Traces of Delilah

Two

There were cans of booze lying on the grass. The vast majority were empty. And the area smelled of strong musk. I huddled closer to Skylar as we strolled down the trail to the cabins near the creek. We had been walking for a little over five minutes. But she assured me the parking lot wasn't far from where they set up.

Laughter echoed the bright night sky, in between the trees. It cut through the bass of the music blasting from a speaker. Not loud enough to wake the neighborhood, just enough for it to be heard among the group. Clearly, they had already started the party without us. By the sounds of it, there were a couple of girls and a few guys. I couldn't really tell.

Skylar nudged my side and sent me a comforting smile. "You can relax a little, miss girly."

Her comfort was appreciated, still, the nervous bug in my stomach wouldn't go away. Not only were they new friends of hers but they were long-term friends of Jason's. I had never met any of Jason's friends before. Jason and I weren't that close to begin with.

Him and Skylar had met online and developed a long-distance relationship, where he'd drive to New York to see her sometimes, until she moved to Connecticut. I should've visited Skylar after she moved. It was only last summer, but still. I felt bad. School took up most of my hours.

Finally, we had reached a large open clearing in the woods, where the breeze was most heavy. The cool breeze felt nice compared to the warm spring weather that'd been plaguing the town earlier. It was to be expected, considering June was rushing in. Though, I still wasn't ready for it.

"Babe, there you are!" Jason kicked himself off one of the nearest trees. He began walking to us in three long strides, the brown curls on his head drooping low over his brown eyes and dark tan skin. "We were just talking about you."

"Why? You guys better not be talking shit." She narrowed her eyes, causing everyone in the group to laugh.

He grasped her waist and whispered something I didn't understand in her ear, "Mi amor, nunca hablaría una mierda de ti." It almost sounded like sweet talk. 

I could hear him in the background of our phone conversations all the time, using a similar dialect. Whatever it was, she seemed to understand it, and it made her smile. I guess she picked up on most of his Spanish dialect the longer they dated. What was it, almost two years now they'd been together? Probably. 

I stood there, allowing the dark shadows to consume me.

Now that we had gotten closer to fire, I could see everything clearly. The setup was just as I imagined. A small circle of people surrounded the bonfire. Some of them were laid out on layers of blankets while others sat up straight. A grill was placed a few feet away from the group, being monitored by one of the guys. Behind them was the large cabin Skylar and Jason mentioned.

Geez, the outside of the cabin was dripping with wealth. If the outside looked like that, I couldn't help but wonder what the inside would have appeared to be. Apparently, it belonged to his friend Andrew, if I had been listening. 

"Who's the girl?" one of the guys in the circle questioned. 

He'd been leaning back with his arm draped over one of the girl's shoulders. In his other hand was a half-empty bottle of beer. His comment brought everyone's eyes to me. I thought I had blended into the darkness extremely well. But I guess not.

"Is she your hostage?" he joked. I flinched and took a step forward.

"Dumbass," Skylar muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey, I heard that." He snarled.

"Good. Chastity, Thomas. Thomas, this is Chastity," Skylar emphasized his name, looking directly at the guy who made the comment. "Remember when I mentioned my friend was coming to stay with me for the summer? Well, here she is! This is my best friend from NYC."