CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alex could feel the vibrations of the thumping music before he even got out of Lacey's car. She'd picked him up bright and early the following Friday night to go to Tyler's annual out-of-control birthday party.
And, as usual, it hadn't been Ty's idea, but rather his older brother's. He was convinced his only brother was too quiet and shy. Unluckily for Michael, no amount of crazy house parties would ever break Tyler out of his shell in front of people who weren't his friends, but that never stopped him from throwing one every year anyway, in hope.
People stood about talking and laughing in groups in the front garden. The large oak door was wide open, framing the scene indoors. Lacey pulled Alex inside by the arm, flicking her blonde curls behind her, and pulling at the bottom of the navy dress she was wearing.
Inside was much worse than outside, with random people passed out on the stairs, and couples sucking each other's faces off in the shadows. Before the accident, Alex had enjoyed Ty's birthday parties every year; he would always tell his best friend to just unwind and make the most of them. But things were different now. Alice had been killed by a drunk driver returning home from a house party, and somehow, Alex couldn't quite bring himself to drink himself to oblivion again.
What if he somehow destroyed someone's life like his had been destroyed? What if, by losing control, he became the reason for someone losing their life?
His phone vibrated in his pocket, bringing him out of his thoughts as quickly as he'd fallen into them. He had a text message from Tyler, telling them to both come up to his bedroom when they arrived. He showed the screen to Lacey instead of attempting to say something as the music was too loud to speak over.
Together they made their way through the crowd, calling out hellos to people that recognised them. They walked up the stairs quietly, tip-toeing to avoid anyone following them, since Tyler didn't like random party-goers wandering into the bedrooms. Last year it had taken ages to clean out all the spilt alcohol from the plush red carpet, and they didn't want a repeat of that. Lacey knocked impatiently on the ivory door in the corner of the hallway, and pounced on Tyler the second he opened it.
"Let the birthday boy breathe, Lacey!" Alex heard a familiar voice call out while laughing. He looked up in shock as Kalila waved at him from the desk she was sitting on. What was she doing here?
He looked around, observing the people in the room, thankful that the walls were thick enough to block out most of the music so he could at least hear himself think. Kalila was sitting on Tyler's computer desk, clad in a violet dress down to her knees, and gold heels. Her hair was loose, and she was grinning, having been talking to Tyler just before they had walked in.
After blushing from them screaming out happy birthday wishes, Tyler turned around to introduce the unfamiliar girl and boy who were sitting on the bed and smiling apprehensively. They were clearly related, with similar features and the exact same smile.
"Uhm, guys, this is Cameron and his cousin, Hannah."
Lacey practically skipped over, excited to finally meet the boy Tyler had told her so much about. Alex just stood there and observed them as they spoke animatedly. Although he still found it weird that his best friend â the boy who'd blushed all day after getting his first kiss from Sophie Martins when they were eleven â was gay, he could see why Tyler would be attracted to him.
Cameron had darkish skin, almost russet in colour, and messy black hair with almond-shaped eyes and dimples. He looked more like he belonged on TV in a popular boy band that had girls swooning left right and centre, than casually sitting on Tyler's bed without a care in the world. The girl, Hannah, looked a lot like him, but with much lighter skin, like a drop of milk in a cup of coffee. She smiled and nudged her cousin forward towards Alex, who shook his hand.
"So you're the one who choked when you heard about me? Don't blame you; I do have that effect on everyone. Though I gotta say, you're way hotter than I thought you'd be."
Lacey and Tyler simultaneously burst out laughing at Alex's bewildered expression.
"Don't mind him, being the world's biggest flirt is pretty much his only talent," his cousin said, also amused, as she stepped forward to introduce herself.
Kalila giggled slightly and joined in the conversation. "Yeah, Cam's always been a cocky asshole. Don't take it personally."
"You know each other?" Alex managed to croak out, still slightly shocked at the recent turn of events. Who would have thought that his incredibly shy best friend would turn out to fall for a guy, first of all, never mind one who seemed like a complete player?
As Kalila filled them in on how she was actually neighbours with Cameron and Hannah, who were housemates as well as cousins, Tyler looked around with affection at all the people in the room. He didn't need to throw extravagant parties to have a good time. Everyone who was in the room right then was important to him.
