Chapter 01

“I’m going to miss you so much, Jacey!” My best friend, Renee, exclaimed. “Do you really have to move so far away just to be with your dad? Why can’t he move here or something? Did you guys even talk it through together?”

“Renee,” I sighed, almost exasperated. “I haven’t spoken to my dad even since the divorce when I was eleven. Why should I start talking to him now? He’s taking me into custody with him and I’m really not excited about it.”

 “I’m sorry about your mom,” Renee murmured under her breath, folding her sweatshirt and neatly placing it inside her drawer. If anyone was organized, it was Renee. She was a neat freak machine.

“Yeah,” I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders. “I am too.”

“So what about school?” Renee asked, almost tentatively. She was acting shy now, not the same best friend I’ve known my whole life. I had no one except Renee and my mother. I was the little freak at school, whom everyone picked on.

“My dad already signed me up in some private school near his house,” I explained. When my dad left my mom and I, he said that he wasn’t in love with my mom anymore. He wanted to take me with him but the court decided on my mom. In the past 5 years, my dad has become rich in being a business man. That explains why he lives in a mansion in Florida and signed me up in a private school.

“A private school?” Renee gasped, her mouth mimicking a codfish. She blinked rapidly and shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Jacey! You’ve studied in a public school your whole life! He’s forcing you to go to a private school now?”

 “I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s forcing me,” I admitted defeat. I really wanted to blame him and say that he was forcing me but the truth held me back. “He called me last weekend and said that there was a private school nearby his house so he was going to sign me up.”

“Did he at least ask for your permission?” Renee asked.

I shook my head. “Not exactly but he sounded so excited…”

“Ah, shoot!” Renee groaned, slamming her head against her wall. “Jacey! You’re supposed to insist on it! You can’t just let your dad make all the decisions for you! You’re sixteen, for crying out loud!”

“Renee! When my mom died, the police sent me to live with my aunt, who’s an alcoholic! I’m not just going to sit around with her when she could go insane any second and start beating me! Trust me when I say this, I called my dad for help. I told him to adopt me and he ended up going to court to ask for my custody!” I said, nearly pleading for her to believe me.

“Jacey, I believe you,” Renee calmly said. “The only thing I didn’t get was why it was your dad. I didn’t know that your aunt was an alcoholic so I guess that explains why.”

“It wasn’t in her records or anything,” I explained. “So the police thought she was sane and fine. At least she didn’t try anything on me but I’m not sitting around to find out, okay?”

“I know,” Renee mumbled. “I wouldn’t either.”

“You’re my best friend and I don’t know anyone who knows me better,” I explained to her. “If my aunt wasn’t an alcoholic, you know that I would stay here but I’m not going to risk my life so I could be closer to home and you. I‘m leaving.”

“I know that the topic burdens you, Jacey,” Renee painfully said, squeezing her eyes shut. See? This is why she is my best friend. She feels my pain, as much as I do. “But can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, nodding my head. “Like what?”

“Like…” Renee hesitated. “I heard that Trisha is having a party at her house tonight. Maybe you can call your aunt and let her know you’re going-”

“She won’t even notice that I’m gone,” I told her, grinning wide.

“Great!” Renee exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Now we’re going to have to get ready for tonight!” She nearly squealed at the end from excitement, making me laugh and roll my eyes.

*     *     *

“I’m not coming out!” I insisted, yelling through Renee’s bathroom door.

“You have to!” Renee whined like a little girl. “I know that you look gorgeous, Jacey! Just come out, please!” She continued to pound on the door, making me wonder if Renee’s mom was going to hear us and ask where we are going.

Only for the sake of not getting caught, I swung the door open to reveal myself to Renee.

“Oh… my… gosh!” Renee gasped, staring at me in amazement. “You look beautiful, Jacey! Did you know that purple really makes your eyes pop out?” 

“Uh, I really don’t want that to happen…” I let my voice trail off to let Renee know but she just laughed and playfully punched my arm.

“No! I just meant that the purple top with black lace sweater really suits you! The purple skinny jeans really adds a bit of cuteness in it too!” Renee squealed again. “Moving onto shoes!” She scrambled to her closet to find a pair of shoes that would suit me.

Renee didn’t look so bad either. She was wearing her favorite pair of uggs with brown tights underneath a black skirt. Her jacket was leather red over a red striped tee shirt. 

Minutes later, we were both walking down the street to Trisha’s house. To be honest, I’ve never liked Trisha. She only lives a couple of blocks away from me and at least 2 blocks from Renee but she’s in a lot of my classes. Trisha is the girl who is always showing off her “intelligence” by raising her hand even before the teacher finishes asking a question.

Just last year, Trisha tried to shove me into my locker but a teacher was walking by and called us into the principal’s office. Trisha got detention for the rest of the week while I got away peacefully.

Trisha’s house was full with people from our school. The front yard was already a mess with red plastic cups everywhere. Toilet paper was hanging from the roof, I don’t know how it got there. A couple of people were outside, making out like maniacs.

