Chapter 5 A visitor

Before I could bombard Lola with questions, she darted from the room to answer the door-so fast she might as well have left a cartoonish puff of smoke behind her.

I blinked, a little dazed, before following her down the hallway. With each step, the voices grew louder, clearer-and so did the butterflies in my stomach. I tried to play it cool, leaning against the wall across from the front door, but my nerves were already unraveling.

Why was I so anxious? It was just a party. Just a regular, chaotic high school party. That Sam would be at. Wearing a navy blue t-shirt that hugged his frame and jeans that fit way too perfectly...

"Eva? Heeelloooo?" Roman's voice cut through my thoughts. He waved a hand in front of my face.

I blinked quickly and swatted his hand away. "Yeah, I'm here," I muttered. How long had I been zoning out?

"You ready?" Sam asked with a nod toward the door. Roman stepped back beside Lola, who was now blushing a soft shade of pink.

"Yup. Ready as I'll ever be," I said, plastering on a grin that I hoped looked confident.

We headed out together. The car ride was anything but awkward. With the music cranked up, we sang along-loudly and off-key-to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Being surrounded by my friends helped settle my nerves. And when Sam leaned over to whisper, "You look really nice tonight," I nearly melted.

Of course, I joked back, "So I look like a gremlin the rest of the week?" But inside, I was glowing.

We pulled up in front of the house, already buzzing with music and laughter. Cars lined the street-and the lawn. A few unfortunate souls were already passed out on the grass.

I chuckled. "Looks like the party's in full swing."

"'Full swing'?" Sam repeated with a laugh. "What are you, eighty?"

"Shut up," I said, nudging him in the chest with a playful glare.

We walked toward the front entrance. Any nerves I had were now replaced with giddy excitement. Stepping inside, it was like a scene straight from a teen drama-loud music, flashing lights, red cups everywhere. The grandeur of the place was muted by the chaos, but you could tell it had once been impressive.

A grand staircase curved along the front hallway like open arms. On either side, hallways led into what I assumed were the kitchen and living room. If the house had ever been elegant, it was hard to tell now under the stampede of grinding bodies and spilled drinks.

"Whose party is this, anyway?" I asked Sam as we wove through the mess.

"Some friend of Roman's... I think."

"A friend of a friend, really," Roman added with a crooked smile.

Lola's eyes widened. "So... we don't even know whose house this is?"

He just shrugged, grinning.

"Great," I sighed. "We're officially party crashers."

We made our way to the living room, where Roman whisked Lola off to introduce her to his friends. She looked mildly panicked, but that was typical Lola-social anxiety wrapped in a fashionably cute dress. Which left me with Sam.

We detoured to the kitchen-bigger than my entire house, no joke. The counter was buried in bottles of beer and vodka. We grabbed two unopened beers (no way I was trusting red cups tonight) and sipped quietly, the cold drink helping to calm the leftover fluttering in my chest.

"Is this your first party?" Sam asked, watching me with amusement.

"Do princess parties and bouncy castles count?"

He laughed. "Sadly, no."

"Well then, yeah. I guess this is my first official high school party," I said, raising my bottle like a toast.

"Then we better make it unforgettable."

Before I could respond, he tugged my hand and led me toward the makeshift dance floor. The living room was packed, the speakers blasting Dynamite by Taio Cruz.

I laughed, remembering how obsessed I used to be with this song.

Sam's hands settled lightly on my hips. I didn't mind. I swayed with the music, raising my arms and singing along, getting lost in the energy of the moment.

And then-buzz.

My phone vibrated violently in my pocket.

I groaned, stepping away from Sam. Who in the world was interrupting my perfect night?

I slipped out to the backyard, the cool night air biting against my skin. I answered with irritation in my voice. "Hello?"

Sobbing. Quiet, broken sobbing.

