Page 33 of The Retaliation You Deliver
“Come on then, our carriage awaits.”
The three of us slide into the back, the booming bass of the music rattles through my body as the guy flies from the parking lot.
Violet screams as he floors the gas, throwing her arms up in the air as if she’s on a roller coaster.
“Is she always this…”
“Wild?” Ella finishes. “Yeah. And they think I’m the crazy one.”
“Oh because you’re totally sane,” Letty mutters.
“You love me.”
“Yeah, but you’re totally crazy.”
“Alright, ladies. I take payment in the form of kisses and blowjobs,” the guy driving announces as the car jolts to a stop outside a massive house.
My eyes meet his in the rearview mirror and he winks, making my eyes widen in shock and my stomach to drop to my feet.
“He’s kidding,” Ella says. “And if he’s not. Vi can make payment in full. Come on.”
I slide out behind Letty, more than happy to leave Violet to do whatever she needs to do.
Without looking back for fear of what I’ll see, I allow both Letty and Ella to lace their arms through mine and lead me toward the house.
There are drunk students filling the front yard. Some call out as we pass but I keep my eyes on where we’re going. My legs are already unsteady, I don’t need anything else distracting me.
“Ignore them. We’re just here to enjoy ourselves,” Letty whispers in my ear as we step into the house.
“Oh my God,” I breathe. There are people everywhere but the whole place has an entirely different vibe to the Harris party that Leon took me to.
Where that was intense, this is… I don’t know, chill.
Everyone is laughing, having a good time. And as we pass, no one really pays us any attention.
“Drinks, ladies, then we dance,” Ella says, grabbing a couple of Solo cups and filling them with some vodka. “To girls’ night,” she says loudly, holding her cup up so that we can tap ours against it.
Together we down our drinks. I’ve had so much to drink now that I barely even feel the burn as it hits my throat.
“Right, let’s do this.”
As if she knows exactly where to go, Ella leads us to a room, which is full of bodies moving in time with the music that booms from the speakers someone has set up in the corners.
Anyone would think Ella owns the place as she pushes through the crowd and finds us a space in the middle.
Forgetting about where I am and the eyes that I’m sure are on me with the dress I’m wearing, I pretend that I’m back in my dorm room just with the girls and without a care in the world.
Closing my eyes, I focus on the beat, of how my body moves and the tingles running through my veins from the copious amounts of drinks I’ve had tonight.
It feels good. Freeing. I push every single thing about my life from my head and just enjoy it.
I have no idea how many songs pass when I sense someone step up behind me.
“Who are you and what have you done with Macie?” A familiar voice shouts in my ear.
Spinning on the spot, I find Nate smiling as he runs his eyes over me.
My initial reaction is to cover up, but the alcohol coursing through me soon reminds me that I’m not that Macie tonight. Tonight, I’m just like Letty, Ella, and Violet. I’m enjoying myself and not caring what anyone else thinks of me, what I’m wearing, how I dance or what I do.
