I put my head down and nod. “I’m sorry.”
He places a finger beneath my chin and tilts my head to face him. “It’s fine.” He sighs heavily. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready.”
“Will you wait for me?” I ask, a tear developing in the corner of my eye.
He cups my face in his hands. “Of course. You know I love you.”
I slip my hands around his waist and hold him tight. “I love you too.”
Maureen’s voice carries through the woods. “Let’s get this party started,” she shouts, and it’s followed by hooting and hollering from multiple people.
“Come on.” I nod toward the sound of the party. “Let’s have some fun.”
Within an hour of our arrival, the size of the party grew exponentially. This happens every year. Seniors invite friends from other schools and the neighborhood, and they drink up all the alcohol they didn’t help pay for. When the crowd gets too large, a fight or two always breaks out. Not only that, as night falls and the flames grow higher, neighbors who work in the morning will start calling the police to break up the party.
Two girls face off in front of the flames, screaming at each other. Maureen wanders over, carrying her bottle of vodka, and staggers between them. I don’t know what she says to calm them down, but next thing you know, they’re taking swigs from the bottle and talking as if they’re friends. Maureen is such a social butterfly.
Jayce strolls around the fire, grabs a beer from the red igloo cooler on the ground and pops the top open, tossing the cap into the flames. He’s been a little off since I told him, but I’m not upset. I broke our promise, not him. He sucks down a big swig of beer as Maureen struts toward him and hands him her liquor bottle. She continues walking by him and disappears into thewoods. Even through the flames, I can see the look in his glossy eyes as she wanders away, his focus on her barely covered ass.
How could he not? I’m having a hard time not looking, along with many other girls and guys, at the party. If Maureen’s skirt shifts, even just a little, boom—you can clearly see the black lace bikini underwear she’s wearing.
I stagger to the side as someone crashes into me, and two guys get into a pushing contest beside me. They exchange words briefly before the one closest to me swings at the other, and a brawl ensues. I roll my eyes and storm around the fire pit, searching for Jayce.
He’s no longer standing where he was before the fight broke out. I scan the crowd twice before peering into the woods in the direction Maureen went. He probably went to check on her. I press through the dense landscaping, fumbling along the dark path until I breach the tree line in front of the closed factory.
I rub the goosebumps from my arm as I approach the eerie building. Glass along the perimeter crunches beneath my sneakers as I round the corner and spot a piece of plywood resting beside an entrance to the building. A small opening, big enough to climb through, catches my eye. I creep close to the hole and stop breathing to listen. Low voices come from inside; one of them is Maureen.
What the hell is she doing? This place is both dangerous and haunted; everyone knows this. I step through the opening and move cautiously through the space. A small amount of moonlight shines through the broken upper windows as low voices turn to moans. I stand behind a tall pile of pallets and gaze around the stack. My eyes widen at the sight of Maureen on a metal table, her legs wide open, Jayce slamming his cock into her. I cup my hand over my mouth to stifle my scream, not wanting them to hear me.
“I missed you so much,” he murmurs in her ear before licking her neck and ramming his dick into her again.
She grips his hair and kisses him hard. “Fuck me from behind like before.”
Like before?
Have they been fucking behind my back this whole time? Tears cascade over my hand as he grabs her violently, throws her over the table, and reenters her from behind, his hand holding her throat. She cries out with every thrust, a sinister smile on her face. Heat rises in my cheeks as my heart pounds, and my blood boils. I saved myself for him, and this whole time, he’s been fucking my best friend behind my back.
He lied to me. They both did. They’ve been running around together having this secret relationship for who knows how long. I’m a fool.
I’m a fucking fool.
Chapter Two
A Heart on Fire
I back away from the pallets, tears streaming down my face, my heart shattering and joining the shards of glass crunching beneath my feet as I jog back in the direction of the bonfire. Branches and prickly bushes slice my face and arms, tearing at my flesh as I work my way toward the flames in the distance. When I stumble into the open, I drop to my hands and knees, sobbing.
The two girls who were previously fighting spot me from the other side of the flames and make their approach, no doubt coming to console me and find out why I’m distraught. They make it within a few feet of me when someone yells, “Cops.”
Everyone scatters in different directions, some knowing where they are going, while others do not. Luckily for me, I paid attention to the curved tree I passed on my way here. I hustle to the opening and jog behind several others until we reach the far side of the pond. We fork off, some heading around the right side of the pond, while others head around the left. I went left.
In the distance, I see someone leaning against my car. Once I get a little closer, I realize it’s Maureen. She’s holding one hand on her chest, panting heavily, and her nearly empty bottle of booze in the other.
I want to hurt her—punch her right in the face for what she’s done, but now’s not the time. Flashing lights turn down the street along the pond, going in the direction of the old factory. I reach my car, unlock the doors and climb in without saying a word to her.
She flops into the seat beside me and adjusts her skirt. I stare through the windshield, unsure of what my next move may be. Do I kick her out of the car and let the cops pick her up? Do I pounce on her like a cat and gouge out her eyes?
“Let’s go, sister,” Maureen says, staring at me expectantly.
