Page 64 of I Knew You Were Trouble

It’s getting late; closing took longer than it normally does with the place being so busy. Not much to do out here in the boonies, and so most people found themselves at Troublemakers before whatever New Year’s shindig they were invited to.

After punching in the directions, I let Maddie take the wheel while I take a much needed nap. My eyes close, and we’re there.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Mad asks, undoing her seatbelt. I rub my eyes free of the barely-there sleep I got and adjust.

“Y-yeah,” I say through a yawn. “’slong as you drive home.”

“I’ll stay sober just for you.”

I’d crack up if I weren’t so damn tired. Candace have alcohol at her party? I’ll die of shock if I walk in and see that.

Mad pops out of the car, and I force my limbs to move. My muscles groan when I step out on the rocky, half-circle driveway that leads to the giant mansion on the property. Cars line up, parking tandem and side by side, and it’ll be a miracle if we get to the door without elbowing a side mirror.

Guess she has more friends than she thought. She was freaking out that no one would show up. I bet she’s freaking out now that our entire staff showed.

Mad and I make our way up the porch, passing a group of people I don’t know who are sitting on the deck, long-neck bottles clutched in some of their hands. Thereisalcohol. My brow furrows, and the corner of my lip twitches up. Not sure if I’m just shocked or what, but I’m not sure how I feel about Candace buying beer.

I shake my head. Man, I must be tired. Why do I give a shit if she bought the entire liquor store? She could afford it.

I run a hand through my hair and stop at the back of my neck, rubbing out a kink. I’m even too tired to appreciate how massive the main house is. How it smells flowery and clean even with all the people here. There’s enough space to move around, and music thumps from somewhere beyond my line of vision. The entryway opens to a giant living space, the couch, sectional, and La-Z-Boys full. I nod to Josh, Tanner, and Aislynn sitting around a coffee table, playing Texas hold ‘em.

Maddie shrugs her coat off and tosses it over her forearm, standing on tiptoe to try to see over people. I’m one of the tallest here, and I can tell her she’s not missing much.

Or maybe I’m just too damn tired to notice or care about the house we’re in. I know I suggested the party to Candace, but I’m not feeling it tonight. In fact, I haven’t been feeling her whole “bad girl lessons” thing all week. Almost like a switch on a dimmer, our deal has slowly blurred my vision, and I don’t know if I want to help her anymore.

I mean, I will. I need the cash, and tonight should be the last thing I gotta help her through before I get paid. But there’s a sick taste on the back of my tongue every time I think about Candace becoming this version of herself that she sees in the near future. I know people change and shit, but I don’t know… What’s wrong with them staying the same?

A flash of my dad from when I was fourteen enters into my head. The sound of a pill bottle crashing to the bathroom floor. The frantic whisper from my father as he scurried to clean all the evidence. The quick rush of water from the faucet for a few brief seconds and a loud gulp. It was the first time I realized what was truly happening, and the first time I wished he would change.

I guess that’s what’s wrong with people staying the same.

“Hey,” a voice says from my right, and I blink my head free of my muddied exhaustion. “You work with Candace, right?”

It’s the apple of her eye in the flesh again. Zach gives me a head nod, a beer bottle pinched between his thumb and first two fingers. The tattoos on his neck are more prominent tonight with the v-neck t-shirt he’s wearing, and his jeans are shredded from the knee down. I guess I see where Candace’s bad girl inspiration comes from.

“Yeah. Brad, is it?” I purposely mistake his name, mostly to be a dick for no reason. Maybe I’m subconsciously helping Candace out with her image of not caring too much about him, though.

“Zach.” He gestures to my arm with his beer. “I checked out that place in Fort Wayne. By the zoo.”

“The tattoo parlor?”

He nods. “Yeah. Got some new ink from them. They do killer work. Thanks for the rec.”

“Sure.” Did I recommend it? I barely remember our first conversation. I was looking at Candace for the most part. I remember her tomato red face, her babbling, the cute, defeated slide she did to the floor afterward.

Nothing about this guy rings a bell, other than she likes him and he basically told her to go away.

For that reason alone, I want to punch him dead in the face.

“You haven’t seen Candace around, have you?” I ask him, forgoing the assault charge.

“Uh… think she went upstairs.”

It bugs me more than it should that he doesn’t know where the girl who invited him is. That he’s not hanging next to her like she probably wants. That girl is doing a hell of a lot for someone so apathetic.

My eyes swivel around the room, locating the hallway that leads to the stairwell. Maddie has skipped off to join Tanner, sitting next to Aislynn on the floor and helping her with her cards. I don’t excuse myself from my forced conversation with Zach, and I make my way up the stairs two at a time.

The sounds of the party grow distant but not entirely muted. A few people linger in the hallway that overlooks the main living room. A projector screen of the New Year countdown drapes from the far right wall, and there’s a much better view from up here.

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