Poseidon (The God Chronicles) (8 page)

“Would you mind if I went outside for a minute?” I yelled, taking the can that Sy held out to me.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, leaning in close and speaking into my ear so he wouldn’t have to shout.

“Sure,” I said, doing the same thing.

We wove back through the “dance floor” and out the front door, wonderful quiet greeting us as we shut it behind us.

“Wow,” Sy laughed. “I never would have pegged Jake as the type who would throw this kind of party.”

“We are just a few blocks from the university,” I mused. “I imagine that’s where all of those people came from.”

“I’m sorry I drug you out,” he
apologized, taking a seat on the stoop. “If I’d known it was going to be like this and not just a few friends, I wouldn’t have worried about coming alone.”

“It’s not a big deal,” I
assured him with a laugh, joining him. “It was just really loud. We can go back in, if you’d like.”

“There you are, Sy.” The girl from before, Ash, came walking around the corner of the house. “I was worried you’d left before I could get a dance.”

“Hey, I thought you were playing Pong,” he said, flashing a smile her way.

“It was boring,” she said nonchalantly. “Who’s this?” She eyed me up and
down, distaste in her eyes.

“Oh, sorry! This is
Audrey—Audrey, Ash.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said
politely, despite the evil eye she was giving me.

“
Audrey is my neighbor,” Sy said, not noticing the death glare I was being burned with. “I asked her to come when Ian backed out. I thought it was just a small party,” he laughed.

“Anything to help a friend,” I said, smiling.

“How about that dance then?” she asked after a short beat. Apparently, I had been dismissed, because she wasn’t even looking at me anymore.

“Uh, sure,” Sy said, standing up.  “Are you coming in,
Audrey?”

“I think I’ll stay out here for a
while,” I said, my smile still in place.

“Cool,” Ash said, stepping forward and grabbing his hand. “Let’s go!” She
yanked him through the door, giving me one last look of contempt before snapping it closed.

“Cool,” I
mimicked her. Where did she come off treating me like that? Just because she wanted to get into Sy’s pants . . .

I stopped short, surprised at where my mind had gone. Sy didn’t do stuff like that, did he?
Every time we were together he came across . . . responsible. Surely, a girl like Ash couldn’t get the better of him?

Why do I even care?
I wondered.
He’s a grown man and can do whatever he wants
. I shook my head and stood, gulping down the rest of my soda before going inside.

Someone had turned the lights off and hooked up a nice DJ light set that was now flashing from the corner. I could see more people crushed together down the hall in front of the door.
Awkwardly, I pushed my way through everyone, trying to get back to the kitchen—I couldn’t think of anything to do, other than get another drink.

As I walked through the crowd, squeezing between the sweaty bodies, I was repeatedly stepped on and
bumped into. Finally, someone knocked me right into a wall and I decided to just stay put until a path opened up. At this point, it was looking like I was going to need Moses for that.

I clicked my tongue, the slight pounding in my head returning
, as the speaker next to me blared out something from the phone plugged into it.

“It could be worse,” I
told myself, folding my arms and leaning against the wall.

Several songs went by. Every now and then I would catch a glimpse of Sy, dancing with different girls. Ash seemed to have claimed the most time with him though, turning up twice as much as the others. I stayed in my spot, content to wait for everything to be over. I
fervently hoped that Sy continued to remember not to drink and—most of all—that he’d remembered I was here with him. I didn’t want him running off with someone and leaving me here to call Mom for help.

Another hour or so passed by
, I found myself on the floor, legs crossed as I waited for any signs of an end coming near.

“Why did you bring her? I would have come as your date.” Ash was yelling on the other side of the speaker, unaware that I was within hearing distance.

“She’s not my date,” Sy shouted back. “She’s my friend. I brought her because I thought she could use some fun.”

“Yeah, right!”
Ash snorted. “I haven’t seen her anywhere. What a kill joy, right?”

“Give her a break,” Sy said. “She hasn’t been out in a while.”

“I can tell,” Ash continued. “She looks like she’s been living under a rock her whole life.”

I looked down at my t-shirt and jeans, wondering what in the world she was talking about.

“Be nice, Ash. Seriously.”

“Seriously,
you should just kiss me now.”

White-hot
jealousy shot through me and I jumped to my feet. They were dancing so close that I almost couldn’t tell who was who. Sy had one hand at her neck and was smiling.

Tears pricked in my eyes
while I fought my way through the crowd and down the hall to the bathroom.

What is wrong with me?
I thought as I pushed past people.
I’m jealous?!

Finally
, I reached the door I wanted and flung it open, ready to collapse against the toilet and get all my unexplained feelings and tears out. However, it appeared that someone already had the same idea.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, turning to leave.

“Wait,” the boy’s muffled voice called.

“Are you okay?” I asked, turning around to help him up.

There was a weird look on his face as he looked at me, eyes bugging out of his head. I knew that look.

“Oh, please, no!”

But I was too late. A scream tore from my throat as vomit cascaded out of his mouth and all over the front of me.

S
houts in the living room started erupting and I saw the flashing of blue and red bouncing off the hall wall out of the corner of my eye.

“The cops are here, run!” someone
hollered, shoving people out of the way as he ran down the hall.

“Why do we need to run?” I asked in a panic.

“There was pot everywhere, dude. We were smoking it outside and some of it got baked into the food.” The guy who had just puked all over me smiled, obviously high, and then headed for the tiny bathroom window.

