The Party

"Are you coming tonight?" Kayla's eyes gleamed with hope.

"Not tonight... I need to study." Lucy replied, immediately flickering her eyes down towards the ground. She hated to disappoint Kayla, and she couldn't stand to look at her when she did. Kayla tilted her head back and rolled her eyes as if she expected Lucy's response.

"You always do this!" She exhaled with frustration. "You always say you're studying. Finals aren't for another whole two weeks!" Kayla grabbed Lucy's arm and dug in her perfectly manicured nails. French tips.

"Please Lucy, Sam will be there, and I could really use a friend." Lucy felt the guilt in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm sorry, Kayla. I really do want to be a good friend but I just get so nervous at parties. You're so much better at those things than I am." She could feel her heart fluttering within her chest and the sweat begin to drip down her back at the thought of attending a party with so many people. Lucy did not like going out of her comfort zone, and going to a crowded party, with people she didn't know, and especially drunk people she didn’t know, caused a lot of anxiety within her.

“I’ll come.” She stuttered; her eyes still focused on the floor beneath her. “I just don’t want to drink much okay? Because I really do have to study this weekend.”

The corners of Kayla's mouth curled upwards into a satisfied smile. Her eyes relaxed from their previous squint into a cat that just got the cream kind of look.

"Thanks, Luce." She purred. "I'll pick you up after cheer. I promise I won't leave you on your own like last time. I was so drunk I don't even remember it!" With that, Kayla dug her long nails into the handbag that was hung on her left forearm and pulled out a set of car keys with a furry pink bobble on it.

“7 o’clock!” As she waved, Lucy her keys jingle and the clack of Kayla’s high heels as she walked towards her car across the parking lot.

At this point, Lucy was not feeling good. Not good at all. She forced a smile as she waved goodbye to her best friend and she started walking home in the opposite direction. She hated to disappoint Kayla because she has been through so much, and they have been friends since before Lucy could remember. Their Moms grew up together, so Lucy and Kayla grew up together too.

Then it all changed six months ago when Lucy’s Mom, Nicole married Kayla’s Dad Michael.

After Lucy’s Dad, Jacob disappeared, Nicole spent more and more time with Michael. At first, Lucy was upset when she found out they had been spending so much time together. She was upset her Mom had lied about it and she was upset that her Dad disappeared without even saying a word of goodbye. She was upset that out of everyone in Town, her Mom had to pick Michael.

Eventually, she accepted it after she saw how happy her Mom was, and after seeing how Kayla had accepted it so gracefully and quickly. Lucy did think it was bit odd that Kayla took the whole thing so well. Especially after Nicole and Michael announced they were together just two weeks after Kayla’s Mom’s funeral.

It was a bit soon, Lucy thought, and as did the whole Town. Michael moved into Lucy’s family home as soon as they were married, bringing Kayla and her younger brother Michael Jr., or Mikey he prefers to only be called. Lucy’s house was much bigger than Kayla’s, with two spare rooms. “We bought the house thinking we were going to have this big happy family but Jacob didn’t want anymore kids after you.” Lucy remembered her Mom telling her. This answer hurt Lucy’s feelings and she never questioned why she never had any siblings after that. Now unexpectedly, Lucy had a brother and sister.

Kayla walked two blocks and she was home. She walked along the path up onto the patio and through the patio doors. She carefully placed her schoolbag on the dining room table and proceeded to take out all her books. Chemistry first. She thought. As she placed the books onto the table, she felt parched. Water first, then chemistry. She walked into the kitchen, reaching up onto her tip toes to grab a glass of water and filled it up at the sink. She daydreamed a little as she sipped, looking half-heartedly out of the window. Then, at the corner of her eye she saw a flash.

She then felt a cold shudder run down to the base of in her spine. What was that?

She silently placed the half empty glass of water onto the kitchen countertop and stood still.

There it was again, at the corner of her eye, a shadow flash in her peripheral vision. Now she was starting to panic. Her hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and she was frozen. She was too scared to slightly turn her head and look. She was terrified to turn around. Something felt wrong. She knew Nicole wouldn’t be home until 6 o’clock at least, and Michael even later. It was only four.

Then she heard it. Bang.

Lucy frantically ran towards the front door. Every sense within her screamed for her to run. Her body was painfully alive and numb at the same time. Her heart pounded hard and her legs felt like jelly.

