Chapter 2 2

Carrie let out an annoyed sigh when she heard the blaring, obnoxious music as she got closer to the house. She took a moment to compose herself before reaching the front door and giving it a polite knock. Unfortunately, there was no response from inside.

Carrie wasn't used to going to parties, so she wasn't sure how to get inside. It felt impolite to just barge into a stranger's house, but she decided to do it anyway.

When she opened the door, she quickly realised she had made a mistake. There were around a hundred people there, all dressed in loud and flashy outfits, with their faces showing signs of being really drunk.

"Oh my goodness, why are there so many people here?" She thought, feeling a bit panicked as anxiety tried to creep into her mind.

She felt like she didn't belong in this big crowd. Luckily, everyone was too intoxicated to notice her because of the loud music and the spilling drinks.

She took a deep breath, shoving her anxiety aside for now, knowing she'd deal with it later. In this moment, her focus was on giving her beloved flowers the justice they deserved and finding some peace and quiet. She clung to the hope that she could approach the party's host and work out a compromise.

Carrie walked up to someone who was busy fixing their drink at a punch bowl. "Hello, I'm... um, hello. No, that's not it. I'm Carrie," she said, her words stumbling nervously as she fumbled over her usual understanding of how to interact with people. It felt like all her knowledge of social interaction had vanished.

The blonde girl she had approached knit her eyebrows together and scrutinised Carrie from head to toe. Her gaze returned to meet Carrie's, her expression clearly judgmental, and Carrie was overwhelmed with a sense of embarrassment.

"Can I help you?" She asked sharply, holding her drink.

Why didn't I put on something else? She immediately regretted but pushed forward anyway.

She gulped and started to try and speak loudly over the music: "Uhm, yes. I live next door and was wondering if you-"

"WHO'S READY TO GET THROWN IN THE POOL?" A man yelled right behind her, making the whole crowd cheer him on.

The blonde she was talking to looked at Carrie, then back to the tall man, and smirked.

"Hey Jamie!" She called before pointing her manicured figure at Serena.

"I think this chick is more than ready!" She yelled, and everyone then shouted in agreement.

The man named Jamie looked at Carrie and smiled.

She felt as if she was about to pass out as Jamie and two other guys neared her.

She shook her head frantically and backed up as the guys approached her. Everyone watched the scene laughing, "Uhm, no, I can promise you I'm not!"

The blonde girl behind Carrie pushed her forward into the guys, and they all grabbed her, carrying her back towards the sliding glass door.

Her heart was beating frantically as she thrashed and kicked, trying to escape her inevitable, watery death.

"Please! No! Put me down." Carrie tried to tell them, but the guys didn't listen; all they heard was the music and the encouraging crowd. Her thrashing and yelling were completely ignored.

The party of drunk adults followed Carrie and the guys holding her. They opened the door to the patio, and Carrie looked at the glowing water awaiting her.

The guys brought her to the edge of the pool as she kicked around, exhausting her last-ditch attempt at freedom. They were too strong, though, and soon she was in the air.

Oh, fuck me, she thought before she plunged into the chilling water.

The crowd hollered as the three jerk wads laughed proudly at their great feat.

She crawled like a drowned rat out of the pool. Her hair tie was lost in the pool, and her messy brown hair was now dripping wet and swallowing her face.

She huffed and took off her cardigan, wringing it out on the side of the pool. She grumbled, and anger now completely filled her.

This was not how she saw her night going.

Her tank top and loose cotton pyjama shorts were soaked and now sucked close to her body. She hated how uncomfortable and exposed she felt.

Jamie whistled, looking Carrie up and down, "damn, hey, you're kind of ho-"

Carrie looked up at him and sent him a dangerous glare. He stilled and got quiet real quick. Putting his hands up in defense, he said, "Woah, sorry, I was just trying to have fun."

She breathed heavily and tried to control her temper. "Can you please just tell me who's party this is?"

"It's Stefan's, Stefan Todd's. This is his housewarming party. He just moved in. Take a chill pill, woman." Jamie narrowed his eyes at her.

"Where is this, Stefan?" She rolled her eyes, ignoring his snarky comment.

A tall man with dark hair yelled something incoherent through his slurs from the garage roof before jumping into the pool.

"That's Stefan."