Page 2 of Penalized Love

Selene holds out the bottle for me. “I forgot to bring up cups for us to drink out of… or any chasers. Just take a swig from the bottle.”

How sanitary of her.

I eye the bottle warily as the clear liquid gently sloshes inside. This is another bad idea to add to the tally of bad ideas for the night.

“Well, let’s fucking chug this thing,” I say with a false sense of bravado. I take the bottle from her and raise it to my lips. The smell makes me wince. Squeezing my eyes shut, I take a quick swig, trying not to taste it.

The vodka sears a fiery trail down my throat, and I burst into a fit of coughing. Selene laughs and hits me on the back.

“Wow, that stuff is strong,” I rasp out, my eyes watering. I pass her back the bottle while shaking my head. It takes a couple of seconds for me to open my eyes, but I witness her take a long pull without flinching.

“Alright, it’s go time!” she announces, tucking the vodka back into her closet. Taking my hand, she leads me out of her roomand into the hallway. My head is already feeling fuzzy from the liquor.

Selene and I tiptoe down the stairs, careful not to make a sound. The coolness of the hardwood floor beneath my bare feet sends a slight shiver shooting through my body. I’m hyperaware of every tiny creak and groan her house makes. Selene’s parents announced they were heading to bed about two hours ago, so we are assuming they are fast asleep. Even though their bedroom door is closed at the end of the hall, my heart still races at the thought of it swinging open and us getting caught.

We make it to the bottom of the stairs, and I sigh. Step one is complete.

Selene slips on her sneakers first and heads for the front door. A loud bang comes from upstairs as I reach for my shoes. We both freeze, eyes wide as we stare at each other in the dim light shining in the window from the streetlamp outside.

“What was that?” I whisper, my mind unable to figure out which emotion to feel.

Selene replies, “I’m not sure. Maybe something fell over in my room.”

My heart is pounding so loud I swear it will wake up the entire neighborhood. I strain my ears, listening for other sounds or indications that Selene’s parents are awake. But the house remains still and quiet.

“Let’s just get out of here,” I mutter, grabbing my sneakers and jamming my feet into them. The sooner we leave, the better. This isn’t what I signed up for.

Selene nods in agreement, carefully unlocks the door, and turns the doorknob. The door opens with a soft click that sounds much louder than it should. We both cringe as we stand there, almost as still as statues, but no other noises follow.

I step outside into the warm summer air, feeling slightly relieved. Selene gently closes the door behind us, and weexchange a look. Phase two is complete. Now we just have to get to the party without anything else happening.

“See, I told you it would be fine,” Selene whispers with a grin as we make our way down the porch steps.

“But we haven’t gotten there yet,” I remind her, glancing over my shoulder at her house. When she walks away, creating distance between us, I move because I don’t want to be left behind.

The streets are relatively quiet as we walk, lit only by the occasional streetlamp. I keep expecting to see a light flick on in one of the houses we pass or to find someone peeking out their window and have them see us. But the neighborhood remains dark, and the only thing that surrounds us is the sound of nature in the summer.

“How much further?” I ask after a minute of silence.

“Just a couple more blocks,” Selene replies.

Envy rises in my mind as she pulls out her phone, most likely to confirm the address. Judging by how she looks, she’s completely at ease, while I’m convinced I’m about to have a heart attack because of panic surging through my body.

“Didn’t Grace mention that the party is at some dude named Tyler’s house?”

I nod as she talks about the conversation we overheard my sister having, but I’m only half-listening because I’m scanning our surroundings. We’re getting closer to Crestwood University’s campus now. I can hear the distant thump of bass growing louder as we cross another street and get closer to a set of homes that I assume are off-campus housing. It would make sense, given that Crestwood’s semester hasn’t started yet. I don’t think students are allowed into the dorms yet unless they have special permission. My stomach twists into another knot. This is really happening. We’re about to crash a college party.

2

ISLA

“There it is,” Selene says, pointing ahead.

My eyes follow her gaze to see a large, two-story house with several cars parked haphazardly in the driveway. Colorful lights flash in the windows, and I can see shadows of people moving inside. The music is so loud now that I can feel the vibrations in my chest.

We walk up the walkway, dodging red Solo cups and empty beer cans that were carelessly discarded. A group of guys are playing beer pong on a folding table near the garage. Their eyes are on me as we pass. I keep my eyes forward, trying to act like I belong here.

“Hey!” one of them shouts. “Wanna play a round?”

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