Bad guy (REWRITTEN)

Chapter 10

                              Anna

A day later.

The air inside Jason house was a thick, humid cocktail of expensive cologne, cheap weed, and the vibrating bass of a song I didn't recognize. My skin felt tight. Every time a body brushed past me, I flinched, my mind still replaying the way Billie's thumb had felt against my neck three hours ago.

"Anna! You actually made it!" Jason yelled over the music, dropping a heavy arm across my shoulders. I caught a whiff of vodka and beer. "First time in the lion's den?"

"Something like that" I muttered, sliding out from under his arm to sit on the edge of a velvet couch.

Jason appeared, shoving a plastic cup into my hand. The liquid was clear and smelled like industrial cleaner. "Drink up. It helps the music sound better"

I hesitated, then downed it. The burn was instant, a jagged line of fire sliding down my throat that made me gasp.

"God. What is that?"

"Good shit right, now you are going to be confident" Jason laughed, already turning back to the dance floor.

Three shots later, the room stopped being a threat and started being a blur. The lights didn't glare anymore; they pulsed. I felt light, like my bones had been replaced with helium. I was laughing at something Sarah said—I didn't even know what—when the couch dipped.

A familiar coldness settled over me. Not a bad cold, but the kind that wakes you up.

"Look at you" Billie said. She wasn't dancing. She was just sitting there, a cigarette held between two fingers, looking at me like I was a puzzle she'd already solved.

"The quiet girl finally came out to play"

"Sophie made me" I slurred, the words feeling heavy in my mouth.

Billie leaned in, her arm sliding behind my head along the back of the sofa. She didn't touch me, but I could feel the heat radiating off her. She exhaled a thin stream of smoke away from my face.

"Funny. I don't think Sophie can make you do anything you don't secretly want to do"

"Too bad. You don't know me" I whispered, turning to face her.

"I know you're trying very hard to be the girl who stays in the lines" Billie said, her voice a low vibration beneath the music.

"But you're leaning toward me, Anna. Even now. Is that the vodka, or are those 'straight' lines starting to blur?

For rest of the party. I ignored her, hiding from her gaze behind Sophie and Sarah. Every minute and hour, we shared a glance acroos the room. I ignore and ignore to the point i didnt realize how much i drank.

I looked away from sophie "I'm going to the bathroom"

"Don't trip" Sophie called out, a soft, knowing chuckle following me as I stood up.

My legs felt like they belonged to a stranger. The stairs looked like a moving escalator, shifting and swaying. I took one step, then another, but the world tilted violently to the left. The music became a roar in my ears, and my knees gave out.

I waited for the impact of the floor, but it never came.

Strong arms hooked under my pits, pulling me back against a solid chest. The scent was unmistakable rain and floral.

"I've got you" the voice murmured, right against my ear. It wasn't Sophie. It wasn't Sarah.

"Who..." I fumbled, my vision spinning in circles.

"The girl who's going to make sure you actually wake up tomorrow" Billie whispered. She shifted her grip, tucking my arm over her shoulder and hauling me toward the quieter hallway upstairs. "Steady, baby. We're going somewhere where you can actually hear yourself think"