One Night

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Oh no," I heard myself groan as we pulled up to TJ Rush's house, or at least tried to. The road and driveway were so littered with cars and teenagers that I wasn't sure we were going to be able to get in.

"I should've known they wouldn't have made this easy," Jay chuckled as he gazed out of the window.

It was only then that I noticed his actual house.

"This is his house?!" I exclaimed with my face pressed against the car window.

My eyes jumped from the long windows to the balcony running along the front and then ran the expanse of the two story house. I couldn't seem to get enough. There was too much to see.

"Come on. Let's go see how much trouble we can stir up," Nalia grinned as she swung open her door and stepped out with a little too much pep.

That was never a good sign.

I found myself dragging behind Nalia and Jay as we weaved through the crowd. They were all here for the party TJ was throwing. I gripped Holt's tag as if he would suddenly appear and comfort me.

"How are we going to find him in all of these people? He's probably making out with a girl somewhere," I yelled over the pounding music.

"Maybe we should split up," Jay suggested. "We'll probably have a better chance of finding him that way."

I tried to focus on what he was saying, but my head was pounding with each beat of the music and the flashing lights were enough to make any non-epileptic pass out.

"Mac? Hey? Are you okay?" Nalia looked concerned as she did her best to assess my emotions.

Maybe a couple of hours ago I could have ditched them and asked for the car keys to wait in the car, but I knew I couldn't let them down now. I was in too deep. Plus, this was my task. I was going to finish it.

I plastered on a fake smile and nodded my head.

"Let's split up. I'll hold on to the tag, but text your location if you find him," I told them, as I held up Holt's name tag.

"Okay. We'll meet back up in 15 minutes if we haven't found him by then."

We all agreed and then went our separate ways. I saw Nalia plunge onto the dance floor and I suspected she wanted an excuse to dance at least once tonight.

I decided Nalia had that area covered and made an effort to stay as far away from there as possible. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. His house, although far bigger than any house I had ever seen in our small city, was so crowded I was squeezing through couples dancing on each other and doing a whole lot more.

I finally managed to make it to the kitchen which was a lot more subdued than the main part of the house. My stomach began grumbling at the sight of the crushed chips, smushed sandwiches, and red punch. I debated between fixing me a quick plate or finding TJ. After a moment, the thought of all the hands that had probably touched the food overtook my hunger and I thought it might be best just to wait on eating food.

"That's probably the best choice," a voice behind me said. I whipped around and saw a guy I was pretty sure I had never seen before leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup in his hand. His bright blue eyes stood out against his dark, curly hair making him appear more mysterious than he probably was. "I'm pretty sure I saw Rain touch most of the food on the table and he doesn't wash his hands. Believe me. You don't want what his hands have touched."

My cheeks heated up a bit as I realized he had probably saw my internal battle over my need for food.

"Uhh..Yeah. I thought it best just to leave it alone," I chuckled, moving to escape the kitchen without having to finish this conversation.

"Do I know you? You seem kind of familiar...Do you go to Walkman High?" He asked, stepping away from the counter and closer to me.

"Yeah. I'm a junior at Walkman," I started to tell him my name then hesitated. I had heard too many stories about what happened at parties like these. I wasn't sure I could trust this guy.

He must have seen my hesitation because he smiled and raised both of his hands as if surrendering.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to stalk you or anything."

A little embarrassed, I muttered, "Mackenzie. My name is Mackenzie. Most people call me Mac."

Realization dawned on his face, but I still had no idea who he was.

"What? What do you know?" I asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"No. No. It's nothing. I just-I'm Cam. I don't go to Walkman, but my best friend is Holt Grange so I know a lot of people from that school. Maybe you know him? Holt?"

I was so surprised I didn't know how to respond. I opened my mouth, but when I couldn't come up with a response I just nodded.

"I can see it now," Cam mumbled as he chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

I was thoroughly confused at this point. I wasn't sure what he was talking about or if I had even heard him right. The music was still so loud even a few rooms over. I was about to ask what he was talking about when my attention was diverted as my phone began buzzing from my front pocket. I pulled it out and saw I had a text from Jay.

Jay: We got em. 2 floor. End of hall

Cam must have noticed I had somewhere to be because he said, "It's fine. Go ahead. I can keep myself entertained. It was nice to finally meet you Mac."

Finally meet me? Although I was eager to know what he was talking about, I knew I needed to go.

"See ya Cam," I gave a quick wave before darting for the stairs.

I noticed the second floor housed a lot less people than the first, but it was still like an obstacle course, dodging couples as I made my way to the end of the hall.

What I saw when I finally made it to Jay, Nalia, and TJ made my stomach drop.

We weren't alone.