‘If I don’t … will you take me home?’
‘I’ll be at your beck and call,’ she promised.
I wasn’t used to wearing heels. Even though they were only two inches high, I felt like a Velociraptor.
Extremely self-conscious, I followed in Estelle’s shadow as she led me towards the house party. Everyone seemed to know her, and greeted Estelle cheerily. It was a small house with dated furnishings, and a thick cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air.
‘Hey Estelle!’ A man in his early twenties with tattoos and long, black hair gave her a high-five. ‘Who’s the kid?’
‘Hey Spider, this is my friend Rose,’ said Estelle, snaking an arm around my waist.
‘A date?’ the man called Spider asked, eyeing me.
‘You wish,’ Estelle sneered at him and steered me away. ‘You stay away from her, okay?’
Spider raised his hands in defeat. ‘As you say.’
Estelle dragged me towards a table laden with beverages where she poured herself a cola. She offered me an alcoholic drink but I refused.
‘Who was that guy?’ I asked.
‘An ex,’ replied Estelle, ‘and a sleaze bag.’
Next, Estelle pulled a packet of cigarettes from her pocket and put it between her lips. ‘Want one?’ she asked, holding out the pack.
I stared at the cigarettes for a moment before quickly shaking my head. There was far too much temptation at this party for my liking. What had I got myself into?
‘C’mon, kiddo,’ Estelle said, lighting her cigarette. ‘You’re at a party. Live a little.’
‘Maybe next time,’ I lied.
Estelle shrugged and put the packet back into her pocket before taking a long drag and blowing the smoke out of her nostrils. It was a strange sight with her septum piercing.
‘I’m the youngest person here,’ I said, shifting uncomfortably.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Estelle, peering through the packed house. ‘They look about your age, don’t they?’
I followed her gaze to see where she was pointing, and was shocked to see Sadie sitting on the couch, deep in conversation with a strange male.
‘I know her,’ I said, staring at Sadie.
‘Has she been to the café?’ Estelle asked, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth.
I nodded.
‘Thought she was familiar. She comes to most parties.’
I watched Sadie as she sipped her drink and accepted a joint from another female.
‘Aren’t you going to say hello?’ asked Estelle.
I moved towards Sadie.
‘Rose!’ Sadie gasped, jumping up. ‘What are you doing here?’
To my surprise she looked pleased to see me. Perhaps it was the marijuana.
‘I was invited by Estelle,’ I said, pointing over my shoulder to where Estelle stood at the drinks table. ‘What are you doing here?’
Sadie waved a hand dismissively, which threw her off balance so she was forced to steady herself on the sofa. ‘I get invited to
all
the parties,’ she told me.
It seemed Sadie’s male companion was growing tired of her lack of attention so he wandered off to find another willing female to receive his affections.
‘Looks like you lost your friend,’ I said, nodding after him.
‘That’s okay,’ Sadie said, looking at something over my shoulder. ‘I’ve found someone better.’
And with that she stalked off to pursue another companion.
‘Here,’ Estelle joined me, thrusting a drink into my hand. ‘Drink up.’
‘What is it?’ I asked.
‘Just cola,’ she promised.
It didn’t take long for Estelle to abandon me, leaving me standing alone, and awkward in a corner of the room.
Not long after, I was feeling dizzy and ill from all the smoke so I decided to get some fresh air. I sat on a bench in the backyard.
Spider, Estelle’s ex-boyfriend made a beeline for me as soon as I sat down.
‘Hello sweetheart,’ he said, smiling and sitting next to me. ‘You feeling all right?’
‘Yes, it’s just so smoky in there.’
‘Enjoying yourself?’ He asked, looking me up and down approvingly. His gaze made me feel ill.
‘It’s okay, I guess.’
Spider leaned towards me and inhaled deeply.
‘Do you know where Estelle is?’ I asked, feeling anxious.
‘Estelle? Yeah. She’s over there smoking a joint with my brother.’ Spider pointed through a window into the house where I could clearly see Estelle, drinking and smoking. ‘But you don’t need her. I’ll keep you company.’ Spider put an arm around my shoulders.
Panic flared inside me and I jumped up at once. Estelle was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. How was I supposed to get home? I ran into the house and quickly found Estelle in the kitchen where I slapped the joint out of her hand.
‘What are you doing?’ I demanded, grabbing her drink too.
‘Woah,’ Estelle looked at me with extremely bloodshot eyes. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘You’re supposed to be
sober
,’ I said angrily. ‘I thought you were going to drive me home!’
‘I will,’ said Estelle. ‘I’ll be fine to drive.’
‘Like hell you will,’ I said.
‘Don’t worry, darling. You’ll be fine,’ said Spider, coming up behind me and snaking an arm around my waist. ‘You can crash at my place for the night. I only live around the corner.’
I shrugged out of his grip. ‘No thanks.’
‘Come on sweetheart,’ Spider crooned, leaning towards me.
‘Back off Spider, she’s only seventeen!’ Estelle snapped.
‘That’s fine. I like a bit of fresh meat-’
I pushed myself away from Estelle and Spider.
I needed to find a familiar face. Sadie; she’d look after me. I didn’t get far before Spider cornered me again.
‘Hey, doll. Where are you going?’ he asked, his hands on either side of my head.
‘I-I don’t feel well,’ I said. ‘I might go home.’
‘Aw, baby. Don’t go. I thought we could get to know each other.’ He leaned towards me and I could smell the smoke on his breath.
‘No,’ I said firmly, pushing against his chest. ‘I don’t want-’
‘Rose?’ A familiar voice called my name.
A hand clamped down on Spider’s shoulder before he kissed me. Spider turned around to see whom the intruder was.
‘Wait your turn, mate,’ he said to the unknown interrupter.