"It's me... it's Piper," she whispered between hiccups. "I-I don't know what happened-"

"Piper," I said quickly, my voice firm. "Breathe. Just breathe. I'm right here, okay? What's going on?"

Sam had followed me outside and was now watching me closely, eyebrows furrowed. He mouthed, "Everything okay?" I shook my head slightly.

"Can you come over?" Piper asked, still crying.

"Of course. I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Thank you, E-Eva." Then she hung up.

"I have to go," I told Sam. "Where's Roma-"

I was cut off by shouting. A loud chant had broken out from somewhere inside the house. "Fight! Fight!"

We looked at each other and rushed toward the commotion.

The crowd had formed a ring, and in the middle of it all was Roman, fists up and bloody-lipped, facing off with some guy I didn't recognize.

Sam didn't look surprised-just exasperated.

We forced our way through the bodies. I spotted Lola inside the circle, flailing her arms and trying to scream over the noise.

Roman looked wrecked-bloody knuckles, bruised face-but the other guy had definitely taken the worst of it.

"Someone do something!" I shrieked. I turned to Sam. "Go get him!"

"I got it," he said, already pushing through the crowd. "Go grab Lola."

I ran over and grabbed her arms, spinning her to face me. "You okay?!"

"I'm fine, but Roman-he just snapped. We were talking, then suddenly he was in a fight. I don't know why."

I nodded, glancing over as Sam reached Roman and started talking him down. The crowd was beginning to dissolve, annoyed the fight had ended.

"Let's go. Sam and Roman are coming now."

Lola rushed to Roman, grabbing his face in both hands, examining him like he was a science experiment. He looked amused and swatted her hands away, then pulled her into a hug, arms around her waist.

Roman glanced at me. "Sorry about the scene," he muttered, rubbing his jaw.

I yawned. "Boys fight. It's what they do."

I must've fallen asleep in the car because next thing I knew, I was waking up in Lola's bedroom, wrapped in a peach blanket with no memory of how I got there. Roman and Sam were both snoring on the floor like two exhausted puppies. I groaned and rolled over, sinking back into the warmth.

"Psssst. You awake?"

A very sharp fingernail jabbed my cheek.

"Lola, I swear, if you don't move your hand, I'm going to bite your finger off."

She giggled. "Was it a bad idea letting them stay over?"

I rolled back over with a sigh. "Are we alive? Not murdered in our sleep?"

"Yes."

"Then I truly don't care."

"But I just wanted to say, Roman was hurt and I couldn't just-"

"Lola, please. I am begging you. Let me sleep."

Finally-blessed silence.

Then-BEEP BOOP!

I raised my head, prepared to glare. But Lola's expression was frozen in concern as she stared at her phone.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting up.

"It's Piper. She just texted me. Did you ever go see her last night?"

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

"Crap! No! I was supposed to! She was so upset-oh my gosh!" I leapt out of bed, tripping over Roman on the floor and falling straight onto Sam, who was somehow shirtless.

This situation might've made me swoon any other time-but not when I was in full-blown panic mode.

He groaned, blinking awake and instinctively wrapped an arm around me. His hand landed on the small of my back.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"Morning-and I gotta go!" I scrambled out of his arms, grabbed my purse, and threw it over my shoulder.

Before either guy could ask where I was going, I bolted out of the room, heart pounding.

Piper's Point of View

Don't cry, don't cry.

But the tears came anyway. Everything inside me felt like it was crumbling. My chest ached, my stomach was twisted in knots.

Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was just being dramatic. But it didn't feel that way.

Was Eva avoiding me? Was that why she never came?

I felt so stupid. Alone.

God, what would people think? I never broke down like this-not over anything.

But now... everything felt like too much. Maybe it was the split. Maybe it was because he chose her. Maybe it was because I called him.

I knew what he meant to Eva. I knew she'd be upset. But she didn't come. She didn't show.

And I didn't want to be alone.

If only Stella had come. Or Lola. I wouldn't have had to call him.

But now it was too late.