Vacant Hearts [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Chapter 21 | Mind Games

SONG FOR THE CHAPTER: Mind Games by BANKS

      I shivered as I walked across Tyler's driveway, a cool breeze grazing my bare skin. Music blasted through the air, loud enough to be heard from where I was outside. When I reached his front door, I let myself in, knowing that no one was going to hear me knock anyway. The pungent smell of alcohol assaulted me the moment I walked through the door so I attempted to breathe through my mouth.

      Scanning the room, I noticed there were a lot more people at this party than there were last time. As I continued down the hall, most of the rooms seemed to be packed with sweaty and drunk college students dancing poorly to the obnoxiously loud music. I stepped into the living room and my eyes immediately landed on Julian who was chatting with a girl on the couch by the unlit fireplace. He looked up, glancing around before his eyes somehow found mine. As soon as they did, it felt as though a swarm of locusts awoke inside my stomach. I shot him a stiff smile and sped out of the room, heading towards the kitchen.

      I hadn't seen Lia or Tyler yet but I assumed they were around somewhere. Tyler's house was pretty huge so they could've been lurking anywhere. Stepping into the kitchen, I weaved through several crowds of people before reaching the kitchen bench where the various alcoholic beverages were all lined up. Before I could grab anything, I felt someone's hand wrap around my wrist and tug me away. I spun around to find Julian smiling at me, a drink already in his hand.

      "Hey," Julian said, and I could just hear him over the loud, headache-inducing pop song that was booming through the house.

      "Hi," I replied, trying not to wince as the swarm of locusts became more energetic in my stomach. I hated that just being near him made me feel all kinds of things I'd rather not feel. Julian was still holding my wrist but I had to force myself not to think too much about that. Surely, this level of attraction to a person was detrimental to the health.

      Julian's eyes dropped and trailed over my frame. By some miracle, I didn't squirm away from him as he did so. I wasn't overly dressed up, mainly because I really hadn't been in the mood earlier today. I was wearing a black, partially ripped skirt and a red crop top with spaghetti straps. I even opted to wear boots instead of heels because I wanted to be a bit more comfortable tonight than usual. Heels, no matter the size, were never comfortable.

      "I often forget you're capable of looking somewhat decent," he commented with a teasing smirk.

      I rolled my eyes, grateful to be in familiar territory with him again. "I'm flattered you think so."

      "Are you getting a drink?" Julian asked, gesturing with his cup.

      "Yeah." Reluctantly, I slid my arm from his grasp and turned to look at the selection of drinks displayed on the bench. My hand hovered over the stack of red cups but I couldn't bring myself to pick one up.

      I wanted a drink, badly, but a wise voice in the back of my head reminded me that getting drunk wasn't going to solve any of my problems. I wasn't going to wake up tomorrow and have a perfect relationship with my mom or get a genuine apology from Roman for being so harsh. As much as I wanted it to, getting drunk wasn't going to change a thing.

      "Actually, no, I'm not going to have a drink," I said eventually. I faced Julian again and didn't miss the look of surprise he gave me.

      "All right," he said with a shrug.

      "Where're Tyler and Lia? I haven't seen either of them yet," I asked as we exited the kitchen.

      "Uh, not sure. Last time I saw Tyler, he was dancing to Britney Spears on top of the dining room table. I haven't actually seen Lia yet," Julian told me.