LEA
You shouldn’t blame me for being a tad confused here. Wasn’t he the one who told me to keep my mouth shut in that car this morning? And now he’s here? Maybe I’m being petty but it’s not every day that River comes to talk to me.
Obviously, Marissa is going to think something is up. I skeptically eye his hand, making his grin brighten.
“Oh, so now you’re playing hard to get and won’t let me help you up?” He chuckles, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m not playing anything, dickhead.” I bite back, taking his hand in my attempt of getting up from the floor.
Lesson number one Lea: never trust a boy.
His grip on my hand loosens for a fraction of a second, causing me to suffer a mini heart attack when I almost fall back to the ground.
He instantly bursts into laughter, probably from the expression of shock that passes over my face when I realise his cruel trick. Luckily, his grip tightens just before I land for the second time on my coccyx, and this time he pulls me until I’m upright and standing on both feet.
“Remind me to never let you help me again,” I narrow my eyes at him, but he’s still too busy laughing.
“Wait…” Marissa’s voice inputs behind us, making me turn to her. “Did you just offer your hand to help Lea…” She points at River, her eyes now focused on a certain area on the ground in front of her as she thinks of what to say next.
“And did you just call him a dickhead ?” She points at me, furrowing her eyebrows. It’s safe to say that she’s very, very confused right now.
“Yes.” River and I reply simultaneously.
We glance at each other, a look of disgrace on my face and a look of amusement on his, and then turn back to Marissa who is still trying to figure something out in her head.
“I’m sorry, I might be completely stupid, but am I missing something?” She waves her hands around in the air as she speaks;
now looking at both of us in turn.
“Because, the last time I checked, I don’t think you guys exactly…” She pauses to find a good explanation, “know each other.”
“You haven’t told her?” He turns to me.
“You told me not to, remember?” I reply sharply.
“But, I didn’t realize you were going to listen to me.”
“Hello?” Marissa calls, now shaking her hands vigorously in the air.
I sigh, turning to Marissa.
“Remember that guy, Malcolm, yesterday night?” I ask her and continue speaking when she nods in remembrance. “Well, he’s River’s dad…” Once I reveal the ‘big secret’ to her, her jaw drops.
Her index finger is straightened and pointed directly at me. “So you’re…living with him.” The finger hesitantly moves towards River.
River and I both nod.
In a matter of seconds, her hands clamp against her mouth in shock and amazement. There goes her dramatic reaction, why in the world did she drop theatre class last year?
“Yeah, big hoo ha. Now lets go.” I tell Marissa whilst rounding the bonnet of the car and opening the passenger door.
“Wait!” River calls, following me around the car bonnet.
By the time he reaches me, I’m already comfortably sat in the passenger seat, about to shut the car door, but he pulls it open before I can close it.
My eyes spot his toned biceps through the reasonably tight shirt he’s wearing, and a shiver runs through me.
River, why’d you have to be eye candy when I’m supposed to be annoyed with you?
“Wait.” He repeats, Marissa is watching him suspiciously, still confused.
He leans down until his face and mine are at the same level, only a foot away from each other, one of his hands rests on the car roof whilst the other is holding onto the inside of the door.
“What do you want?” I ask, adjusting my seatbelt.
“Where are you going?”
“What’s it to you.” My eyes narrow at him in annoyance.
“Stop playing hard to get, Lea.” A smug smirk overtakes his expression.
“Oh, for fcks sake. Not everybody wants to blow you, River.” I yell exasperatedly.
He chuckles. “No, I’m being serious.” His face straightens. “Where are you going?”
“To Marissa’s, where do you think.” I rest my head against the seat, looking ahead, through the windshield at Marissa whose hands lean against the car bonnet. She’s studying both of us intensely.
“Are you going just to Marissa’s? No where else?” River questions as if this is a police interrogation.
“Jeez, why so nosy. Back off.” I push at his chest, but I should know better because, like the first time I pushed him, he doesn’t move an inch.
“Lea, I just want to know.” He’s entirely serious now, ther smirk having vanished.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I just…In case my parents ask where you are.”
“You’re such a bad liar.” I retort, a small smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. “Your parents already know that I’m staying over at Marissa’s, and that’s all I’m going to do tonight.” I lie back.
I reach for the car handle as River backs away and then close the passenger door.
Marissa opens the driver’s door and climbs in, after securing her seatbelt in place; she starts the engine and reverses out of her parking space. I know River is still standing on the side walk, looking at us as Marissa drives, but I try my hardest to keep my eyes focused on my fingers that are nestled in my lap.
Obviously, I fail.
Just as Marissa is about to drive out of River’s view, I look up at him; he’s staring straight at me, conveying a blank expression.
Maybe my lie didn’t convince him… I don’t know why I felt the need to leave out the fact that I was going to Nick’s party tonight, I just did. I watch as Georgia Blakeman from our year comes to join him, threading her arm around his.