As Renee and I stepped into Trisha’s house, I recognized Trisha standing by the doorway. She grinned wide at us, or at Renee. 

“Hey, Renee! I’m so glad you could make it!” Trisha pretended to act excited, grinning. 

“Hey, Trisha!” Renee faked a smile but acted as if she knew Trisha like best friends. “How’s the party going?”

“Ermagawd!” Trisha gasped, turning to her friend who was standing next to her. “Right that it’s the best party of the year? I know right!” She turned back to Renee and forced another smile onto her face. “Have fun, Renee…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes landed on me. “Oh, hey there.”

“Nice to see you too, Trisha,” I sarcastically murmured under my breath. “How’s the party? Is it boring just like how you wish you weren’t?” I crossed my arms expectantly at her, totally owning it. I was even more convinced when I heard Renee snicker beside me.

“Nice try, Jacey,” Trisha said, sneering at me. “By tonight, I bet that you’re going to be the school’s number one s**t. I’ll make sure that it happens, believe me.”

“Well I’m fine with that since I won’t be in your school anymore,” I retorted. “Thankfully I won’t have to hear your ridiculous excuses to why you didn’t hand in your homework! At least I’m going to have a better view in my school than the back of your hand raised in the air.”

“Get out of my sight, you little shrimp!” Trisha hissed at me, making a disgusting face at me. 

I rolled my eyes and followed Renee into the house. As soon as we were out of earshot from Trisha, Renee whispered: “That was awesome, Jacey!”

I grinned at her. “Now you can have a piece of my attitude left in Trisha,” I told her, laughing.

In the living room, there were a bunch of people dancing to the music blaring from the speakers. Some were making out on the couches or in the corners while others grinded against each other on the dance floor.

Renee pulled me into the kitchen, which made my eyes widen in shock. The table in the middle of the kitchen was filled with red plastic cups with different drinks in them.

“Want a shot?” A guy asked us, arching his eyebrows up in question.

Renee nudged me. “Do you want one? I’m getting one but I don’t know about you.”

“Well…” I hesitated for a moment before nodding at the guy. “I’ll take one. Which one is the lightest one you have?” I asked, glancing around the table.

“Uh,” the guy started to say, searching through the table. “This one, I think. It’s the best one but it’s the lightest drink we have.” He took one of the red plastic cups and handed it to me.

Renee asked if he had a Budweiser and the guy handed her another plastic cup with a golden liquid inside. I sniffed the rim of my cup and shrugged, taking a tiny sip first. It was a bit strong and disgusting to be honest.

I heard running footsteps coming up from behind us so I whirled around to see a red-faced Trisha. She was breathing hard from running but she was grinning wide at us. “Hey guys! Do you want to play a game with us?” 

Maybe she was drunk or something since she obviously didn’t recognize me. 

Renee glanced at me once before nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah, sure!” She agreed, following Trisha down the hall and into a room. I followed behind Renee, just in case, but felt more comfortable when I recognize a couple of kids from my school sitting in a circle on the floor.

“We’re going to play 7 Minutes in Heaven!” Trisha exclaimed, letting out a small giggle while she twirled her hair in a finger. “Everyone has to write down their name in a piece of paper. Boys in one pile and girls in the other.”

“Ooh! I’m so excited!” Trisha’s friend, Mary, gasped. She was pretty drunk too since she was giggling in a little girl. 

We all wrote down our names in tiny slips of paper and put them in the corresponding piles. This game seemed so immature to me but since half of the people here were drunk… I guess that influences their maturity. 

Trisha took one slip from each pile and giggled, taking another sip from her cup. “And the closet goes to… Billy and Renee!” 

I turned to Renee to ask her if she really was going to go in with him. Shockingly, Renee wasn’t sitting next to me anymore. She was sitting in between Mary and Trisha, biting the end of her hair while holding back giggles.

I didn’t need to look inside her cup to know that she already finished her drink. Renee stood up and stepped into the closet, holding Billy’s hand and tugging him into the small space. Trisha closed the door behind them and held up a watch. 

“Starting now!” She shrieked.

I held my breath and closed my eyes, leaning against the wall. I sure hope that Renee doesn’t do anything wrong. I would hate to see my best friend suffer because of Billy. But Billy seemed like a decent, nice guy. He was in my chemistry class and he was a genius! 

Exactly 7 minutes later, Trisha called time and the door swung open to reveal a grinning Billy with a blushing Renee following close behind. Renee immediately rushed over to me, not to Mary or Trisha which made me feel proud in some way.

“Oh my gosh, Jacey! You would never guess what happened!” She blurted out, her words coming out in a rushed breath. “Billy is such a genius! He tried to make me memorize the Periodic Table and so far, I memorized already half!”

“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “So those whole 7 minutes, Billy’s taught you the Periodic Table and you’ve tried to memorize it?” Whoa, these two were such nerds. They’re perfect for each other!