‘Step away from the girl, please,’ said the man.
That voice.
‘
I
said
wait your turn, buddy.’
Thwack!
The stranger punched Spider right on the nose, sending the black haired boy to the floor in a crumpled heap.
I yelped with fright and looked up at my savior.
‘Mr. Stone?’ I breathed.
It
was
him. He stood before me, his chest heaving as anger seemed to course through his veins. There could be no mistaking that mismatched attire.
‘Christ, Rose. What are you doing here?’ he asked, staring into my eyes.
‘You … you punched him!’ I gasped, stepping over Spider, who was groaning in pain on the floor.
Mr. Stone grabbed me by the arm and began to pull me out of the house. ‘This is no place for you,’ he said.
‘Estelle brought me,’ I said, quickly, tripping over my own feet. The partygoers created a path for us to walk through as we headed for the exit.
‘What were you thinking?’ Mr. Stone snapped. ‘You could have been hurt, or drugged. Or worse-’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, unsure as to why I was apologizing. I’d done nothing wrong after all. ‘Thank you, though.’
‘What for?’
‘For stopping him. I think he was going to kiss me.’
‘I expected more from you, Rose.’
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, hurrying to keep up with him.
‘I’m taking you home,’ he said as we stepped onto the lawn.
‘No!’ I stopped in my tracks, my eyes wide. ‘I can’t go home. Not yet.’
‘Well you can’t stay here,’ he said. ‘There’s alcohol and drugs everywhere.’
‘What are
you
doing here then?’ I asked.
Mr. Stone sighed. ‘I live next door, Rose. They invited me so I wouldn’t complain about the noise to the police. You’re lucky I arrived when I did.’
‘You … you live next door?’ I asked. ‘Can’t we go there?’
Mr. Stone’s spine stiffened and his nostrils flared. ‘That’s not a good idea,’ he said.
‘Why not? Please, Mr. Stone ... I don’t want to go home just yet.’
Mr. Stone licked his lips nervously and glanced around. ‘All right … just for an hour though, okay?’
Mr. Stone took my hand and led me to the left, towards a small house. We crossed over the garden of the party until we were on his property.
‘This is your house?’ I asked, looking at it.
It was small, with an overgrown lawn, and a beat-up garage, but that was definitely his car in the driveway. We walked up the garden path until we reached his porch. The fly-screen was hanging off its hinges, but the oak door behind it seemed solid. He opened the screen-door and unlocked it before leading me into the house.
Mr. Stone’s home was far nicer on the inside. It seemed he had tried to make the best out of a bad situation. There was still no doubt in my mind though that he was not a rich man by any means.
‘Come in here and sit down,’ he said, leading me into the sitting room where he threw his keys and wallet onto the coffee table.
I took a seat on the sofa and stared at him.
‘Do you want me to call your parents?’ he asked.
‘No!’ I said at once. ‘No, they don’t know I’m out.’
‘You went without permission?’ he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘What if something had happened to you? What am I saying? Something
did
happen to you. Some long-haired sleaze-ball tried to … to-’
‘Spider,’ I said. ‘He wanted me to go to his house with him.’
‘Yeah, I bet he did,’ Mr. Stone growled. I’d never heard him talk like that before. ‘I should march back over there and grab that little shit by the throat-’
‘Don’t be mad,’ I pleaded, staring at him with wide eyes. Mr. Stone looked distressed, with one hand balled around a tuft of his own hair.
‘What if I hadn’t gone?’ he asked. ‘What would have happened?’
‘I don’t know,’ I muttered, staring at my knees.
‘How did you plan on getting home?’ he asked.
‘Estelle was supposed to take me.’
‘That pink haired girl from the café?’ he asked.
‘Yeah,’ I rubbed my arm, feeling foolish. ‘But she ended up drinking and smoking-’
‘And then what was your plan?’ he said, crossing his arms. I felt like my father was scolding me.
‘I don’t know, all right? I said thank you. What else do you want?’
Mr. Stone’s posture relaxed and he heaved a sigh. ‘I was just worried about you, that’s all.’
I leaned back in the sofa and closed my eyes, breathing deeply. I knew going to this party would be a mistake. This was why I hated going out.
‘Do you want a tea or coffee?’ he asked.
‘A coffee, please,’ I said.
‘I’ve only got instant coffee. Is that okay?’ he asked.
‘That’s fine,’ I said. It was better than nothing.
Mr. Stone retreated to the kitchen where I heard the tap running, and a kettle being placed on a stove.
My eyes fell to his wallet, which sat on the coffee table in front of me. I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure he wasn’t coming back, before reaching over and grabbing it.
I flipped the wallet open and rifled through the contents. The first thing I found was his driver’s license.
Thomas William Stone.
Strange, I’d never known his first name. He’d always been Mr. Stone to me.
Seeing his date of birth I was quickly able to calculate his age at thirty-two.
‘Find anything interesting?’ Mr. Stone asked as he re-entered the room. I could hear the kettle still boiling in the kitchen.
‘Sorry,’ I said quickly, throwing the wallet back onto the table.
‘It’s fine,’ he said, picking it up and pocketing it. ‘There’s nothing too revealing in here.’
‘I didn’t mean to pry,’ I said. ‘I just … I didn’t know your first name.’
‘Didn’t you?’ he asked.
I shook my head.
‘My name is Tom. Pleased to meet you, Rose.’ He held out a hand, which I took. He squeezed my hand gently as he shook it. I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Hi Tom,’ I said. ‘You’re thirty-two?’
‘Is that old?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I said.
‘It’s fifteen years older than you,’ he replied. ‘Almost twice your age.’
‘Not forever,’ I said. ‘When you’re forty I’ll be twenty-five.’