Page 1 of Trusting Skulls

Prologue

Lexie

The mirror vibrates to the beat of the music as I stare at my reflection.

“Fuuuck. You feel amazing,” the guy I met tonight groans from behind me.

His friend yells to hurry the fuck up from the other side of the door. I don’t know why he doesn’t find someone else to hook up with. There’s a whole house full of drunk girls to choose from.

But none of them are as easy as me.

I run my fingers under my eyes as the guy bounces me against the sink. I do my best to clean the mascara running down my cheeks. The look on my face at the moment is pathetic, probably because that’s what I am.

The dude grunts, then bumps against me a few more times before pulling out. He reaches around me and drops his used condom in the trash.

Slowly, I let my leg fall from the edge of the sink. My boot hits the ground with a soft thud of finality.

Someone knocks on the door.

“Fuck off!” he yells as he buttons his pants.

“I’ve got to pee,” a girl whines over the commotion of the music and drunk partygoers.

At least his friend has moved on.

“There’s a bush outside! Go water it,” he shouts.

“Asshole!” she screams, banging her fist on the door one last time.

“You good?” the guy asks me, fixing his hair over my shoulder.

“Great,” I tell him, tugging my skirt back over my ass.

He winks at me in the mirror. “I’ll see ya around.”

The high I usually feel after a hookup fizzles before it even begins. He slips out the door, and I lock it behind him. “Yeah, see ya around,” I whisper, dropping my forehead to the door.

I go back to the mirror, tipping my head to see a hickey already forming on my neck. I open the bathroom cabinet, looking through the prescription bottles of whoever lives here.

Nope. Nope. Maybe. Nope. Bingo.

The entire bottle gets dumped into my palm. I drop two pills in my mouth. My hand wraps around my red solo cup, washing them down with a swig of vodka and orange juice. Perfect combination to get me through the rest of the night. The remaining pills get dumped in my purse for later.

Someone knocks again.

For the love of god. Isn’t there another bathroom in this house?

“Lexie, your dad is here looking for you.”

“Not my dad.” My father is overseas. I can’t remember the last time he was stateside, although he should be back tomorrow.

I continue my perusal of the meds, opening another bottle. I don’t know what these are, but they sure are pretty.

Suddenly, the music stops. I close the cabinet, looking at myself as I wait for it to start up again. When it doesn’t, Istep over to the door and press my ear against the wood. It’s incredibly quiet. Fuck, I hope the party isn’t getting busted.

Someone bangs on the door. Shit, it’s a cop! I knew it.

Quickly, I open the toilet lid, tossing my handful of pills into the bowl. Just then, the door busts open, splintering wood across the floor.

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