Her presence seems to take his attention off of me and I watch as they begin to walk back inside.
I’m guessing she’s his girlfriend.
Why do I care so much?
***
“Oh my God,” Marissa slowly pronounces every letter of the phrase as she admires me. “You look hot.”
Thanks to Marissa’s makeup and wardrobe, I’ve managed to fix up quite well. Matching a pair of short denim shorts over black tights and a plain white t-shirt, the outfit is casual yet with the addition of flawless makeup, it looks effortlessly cool.
If only I had the time to make myself up like this every day. Letting the waves of my dirty blonde hair hang down past my waist, I can tell why she’s looking at me with wide eyes.
“Nick is going to be all over you!” She exclaims.
An uncomfortable feeling swells in the pit of my stomach as she says that.
“Ew, no,” I reply, still staring at my reflection, sort of in awe and quite impressed with the way I look. “Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes and makeup though, you’re the best.”
“Do I sense sarcasm?” She chuckles, bending to get closer to the mirror as she continues applying mascara.
“No seriously, you’re the best,”
“Stop, you’d do the same for me.” She waves her free hand as she speaks; she does that a lot to express herself. “Oh, and I’ve put some clothes for you in the bag on the bed, you can keep them, I have far too many.”
My hands fall from fixing my hair to swing by my sides as I take her in. She’s so, so nice.
“See, you’re the best. Thank you.”
“Oh my God we’re being too mushy today,” her signature phrase takes a laugh from me.
After a small pause, she speaks again. “Do you think River will be there? He seemed quite interested in where you were going tonight.”
Her words take me back to the parking lot earlier, “eugh, don’t remind me, I fell straight on my ass in front of him.” I shake my head in a poor attempt to bury the memory. “And I have no idea.”
“I bet you hope he’s going to be there,” she turns to arch an eyebrow at me, returning the mascara to her makeup collection – just seeing it makes me miss mine.
“Psht, no,” I reply, a little too quickly, and not too convincingly either.
She offers me a fat grin, “you do, don’t you.”
Fighting the urge to return her smile, I turn back to my reflection and run my hands through my hair, “I couldn’t care less.”
“Ha.” She blurts, spinning away from me to grab her glass of water. “You carry on telling yourself that, hun,” she finishes, lifting both her eyebrows as she takes a sip.
***
It only takes fifteen minutes before Marissa squeezes her car into the only available parking spot on the entire road. My heart wobbles in my chest; not just from the nerves that are starting to emerge, but from the blasting music of the house to our right.
By the extravagance that I’m guessing is Nick’s house, I’m starting to feel as if everyone who attends my school is rich, apart from me.
Marissa and I get out of the car; not sharing a thought because it’s evident we’re thinking the exact same things. Fck, this isn’t my scene.
We start towards the welcomingly open front door. There are few people that I recognise from school standing around outside on the porch that winds around the house.
Some are smoking what my innocent mind assumes is cigarettes while others just seem to be enjoying the cool breeze as they swig from whatever is in their cups.
“Oh my God,” I need to sit down with her one day and have a serious conversation as to why she feels the need to say that phrase so many times. Wait…why is she saying it anyway?
“What is it?” I ask, cautiously stepping over an empty beer can, we’ve almost made it to the front porch.
“Look,” She whispers discreetly, glancing forwards.
My eyes avert from her face to the front doorway of Nick’s house that was free just moments ago, and there I find him, the party man himself.
When my eyes capture his deep blue ones that can drown you if you’re not careful, he offers me a gleeful smile.
We’re almost there, be cool.
“Hey, you made it.” Nick greets me, calling over the loud music as a smile tugs at his mouth to reveal his white teeth.
“Yep, in the flesh,” oh no, why did I say that? Resisting the urge to bring my hand up to face, I return his smile.
“I see you brought a friend?” Nick turns to Marissa.
‘Uh, yeah. This is, uh…” I forget my friends name for a second, dazed by his adorable smile. Oh, yeah, it’s Marissa.
Way to be cool, Lea.
“Marissa, right?” He says through a small laugh, probably wondering why on earth he invited a stuttering mess to his party. “How have you been?”
Hold up, am I missing something here? I didn’t think these two knew each other.
“Good, you?” Marissa replies, giving him a friendly smile back. I look at her, trying to keep from showcasing my confusion.
His grin seems to falter a little, but he regains it quickly. “I’m okay, thanks. I’m glad you guys came, the party is just starting.”
A lot of girls have spoken poorly of Nick, mainly those who have dated him for a short while and were unexpectantly dumped. However, it’s hard to see how a person with a smile that seems as genuine as his could live up to the ill gossip.
Maybe he just didn’t like them, and that’s okay. Better to end a relationship rather than leading it on for too long.
Still be careful Lea, he still could be as bad as the gossip portrays him to be.
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