Page 4 of Vexed
CHAPTER FOUR
Lily
I swear to God, if Tracy throws a piece of paper at my head again, I am going to flip her off her chair and crush her skull with my foot. We’re basically adults and she still behaves like a damn child.
Annoying little bitch.
There are only three weeks before graduation and to say that I can’t wait is an understatement.
It is bad enough that we have been in the same class since we were seven, and now I’m dating her brother, well, probably not exclusively dating.
Just fooling around more than we should and every time I go over to their house, I have to contain myself so I don’t drown her in their pool. I don’t know where she gets her fucked up attitude because her parents are so sweet.
Most of the time I don’t think they are aware of the type of person their daughter is. At least when we graduate, I don’t have to see her fucking face for a while. She’s not going to college, saying she wants to ‘see the world’ before settling down.
I considered going to college to study psychology with my best friend, Hannah. We have been friends since we were fourteen. She doesn’t know it yet, but she saved me. I was ready to give up.
The constant bullying and losing my dad were getting to me. But when she came into my life, everything changed. I was happy again. She was my first real friend after Vex disappeared.
Vex.
I remember him vaguely. It has been years since I last saw him. I struggled to remember what his face looked like. Or what his voice sounded like. All I do remember is his eyes, their piercing silver color etched into my memory.
But then again, I hardly remember what my dad’s voice sounded like, too. He’s been gone so long, yet it feels like my whole world came crashing down just yesterday. I miss him.
My real passion is writing. Ever since I could write, my mom would buy me diaries and I would write in them every day, the feel of the pen gliding across the paper soothing my restless mind. I love expressing myself through words on paper.
It’s a lot easier than trying to express myself through words, which always seem to fail me. Hannah said she would be my assistant, which sounds like the best thing ever.
We decided to get an apartment together because there was no way we would be able to afford it on our own.
I couldn’t say no to that. We know it won’t always be easy, but living with your best friend…
it wouldn’t get any better than that. The thought fills me with a warm sense of anticipation, like a cozy blanket on a chilly night.
“Hey, are you planning on going to Austin’s party tonight?” Hannah interrupts my thoughts, her voice cutting through the air. Startled, I turn towards her, and as I do, I catch a glimpse of her big brown eyes shimmering with excitement.
I nod, “Yep.” Her smile widens, and she claps her hands gently, the sound resonating in the room.
Austin is having a pre-graduation party and no doubt it is gonna be huge.
His parties always are. Filled with booze, pulsating music, wild dancing, and sex.
It seems like most people attend his parties with the intention of finding a hook-up if I’m being honest.
His parents are out of town on a business trip, so naturally, a party should be held.
Lost in my own musings, I absentmindedly tap my pen on the table, only to be abruptly interrupted by a piercing ache shooting through my skull.
I wince in response, closing my eyes tightly, trying to block out the pain.
“Fuck,” I groan, feeling Hannah’s concerned gaze directed towards me. Her frown deepens as she turns to face me. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, just got hit with an intense headache out of nowhere,” I reply, my hands instinctively reaching to cradle my throbbing head. However, the pain intensifies, as if something is pressing against my brain.
What the hell is happening?
Suddenly, a deep voice echoes within the confines of my mind, its softness still audible despite its ethereal nature.
Guess who.
Before I can process the bewildering situation, my mind goes blank, the world around me begins to spin, and everything fades into darkness.
I am woken by the voice of my mother and Hannah and when I finally force my eyes open, I notice I’m in my bedroom. What happened? One minute I’m sitting in class and the next, I’m in bed.
Groaning, I rub my head and sit up in bed and both their heads snap towards me.
“Oh my goodness, Lily are you alright, honey?” Mom asks frantically as she looks me over.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What happened?”
“You complained about a headache in class and then the next moment, boop, you’re on the floor. Lights out.” Hannah says as she comes up to me and sits beside me on the bed.
Both of them look concerned as they stare at me. I remember having a pain in my head, but everything after that is a blur. I feel completely fine now though. Maybe all the stress of moving out is finally getting to me.
Great. Just as I get ready to start my life, I’m starting to lose my mind.
Mom gave me a glass of water and some painkillers before she had to rush back to work.
She works as a secretary at a bookkeeping company.
After Dad passed, she had to get a job or we would’ve lost the house.
Dad never wanted Mom to work. Always said that he is the one that has to provide for us, but here we are now.
Not going to college did help, because now mom doesn’t have to worry about scraping money together to pay for me to go, although I would’ve gotten a scholarship no problem.
She still puts money away for me, though, to make sure that I’ll be fine away from home. She’s trying her absolute best, but I wish she would stop. I’m grown and can look after myself. It’s time she did the same.
“Are you sure you feel good enough to go to the party? I mean, we don’t have to if you’re not up for it, Lil.” Hannah says as she lays on my bed while I rampage through my closet looking for something to wear.
