Unbound (6 page)

Luckily, both of my parents were gone when we got home. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain me being home without my car. Harrison said he’d take me back to get it later. We both trudged up the curved staircase and went into our rooms. I stripped down to my bra and panties and climbed into bed. Hunter jumped up with me and stretched out along my side. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

Two hours later, my phone rang and woke me up.

“Hello?” I said sleepily.

“Are you still asleep?” It was Laney.

“Sort of. It’s a long story. What’s up?” I closed my eyes again.

“Nothing really. I was bored. What are you wearing tonight?”

My memory flashed to the dog’s fangs. My eyes flew open. “Umm, I was thinking that pink halter dress I got at the mall last week.” I was glad I picked out my outfit last night because I was definitely not feeling fashionable right now.

“Oh, I like that one. You look really good in it too. I don’t know what to wear. Everything I have is looking frumpy.” Ah, the old closet full of clothes and nothing to wear syndrome. It was common among teenage girls. I would offer for Laney to come raid my closet, but she was five foot two and very petite. I was tall and thin, but with my large chest size and curvy rear end, nothing of mine fit her. Hunter jumped off my bed and went to the door, signally me that he needed to go out. I slowly swung my legs out of bed.

“What about that black top you got at the mall. You know the one with the little blue gems around the collar? That’s really cute.”

“Oh yea! I forgot about that.”

Hunter whined.

“Hey, Laney. I don’t want to cut you off but Hunter needs to go out and I need to shower.” I looked at the clock. Crap, Mike was going to be here in a little over two hours. We said our goodbyes and I hurried to get ready. I let Hunter out and went back upstairs to shower. The water stung the cut a bit and the shampoo hurt even worse. I carefully shaved my legs and armpits; my dress was lacking on the coverage side so I wanted to make sure every visible part of me was smooth. I ate a quick lunch while I let my hair air dry. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about make up. I knew it would be a bad idea to try to cover up a cut this fresh, the powder would only get in and hurt and look gross. A deep purple bruise was visible already. I didn’t bruise easily, so this was proof that I had hit the ground hard. If only I had worn my helmet, this all could have been avoided. But ‘what-ifs’ didn’t do any good, so I pushed that thought out of my mind.

I had been growing out my bangs all summer.
 
With reluctance, I got out a pair of scissors and re-cut them, hoping that I could cover the wound with hair. I liked the way I looked with them, but they were a pain in the ass to deal with. I dried my hair next, and was happily surprised that the bangs not only looked good, but hid the ugly cut and bruise fairly well.

“Wow,” Mike said when I opened the door. “You look hot.” He eyed me up and down and I twirled around slowly so he could get a good look. Mike was looking good himself in distressed jeans and a gray polo shirt. He patted my butt and pulled me close.

“You know, we have time to go upstairs before we leave.” He kissed me.

“Harry’s home and I am sure my dad will be soon.” That didn’t seem to register with Mike because he took my hand and led me up to my room. We sat down on my bed and before I knew it, he was on top of me. Romeo, who I had just let out, bounced across the bed. Mike pulled himself off of me quickly.

“Do you seriously have to let that damn thing out all the time? He’s so annoying.”

I picked Romeo up and gently set him on the floor. “He didn’t even do anything. And yes, I do have to let him out. He’s been in his cage all day.”

“That’s where he’s supposed to be. Rodents shouldn’t walk around people’s rooms. It’s disgusting.”

“Good thing ferrets aren’t rodents then.” I could definitely see where people would get confused, ferrets do have mousey faces, but I had told Mike many times that they were in the Muskrat family and were NOT rodents. It made me mad that he didn’t listen. I ran my hand over my hair. I wasn’t sure if Mike would still be in the mood to continue what he had started. I was hoping he wouldn’t be, because I knew my dad would be home soon to make dinner. The annoyance left his face and he leaned over to kiss me again.

I couldn’t wear a bra with this dress; the V was too deep and the back was too low cut, and Mike smiled when he found that out. Just then, we heard Hunter bark. Dad must be home. I tried to push Mike off, but he didn’t move.

“Hey kids!” Dad yelled.

I pushed again and this time Mike backed off. He looked pissed. I felt a little embarrassed when I realized that Mike was probably in no condition to go downstairs right now, so I took my time filling Romeo’s water and food bowls. I sat down in front of Romeo’s cage and petted him for a few minutes before I put him away opened the bedroom door. Harrison was sluggishly coming out of his room. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who could sleep as much as my brother. But then again, I didn’t know too many people who partied like my brother. He looked at me with a bit of shock.

“Are you going out in that?”

I looked down at my dress. “Yes, why do you have a problem with it?” I knew what he was going to say.

“People are going to think you are asking for it.”

I knew he was trying to look out for me so I just shrugged and said, “Let them.” Mike joined me at the top of the stairs and nodded hello to Harrison. I wished they liked each other. Not that I wanted the three of us to hit the town or anything, but it would be nice if they at least would converse. I dashed back into my room and pulled on a sweater for the time being. I didn’t want Mom or Dad saying anything about my dress either.

The downstairs smelled like pizza. Dad was getting the ingredients out to make salads.

“Didn’t feel like cooking?” Harrison asked.

“Not really. And Mom got off early. She should be home any minute now.”

