Lullabye (Rockstar #6) (15 page)

But I wasn’t so sure that I would survive the party.

My single duffle bag only contained a few items of clothing, and according to Elena, didn’t feature anything ‘party worthy’, so she had talked me into borrowing a knee-length, scoop neck black dress. The downside was it only had three-quarter sleeves, so I discreetly added some chunky bracelets to my right wrist.

Elena gave me the once-over, her eyes widening. “You scrub up good, chica. Have you seen Chastity Fallen House yet?”

I applied some pale pink gloss to my lips, the only piece of make-up that survived my ‘fresh start’ wardrobe, and made a fishy face. “Nope.” I popped the
p
. “What is it with that place? It’s all I’ve heard about today. Am I missing something?”

She laughed, tucking her cell into a small bag hanging over her shoulder. “Chica, did you read
any
of the welcome pack? Chastity Fallen are like gods around these parts.”

My forehead creased. “Am I supposed to know what in the hell you’re talking about?”

Elena pulled out the campus brochure from the top drawer in the desk on her side of the room. “Read it.” She thrust it into my hands.

My eyes scanned over the words. “Chastity Falls Academy is home to Chastity Fallen, one of the most successful college football teams in NCAA Division Two since the early nineteen-forties…” my voice trailed off, and I placed the brochure back on Elena’s desk and shrugged. “So?”

“
So
? Chica, Chastity Falls lives, breathes, and dies football… the sooner you get on board with that, the better.” She tapped my butt and opened the door.

We exited the room into chaos. Half-naked girls shrieking with excitement sauntered up and down the hallway, talking and laughing about the ‘best party of the year’. I was too busy trying to figure out how a party could be the best party of the year before the year had even started to notice when Elena stopped to talk to three leggy blondes dressed in some kind of matching ensemble.

“… Ana… Savanah? Hellllo, chica. Earth to Ana.” Elena stared at me, an incredulous expression on her face.

“What, hmm, sorry. Hi.”

Blonde one stepped forward and smiled. The whiteness of her teeth next to her overzealous fake tan almost blinded me. “I’m Talia, and this is Cassie and Lydia.” She nodded over her shoulder toward the other two girls, and they smiled.

“Hi. I’m Ana.”

“My roommate and mi mejor amiga for the next four years,” Elena sang with a huge grin on her face.

“Cool. Well, we are in rooms four and five b. We should totally go together tonight. I heard this year’s party is going to be even bigger than last year, now that Braiden is here…”

I tuned out, my mind drifting back to the last time I was ready to go to a party, sixteen months ago.
Don’t go there; don’t go there, JUST DON’T,
my conscience pleaded.

“
He’s a Donohue. There are no rules for him. Just wait and see; this year is going to rock
.”
Talia flicked her hair off her shoulder and rearranged her cleavage, which was already spilling out of her skimpy, sparkly tank.

“The rain’s let up. Let’s make a run for it,” a girl called from downstairs. Elena, Talia, and the other two girls cheered, excitement twinkling in their eyes. I rolled mine toward the ceiling, wondering what in the hell I was getting myself into. But before I could make an excuse to stay behind, Elena intertwined her hand with mine. The close contact made me wince, but thankfully, she didn’t notice.

“Our first party, chica. This year is going to be amazing.”

I forced a smile, something that I figured I would be doing a lot now.
May as well get used to it.

Ten minutes later, I was trying to figure out how I ever missed Chastity Fallen House. It. Was. Huge. By far, the biggest building on campus. Situated on the opposite side of the campus from McGinley Hall, it was a giant colonial-looking mansion, complete with alabaster pillars and a first-floor wraparound balcony above the porch. Two hidden spotlights shone up onto the plaque hanging above the double door. Straining my eyes, I could just make out the CFA crest.

What I didn’t miss were the crowds of people. Everywhere. This definitely wasn’t just a freshmen party.

Elena squeezed my hand and whistled through her teeth. “Dios Mio.” I wracked my brain trying to do the translation…
My God
—she wasn’t wrong.

“Freshmen, this side,” shouted a dark-haired hulk of a guy dressed in a white, black, and green football jersey. And like obeying minions, we joined the queue. The whole thing seemed a little ridiculous just to get into a party. A party meant for freshmen. For us.