A masked figure tackled her onto the hardwood floor. She whacked her skull and felt the sticky warmth of her blood trickle into her eye. She struggled to catch a breath under the weight of him. She tried to claw him off, but he was too strong. He pinned her down by her shoulders. His arms like thick trunks of wood rooting her to the ground. Lucy could barely breathe now, and she was too terrified to scream for help. In a desperate attempt she scratched at his eyes. Her legs flailed behind her aimlessly. Exasperated, she let out a blood curdling scream. He grew angry with Lucy and wrapped his thick hands around her throat. Her eyes bulged as she realised this was it, she was going to die. She stared at her attacker as he tightened his grip around her throat. Her eyes began to roll back. She was losing consciousness.

Bang.

The masked man’s body silently slumped over Lucy. She didn’t remember the spray of blood, or the feel of the fragments of skull brains over her face, she remembered the sound of the gunshot and the ringing in her ears after.

“Take that you fucking bastard!” Spat Mikey. He had found Jacob’s gun. “Oh my fucking God, Lucy!” With both hands he shoved the man’s still-warm body off Lucy. “Are you ok? Do you need to go to hospital?” As Lucy gasped for air, the colour began to run out of Mikey’s face.

“Shit.” Was all he said.

“We… Need… To… Call.. An… Ambulance!” She gasped, still trying to breathe normally.

“No fucking way. If we call them, the police will come.”

“Please… Put… The… Gun… Down Mikey.”

“I’m not going to juvie!”

“You… Won’t… You saved me!”

“You don’t know that. You’re not a fucking lawyer.”

Lucy was still in shock and didn’t have much fight left in her to argue. Clambered to her feet, not looking at the now corpse on the hallway floor.

“So…” She croaked, still hoarse from being nearly strangled to death. “What are we going to do now?”

“Your fucking problem!” He took off with the gun in his hoodie pocket. Lucy could hear him peddle down the street.

Great.

She thought about just leaving him there with his shiny blood spilling out onto the floor. She thought about running away like Mikey just did. She touched her face and could feel the residues of her blood mixed with his, and ran to the downstairs toilet to throw up.

Meanwhile, Kayla was finishing up her cheer routine with some stretches. She had no idea what was happening at home. All she knew was there was going to be an amazing party tonight, and Sam was going to be there. Sam was her ex-boyfriend. She broke it off when her Mom died and ever since she then she has been stringing him along for months. He sometimes texted her WYD? At 2am and Kayla’s face would beam with delight. “He still wants me.” She would proudly hold her head high, sat across the bedroom at the dressing table as Lucy sat crossed legged on her double bed.

“You’re not going to go are you?” Lucy dreaded it when Sam texted her.

Kayla brushed her hair as she smiled in the mirror. “He’s captain you know. It’s like, such a cliché but I know we are meant to be together in the end.”

Lucy cringed with embarrassment.

“Whatever. You know he’s probably seeing other girls now.” Lucy snapped.

Kayla’s brow furrowed. “What like you? As if.” She cackled.

Lucy squirmed with more embarrassment and a little jealousy too.

“Yeah right, Sam would be interested in me. Like that would ever happen. He’s probably slept with all the other cheerleaders behind your back.” Teased Lucy.

Kayla threw a pillow at Lucy’s head with a grin on her face.

“You’re such a bitch you know that? Ugh. There’s no way. I speak to all the girls at cheer and they all say he’s still in love with me. Treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen! You should try it sometime, maybe you’ll get a guy.”

Lucy knew Sam wanted Kayla, because he had told her whilst they were in bed together. Lucy had been secretly sleeping with Sam for months since her Dad disappeared. She knew he wanted to date other girls, and she was fine with that until he mentioned Kayla. Then she broke things off after that. Sam did not take it well. He punched the wall behind Lucy when she told him she didn’t want to see him anymore, and to stay away from Kayla.

Kayla went to the locker room and slung her bag on the floor. The other girls were getting ready to go to the party. It was meant to be low-key because of finals looming next week, but she knew everyone was going to be there including Sam. She had already decided tonight would be the night she would ask him to be her boyfriend again.

She had the whole night planned out in her head. Her Dad even said he would buy her drinks. He never said no to Kayla since her Mom died. Kayla always got what she wanted.

10 minutes to 7. Kayla was ready for the party. She walked out of the sports hall towards her car.

Her cellphone started ringing.

“Hello?”

“Hi…Kayla… It’s me. Lucy”

“Oh hey, are you ready? What’s up you sound weird.”

“I’m not coming tonight.”

“Lucy we’ve been over this. You are coming you know how important this night is to me.”

“I… can’t… Something has happened at home.”

“Ugh Luce! I don’t care. Look, I’ll pick you up and we’ll drive around for a bit until you calm down. You will be fine. You already know everyone that will be there.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Look, talk to me in the car I’m coming now.”

“Kayla!”

“What?”

“I can’t come tonight. Sam’s dead in our hallway.”