Masquerade (Heven and Hell #1)(8)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“Yeah.” His parties were always the topic of conversation for weeks afterward. Even though Kimber and I had never been to one, we always heard every last detail in the hallways at school.

“Aren’t you excited?” she asked, exasperated.

“Thrilled.” I tried to inject some enthusiasm in my voice.

She pinned me with a look that made my stomach hurt. “You are not getting out of this one. You’re going.”

I wet my lips with my tongue.

“It’s tonight.”

“Tonight!” I gasped.

“Yes. Come over after school, you can borrow something to wear.”

“I can’t.”

“Please…” she sang.

“I can’t.”

“Please, please, please…”

Her begging was pathetic.

“We have been waiting for an invite to one of these since freshman year!”

That was true. “You go…without me.”

“If you don’t go, I don’t.”

“That isn’t fair,” I groaned.

“I’ll hold it over your head forever!”

“Fine,” I agreed, weary.

She squealed as she pulled into the parking lot at school. I was actually glad to be here just to get out of the car. “Have you talked to Cole?” I asked just because I was mad that she’d guilted me into going to the party.

She made a face. “Yesterday. Something else you would have known if you’d have called me back.”

I straightened the hood on my head and stifled an eye roll.

“He wants to get back together.”

“Did you forgive him?” Hope bloomed in my chest.

“Are you kidding? I told him I wasn’t sure what I wanted.”

“Why would you say that?”

She shrugged. “Let him wonder for a while.”

I opened the door to get out.

“He’s coming tonight,” she said over the hood of her car.

Great. More drama. Maybe I’ll have a panic attack, and it will really be fun.

“My plan begins tonight.”

My heart froze. “You’re plan?”

“Sam is bound to be there tonight. He’s, like, the biggest attraction at school right now.”

“What are you going to do, Kimber?”

She smiled. “You’ll see.”

Chapter Four

Heven

I looked down at the clothes draped across my bed and frowned. How did I get myself into this situation? Just minutes before, Kimber had dropped me off with a promise to return to get me later. I stood there wondering if she’d believe me if I suddenly got sick. Not likely.

The outfit she picked out was gorgeous, of course. Too gorgeous. I didn’t wear stuff like this anymore. What was the point of trying to look pretty? The dark denim jeans were designer, and so was the top. It didn’t have a hood. It was a V-neck. Ugh.

There was a knock on the door before it swung open. “Have a good day?” Mom asked.

“Great,” I lied. “You?”

“Yes, thank you.” She eyed the clothes on my bed. “Do you have plans tonight?”

I nodded. “If it’s okay Kimber was invited to a party, and she asked me to come too.” I threw the ‘party’ word out there in hopes she would tell me I wasn’t allowed to go.

Her eyes narrowed. “Who’s party?”

I told her. She stared at me for long moments. I waited for a lecture – I was overdue. She hadn’t said a word about me missing Bible study again last night. She asked about Grandma, and I told her about school, and that was all. I came home late today, and now I was asking to go to a party. She wouldn’t let me get away with it.

“His mother is in my Bible study group. She’s very nice.”

I nodded.

“Be home by eleven.”

That was it? Just like that? “Really?”

“Yes. We’ll have breakfast in the morning, and you can tell me about it.”

“Okay.” She shut the door and left me standing there, empty. Now how was I going to get out of this?

I didn’t get out of it. At precisely the designated time, Kimber pulled into the driveway. I went slowly down the stairs toward the front door. Mom looked up from her book, her eyes running over me. Did she look slightly relieved?

I wasn’t wearing what Kimber wanted me to wear. I couldn’t bring myself to wear that top. So in concession I was wearing the jeans, but they didn’t look the way Kimber thought they would. They were too big; everything of mine was. Instead of hugging my curves, the jeans hung off of them, which was fine by me. I elected to wear a hoodie, but a nice one. It was made of a fine knit and it was a nice shade of blue. It wasn’t as baggy as all my other ones. In an attempt to dress it up further, I wore a silver cross pendant.

“You look nice. I haven’t seen that necklace in a while,” Mom said.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” I hoped that she would call me back and say she changed her mind.

I opened the front door and looked back.

She’d already returned to her book.

In the car Kimber demanded, “What happened to the outfit I picked out for you?”

“I’m wearing the jeans,” I answered defensively.

“Those are my jeans?” She sounded shocked. “How much weight have you lost anyway?”

I shrugged. I was thin Before, but she had always been thinner. I guess not anymore.

She muttered under her breath and backed out of the drive. I looked out my window and wondered how bad this night was going to be.

The party was bumping, and there were far more people than I expected. It seemed like half the student body of Windham High was there. “Kimber, I…” my voice cracked and fell away as I looked at the front door.

“Chill, Heven. Everything is going to be great!”

Before I could throw myself into the bushes, the front door opened and loud music vibrated out around us. “Ladies!” Some drunk dude from the senior class boomed. Kimber grabbed my hand and pulled me inside as I smiled thinking of what my mother would say now about her friend from Bible study.

We chatted (rather Kimber chatted) with everyone we knew, and she dragged me into the kitchen for a drink. She tried handing me a cup of red punch, and I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Seriously?” I yelled over the music.

Kimber rolled her eyes and reached into a cooler to pull out a Coke and handed it to me. I watched in horror as she took a long sip of the red ‘punch.’ “It’s definitely loaded,” she called to me, taking another sip. I held out my palm, and she rolled her eyes, but surrendered her keys without argument. “Let’s find Cole.” She grabbed my hand and towed me through yet another huge crowd out into the back yard.