Page 59 of Don't Let Go

We all climbed into the car.

“We’re going to have some fun, ladies,” Chloe sang, turning over the engine.

Maria rode shotgun. “Where to?”

Chloe fixed the rearview mirror and backed out of the parking spot. “That’s a surprise, but it’ll be amazeballs, trust me.”

For once, I didn’t have a pit of fear in my stomach. I wanted to be on the edge tonight. We won. That was out of this world. Maybe it was time I let my hair down and acted like someone new. Just for one night, I wasn’t Rory, the girl who always looked out for everyone but herself. No, I was someone else.

Tonight, I was capable of anything.

25

Tyler

The party was a rave in an abandoned hotel that took over an hour to drive to. We were in the middle of no-man’s-land. The city was named something Junction, and it seemed like a dusty hell. No, it was literally hell. It was hot, and drug addicts did deals clear as day on street corners and in front of liquor stores. A crazy homeless man threw empty soda cans at us at a red light as he ranted about the end of the world.

“Why are we celebrating here? We passed through a college town several miles back.”

James laughed as he pulled onto the road’s shoulder and killed the engine. “Tempe is lame. It was popular a few years ago, but now it’s posers and people who are older than us with shitty taste in music.”

Bryce and Christian got out, leaving me to follow or stay behind in the car.

Christian put an arm around my shoulders and took a deep breath. “Smell that, man?”

I inhaled. “Weed?”

He chuckled. “Weed and freedom! We’re going to the finals, and it’s all thanks to you. We’re going to rock this place.”

Bryce shook his head as Christian and James walked straight for the beer. “Don’t inhale too much. This hotel was closed for a reason. It has a horrible asbestos problem.”

I looked around as hundreds of people partied and danced in a toxic zone. “What the hell? Shouldn’t it be torn down?”

“Yup. It’ll be demolished in two weeks. That’s what makes it perfect for a rave.” He jogged off to join the others.

Wow. Maybe I was in Scottsdale too long. We would’ve never partied in a building closed and ready to be torn down.

How much exposure could kill? One night couldn’t hurt too much, right?

James held out an extra beer and shouted, “Ty! Get over here so we can celebrate!”

A few beers in me, and I wouldn’t give a damn.

It took about six beers to make me laugh my ass off about anything and not care. I was currently on my eighth.

This hotel had gone mad. People were locked in the rooms despite not having any beds. A moron swung on the chandelier singing a Miley Cyrus song. Every glass window and door had been smashed in. Only a few chairs and pieces of tables remained in the hollowed-out dining room. The main ballroom was smoky and gave me a headache. I stumbled outside for some fresh air.

Five guys skateboarded in the empty pool and caught some serious air. I leaned against a palm tree and watched. They were professionally good with their tricks and flips in the air. Afew people were filming on the sidelines, probably posting the footage online later.

A few yards away lay the pool house. All the windows had been broken long ago by the people who tagged the place or the monsoons ravishing the deserted landscape. Dirt covered the once-white marble floors. The walls were gutted for their copper, leaving behind exposed wires and pink insulation. My skin itched looking at that fluffy stuff of doom. I remember being covered in it when I went into the attic of the house we lived in when I was a kid. I didn’t walk on the beams like my father told me to, so I fell through the ceiling, and insulation rained down on me. My mother ran me a bath as my father went on about how foolish I had been and how I could’ve broken my neck. Not to mention the huge hole in the living room ceiling.

I heard muffled voices, and a girl shouted, “No. I don’t want to.”

“Stop it. You haven’t put out in a while, and I’m tired of your excuses. I do a lot for you, so you can do this for me and—” she screamed as he did something to her. “—you’re going to like it.”

Thanks to the alcohol, I felt ballsy enough to jump in to save the mystery girl. I rounded the corner and puffed out my chest to appear tougher. “Hey. I think the girl said no.”

Paolo had red blotches on his face, and his eyes were liquid fire. “Leave us alone, asshole. You stole my team. I’ll be damned if you come between me and my girl.”

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