AllFreeNovel
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“Shit. What’s wrong with her?” I hear Jay ask as I lean over, struggling to breathe.
“She’s having a panic attack,” Jessa tells him. “Can you go get her another drink? It might help her calm down.”
Jay pauses for a second before saying, “You know what? I have something better. Come with me.”
“Are you okay with going with him?” Jessa asks as she rubs my back.
I nod. “I’ll do anything at this point not to lose my shit and ruin my night.”
Jessa loops her arm through mine, leading me through a sea of people. The air reeks of beer and cigarettes, and I’m in a daze due to the lack of oxygen getting into my lungs. I can barely grasp onto reality. But through the haze swimming in my brain, I swear to God, I feel someone watching me. I peer around, but the room is so dark that I can barely make out any faces.
I try to shake off the feeling, but it only swells the longer we make our way through the room. I do my best to try to ignore it, and Jessa, Jay, and I eventually make it into a small bedroom that has blue walls with sports posters covering them. When we enter, a guy with chin-length brown hair is sitting on the bed. He looks around our age, has a few facial piercings, and his jeans are frayed. And he’s taking a hit from a bong.
He exhales when we enter, blowing out a cloud of smoke.
“What’s up?” he says to Jay, his gaze gliding across Jessa and me.
“We’re looking to chill,” he tells the guy. “This is Jessa. Remember, you met her at Travis’s party?”
Bong dude relaxes a smidgeon. “Oh yeah, right. Hey, Jessa. Or should I say, princess?” He smiles at her, and Jessa laughs.
Being called princess has never bothered her as much as it bothers me, but I have issues with the word that stem from things I haven’t fully dealt with yet. And I’m not ready to.
Bong Dude looks at me, probably wondering who I am.
I’ve regained my breathing at this point, so I introduce myself. “I’m Jessa’s friend, Al.” I make a point of not giving him my real name, just in case he recognizes it. Not that I really expect that to happen here. “And fair warning, if you’re going to give me a nickname, I’d steer clear of princess.”
He grins. “Noted.”
He glances at Jay. “You want a hit?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Jay says as he walks up to the bed.
After he takes a hit, Jessa takes one. Then Bong dude turns and offers me a hit.
“What do you say, prince—sweetheart?” he hurries to correct himself then smiles. “You wanna hit?”
“Nice save,” I tell him. I make my way over to the bed. “And yep, I’d love a hit.” I reach for the bong, thinking in the back of my mind,Maybe he’s the guy to give me some fun tonight. And the best part is that no one seems to have caught on to what I’m doing. Sure, Ryder thinks I’m up to something, but how will he ever find out if that’s true?
Fuck him. I’m doing this. I’m having my one night of fun.
THREE
REECE
I’m surprised as fuck to see her here, at this house that’s in a section of town a mafia princess should never be in. I’m not sure why I’m that surprised. Al has always been the sort of girl who does all sorts of crazy shit. I love that about her. But she isn’t the little girl I grew up playing tag and hide-and-seek with anymore. She’s a woman who’s my fiancé, the girl I’ll be tying myself to in just a few days.
While possessiveness isn’t usually my thing, seeing her go back into that bedroom with a guy makes me feel like I’m about to crawl out of my skin. I have to do something before she ruins everything that Ryder, Blaise, and I have worked so hard to accomplish.
That’s what Al doesn’t realize yet—everything that’s happened throughout the last few years has been for a reason, because Ryder, Blaise, and I did everything in our power to make it go down that way.
While I’m aware she’s here, Al doesn’t appear to know I’m at the party. Why would she? I’m keeping low for a reason. This isn’t my typical place to party, but I’m not even here to party. I’m here to get some cash. And yeah, I know that sounds weird. Why would a rich guy like me need to get some money? Because it’s under the table, which means that mine, Blaise’s, and Ryder’s father won’t know about it. It’s our ticket out of this fucking life stained with lies, death, and deceit.
Despite feeling riled up at seeing Al here, she’s lucky I’m the one who ended up working tonight. Ryder was supposed to come, and if he had seen her going into that room with that loser guy, he would’ve become unhinged and made a scene.
Me? I’m the calmer one in our group. People consider me a jokester, a flirt, the fun one. But my parents are the least terrible. Ryder’s come in second, with Blaise having the worst, which is saying a lot since all of our parents are shitty.
But that’s an entirely different story. Right now, I need to focus on what to do with Al.