“I wonder what it’s like inside. There are all kinds of myths about this place, you know.”

Elena was dressed in tight fitting pants and a barely-there tank with a see-through blouse over the top. She looked every bit a Mediterranean model, even if she was talking nonsense. “Please,” I groaned. “Don’t tell me that you believe the scare stories they feed to freshmen?”

“I know someone who graduated here a few years ago. He said that some weird shit goes on in this college… this town.”

My head shook with laughter. “Elena, you’re kidding me, right?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer. The dark-haired guy beckoned us forward, and his eyes gave us the once-over, lingering slightly on Elena’s chest. I noticed her wink at him. “Boyfriends?”

“Excuse me?” The words had rushed out of my mouth before I realized, the defensive edge to my voice obvious.

He smirked, his hungry eyes fixed on me. “Do. You. Have. Boyfriends?”

Elena opened her mouth as if to say something, but I cut her off, feeling my whole body tense. “What in the hell has that-”

He stared at me blankly, unaffected by my imminent meltdown. “Just answer the question. Yes or no.”

Elena nudged me, shooting me a confused glare, and said, “Me? No.” She glared at me and I threw my hands up in defeat, trying to stifle the panic clawing its way up through me. “Fine. No.”

The guy laughed, grabbed my hand, and stamped it with a green heart. I snatched it back and observed the tiny print. “What the-”

“Ana,” Elena scolded, pulling me into the house. “Seriously, what is your problem? The guy looked ready to tell us to turn around.”

“Me? What’s it to him if we have boyfriends or not, and what’s with these hideous stamps?” I rubbed at the ink stain but it didn’t budge.

“Oh, these.” Talia joined us. “They’re freshmen tags. You know, like green for single, red for unavailable… orange for persuade me and we’ll see.” She laughed.

“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. It’s just a bit of fun… helps to make getting to know one another a little easier, if you know what I’m saying.” She smirked and I had to suppress my urge to get into it with her.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Elena added. “Saves all that ‘oh and by the way, I’ve got a girlfriend’ after you’ve already fucked.”

Deep down I knew that I was probably overreacting, but I couldn’t prevent the tut of disapproval that escaped my lips. “You’re all mad. It’s objectifying women, making them prizes to be won. It’s disgusting.”

“Chill, chica. The guys have stamps, too.”

“Oh, well, that makes it all better then. I’m going to find a drink and take a look around. I’ll catch you guys in a bit.”

Elena’s expression faltered. “Hey, come on, Ana, it’s just a freshmen prank. It doesn’t mean anything. We can still enjoy the party. Please.” Her almond-shaped eyes pleaded with me, but I was too close to losing it to hang around.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll cool off and find you guys later. Have fun!” I didn’t wait to hear her pleas.

Winding my way through the crowd of unfamiliar faces, I moved deeper into the house. My heart hammered in my chest as the claws of the looming anxiety attack started to drag me under. I moved on autopilot, my body knowing it needed to air and space, and quickly. I almost flung myself through the door leading out onto a huge decked area, ignoring the guys lined up doing body shots off a girl’s bare stomach as she lay on the counter shrieking with excitement.

Slumping against the wall, I clamped my eyes shut, focusing on evening my breathing.
Ten, nine, eight, seven… Count, Ana, just like Dr. Simmonds showed you.
My heart began to return to a normal pace, slowly calming my whole body.
Dammit.
The guy at the door had totally caught me off guard.
Boyfriend
. The word filled my heart with such overwhelming sadness that it had almost knocked me to the floor. But I needed to get a grip, be better prepared for this kind of situation. It was college, for Christ’s sake.
College, Ana
. People were bound to want to know that kind of stuff. History. Past relationships. I just hadn’t expected to hear
that
question. Not yet.

As I waited for my body to reach some level of normalcy, my eyes scanned the yard, darting from the half-naked girls draped over bare
-
chested guys in the huge hot tub on one side of the deck to a couple making out against the wall on the other. My eyes almost bugged out when I realized the guy’s hand was tucked up her skirt, as she arched into him. Feeling my cheeks heat with embarrassment, I dropped my gaze, but curiosity got the better of me and I scanned the yard again. Couples were making out all over the place, some girls were kissing each other while guys watched, and some guys were sharing one girl. More than one couple were at second base and one couple was almost hitting a home run…on a sun chair. I had walked straight into an alcohol-fueled orgy.

