Page 23 of My Rules for Revenge (Twisted YA Mysteries #1)

I heard the rumors of the “banger” he was throwing, and I was definitely sneaking in.

I would consensually hook up with a girl to dispel any vicious rumors of me being a “pervert,” and I would get back at Heather.

I wasn’t sure how yet, but I knew I’d come up with something once I was there.

I had to make sure I wasn’t seen by any of those idiot jocks or Heather, obviously.

I texted Manny to help me find Frank’s address, and I knew he’d deliver within the hour.

Meanwhile, I began to pick out my wardrobe.

Thankfully, I had a beanie that covered most of my face.

I figured it was going to be dark inside the house, and there would be strobe lights.

This was how last year’s party went anyway.

I never went inside, but I drove by with the boys to see what all the hype was about. We didn’t miss much.

“Jacob, my cigarettes. I need them now. Go before you piss me off,” my mother shouted.

I quickly got up and loudly exited my room so she would calm down.

It was going to be yet another shitty night as I walked to the corner store.

Every time I went, I had to look over my shoulder to ensure I didn’t get jumped or stabbed.

I thought about the upcoming party and what I had to do.

I had to make sure I remained hidden. I imagined Eddy, Frank, Porter, and Marcus dunking my head into the swimming pool to drown me if they spotted me.

I often thought of worst-case scenarios in my head so that they didn’t happen in real life. That was wishful thinking on my part.

I saw many people from my high school walking into Frank’s house.

There was that new-age rap music I heard booming inside.

It wasn’t particularly my taste, but I wasn’t there for that.

I was there to slap the cheeks of a hot girl in a closed bedroom.

And with the way some of the girls were dressed at that party, I figured at least a few of them were looking for some action that night.

Parties weren’t Manny’s thing, so he dropped us off.

We wore darkly colored flannel shirts and dress pants.

Carlos wore a hat, and I had my beanie to shield my face.

Thankfully, none of those scumbags paid any attention to us.

They only focused on drinking beer and chasing around the cheerleaders.

We mentally prepared ourselves before heading in.

“Are you ready for this?” I asked.

“I’m ready to get some ass,” Carlos smirked.

“I have to hook up with a respectable girl of high social standing to dispel Luna’s bullshit lies.”

“I’m telling you, dude, if you do that, everyone will question Luna’s story. They might start going against Heather as well,” Carlos commented.

“I’ll do it right. I’ll hold her hand, I’ll take her home, and I’ll text her in the morning,” I said.

“You go do your thing. Rebuild your character or whatever it’s called,” Carlos said sarcastically.

“Let’s go.”

Carlos and I fist-bumped as we headed inside. It was considerably louder, and as I predicted, it was dark. There were a bunch of strobe lights shooting off in multiple directions. I wondered how the hell people talked at these parties. You couldn’t hear a damn thing.

We tried blending in with the sizable crowd in the living room and had trouble making our way out.

Many of them were dancing, talking, and taking selfies right in the middle of the passageway.

It was like going through a never-ending maze where you could barely make out what was two feet in front of you.

I made sure to turn my head whenever I saw Martin taking pictures of everyone.

He was a student photographer and posted party pictures to his social media accounts.

Everyone called him “Party Marty.” I hated him.

He was a pretentious cock. These were the intellectual geniuses I went to high school with.

When I finally exited the crowd, I briefly saw the well-laid-out kitchen. It had multiple bottles of alcohol, a couple of beer kegs, and a few ice coolers stacked with even more drinks.

There weren’t many people there, but I was pulled back before I was able to make anyone out.

Carlos whispered to me that Eddy Chavez was there.

That was a definite red flag. We quickly went back towards the middle of the pack and found an opening.

We squeezed out and almost bumped into a jock who closely resembled Porter.

We would’ve been dead meat, and the whole plan would’ve gone kaput if he spotted us.

After a short while of standing around, we grew tired and found a place to sit in a far corner near the front door.

There was a cooler there, and we used the opportunity to get our drink on.

We only planned on having a few. I wanted to get a bit messed up, so I had the courage of a lion whenever I picked out a girl to sleep with.

I knew in the past I had messed this up many times, but this time it was at a fun party.

These girls were in their element, and they expected guys to make a move on them.

I saw no issue with trying to get in on that action.

Of course, I figured that most of the girls at Brightwood knew who I was and hated me already, but there had to be a few who didn’t pay attention to any of that nonsense.

My mission was to find that girl. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as planned that night.