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“Hey, you’re bleeding,” the guy says to me.
I look down at my hand that I scraped along the rough edge of the towel rack, a line of blood beading along the heel of my palm.
Ugh. Blood. I immediately close my eyes, my stomach turning. I always get squeamish around blood, even my own.
“Are you okay?” the guy asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I flinch at the contact, ripping away from him. “I’m fine.”
I start off toward the kitchen to rinse it off. I could go for one of the other bathrooms in the house, but I’m not about to be alone in there again. I am a horny, paranoid mess.
I pass by the hall, noticing Elle holding some guy’s hand, giggling and leading him into one of the bedrooms, closing the door. Great. With her in there, and Meiko probably with the girl with dreads, it’s just another reminder of how alone I am.
Sighing, I run my hand under the tap in the kitchen, watching the blood rinse away. It seems like a surface scratch, hopefully nothing that will require a tetanus shot because I know how dirty these student houses can get.
“Lenore.”
Okay, this time I really am hearing a voice.
A familiar one at that.
I turn around to see Beth, Matt’s girlfriend, staring at me, arms crossed.
Oh shit.
I turn off the tap and shake out my wet hand, giving her a fake smile.
“Hey, Beth. What are you doing here? Is Matt with you?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
My smile falters. “Sorry?”
She takes a step toward me until I’m backed up against the sink. “Matt. He told me what you did.”
My eyes go wide. “What I did?”
“Don’t play stupid. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Beth, honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I don’t want to throw Matt under the bus if I don’t have to.
“You kissed him,” she says with a sneer, loud enough that the people in the kitchen all look over.
“Fight, fight, fight!” someone starts chanting.
“Take off your tops and settle it like women!” a dude yells.
I give him the dirtiest look. “Go fuck yourself.” I look back at Beth. “And I didn’t kiss your boyfriend. He kissed me.”
I push past her, not wanting to get into this here, or anywhere really. I knew Beth went to school here, but I honestly didn’t expect to see her at a house party. This isn’t Matt’s scene.
She reaches out and grabs me roughly by the elbow.
“I don’t want you seeing him.”
I rip myself out of her grasp. I am not a violent person, but my blood is already boiling at the fact that Matt lied to her about me, and with all that’s been happening tonight and the last week, I don’t trust myself. I’m certainly not in the mood to be pushed around.
“Won’t be a problem, Beth,” I tell her, moving through the party now, needing to get out of here before I do something stupid. I know I should find Elle and Meiko first, but honestly I can’t stick around here any longer.
I pull up the Uber app and secure a car, then step outside into the fresh air. I walk down the steps, down the path to the curb, and then raise my face to the mist, taking a moment to breathe in deep, clear the cobwebs.
What a fucking bullshit night.
I wait a few minutes for the Uber, texting Elle, telling her I’m leaving, wishing I had Meiko’s number to do the same. I know I should go back in there, but I don’t know how long they’re going to be, and after that confrontation with Beth, I just want to go home and go to bed where I feel safe. Something about it all makes me feel so undone and unraveled, and I hate myself for being so sensitive.
A black car pulls up, a guy rolling down the window. It’s the first car I’ve seen on the road in the last couple of minutes.
Please let this be my ride.
“Lenore Warwick?” he asks.
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Yeah, that’s me.”
I open the back door and slide on in. It’s nice, leather seats, and smells like cologne, though I’m disappointed to not find any bottled water or mints.
“To the city?” the driver asks me.
I look up and meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. He’s actually pretty cute, dark hair that curls over his forehead and intense dark brown eyes that don’t seem to blink.
“Yup,” I tell him, doing my seatbelt.
He does a U-turn on the road and starts driving up the hill.
“Wha…” I say, looking behind me for a moment. “Isn’t it easier to go down into Berkeley?”
“There’s an accident down below,” he says. And then he reaches over and turns up the volume on the radio. Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” is playing from the speakers.
