AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can’t argue with that.”
Time ticks by, and the comfort of camaraderie lingers as I slip back upstairs, buoyed by this interaction. When I get back to my room, it’s time to prep for this party. I need this night out more than I care to admit.
I’m not huge on social gatherings, but the thought of staying here is like a weight pressing down on me. I need to get out and forget about everything for a while.
Steam fills the en-suite bathroom as hot water cascades down. I step in, letting the heat wash away the remnants of the unease that clings like a second skin.
Later, wrapped in a towel, I survey the wardrobe I’ve yet to fully unpack. The floral dress calls to me. White fabric dotted with soft pastels—it’s simple, yet it makes me feel like I belong to something beautiful, if just for an evening. Slipping it on, the fabric falls just right, brushing my thighs with a whisper to just above my knees.
Black ballet flats complete the look, understated but classy.
As I wait for Alex, I catch my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back seems ready for anything, different from the one who climbed those stairs yesterday, weighed down by the shadows of this house and the flames that engulfed mine.
I’m ready for a night of escape, a respite from thelooming decisions and the unsettling atmosphere in the house. The thought of music and mindless chatter is like a promise of freedom, and I cling to it, hopeful.
Almost tiptoeing so I don’t alert anyone to the fact I’m leaving the house, I cross the entrance hall quietly, slip through the front doors and head out down the path to see Alex waiting for me on the corner.
“Why the cloak and dagger?” I ask with a laugh.
“I wasn’t sure if we’d face resistance,” he says, returning the chuckle darkly. “Not in the mood to fight for my right to party, you know?”
“Yeah,” I murmur, getting it totally. Somehow the idea that Alistair would interrogate us on our plans is not all that out there.
We walk briskly down the street, the night air a welcome slap against my skin. The sound of the party grows louder with every step, a siren song promising oblivion. As we approach the big house, its windows pulsing with light and bass thumps against my chest like a second heartbeat.
“Ready to forget everything for a while?” Alex asks, his voice tinged with an edge that tells me he’s just as desperate to drown out reality as I am.
“Definitely,” I say, and together, we step into the chaos, letting the wave of music and drunken laughter wash over us, sweeping us into the anonymity of the crowd.
13
CHARLES
Something feels off. The jolt of anxiety that shoots through me is like a live wire.
Turning to the laptop on my desk, I bring up the cams in Ever’s room. She’s not there, nor in her bathroom.
Scanning through every feed in the rest of the house, I eventually see her slipping quietly out of the front door timestamped ten minutes ago.
Rising swiftly, my chair sealing across the room on its wheels, I race from the room. “Guys, we have a problem,” I shout into the hallway, bringing them all to me from various rooms around the upper townhouse.
“What is it?” Alistair asks.
“Ever has left the building.”
“What? Where?”
“That’s what we need to find out. She went out the front door about ten minutes ago.”
“Shit! You mean she is under our roof, and we lost her?”
“Seems that way.”
We stand there, a bunch of guys, usually so full of bravado, now just four guys standing in the hallway, wondering what in the fuck just happened. Our eyes are glued to the stairs, each wrapped in our own brand of tension.
“Did she seriously just go out there alone?” Damien’s voice is a low growl, breaking the silence like a crack of thunder. His stance is stiff, the muscles in his arms twitching like he’s ready to punch something—or someone.
“Didweseriously just let her?” Alistair growls back. “What the fuck is this?”