Renee nodded excitedly. “Yep! Oh, also…” Her voice trailed off, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. “He kissed me!” She squealed, a dreamy look in her eyes appearing.

“Whoa,” I gasped. If Billy kissed Renee and had the nerve- excuse me, patience- to teach Renee the Periodic Table, I think he’s had a crush on her for a while. Maybe this wasn’t just 7 Minutes in Heaven but to them, it meant more.

“Next players!” Trisha shrieked, waving two slips of paper in the air. “Ooh! Jacey and Dexter!”

There were a couple of mumbles as a guy stood up and looked at me straight in the eye. To me, he seemed really good-looking. But no offense, he looked kind of insane. There was something in his eyes that looked… off. Yes, maybe he was drunk but I don’t think that’s it…

He roughly yanked me up from the ground and pulled me into the closet. I saw Renee flash me a thumbs-up before going to Billy, probably to recite the Periodic Table some more.

My first reaction was something between confused and scared. I thought to myself: “Whoa! What the heck is going on?” And then: “Hey! He’s probably making it seem as if we’re going to do something when in reality, he’s probably going to teach me the Periodic Table too!”

Trisha closed the door behind us and Dexter pushed me against the wall forcefully. I winced in pain and exclaimed, “Dude! What the heck is your problem?”

“I don’t care what my problem is, little redhead,” Dexter growled. 

Little redhead? Hey, no one makes fun of my ridiculous hair except for me! “I’m sorry, what?” I asked him, arching an eyebrow in confusion. “Who are you calling little? And who are you calling a little redhead?” Anger pulsed through my veins, making my heartbeat pump faster.

Dexter’s hands fisted the hem of my shirt, slowing lifting up to reveal my flat stomach. I slapped his hands away, getting ready to scream. 

“Don’t touch me,” I warned him through clenched teeth. 

“Or what?” Dexter demanded to know.

“I’m seriously going to scream if you try anything with me, got it?” I continued to warn him.

Before I could react, Dexter pinned me against the wall and pressed his lips against mine, hard. I tried to push him away because he was strong and reeked like alcohol. I lifted my leg to knee him in the stomach but Dexter pressed him against mine even closer to prevent me from moving.

Great, why does this have to happen to me? Renee gets a cute nerd who teaches her the Periodic Table while I’m about to get raped by some drunk guy! Oh hell no!

All of a sudden, the door swung open and light poured in.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to go in there!” I heard Trisha yell at the person who opened the closet.

“Get out,” the guy growled menacingly at Dexter.

Dexter scowled. “Who do you think you are?”

The guy roughly grabbed Dexter by his collar and yanked him out of the closet. Trisha started to whine like a baby while Dexter yelled out profanities at the mystery guy.

I followed close behind, ignoring Renee’s shouts. 

“Jacey! What the heck happened?” Renee was tugging at my arm furiously but I was paying more attention to the mystery guy and the way how he was pulling Dexter out of the house.

“Where are you taking him?” Trisha asked, her voice cracking at the end. “We were playing 7 Minutes in Heaven! What is your problem, jerk? If you wanted to play, why can’t you just say so?” She was beside me, following Dexter and the mystery guy.

The guy turned around to glare at Trisha. I would be lying if he wasn’t good-looking. He had shaggy brown hair and gray eyes that were filled with a strong intensity. “This doesn’t concern you,” he growled at Trisha.

Right after those words left his mouth, his gaze shifted slightly to land on me. His eyes softened but he clenched his jaw and turned around, still dragging Dexter with him.

“Oh my gosh,” Renee breathed out. 

“Ugh! He ruined the game!” Trisha cried out in frustration, pulling at the ends of her hair. “How did he even get in here? I don’t know him! He’s not in our school!” By now, brine was threatening to spill from her eyes but she remained strong, clenching her fists by her sides.

“Yeah, who’s he anyway?” Mary asked, turning to Trisha for clarification.

“I don’t care!” Trisha exclaimed and faced the rest of the kids playing the game. “This game was a terrible idea! Get out of my room, losers!” 

Renee hurried me out of the room and pulled me out of Trisha’s house. “That guy! Wasn’t he something?” She asked me, stopping only to turn and stare at me in amazement.

“If anything, that guy was strange,” I replied. “Let’s go home. You’re a bit drunk and your mom is going to notice that we were gone for too long.”

“Aww, don’t be a party pooper!” Renee whined. “I have to say bye to Billy first!”

“You’re going to see Billy tomorrow, Renee,” I calmly reminded her. “He’s in our school, remember?” I slowly separated each word so they went straight to her skull.

“Oh yeah!” Renee gasped. “Let’s go then!”

I glanced back at Trisha’s house one last time but say nothing strange. It was still the same as when we first came. I checked my watch. We were barely here for an hour. 

I turned back to follow Renee, who was already walking to the sidewalk.