it seemed wistful, as well as fake. Suddenly I noticed dark circles under her eyes, and how gaunt and thin she looked.

"Hey... Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

Immediately a hard shell formed over her face, her mask slipping into place. "I'm fine," she said with an easy smile, breezing away, but I knew it was fake.

What I saw had troubled me. Enough so that I wanted to leave right now. Apparently Lea had the same idea. I saw her slipping through the door a few feet ahead of me, sliding past the people lounging there. I sped up my pace, not caring how many people I shoved into or how many drinks I spilled.

I tried to slide past the people at the door like Lea did, but I wasn't as successful. "Excuse me."

I pushed past some more. "Excuse me," I said more urgently.

My impatience caught up with me. "Excuse me!" I yelled, pushing and shoving everyone out of the way.

Finally, I breathed in the cool midnight air as I stepped outside. The sounds of the party were still loud, but they were muted now, less invading.

I looked at the stars above and felt the breeze in my short cropped hair. I stumbled out on to the lawn and fell down, feeling the perfect grass on my face. I started to drift off.

"Hey are you okay?" I heard Lea's voice.

"Yeah. I guess I just had too much mystery punch," I joked, when in reality I'd only had about two sips, before gagging and spitting it out.

"Don't lie. You're too wimpy for that."

"I'm hurt!" I joked. "I'm a man. I can drink if I want!"

She scoffed. "You're a boy, not a man. Now get up!"

"Okay, okay!"

I started to get up. "So, do I get any New Years' kisses?" I asked, trying to be brave.

She laughed. The sound was like tinkling bells. It was infectious. I started laughing too.

She took my hand and kissed me. It was short and sweet. No tongues or anything. Just a kiss. Just one beautiful kiss. Standing in the crisp night air in Zach Thomas's yard on New Years', as the drunk people inside counted down to midnight. Her lips tasted like vanilla and lemons, and they were soft against mine.

But as the saying goes, 'All good things must come to an end'. And sadly, this was no exception.

Lea pulled away from me. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. With mischief, humor, love, or all three I couldn't tell. "Goodbye Jordan."

The way she whispered my name made me shiver in anticipation. "Bye," I said, still dazed.

She waved, turned around and sprinted into the shadows. "See you Monday!" I yelled, hoping that was true.

I didn't get a response. I sighed with happiness, but also with longing. The girl of my dreams had just kissed me- and run away.

I started the long walk home. I had ridden here with my friend Michael, but he had abandoned me for some chick at the party, and now I didn't have a ride.

I looked at the constellations as I walked. "Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Orion's Belt, The Chained Maiden...."

I listed all the constellations I knew on the way home, reciting the list I knew by heart. When I got home, I climbed up into the makeshift treehouse my dad and I made when I was 8. That was before he went to war. Before...

I decided not to dwell on old memories and decided to relive the kiss between Lea and I over and over again in my mind until I fell asleep. And I did.

Or at least I tried. I was just drifting off to sleep when a gunshot noise and someone's bloodcurdling scream filled the air.