Solace In The Silence ✓✓

chapter 17

"SHE'S HERE! MY best friend's finally here!" Angie shouted, her voice carrying over the party, and before I knew what was happening, she was wrapping me in a body-crushing hug.
It was the following weekend, and her house was packed, like she'd posted the invite to all her friends on Facebook.

People were everywhere, gyrating on the makeshift dance floor, making-out on the couches, and gathering around a pool table stowed away in the corner. Club music blared from the in-wall speakers, causing the floorboards to reverberate beneath my heeled boots.

Despite the fact that Angie's tight embrace was cutting off my air supply, she continued to cling to me, as if I hadn't just been over earlier this afternoon, helping her set up.
"Struggling to breathe over here," I wheezed.
She mumbled something incoherent and giggled.

Pulling back to get a good look at her, I noticed the silver tiara, sitting slightly lopsided on top of her head, and the empty champagne flute, glued to her hand. Her simple black dress was riding dangerously high—so high I was surprised she wasn't flashing her underwear—and those gray eyes were hazy and unfocused when they met my own.

It took me all of five seconds to reach the conclusion that Angie was already drunk, and my smile inched wider.
Her forehead crinkled. "You're late," she whined, and her words were slurred. "You were supposed to be here over an hour ago. I had to start without you."

"I can see that." I snickered, motioning to the variety of liquor bottles that were opened on the kitchen counter. There also happened to be discarded plastic cups littering the floor throughout the adjoining rooms.

"Jake was looking for you earlier," Angie told me, and I stifled a groan. "But don't worry, I told him to leave you alone."

As I processed what she had just said, my heart tugged in two different directions. I'd spent the whole day caught between being thrilled and horrified at the thought of seeing him again tonight.

A wave of sadness washed over me, and I could feel my resolution rapidly abating. Attending my best friend's nineteenth birthday party had been a no-brainer, but that didn't necessarily mean I was jumping for joy about being here, either.

Bumping into Jake around campus and sneaking glances at him in class over the past few days had caused me enough physical pain. I didn't even want to consider how I'd react if I spotted him flirting up a storm with some random girl. Worse yet, if I was to walk in on him hooking up with someone else. I mean, this was technically his house, too, and I knew that his parents had kept his room for whenever he came home to stay.

Snap out of it, Bess.
I was determined to get through the night without causing a scene or turning into a pathetic depressed-mess.

Trying to be a picture of perfect calm, I straightened. I made sure my tone was devoid of any emotion when I declared, "I need a drink." Remembering that I'd sworn off alcohol, I quickly added, "A non-alcoholic drink. Sorry."
"Don't apologize, I get it." She winked, linking arms with me. "You're not here to get drunk with me, you're here to celebrate. There's a big difference."

I didn't object when she began steering me toward the kitchen. As we navigated our way through the throng of sweaty bodies, I noticed several guys checking me out with forthright interest. I hated the disappointment that coiled when I recognized none of them were Jake, and then I wanted to kick myself for still drawing

comparisons between him and other guys. That needed to stop. The last thing I wanted to be was like the parade of girls at UFA who obsessed over him like lovesick puppies. That wasn't me. Not anymore.

Squeezing past a group who were in the middle of an intense round of Never Have I Ever, we sidled up to the island bench.
Angie stabilized her weight by leaning against the granite countertop, grinning.