“You’re not serious!” I yelled.
He ignored me, angering me further. “There’s no way you can fit through that!”

I heard the front door being kicked in and more screams coming from the rest of the house as he jumped on the toilet and began to pry the screen off the opening. Looking down at my clothes I sighed in frustration. There was probably a one thousand percent chance that the regurgitated food I was now covered in had illegal drugs in it. 

“Freeze!” A voice commanded behind me. I turned, raising my hands.

“Help!” High Guy yelled behind me, his head stuck.

“I told you,” I muttered. 

Chapter Eight

“Look, I already took all of your tests, can I just go home? Or do you need me to pee some more?”

The officer I’d been speaking to ignored me, moving down the row of holding cells full of people from the party.

“Can I at least get something to change into?” I yelled at the back of his head. I smelled awful, Sy apparently had gotten away, and now I was waiting for Mom to come and get me, even though I’d already proven I hadn’t taken part in anything illegal. Apparently, guilty by association was in place here.

I should have called her right from the beginning
, I mused, frustrated I hadn’t wanted her to know I’d gone to a party. Now she was picking me up from jail.

What a great child I’d turned out to be.

It wouldn’t matter that I’d done nothing wrong. Someone would find out and hassle her because of it.

“
Audrey Willis?” The guard who ignored me earlier walked up to my cell, keys in hand.

“Yes,” I grumbled.

“Your bail has been paid by your mother. She’s waiting for you outside.”

“Bail?” I asked incredulously. “I didn’t do anything!”

“We need to conduct a more thorough investigation to confirm that ma’am.”

All I could do was stare at him with my mouth open. I had done everything they’d asked! I hadn’t resisted arrest, I’d taken every drug and alcohol test they’d shoved at me, and still I was being treated like a criminal.

“Would you stop harassing her,” an older cop said, coming through the door at the end of the hall. “I told you to let her out ages ago!”

“Yes, sir!” the younger cop replied, quickly unlocking the door and opening it for me.

“You’ll have to forgive him,” the older, heavier man said. “He likes to think he’s the ‘bad’ cop. That’s why we keep him in here—so he’ll stay out of trouble. I’ll personally see to it that he gets reprimanded for the treatment he gave you.”

“Thank you,” I
ground out, fuming.

“He’s not all there,” the older cop whispered as we walked away. “We love him though.”

“Oh,” I said, softening. “That’s very kind of you.”

“We like to make dreams come true here,” he laughed.

As we came around the corner, I saw Mom sitting on a bench, worry lines etched into her face.

“
Audrey,” she exclaimed, running over to me when she saw us. Despite the nastiness all over me, she still tugged me into a huge hug. “What happened? You didn’t say very much on the phone.”

“I’ll explain in the car,” I said smiling. “Thank you for coming to get me. I’m sorry you had to as well.”

“It’s nothing,” she soothed, waving her hand. “What are mothers for?”

“You two have a nice night,” the officer said, turning to leave. “Sorry about the hassle.”

“It’s fine,” I lied, relieved to finally be departing.

“Let’s get you home,” Mom said,
appraising me. “You look like you could use a nice, hot bath and some food.”

“That sounds wonderful,” I admitted. “Maybe you can help me beat Sy, too.”

“So he just left you there?” Mom asked incredulously, washing the dishes in my sink.

“I guess. I didn’t see him at the station. I can do those
, Mom,” I added, drying my hair with a towel.

“How awful,
sweetie.” She ignored my last comment, continuing on with ease. “If a man takes me out, I expect him to be fully accountable for the events of the evening. Especially, if he’s taking my daughter out.”

“It wasn’t a date Mom,” I sighed. “Which he made obvious when he spent the whole night with a bunch of other girls, who couldn’t stop fawning over him. The fawning didn’t seem to bother him, by the way”

Jealousy bit at me again and I scolded myself. Where did I come off, being so possessive of my neighbor? So what if he wanted to spend time and dance with other girls? Or . . . kiss them?

I shook my head, banishing my uncomfortable thoughts and coming back to what Mom was saying.

“—He should have been responsible, that’s all I’m saying.” She shook her hands off and left the kitchen to sit by me on the couch. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She picked up the brush I’d brought in with me and started to comb my hair out for me. It was something that she’d always done when I was younger. I felt the comfort of my mother’s love instantly and
relaxed. I really was a lucky girl to have her in my life. 

A sharp knocking on the door broke me out of the memories of times gone by.

“Who on Earth?” Mom wondered aloud, standing to answer.

“
Audrey? Audrey, it’s Sy, please let me in.” His voice sounded panicked.

“She’s sleeping,” Mom said through the door. “What do you want?”

“Who are you?” he asked, momentarily thrown off track.

“This is her mother,” she
declared in a commanding tone.

“Oh. Uh, nice to meet you?”

“What do you want?” Mom asked, again.

“I just want to make sure she’s okay. I looked everywhere for her at the party, but I couldn’t find her. I’m glad she made it home okay.”

“After a stop at jail,” Mom interjected.

I didn’t know if I was horrified or pleased with Mom’s interrogation. Either way, I couldn’t think of anything to say to stop her.

“I’m so sorry,” Sy said. “Can I please come in?”

“Not tonight,” she
stated firmly. “Audrey needs rest, not a pretty boy trying to convince her of something.”