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Under Her Heel 8
Jace
Notreallyinthe mood to party, I find myself in the kitchen with all the booze, hoping to get a glimpse of Keava. Brax and I have hashed it out a few times over the afternoon, trying to figure out how to apologize, what would have the most meaning for her as words are easy, actions are harder. But neither of us came up with a grand gesture. All we can do is apologize and try to be her friend, praying one day, we could have what we lost years ago.
I don’t know how long I sit on the counter, not paying attention to who comes and goes from the room until I hear Lilli’s obnoxiously whiny voice. Looking around, I find her standing in the corner, chest to chest with a skinny guy, his long dreads and tie-dyed shirt standing out from the typical college attire. He looks like he is fifty years too late for the hippie parties that our grandparents told us about.
Something about the two of them talking bothers me. He isn’t Lilli’s typical date. Before I can figure it out, Keava is strolling into the kitchen from her room. Keeping my head down, I watch as she makes her way into the room. She has such a presence around her that it appears everyone moves away to make a path for her. Or maybe they just know she is the house monitor and don’t want to piss her off.
Jumping down from the counter, I grin. “Keava, what would you like?” I sweep my arm out to show her the very well-stocked countertop. Mindy did a great job stocking up on things, plus many people added to the bar with their own preferred drink.
“Um…” Keava looks at the options as if she hasn’t had a drink before. “Just a Coke, please.”
“You sure? I can add a little rum to it. Or even better, a Kalimotxo. A little red wine, some cola, and a squeeze of lemon.” The only reason I know about Kalimotxo is that my mother loved them. She had had them on a trip to Spain and fell in love.
“Just the Coke.” Her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes and it is all I can do to not clench my fists or beg her forgiveness. Actions not words, Dipshit!
Handing her a can, I stand there awkwardly. “Um, so how are things back in Huntsville Bend?”
“Why do you care?” Her arms cross her chest in what looks like a defensive reaction, but could just be she is pissed at talking to me. “You ran, remember. No contact with anyone, no one knew where you went or what happened.”
The glimmer of tears in her eyes makes me cringe at what happened. Rubbing the back of my neck, I grimace. “Um, yeah. We didn’t have much say in that. Dad pretty much put us in the car and drove into the sunset.” Sounds a lot better than it really was. She doesn’t need to know of the lonely nights where it was just the two of us in our own wing of the mausoleum that Grandmother lived in, or the academy that Grandmother forced us to go to where we didn’t fit in. Telling her the strict code we lived under while Grandmother was alive won’t do her any good or make her forgive us any sooner. And there was our senior year and last two years in college that we could have tried to contact her, and never did. It was easier to think we would never cross paths again, but fate has a wicked sense of humor. One that either kills you or makes you the happiest man alive.
“Bullshit!” she whisper-yells at me. “You didn’t need to make me the laughing stock of the school. You could have let me in, told me the real deal. Instead, you acted like meatheads and then did a Houdini.” She glares at me for a minute before spinning around and making her way to the door where the crowd of partygoers swallow her up.
I try to follow her, only to be waylaid by Lilli.
“Hey!” She hip checks me, arms above her head. “Why are you parking yourself in here? Shouldn’t you be doing some beer pong?”
Shaking my head, I look down at her. “I’ve never played and will never play beer pong. What do you need, Lil’?”
“Why do I have to want something to check on my favorite cousin?” She is dressed for attention with her Daisy Dukes and crop top that could double as a bra.
“Lil!” My voice is tight and I know she can hear my irritation. “If you want notes or tutoring in Biology, I suggest you get to the point.”
“Fine, spoilsport. I just wanted to know what Carbie said to you.” She nibbles her lip in what is supposed to be a sexy look but only makes me roll my eyes. Ever since we met her, she has tried her flirting out on us, and we have always laughed at her. Never really stopped her, but at least she didn’t make a fool of herself in front of a guy. Much as I would love her taken down a notch, I really do care for her and want her to be happy.
"Honestly, she told me to take a long walk off a short pier.” It’s the truth, if a little exaggerated. “Just stay out of it, Lil. And if you care at all for Brax and me, give her a break. K?”
With a glare, Lil stalks off, reminding me of Grandmother’s Siamese she had. That cat could stalk off, attitude in every step, like no other cat I had seen. Lilli really wouldn’t appreciate being compared to Windston.
Feeling a bit stalkerish, I make my way into the main part of the house, looking for Keava. It’s not that I’m following her, just going in the same basic direction. If I happen to find her, then it can’t hurt to keep an eye on her. From what I have been able to gather, she doesn’t really know anyone here and the first rule of college parties, go with a friend and have a safe word, or text. Some way to tell your friend that you are okay. Anything could happen to Keava here, not all the kids that come to these parties are on the up and up.
“Hey! Seen Keava yet?” Brax hands me a Solo cup. “Don’t worry, it’s from our stash upstairs.”
After our freshman year, when someone decided to spike all the open bottles with some Antabuse, we only drink from our stash or unopened cans and bottles. Usually, someone is placed in the kitchen to guard the open bottles, but I’m not sure who was posted today and won’t risk it.
“How could I miss her in that red corset, booty shorts, and knee-high boots?” She really was a vision and I probably should have said something about how great she looked.
“Um, yeah but that isn’t what I mean. She’s acting strange. Spacey and a goofy grin on her face.” He rubs the back of his neck, something we both tend to do when we are stressed or nervous. “I...I hate to say it, but I think someone dosed her.”
I growl, pushing through the crowd to find our Sunshine girl. “Where was she?”
“When I saw her, she was in the study room. But who knows if she is still there?” He is so close that I can almost feel his breath on my neck.
“I’m gonna kill her.” I grind my teeth in anger. I’m positive that this was Lilli. I don’t know how she got to Keava while she was in the kitchen with me, but I know it was her. Or maybe that douche she was talking with.
“Who?” Brax asks.
