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"What are you doing here, Elle?" Billy asked, standing only a few inches from me.
Before I could respond, Logan interrupted, "Hey Billy, she's with me. Adam invited us."
Billy's eyes pivoted to Logan, and he glared at him with this anger I'd never seen before. "Get the fuck out of my way." He barked as he bumped his shoulder into Logan's and stormed out the front door.
His best friend, Hendrix, appeared and followed after Billy, but he turned and waved me to follow.
"I'll be back," I said to Logan, and caught me by the arm. "Elle, he's a hot-head. Looks like he was in a fight, and I don't want him lashing out at you."
"Billy would never hurt me," I said, moved my arm out of his grasp, and followed Hendrix.
I stood outside next to Hendrix and smelled marijuana coming from the two-car garage where Billy was headed.
"Who did he get into a fight with?" I asked Hendrix.
He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, and I waved it away when he offered me one.
"Billy broke up with Tori two days ago, and she was pissed. She goes and tells her older brother, Tanner, a bunch of bullshit that Billy used to slap her around, got her pregnant, then dumped her."
"Oh my god! Tori is pregnant?"
"No, Tori lied about that, along with Billy slapping her. She's a fucking bitch and had the nerve to show up here at the party."
I folded my arms, and my throat ached. I had to fight back tears, not wanting Hendrix to see me cry. "That's just horrible."
"That's not all. Things got real ugly after that," he said, then lit his cigarette.
"I'm not sure I want to know."
"Her brother Tanner is twenty-five years old and a god-damn pussy 'cause he brought a few of his buddies with him, drove over to Billy's house, and kicked his ass right there in the front yard."
"That's how he got that bruise on his face and the cut on his lip?"
"Yep, but Billy stood his ground and landed a few punches to Tanner's face, too. And, like always, Billy’s dad didnt give a shit about his only son."
I turned and looked back at the open front door as people walked in and out, fuming that Tori had said those terrible things about Billy. "Billy's hammered," Hendrix said, interrupting my thoughts of slapping the bitch. "I better go find Billy before he picks a fight with someone in the garage."
"Thanks for telling me all this, Hendrix. Billy has been avoiding me this week at school, but I'm glad he has you for a friend."
"Yeah, well, Billy's always had my back, and I've always had his."
CHAPTER 3
ELLE
It was prom night, and I stared at my reflection in the mirror in my bedroom, wearing the pretty royal blue dress I bought for the special occasion my parents and friends told me I would never forget. I went to my mother's hairdresser and had my nails painted. My long hair was curled and then fashioned into an updo with some loose ringlets of hair loose around my face. Two weeks before, Billy talked to me briefly during lunch break and apologized for acting like an asshole toward her and Logan at the party. He knew Hendrix had told me about what had happened between him and Tori. I didn't know what to say, only that Tori was a vindictive fucking bitch. When I clamped my hand over my mouth, it made Billy blink a few times, surprised to hear me say the F word. Then we both started to laugh. Billy heard from a few kids in school that Tori's brother Tanner's car was broken into, and an M-80 firecracker was lit and thrown inside and exploded. All four of his tires were slashed, too. Before the bell rang, ending lunch period, Billy told me to have fun at the prom with Logan. That was the last time we spoke.
Logan picked me up at eight pm and looked handsome, wearing a classic black tuxedo with a royal blue bow tie to match my dress. He brought me a pretty corsage made of red roses, and my parents took pictures of us standing together on the stairs before we left for the prom.
The high school gymnasium was turned into a scene of enchantment and fairytales, with sparkling strings of light hung throughout. Logan held my hand as we walked through an archway of balloons in silver and gold. There were circular tables decorated with confetti and candles. A giant disco ball hung from the ceiling and twirled, sending glimmers of light throughout the large room. A DJ stood behind a table, playing fun music to dance to.
Sarah and Hailey rushed over to me as we walked through the archway of balloons, and we all hugged together as their dates, Adam and Mark, did fist bumps with Logan.
Everyone was right when they told me my prom night would be unforgettable, but not how I wanted to remember it.
A small group of guys, including our prom dates, brought flasks of liquor hidden in their tuxedo jackets. Sarah and Hailey took sips from Adam and Mark's flasks, but I refused Logan's offer to drink from his. I was fuming at him for drinking when he, Adam, and Mark were driving that night.
I could smell the liquor on Logan's breath when we slowly danced together. I wore strapped sandals, and he stepped on my toes several times. He laughed the second time he did it, and I huffed and left him standing on the dance floor. To top off the evening, Logan began flirting with Avery Monroe, Cindy Monroe's younger sister. Avery didn't come to prom with a date but with a group of her cheerleader friends. I was brought back to when Avery's older sister, Cindy, said terrible things to me in my freshman year and how Billy stood up for me and helped when the stupid Adam Young made me drop my books on the floor.
