Page 14 of Pretty Little Fears

“HeyAspen, who’s your friend?”Wego through brief introductions andIgrab a water.Aswe’re walking through the house,Ifeel goosebumps prickling on my skin, and the feeling of being watched washes over me.Iscan the room, failing to find the culprit of my unease.Brushingit off,Itry reminding myself thatI'min a house full of people andI’mhere to have a good time.

Aspenmakes her way back to the kitchen to grab us some shots and shouts over her shoulder at me to meet her in the backyard.Ifind the backdoor and begin to turn the knob when a gentle hand covers mine.

Ilook up andI’mmet with blue eyes that glitter like the ocean when the sun hits it at just the right angle.Hisjaw is so sharp,I’dslice open my hand with a single touch.Blondwaves fall in front of his face nearly touching his chiseled nose and he has luscious lips.He’sfucking hot andI’mrelieved to feel that for someone other thanEmmett.

Shit.Ican’t get him out of my head even whenIhave a hot guy in front of me.AmIalready fucked?

“Excuseme, sorry.CouldIjust get through here?”Heasks, making his way around me and strolling out the door.

Ha.Ofcourse he wasn’t stopping to talk to me.Great…Frustratedand impatient,Iturn around and walk in long strides to the kitchen to findAspen.Ipause in my steps whenIsee her chatting with some guy who’s looking at her like he wants to eat her alive.Idon’t want to interrupt butIdon’t know where the other girls trickled off to.

Ifind a bottle of tequila and grab a shot cup.Pouringmyself a shot,Idown it and repeat the process.Aspenfinally takes notice of my presence nearby and acknowledges me.

“Heybabe, sorryIwas askingEliabout an assignment.Iwas coming right back with those shots.GuessIhave to take these two to catch up to you!”Shesays with a chuckle.

Igrab the shot that was made for me and down it before she gets the chance.Rememberingmy earlier thought of wanting to be in full control,Ilaugh while shrugging it off.Leavingthe kitchenImake my way back to the living room whereOnMyOwnbyDarciblares through the speakers.Imove my body to the rhythm and feel myself getting lost in the beat.

Ahand wraps around my body andIlean back on a hard chest as they press their body to mine, continuing to sway.Aftera moment, my heavy eyelids flutter open andI’mstaring at the same baby blues from before.Hehasn’t told me his name andIdon’t care to ask.

Ijust need him to aid in the destruction of my thoughts forEmmett.Aswe dance,Ifeel the prickling sensation once again coursing over my body that seemed to have intensified when blue eyes came up to me.Iglance around until my eyes land onEmmettstanding against the wall in the corner of the room.

It’shard to tell from here, butIswearIsee anger clouding his eyes.Eyesthat are narrowed straight at me and my dance partner.Hedoesn't avert his stare or pretend he hasn't been looking dead at me.Instead, he slowly begins to shake his head, a look of possession covering his features.

Iinstantly sober up under his intense gaze.Hepushes himself off the wall and walks away.Itry to watch the direction he goes in, but he’s too fast and there’s too many people here.Removingmyself from the grasp of the destructive stranger,Iset off to findAspen.

Iweed through the sea of people in every room on the first floor untilIonce again find myself at the backdoor that leads to theyard.Turningthe knob,I’mmet with the cool breeze of the night grazing my exposed skin.

Goosebumpsarise from the change in temperature andImake a mental note to add a light sweater to my checklist.There’smore people out here, so findingAspenprobably won’t be any easier, but here goes nothing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

EMMETT

Myeyes haven’t lefther since the moment she walked through my front door.Imaginemy surprise, when pretty littleBlairwillingly came to my house and to party nonetheless.Shedoesn’t strike me as the partying type but she strolls in with her roommate,Aspen.

Nowthat makes sense.

Myblood thrums through my veins at the notion of following her.Pushingmyself off the wall,Itrail after her like a lion stalking their prey.Sheenters the kitchen and grabs a water bottle while she scans her surroundings.She’slooking for me,Ican tell.Asmirk spreads across my face and my heart skips a beat.Mylittle obsession came for me.

Theymingle and make their way back to the living room but shortly after,Aspenleaves her side and doesn’t return.Eventually,Blairmoves around the room, her eyes searching the sea of people, assumingly forAspen.

Basedon the defeat crossing her features,I’mguessing she has given up as she heads towards the backdoor.Isee her hand begin to turn the knob whenBraxtonWillingham, one of the biggest bastards to ever attendBlackwood, places his on top.

Hecatches her attention and she looks speechless, with wide eyes and an open mouth.Sheshould close it unless she wants me to shove my cock inside.Mynostrils flare at the situation, knowingIcan’t show her right this moment that she belongs to me.

Strikeone.

Oncehe’s out the door andBlairseems to come back to reality, she makes her way to the kitchen and findsAspenthere withEli.Iwatch as she grabs a bottle of tequila and takes two shots.Aspenwalks over with two more andBlairgrabs one, downing her third.

Surprising.

Shethrows her shoulders back and saunters to the living room.Sheweaves through the crowd, moving closer to the speaker, and begins swaying her body to the music.Hereyes slowly flutter closed and it’s like a spotlight shines on her.Everyonearound fades into a blur, the music has dimmed to a dull vibration and allIsee isBlair.Mynew little obsession.

Thesight quickly turns to hell on earth whenIseeBraxtonsidle up behindBlair, wrapping his arms around her waist, swaying in sync with her.Theycontinue their dance for a few minutes and onceBlair’seyes finally flutter open, she makes eye contact with me.

Either,Ineed to leave or someone is going to die, most likelyBraxton.Shakingmy head,Inarrow my eyes on her while standing up to my full height and walking off beforeIdokill him.

Leavingthrough the backdoor,Iwalk to the side of the house and light a cigarette.I’mnot a big smoker but in times of stress, nicotine calms me.Afterseeing another asshole’s grimy hands grazing her skin,Ihave the urge to pummelBraxton.

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