'Well, not Kalila so much,' he thought. But he had an inkling that something between her and Alex was going to happen soon, especially with the way she kept stealing glances at him when he wasn't looking. Too bad Alex was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pick up on it. He hadn't always been like that; he'd used to take notice of everyone around him and talk to everyone he saw, but things had changed since Alice had died.
Some days, Tyler still couldn't believe she was dead, gone, six feet underground. Alice had been the happiest person he'd ever known. So bubbly and sweet, her enthusiasm for living had always rubbed off on everyone around her, her smiles infectious. How could someone like that â who loved life so much â be robbed of it? She was forever frozen at the age of seventeen as a memory of a girl who'd brought happiness into the hearts of those she'd loved.
As a memory, just a mere memory.
---
"So, what else do you think we should get?" Alex asked Kalila, eyebrows furrowed, scrutinising the empty aisles ahead of them. They'd all been having a great time at the party they'd abandoned, when Lacey had sneakily mentioned that the two of them should go get some junk food from the closest mini-supermarket. Tyler, pleased at the idea of the two of them being alone again, had hurriedly agreed, and had practically thrown them, along with his own wallet, out of the house.
"Some ice cream? It's not hot outside, so it won't melt," she answered, pulling open the sliding door of the large freezers, and picking out two random Ben and Jerry's tubs.
Once they were done with the few things they'd picked out, and after all the money had been spent â "It's Ty's fault for making us walk in the cold for this, so I'm gonna be an asshole and spend it all," Alex had reasoned â they started the walk back.
The night sky was dark and the stars, which were usually barely visible with the polluted city air, were glistening brightly. The streets were empty, apart from a few stray cars hurrying past. Kalila unconsciously walked briskly ahead of Alex to look up at a particular bright star.
"Lovely night out, isn't it, Kalila?" she heard someone say from behind her. It wasn't Alex's soft voice, but one that was much harsher, the edges sharp, dripping with sarcasm. A shiver ran through her as she turned around slowly, her hands clenching tightly with panic as she recognised the voice.
A voice she hadn't heard in two years.
She didn't know how she hadn't seen him standing there before, the cigarette in his hand luminescent orange. Eric Jenkins was older than her, almost twenty-three years old, and built like a rock. He was about 5â²11â²â², with a shaved head and a permanent sneer on his face. Eyes that were bloodshot and deadly leered at her intensely.
'Why didn't I pick up my jacket?' She internally cursed herself as his eyes undressed her. She tried not to wince as he took a heavy step forward.
"Get the fuck away from her!"
Kalila had never been so relieved to hear Alex's voice as he came up from behind her and put his arm around her bare shoulders protectively. His warm touch made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Alex didn't know who this creep was, but judging by the look on her face, Kalila knew him somehow, and it wasn't a very pleasant memory.
He sneered at them. "Oh, you found yourself a little boyfriend, did you?"
Kalila opened her mouth to protest, perhaps to say they were just friends, when Alex nodded in agreement, stepping slighting in front of her as though he was using himself as a shield.
"Yeah, so I'd appreciate it if you left my girlfriend alone."
Kalila had never heard Alex sound so furious before. He was usually so calm and collected all the time, and it was hard to see any kind of feelings on his face at all. In fact, up until the day she'd seen him almost jump off the roof of the ice rink she worked at, she'd never seen even a hint of emotion from him. Now that they were friends, she saw a flash of pain every now and again, or occasionally nostalgia, but that was it; he'd never been this angry in front of her.
Eric laughed then, a cold and calculated laugh that made her shiver, but Alex stood firm, his eyes unwavering. "Oh, she knows I wouldn't hurt her, but don't walk alone on these roads, little Kay. You don't want to end up dead, like your whore of a cousin."
And with that he turned and walked away, throwing the cigarette on the floor to stomp on it viciously, digging his heel into the ground.
Kalila waited until she could no longer see his retreating back before letting out the breath she'd been holding so tightly. She tried to control her expression, so as not to give away how much his last words had hurt her, but it was no use. Alex had already seen the pain embedded on her face.
With the arm around her that was still clutching the long-forgotten shopping bag, he turned the two of them around, and headed the short way back to his flat. He didn't know what had just happened, but he knew she wouldn't want to be around everyone, having to pretend to be happy.
After all, he didn't like it when he had to do the same thing.
A/N: click on 'external link' on the right side to see Kalila's outfit c: