Page 60 of After the Storm

“Did you bring any drinks for you?” he asks, pulling his six-pack of beer out from the backseat.

“No. Audra was really anxious about tonight. I told her I’d keep an eye on her,” I admit. I could have lied and said I just didn’t feel like it. What’s the point though? Beck knows about us and he knows about Tyler.

“You’re so in love,” he says with an eye roll, getting out of the car.No shit.

“Who’re you telling?” I laugh, following him through the parking lot and across the street. When we get to the other side of the street it smells like burning driftwood and cheap weed. A large bonfire burns in the middle of all the people. Music plays from speakers stuck in the sand. I scan the crowd for Audra but I don’t see her. I don’t know if it’s logical or not, but my heart sinks. I’m taken back to not being able to find her at the fair. I rush through people a little faster until finally my eyes land on my brother and just behind him is Audra.Thank fucking God.

I walk over to them and the tops of her cheeks are burning red, her eyes are glassed over, and she’s wearing the goofiest smile. I know she’s drunk and I’m just thankful she was with Ares so he could keep an eye on her. She’s got on a black long-sleeve shirt that looks like it’s asymmetrically ripped at the shoulder and hangs off of her, leaving her left shoulder exposed. As usual, she’s in a pair of black denim shorts that are shredded and frayed at the edges. The shadow of what once was dark lipstick is on her lips but most of it has transferred onto the red solo cup she’s holding. Once I’m with them I see Ravyn is here with them too. I greet everyone.

“No Katrina?” I ask Ares.

“Does this look like her scene to you?” he asks with a laugh. Maybe he’d have a point if she didn’t attend house parties.

“Well, no but neither does a house party.”

“She said the sand would ruin her heels,” he says with a shrug. I don’t know the first thing about high heels or how to take care of them but given what I know about Katrina that makes a lot of sense.

“Hi, Auds,” I say, looking over his shoulder at my beautiful and seemingly drunk girl.

“Auds? I’ve never heard anyone call her that,” Ares points out. For a moment I’m sure that we’re caught, that he’s finally found us out. But instead, in brotherly fashion, he makes fun of me instead. “Ravyn, did you hear that?” He doubles over in laughter. “He can’t even get a nickname right.” He laughs, pointing at me. If I wasn’t so relieved that I didn’t just blow my cover with Audra, I might be more irritated that he’s pointing and laughing at me. Audra and I share a look over Ares’ shoulder acknowledging how close of a call that was. Ravyn laughs with him but doesn’t look entirely sold.

“How long have you guys been here?” I ask. I assume they’ve been here quite a while based on Audra’s flushed cheeks and glassed over eyes.

“Not long, we pre-gamed at Ravyn’s,” Ares says.

“Someone was sober?” I ask, looking between the three of them.

“I’m sober,” Ravyn says, raising her hand but then she clenches her teeth and lowers her hand. “Okay. Iwassober when I drove us here. I smoked when we got here,” she admits.

“What about getting home?” I ask. Ravyn pops a brow at me and I feel like I’ve been undressed at this bonfire. I can’t explain it but when she pops that eyebrow up to her hairline I just know that she knows why I’m asking.

“I’ll give myself time to sober up or we’ll uber. Not a big deal, Ro,” Ares chimes in. It feels like a big fucking deal to me. It feels like I’ll throw Audra over my shoulder and drive her myself before my lightweight brother drives her home. I just hum a displeased noise in the back of my throat. We’ll figure that part out later.

Ravyn holds a hot pink plastic cup filled with beer out to me. My eyes flick from the cup to her face.

“No thanks. Not drinking tonight,” I decline. She gives me a suspicious look and all I offer is a shrug in return. I can tell she thinks she knows something but all I can hope is she won’t call us on it. Not in front of Ares and not before Auds has the chance to do it herself.

I spend the night doing exactly what I said I would. I watch her drink and watch her dance. I stay sober and watch out for her just like she asked. Some pop song I’ve heard a million times but can’t put a name to plays and she’s screaming it in Ravyn’s face, bouncing around and spilling beer out of her cup. I’m so fucking proud of her, watching her enjoy herself and let go. She could have let the events of this year absolutely ruin her. She didn’t though. She picked herself up off the floor and dusted her ass off. She just keeps getting back up and I’m in awe.

Beck comes over to me and intentionally bumps into me.

“Having fun watching her?” he asks. I know it’s a joke. I know he’s asking because he thinks I’m bored or annoyed. I’m not though. I’d be content to watch her have a good time every day for the rest of my life.

“Always fun watching her,” I say and I can’t help the cheek splitting smile on my face.

“You’re down so bad, dude.” He laughs. I want to tell him I haven’t forgotten about high school and how in love he was. I don’t though because she’s a sore subject.

“So bad,” I agree, shaking my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tyler. Clear on the other side of everyone, but here. I move closer to where Audra and Ravyn are, putting myself between where he’s at and where she is. I don’t sound the alarm but I don’t take my eyes off of him. I watch that asshole’s every move. I watch him get a drink. I watch him throw it back. I watch him walk over to some girl, and my fist clenches at my side. Even if it’s notmygirl, you don’t fucking hit girls. I watch him carefully, so closely I’m not even sure I’m remembering to breathe. He doesn’t do anything to the girl though. He talks to her for a little while and then they go their separate ways. I peek behind me to make sure Audra is still enjoying herself and having fun. She’s all smiles and dancing. She hasn’t refilled her cup since I got here and I can see she’s sobering up but she hasn’t crawled back into her shell.

When I turn my head back to find Tyler he’s making his way over here.Fuck.Don’t get me wrong I can beat the guy’s ass no problem but I really hadn’t planned on getting in a fight tonight. I was just here to make sure Audra felt safe enough to let go and have a good time. I guess this is part of that. I watch him carefully hoping he doesn’t see her or us. Hoping he is doing something else over here. Just in case he does though, I keep my eyes on him, ready to intercept at any point.

Just my luck his eyes scan and lock on my girl. Adrenaline shoots through me, knowing how this ends. He strides through the crowd and toward Audra. When he gets close enough that I can still see her but far enough that she’s not in any danger I put myself in front of him.

“Don’t even think about it,” I say, putting my body in front of him, blocking his path. He rolls his eyes and goes to step around me but I step with him, staying in his way.

“Or what?” He scoffs.

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