Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)(13)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“If not, I will,” Monty offered.

“Um, Monty, that’s really generous, but—”

“What? I’m not cool enough?” he asked.

“You’re a teacher,” I reminded him.

“Fair enough. I’m sure Kevin will give you a ride.”

Monty walked away after gently patting my shoulder; I could tell that he still worried about me. I hated seeing Monty concerned; I didn’t want him to consider me a burden or anything. We had all taken my mom’s death hard, but Monty changed more than the rest of us. He was always a worrier, but now it was like he walked around with a huge weight on his shoulders.

I sat outside staring at the wrought iron gate for over an hour. I had been told I could never go back there, and I had never pressed the issue much. I had tried the gate once or twice as a child, but it had always been locked, and I never thought much of it. Since Wednesday, I had spent hours thinking about the gate. I thought about asking Monty about it, but he had always been so adamant that I stay away from it that it didn’t seem worth getting him angry. At a quarter to eight, I went up to my room to get ready for the party. As much as I hated social occasions, I knew I couldn’t get out of it now. Kevin actually seemed excited to give me a ride. Besides, what else was I going to do? I figured I’d go for an hour, and then come home and read. I pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a lightweight purple V-neck sweater. Passing on my usual sneakers, I forced myself to wear a pair of black boots. Boots weren’t the most comfortable, but I figured I should at least appear to be making an effort. I straightened my ponytail and put on a pair of simple earrings. Satisfied with my appearance, I went downstairs where Kevin was already waiting.

“I can’t believe you are actually going,” he said after we said goodbye to Monty and headed out the door.

“Gee, thanks, Kevin.” I wasn’t really annoyed but I tended to get snippy when nervous.

“Oh, come on. Lighten up, you might actually have fun.”

“Sure. I’m going, at least give me credit for that, okay? But really, thanks for driving me. I assume you could have been taking someone else?” I ventured.

Kevin chortled. “What’s better than showing up at a party with my kid sister?” Unfortunately, it was a short ride. Kevin looked over at me as he parked along the curb. “Try to have fun. Okay?”

“Sure, I’ll try.” I hoped it wouldn’t take too much effort.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. We were hit with blaring music as soon as we opened the door. I recognized some of the kids there, but not most, probably because it was mostly seniors. Walking into the party was just about as scary as I had expected, with all eyes fixed on us, but it was also a relief not to be walking in alone. I spotted Anna waving, so I walked over. Kevin was probably relieved to get rid of me.

Anna introduced me to her friend Molly, the girl who had given her the ride. Molly seemed really nice, but just as boy crazy as Anna. It didn’t take long before they zeroed in on some senior boys. I took the opportunity to wander around, already thinking of escape.

I walked into the kitchen and started looking around for a soda or something; I was nervous enough that I was getting thirsty. I tried to stay calm, but I also felt dumb for even coming. I should have known it would end up like this. I was starting to feel pretty miserable, when suddenly Brian was at my side.

“Hey, you actually came.” He hugged me as if we were old friends.

“Yeah, I’m here. Thanks for the invitation.”

“Not a problem, you can never have too many girls at a party. Lemonade?” he offered, holding out a red plastic cup.

I was tempted to ask if the lemonade was alcoholic, but I already felt stupid. I figured I could just trash it if it was. “Sure.” I accepted the cup.

“Cheers, to new friends,” Brian said, as he picked up another cup from the counter and tapped it to mine.

“To new friends,” I echoed awkwardly, as I took a sip. It was sweet; I could drink it.

“So, how do you like being back?” he asked.

“It’s nice, warmer.” I couldn’t believe I was having so many conversations about weather.

“Yeah, Alaska must have been pretty cold in the winter, especially for someone from down here.”

For a second, there was an awkward silence, but then he filled it with, “So, is the scene here different than up in Alaska?”

“The scene? Um, well I’m probably not the one to ask about that. I wasn’t really part of any scene.” I felt pretty silly.

“Oh, yeah? So wait, is this your first party, then?” he asked excitedly.

“I guess so. I mean I spent a few minutes at some of the parties Kevin had at our house.” I figured honestly would work best here.

“Wow. I’m honored you decided to come tonight, then, glad you’re coming out of your shell.” He smiled. “So, we should really hang out sometime. It’s nice to see you outside of gym.”

“Umm… maybe.” I blushed. Was he trying to ask me out or just being nice? I really didn’t understand the social graces.

“Cool. We’ll have to make some plans. I should make some rounds, but I’ll definitely find you later,” he said, before walking off.

I was grateful he had come over to say hello, but something about him made me nervous. I was lost in thought, wondering what Brian was all about, when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped, almost spilling my drink.

“Not too many sophomores here, huh?” James seemed amused that he had startled me.

“Nope, I’m pretty much here because Anna said yes for the both us,” I said, recovering.

“I wasn’t quite as formally invited, but Brian didn’t seem to care.” James smiled.

“Wait. You’re crashing this party?” I asked, once again surprised.

“Can you really crash a house party?”

“Technically.”

“Are you always such a rules person, Charlotte?” he asked with his all too frequent habit of making complete eye contact.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” I admitted.

“Figures,” he mumbled.

“Excuse me?” I was slightly offended.

“It’s just that I wonder if you even know how to take chances.” He shrugged.

“I take chances,” I defended.

“Yeah, like when?”

“Well, I went to the library with you, right?” I hoped that counted for something in his book.