Coming face to face with them would be interesting.
I ran my hand through my long, black hair. “God, I need a drink.”
Feeling like I was being watched, I looked into the rearview mirror, finding a pair of brown eyes staring back at me.
“Underage drinking is frowned upon, Ms. Paige. This is your first day home. Perhaps you would want to stay out of trouble,” Byron, our driver said.
I snorted. “In case you didn’t notice, I don’t play by the rules, pumpkin.”
I had no intentions in getting myself in trouble, but Byron’s brows rose in the mirror and I knew, though I couldn’t actually see it, that he was giving me a stern look.
I gave him a smile. “Byron, I wouldn’t dare start trouble.”
“Ms. Paige, I call your bluff.”
I didn’t try to convince him any further, because I knew he wouldn’t believe it until he saw it. I had quite the reputation; one that could very well follow me for the rest of my life. When I thought back on that night, I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. It was an idiotic, unwise choice that got my best friend killed and I would forever hate myself for that.
I gazed out of the window, feeling the guilt I constantly battled rise up. As the tears filled my eyes, I rolled down the window, taking deep breaths to try to keep from crying. Realizing we were nearing home, my gut twisted in knots, making me sick to my stomach. I was beyond nervous.
“Hey, Byron, how about we turn around and skip town? We could go to Las Vegas and gamble.”
He laughed. “You’re underage; they wouldn’t let you gamble.”
“Fake I.D., my friend.”
He shook his head. “One must face the things they fear.”
I snorted. “What are you, my therapist?”
“You’re going to have to face them sometime. It’s better to just get it over with.”
We pulled up at the black, iron gates as Byron placed the code into the key pad. As the gates began to open, I felt a sense of panic once again as I realized that once the gates closed behind me that I would feel trapped and facing my family, a moment I had tried to avoid for the past three years, was inevitable. I refused to let them come to my graduation for crying out loud, so I sure the hell didn’t want to face them now.
The driveway was lined with daisies as we followed the pathway leading to the elaborate, two story rock mansion.
I immediately smiled as a ginger haired girl with a big smile on her face held up a welcome home sign. She had on a red two-piece bathing suit as water dripped from her curvy body onto the gray stone driveway.
“Andie!”
Beyond excited, my nerves seemed to settle. Andie was one of the many friends I made when I moved here from California. She was the only one that I actually had a close bond with; the only one who knew why I was so…damaged. During the three years I was away, we still remained close friends as we kept in touch through Skype and text.
I opened the car door way before Byron had time to even stop the car, and jumped out as I just about tackled her to the ground and hugged her tight. Her skin was cold from the pool and smelled of chlorine and sun tan lotion.
“You’re finally home. I’ve been waiting all day for you. Let’s let loose a little and have some fun.”
“Okay, cool. I need some fun in my life.”
I turned around to look at Byron, who was retrieving my suitcases from the trunk of the car. “Byron.”
“Yes, Ms. Paige.”
“Do you want to come party?”
I couldn’t keep the smile from slipping out on my lips. Knowing that he practically scolded me in the car, I couldn’t help but to play around with him.
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, showing such youth in his bright face. He had to have been in his early forties with a sprinkle of grey on his side burns in his dark hair.
“I’ll take a rain check.”
“Well, the offer still stands. If you change your mind, we will be by the pool, soaking up the sun and drinking some yummy margaritas.”
He
F. Paul Wilson, Alan M. Clark