Feeling uncomfortable, I hurried back inside the house to find Elena and announce my immediate departure. I tried to remember the route back. When we had first entered the house, the door had opened into a huge reception area with two curved staircases leading up to the first-floor balcony. I had made out hallways, shooting off in each direction, to what I assumed were bedrooms. The snippets of conversation that I had overheard on the walk over informed me the football team, better known as Chastity Fallen, all lived here. All thirty-six of them, and from what I witnessed on the deck, it seemed the team lived up to their name.

Certain I was heading in the right direction, I rounded the corner of the dimly lit hallway and bumped face first into a wall of abs. “Ahhh, shit.”

“Watch it, beautiful,” a deep voice said.

Cupping a hand to my nose, I craned my neck to see the guy now blocking my path. “Sorry.” My voice came out small. It was his eyes. Although I couldn’t quite make out his face, they were as cold as ice and looking straight at me.

“I’m sure you can make it up to me?” He eyed the stamp on my hand, a cocky smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. I brought my hand down, thrusting it behind my back and feeling panic rising in my chest. “Hmm, I don’t think so.”

It happened so fast. One minute I was standing with my face to his chest, and the next minute, the guy had me pinned against the wall. I felt him harden against my stomach, and I had to force down the urge to gag or punch him in the face. But as his hands gripped my hips, the anger coursing through me was replaced with terror, and I tried to break out of his hold. “Get the hell off me.”

He laughed, watching, his eyes cutting right through me. The knowing glint in them made my whole body tense with an indecipherable emotion. “Most girls here would pay to be in your position.” He brought his mouth down to my ear and whispered, “Pay to have my dick pressed up against them-”

“What the fuck, man. Leave her alone. Look at her, she’s terrified,” a steady voice called out from the dark hallway beyond us.

The guy released his hold on me, and I was able to get a proper look at him. He was tall, at least six-foot. His blond faux hawk was styled to perfection and his ice-cold blue eyes stood out against his light skin. There was no denying that he was gorgeous, in a very I-eat-girls-like-you-for-breakfast way.

“Lighten up, Pierce, I’m just having some fun. Isn’t that right, beautiful?”

Pressed up against the wall, I tried to will myself invisible, unsure of what to do. Seventeen months ago, I would have kicked him in the balls, but now? Now, I was so broken that I didn’t know how I felt. Not really.

“Dude, leave it. There are enough girls downstairs.”

My eyes tried to scan the narrow hallway for the owner of the voice, but it was too dark to distinguish him from the shadows.

Ice eyes stepped back, and relief washed over me. “Fine. Let’s go,” he said to his friend who remained hidden in the shadows. He released me, but not before whispering in my ear, “I’ll see you around, beautiful.”

My whole body was shaking; his voice was like a million spiders crawling underneath skin. Through squinted eyes, I could just make out the silhouette of the second guy. He was a little shorter and his hair looked darker. As soon as they turned the corner, I gasped, forcing down the tears pooling in my eyes.

Shit, Ana. Get a grip.

My body moved on autopilot. The laughter and muffled conversations around me were inaudible as I tried to keep it together.

“Chica, are you okay? You look like you ran a marathon.”

“I- I’m fine,” I panted as Elena pulled me into a hug. My body recoiled at first, but as she held onto me, apologizing for earlier, something unexpected happened. I relaxed; the pain and grief strangling me started to dissipate slowly and I sagged into her.

For the first time in over a year, someone’s touch was comforting and a hint of a smile played on my lips. Perhaps, Chastity Falls was the answer to my prayers after all… Just as long as I could avoid ice eyes.

Wherever You Will Go (Try Again #1)

©
2014 Stephanie Smith

Brooke

I am numb. As I sit here and stare at the coffin in front of me, I don’t understand how we got here, how I got here. My gaze is fixed on nothing in particular, just the sight in front of me. My mind isn’t sure if this is really happening.

The church pew is hard under my bum, and both of my hands are being held and squeezed tightly. My mum is on one side of me, and on the other, my best friend Rachel. Neither one of these women have left my side since the accident.