“I told you. I feel fine. Now, stop worrying and start getting ready.” I say, grabbing the red cocktail dress from my closet, along with a pair of black heels, and tossing it on the bed.
Mom wasn’t initially keen on us going out, but Hannah has a way of convincing my Mom to say yes. I’m kind of jealous because even if I’d beg on my hands and knees and kissed her feet, she’d still say no to me.
I stare at the lace lingerie in my closet, wondering if maybe tonight will be the night I lose my virginity. Austin and I have been talking about it a lot and I’m ready. We have done some other things, but never went all the way.
Although he is not a virgin anymore and has probably slept with more girls than I can count, I don’t mind losing it to him. With the amount of girls that drool over him, there has to be a reason. Right?
Blowing out a breath, I swiftly grab the lingerie and head to the shower.
The loud music vibrates through my body as we enter Austin’s house.
It is already packed with people dancing inside and others outside, as well as some in the swimming pool.
The party started at 9:00 pm but it’s already after 11 because—according to Hannah, being fashionably late is a thing.
I’m not used to going out so late but it is most probably going to be our last high school party ever so why not enjoy it?
I eventually decided to wear the lingerie under my tight, thigh-length dress and Hannah curled my hair into some beach waves that hung to the middle of my back. I have considered cutting it short, but Hannah threatened that she would cut more than my hair if I ever dared.
“Hey, you made it.” I whip around to see Austin behind me. His eyes immediately scan me from head to toe before giving me a wide smile. “You want a drink?” he asks, placing his hand on the small of my back as he leads me to the kitchen.
“Oh no, thanks. I don’t need alcohol to have fun.
” I say giving him a wink and he immediately catches on to what I mean, giving a slight chuckle.
I’m not sure what has gotten into me, but after the incident at school, I’ve been on a weird euphoric high.
Just the thought of being touched has me squeezing my thighs together and I can almost hear how loud my heart pounds in my ears.
After catching up with some of our classmates and watching the boys try to out-drink each other with drinking games, I decided to get rid of some of the adrenaline that was consuming my entire body by asking Austin to dance.
The song that’s playing is probably the definition of sex and I love every moment of it.
I sway my hips sensually from side to side as Austin stands behind me, following my every move.
His hands grip my hips and pull me closer to him and I can feel how hard he is when my ass presses against him. The touch alone has a moan slipping from my mouth.
He leans down close to my ear, his breath tickling my ear as he whispers, “Wanna go upstairs to my room?” I slowly turn around, my cheeks flushed as I eagerly nod, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth.
He grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd and up the stairs as we make our way to his bedroom.
We enter his room and the sudden silence has my ears ringing. He closes the door and I hear the lock click as he locks it. I barely manage to turn back to face him before he rushes towards me and grabs my face with both hands, immediately slipping his tongue into my mouth.
I instantly kiss him back, our tongues intertwining roughly before he grabs the back of my legs, hoisting me up and throwing me on the bed.
He takes off his shirt and starts unbuckling his pants and I quickly slip my dress over my head and throw it on the floor. He stills as his eyes roam over my body adorned with black lace lingerie before a smirk forms on his lips.
My heart feels like it’s about to claw out of my chest. This is it. In a few minutes, I won’t be a virgin anymore.
I’m still laying in Austin’s bed, still naked and I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. I thought sex was supposed to be amazing—don’t get me wrong, it felt good, but not as good as I thought it was going to be. Now I don’t get why girls fall on their faces to jump into bed with him.
He’s in the shower and I’m contemplating getting dressed and just heading home at this point to finish myself off. I don’t feel satisfied at all. I wanted more. I needed more.
Just as I want to get up, I see some sort of black shadow-like smoke flowing onto the bed towards my legs, and a tingling feeling rushes through me.
From my face all the way down to my little toe as more of the blackness starts to cover my body. Frowning, I keep my eyes on the darkness. Is something burning? I don’t smell smoke. And I’ve never seen smoke like this before.
Just as I turn my head to follow where the smoke is coming from, a scream erupts from my throat when I see a large grayish silhouette standing in front of the window.
I stare at it for a few seconds, my heart hammering against my chest before shutting my eyes tightly. Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and the figure is gone, along with the black smoke that hovered around me.
My entire body stills as I lay there, trying to grasp what the fuck just happened.
I almost leap out of my skin as the bathroom door swings open and Austin walks into the room with a towel wrapped around his hips.
“You okay? I thought I heard screaming?” He asks, frowning as he stares at me, running a hand through his wet hair.
“Um, yeah. I’m just gonna… head home.” I say before throwing the blanket off me and getting dressed as fast as I can. I’m out the door before Austin can say anything else.
What the fuck just happened back there? Am I finally losing my mind?