I gasped back to reality, plummeting from the dream world and returning to my body. Within my hysteria, I fell off the bed and landed in a pile on the floor where Deshawn once rested. Where was he? What was that?"Now you know why I hate Marco," Deshawn admitted. I saw that he was sitting on the edge of my bed, a longing look plastered to his face as he looked down on me but I knew he was thinking about his ex-best friend.Both of my wrists each had the name, Reniella De Vega written on it. Perfectly centered and readable, not dreaming."I need to talk to him then," I stated. Marco had an obvious dislike towards Deshawn, a dislike I needed to explore."I'm not letting you talk to him when he could potentially
"I knew for a fact that Amalia and Marco had slept with each other because he was just as nervous as she was. He knew all the little secrets before I'd even said them aloud. While Amalia became quiet upon the release of her personal details, Marco was much the opposite. He came up to me, threatened me, pushed me. The Marco I saw that day was not my best friend. He was something else. Some white knight complex had taken over him, just another white boy trying to show off his new plaything. If he thought I'd do that to Amalia, he couldn't have known me all that well. I was just-"He cut himself off and lunged towards me before I could react. His hands found my cheeks where he cupped them roughly and my face was trapped in his grasp. His icy touch knocked the breath from my lungs and it felt as though I'd been knocked over by a car. My vision glazed over and all I could see we
"Reniella De Vega?" He sneered, looking down his long nose at me. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent and I was glad he had lost sleep over Ross's adventures. "Jesus, you two. Stand apart for Christ's sake, you look like lovers or something."The bitterness in his voice, I assumed, was directed towards me. It was probably because I was poor, far from perfect for his little boy. If I thought Zobel boys were all the same, their parents were even worse. Mr. Rivera had always been a grumpy bastard."Get inside now. You better be quiet, I'm warning you. If you wake your mother up, I swear to God, Ross. You hear me, boy? We'll talk about this later." The big man hissed through clenched teeth. He placed a strong hand onto Ross's shoulder and with a swift push, he rushed his son into their home.
She blew out yet another sigh and stared at me. It was like something had finally clicked in her mind and her eyes hardened. It looked like she'd finally seen me for who I was."Reniella, you're lovely, honestly," she bit out. "I'm not sure if you've been told this before but you just have this vibe around you. You've got these eyes and this little smile that makes people feel like they should confess their entire life story to you. But I can't risk spilling any more secrets than necessary, I hope you understand."She brushed me off and turned to her friends.Without kicking up a fuss, I put the can back onto the kitchen island and stalk off. My eyes were heavy and I didn't feel like investigating anymore. I couldn't go upstairs to any of the r
I stumbled around the home, avoiding friends and plunging into the unknown.I'd heard of these stories before. I knew about Amalia and Deshawn's relationship and how they'd walk into a party hand in hand but leave while screaming at each other. I saw Marco and Deshawn's friendship, two guys you either wanted to be or know. Then it all stopped and Deshawn died.I retreated to the foyer and wondered if they'd even turned up. If this party was for Deshawn, would they have risked it? Did their hate run that deep or was it a silly misunderstanding washed away by the seriousness of his death? If Deshawn hadn't have died, would they have made up?There were still so many people and I struggled to see above it all as my tiredness caught up with me. Eve
"So the obvious one would be his ex-girlfriend, Amalia Hadid. They were the most toxic couple I'd ever seen. I don't think they ever said one nice thing about one another, in private or in person. She cheated on him a few months before he died and they broke up because of that. It was a messy parting and he said a lot of dumb fucking shit about her when they finished. She was pissed and almost failed her exams because of it and the last thing I heard, her dad went around to Deshawn's house and told him to pack it in. He threatened Deshawn and at the time we thought it was the funniest fucking thing but I'm not sure anymore. Anyway, that's Amalia."Taron took his other hand and enclosed it over mine that rested on his chest. His fingers were long and bony, trapping me in place."Then there's Marco Arandia,
Though Deshawn wasn't truly there, he could touch and hold stuff from our world. Taron's weight was shared between the crazy girl and the ghost of his best friend but he had no idea. It was unsettling.Together, the three of us walked through the front door where I was momentarily speechless at the interior. Just like every other Zobel boy house, it was large with winding staircases, expensive decorations, and designer wallpaper. The foyer alone was probably bigger than my whole house and led straight to the glass doors on the other side where more people danced in the garden. The smell of various alcoholic drinks and smoke clung to the air like a disease and groups of people came and went through.Girls idled on the staircase, boys screamed from the pool outside and the music pierced my eardrums.
I leaned against the headrest of the car and listened to the music as it vibrated from the house. Students from Zobel College house never failed to amaze me, this one was no exception. It was larger than I'd thought. It is adorned with colorful flowers hung from buckets along the front, blooming beautifully. More glass than necessary lined the walls just to give a breathtaking peak of the expensive interior. It also provided a nice view of the coastline the houses were built along."I don't think anyone will die in this one if that's what you're worried about," Deshawn reassured while he was in the passenger seat. It was as if he'd fizzed into place as he'd always been there."Unless there's a serial killer on the loose. Then, in that case, you might have an army of ghosts to help you out," he joked.
"Is this a Zobel boy party?" I asked over the music."Uhh, yeah," she answered absentmindedly while trying to roll up her window to stop the bitter chill of night. I figured if this was a Zobel party we'd be more likely to find a suspect worth our time."Why? You got your eye on one of them?" Raven teased while the wind breezed through her dark hair.I threw her a half-smile. She knew better than anyone how I felt about relationships. I just didn't need them. I loved the thrill of a kiss but dreaded the burden of love. That's just the way it was for me."Well Corpus Cole from biology does weed and I'm going to join them tonight." Raven grinned.