Barely Breathing (The Breathing #2)(106)

       
         
       
        

Sara smiled, her eyes twinkling, "Of course." I knew what she was thinking, that this party was just like any other―including the one we had here in their house, the one they still had no clue about.



We arrived early to Jill's, as promised. Jill needed our approval on her outfit―or I should say, Sara's approval. Casey was already there as well, along with... Analise.

I tried to keep smiling when I saw her, but I knew I'd failed when Sara elbowed me in the ribs. "I forgot she was coming," she whispered beside me. "I better not drink too much. I might get too honest."

I smirked, actually curious what Sara would say to Analise if she wasn't filtered.

"But if she mentions Evan once tonight, I may not be able to hold back, sober or not."

"Sara," I laughed, "he talked to her. It's been a little better the last couple of weeks."

"I suppose," she admitted with a sigh. "When's Evan getting here anyway? Who's he coming with?"

I pulled out my phone to check if he'd texted me. There was a missed call from an unfamiliar number along with a new voice message. My stomach flipped. "I can't remember," I admitted, suddenly distracted.

"You're particularly more out of it than usual today," she noted.

"I know," I sighed. I was about to make an excuse to go to the bathroom, so I could listen to the message, when I was interrupted by a scream.

Sara and I rushed into the room, where the scream was now followed by yelling. "You, fuck!" Jill reamed. "I can't believe you spilled a drink on Dad's leather couch. The party hasn't even started yet and you're already making a mess. Get out of here! Get out!"

The young guy with the bright red face and curly dark hair was trying to wipe up the mess with a piece of paper from the printer, which wasn't doing anything except spreading it around.

"Stop it," Jill scolded, "you're making it worse. I'm pissed that you have you to be here at all."

Casey squeezed by us with a roll of paper towels.

Sara pursed her lips to keep from laughing. "Glad I'm an only child."

That's when I recognized him from a family picture hanging on the wall in the dining room. He was Jill's younger brother.

"How old is he?" I asked, walking away from the drama and into the kitchen.

"He's a freshman," Sara told me. "I guess he threatened to tell Jill's parents about the party unless he and a few of his friends could stay. She was so pissed. Don't you remember her telling us this at lunch?"

"Uh, no. Another black out moment, sorry."

Sara scrunched her eyes. I knew she wanted to ask me if I was okay, but then she knew what my answer would be. 

I looked at the clock and wondered what my mother was doing tonight. I'd texted her to say that I was staying over at Sara's, but she'd never responded. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"I'll be right back," I told Sara. "I'm going to use the bathroom while I still can." She nodded, and I walked down the hall and into the floral inspired bathroom.

I locked the door and pressed the code on my phone to listen to my message. It wasn't what I expected at all. "Hello, Emily. This is Vivian. I was hoping you were available for brunch on Sunday morning at eleven. I have someone I would very much like you to meet. You are welcome to call me back at this number. I look forward to hearing from you."

I removed the phone from my ear, completely taken by surprise.

Within an hour, the house was starting to fill with juniors and seniors, and the handpicked five or so freshmen who were friends with Jill's brother. Evan arrived with a couple of guys from the baseball team. When I saw their faces, I vaguely remembered him mentioning that he was coming with them.

I smiled at the sight of him, cutting through the crowd. He was easy to spot since he was taller than just about everyone, and I'm certain we were easy to locate with Sara's fiery red hair standing out in the crowd.

"Hi," I glowed. He bent down and kissed me.

"So how's the party so far?" he asked, resting his hand on my back.

"It's actually pretty great," Sara intercepted before I could shrug it away as any other party. "Did you bring you swimsuit? Jill has a huge hot tub on her parents' deck that she's only allowing a few of us to use later."

"I didn't," Evan replied. "I may have shorts in my car though."

"That's great," a chipper voice said from beside us. I hadn't noticed Analise hovering until now. How long had she been standing there?