Page 2 of Such A Bad Girl

Avett stood at the edge of the crowd with his gaze trained on Everleigh; he was stalking his prey. When he saw Donna walk away with another friend, he spotted his chance and moved in on her.

I watched as he leaned in close to Everleigh and whispered in her ear. She looked up at him and shook her head. He whispered something else and she paused, wrinkling her nose in that way that made my heart skip a beat.

Don’t do it, I urged her silently from my perch in the darkness.

To my horror, she shrugged and hopped off the tailgate. With a definitive nod, she waved to Frenchie and walked away towards the lake.

“Fuck,” I muttered, shaking my head. “What the hell are you doing, girl?”

I took a deep breath, hoping Frenchie would go with her. When she didn’t move, I groaned.

What if everything was fine? What if she called me out for following them? What if my stupid feelings for her were making something out of nothing?

These thoughts slowed my steps enough that I was spotted before I could catch up with Everleigh. “There you are!” The shrill voice made my bones rattle and I resisted the urge to shrug away the hand on my bicep. “I’ve been looking for you for fifteen minutes, Theo!”

“Jill, hey, sorry about that,” I said, keeping my eyes glued on Avett and Everleigh. The dancing crowd around them was thick, and they were quickly disappearing from view.

“It’s okay,” Jill said, rising on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek. “You’re here now.”

“Right, but um…I gotta go, though,” I muttered, my irritation growing as I took a step away.

She pulled me back and stepped in front of me.

“Go where, Theo? You brought me to this party! Are we not going to hang out together?”

I groaned, shaking my head. I had brought Jill to the party, that was true. But I’d regretted it as soon as she’d hopped into my truck. Jill was pretty and smart, and she came from a good family. On paper, she was exactly the kind of girl my mother thought I should settle down with.

But her voice — loud, shrill, whiny and constant — was growing increasingly hard to endure. I’d only asked her to the party because I thought she’d be a good distraction from thinking about Everleigh.

Everleigh.

My eyes darted past Jill, frustration rising through my veins as I realized that Avett and Everleigh were completely out of sight now.

“Theo! I’m right here!”

“I know that, Jill!” I barked down at her. “Obviously! Look, just stay here, I gotta take care of something, okay? I won’t be long.”

I stepped around her and left her there with her mouth hanging open. Jogging through the crowd, I searched for any sign of Everleigh or Avett, but between the darkness that surrounded the ring of trucks, and the flailing limbs of all the drunks dancing in the headlights, it was impossible to see anything.

Avett’s words echoed in my mind, driving me on as I pushed through the crowd, determined to find them.

If anything happened to Ev, West would never forgive me. I’d never forgive myself. Panic gripped my heart.

They couldn’t have gone far. It had only been a few minutes. If only Jill hadn’t stopped me.

I searched for ten desperate minutes before I finally spotted them. They sat alone on the boardwalk, the pungent scent of weed hanging in the air, the red glow of the joint’s cherry breaking through the darkness. I sighed with relief.

Everleigh was safe.

Avett was just fucking talk.

Behind them, moonlight sparkled on the mirrored lake. Town Lake was a beautiful place. It was right near downtown Austin, and a popular place for everyone in the city to hang out. Us kids particularly liked it at night, when it was much less crowded and the cops seemed to leave us alone for the most part.

I was going to miss nights like this, I thought to myself, as I continued to watch the two of them get stoned. Everleigh giggled, lightly coughing.

Staying in the darkness, I kept quiet and watched from afar, still confident Everleigh could handle herself. Even so, I stayed. I didn’t trust Avett for a second.

As Everleigh looked out at the water, he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

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