I put two pieces of pepperoni pizza on a plate for me and three on a plate for Mike and set them down on the table. Almost as soon as we sat down Mom came home. Still wearing her pale blue scrubs, she got herself some pizza and joined us.

Out of habit I brushed my hair back behind my ear. Mom gasped, shot out of her chair and was over by me in amazing speed. Crap. I looked at Harry, who mouthed “sorry”.

“What in the world happened?”

“I fell off Mystery.” That wasn’t a total lie. In fact, it was the exact truth. Exact, just not entire. “He spooked.”

She pushed my hair away and turned my head to the light and examined the cut in a doctor-like way. I pushed her hand away. “I’m fine though.”

Mike, who had been too busy looking my boobs, hadn’t noticed the bruise.

“You don’t look fine,” he said. I couldn’t tell if he was concerned for my safety or for my looks.

“Thanks,” I told him sarcastically.

“Were you not wearing a helmet?” Mom sounded serious. I thought about saying yes, of course I had a helmet on, but I’m sure Mom, the neurosurgeon, wouldn’t have fallen for it.

“No.”

“Anora Paige! You could have been killed!”

“Well, I’m alive.” I stood up and grabbed my plate. “We really have to be going before we are late.” I shot a look at Mike that told him he better follow my lead.

“Yea, we have to go.” He stood and took his plate too. We put our dishes in the dishwasher and headed towards the door.

“Have fun tonight Harry!” I shouted behind me.

“Don’t think we won’t talk about this when you get home, young lady!” Mom yelled as I slammed the door accidentally in a rush to get out of the house. Well, at least my head wound distracted Mom from commenting on my dress (or lack thereof).

Mike and I walked hand in hand up to the front door of the big, white house. I’ve never been to a frat party before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I imagined it would be like something in the movies; loud music, people dancing and laughing, a keg in the corner. I was surprised at how mellow the atmosphere was when we entered the living room. Music was playing, but it was at a level that you could carry on a conversation without having to raise your voice. There were seven people scattered around, five of them guys and the other two girls. They looked relaxed, and the girls weren’t even dressed up. I immediately felt overdressed. Their conversations ceased when they saw me. The two girls looked at me and then at each other.
 
I was glad I didn’t possess the power to read minds because I knew they were not thinking nice thoughts. The guys’ eyes latched onto me like a hungry dog’s to a slab of meat. Maybe Harrison was right.

The living room was big, as would be expected for a place that housed a bunch of boys. There was a big TV sitting on a glass stand against a wall, and several videogame systems were untidily shoved on the shelf underneath. Two racks were on either side of the TV, and they were loaded with DVDs.
 
A big leather couch was centered in the middle of the room, and two matching leather arm chairs were positioned on either side, angled slightly for better viewing of the TV.

                                                                                                                                               
Mike introduced me to everyone. I smiled and said ‘hi’ politely, but I didn’t pay attention to anyone’s name. My mind kept drifting back and forth to the dog incident and feeling self conscious about my skimpy dress. We sat down in the living room and one of the girls offered us drinks. She came back with a bucket full of ice and beer that she placed on the coffee table in front of the couch. I’ve tried beer before, and I don’t like it one bit. I think it’s downright gross.

Still, I felt the urge to grab one and pretend to enjoy it so I wouldn’t be the only one without a drink in hand. I didn’t though, and I felt proud of myself for not giving in. Normally I would have been bored sitting here listening to the boys talk, but I had a lot to think about. I went over every detail of the trail ride in my head. My bangs fell into my eyes and I shook my head to get them out of the way.

                                                                                                                                               
“Whoa!” the guy to my right said. “What the hell happened to you?”

                                                                                                                                               
It actually took me a few seconds to realize that my ugly bruise was showing. Mike answered for me, probably furthering Frat Boy’s opinion of me as being dumb.

                                                                                                                                               
“She fell off her horse.” He slowly slid his fingers up the hem of my dress. I put my hands in my lap to stop him from going any higher up my leg. This isn’t the time or place for him to be acting like this.

                                                                                                                                               
“You have a horse?” Frat Boy asked.

               
“Yea, I have two actually.”
                   

                                                                                                                                               
“Cool. My sister wants one. She won’t shut up about it.”

                                                                                                                                               
“Oh, well, she should really get one. They’re a lot of work but they are totally worth it. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have mine. I’d have too much free time for sure.” I didn’t think he was listening anymore so I let my voice drop and trail off.

The door flew open. Travis, along with a handful of other people came in. He had a paper bag full of glass bottles of booze. Two boys behind him were carrying a keg. I guess this was going to be like the movies after all.

The house got crowded very quickly after Travis arrived. I was relieved when Marie and Laney walked through the door, which had been left open since so many people were coming in and out and the owners of this frat house were tired of opening it every few minutes. Of course they noticed my wound and asked about it. I was getting tired of telling the story. At least they didn’t press for details. Drinks were served and loud music filled the house. Marie, Laney and I were actually having a really good time. Marie loves being the center of attention, so this was right up her alley. She had downed a few drinks right off the bat and that added to her good mood. I hadn’t seen Mike in a while, so I left the girls to go find him. He was playing beer pong with Travis in the kitchen. He stopped when he saw me and pulled me close. His hands went right to my butt and he kissed my neck. Just then, Natalie and her cronies walked through the back door.