Page 11 of Rot

Elias did that to scare me.

All of this was to scare me. Scare me away, put me in my place, make me realize this town wasn’t right for me.

That’s my secret, though. Nowhere was right for me. The rot made sure of that. All I could do was try to enjoy the time I had, wherever I had it—and unfortunately for Elias, right now that was here, with him.

Nearly getting hit by another car, knowing it would’ve been the passenger side that would’ve gotten smashed, AKA me facing the brunt of the impact, didn’t serve to do anything other than make me laugh, and that earned myself a hard glare from Elias.

“You’re so confident I should be scared of you.” I paused, giving Elias a smile that crawled over my face so slowly seconds ticked by before the smile was in full-force. “But maybe it’syouwho should be scared ofme.”

He was unimpressed. “I don’t know about that. I could do a lot more to you than you could do to me.” When he shot me a side-glance after that, I knew exactly what he meant.

He could hurt me a lot easier than I could hurt him. He could hold me down, pin my arms and legs down, and do whatever he wanted to me, whether he caught me off-guard or not. He was bigger, stronger, and he radiated testosterone. It wouldn’t mean anything that I was his cousin.

“The point of threats is to make whoever you’re saying it to scared of you,” I informed him. “I don’t get scared, so all I hear are promises.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” And that was all he said as he drove us to the party across town.

It was in the woods, I guess, in what must’ve been a popular hangout spot for local teens. They had a big bonfire set up, kegs and coolers scattered around an open clearing a ways off the main road. No houses could be seen. Nothing but nature. It was so opposite of what I was used to.

Elias parked us on the outskirts of where all the other cars were parked in the grass, and he tossed me a glare. “Remember what I said.” He got out of the car after that, slamming the door shut and stalking away, heading straight to the bonfire.

I took my time in getting out and stretching, in wandering over to the main area of the party, where over a dozen people our age were, drinking and smoking, chatting and laughing. One pair sat on a log together, their legs tangled and their mouths attached, making out in plain view of anyone. I surveyed the area, spotting Elias going straight for a red solo cup and the keg.

Now this… this I’d pretty much expected. No matter where you went, parties were the same. Drugs, alcohol, sex. I might not have been to one before, but I’d heard people talking. The Mondays after huge ragers at whoever’s house, who hooked up with who, who drank themselves silly, who vomited in the bushes. Kids would be kids, I guess.

I might be their age, but I felt different from them. They didn’t feel like my peers. It was like I was a scientist, thrown into an exhibition, sent to watch and study and take notes. That’s all I was there for; to learn how they acted so I, in turn, knew how to act.

Be a chameleon. Change myself however I needed to. I wasn’t good at it when I was younger, but I was better now.

I didn’t get the chance to stand back and really study anyone though, because the next thing I knew, two girls were walking up to me. Each carried their own cup. Both wore shirts that dipped quite low in the chest to show off their assets. One had blond hair, the other red. Both had brown eyes, though one pair felt icier than the other; the blond’s.

“Hey,” the blond spoke. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Do you go to Blackrain?” She stood arm to arm with her friend, blocking my view of the bonfire and, therefore, Elias. Not that I wanted to stalk him all night, but I did want to see what he did, who he talked to.

“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, I start there Monday. Just transferred.” I had to remember these girls didn’t know who I was. They didn’t know who my father was. They had no reason to hate me, to be suspicious of me, or to treat me like I was different.

I was just the new girl. Completely normal in every way.

“Oh, my God! New blood! Finally,” the blond spoke with a smile. “I’m Dana. This is Carly.” Beside her, the redhead was busy eyeing me up—perhaps seeing if I was competition or something? “What’s your name?”

“I’m Sloane,” I said.

“Sloane,” Dana repeated, tapping her finger on the red cup she held onto. “That’s a pretty name.” Why did I feel like these two were the wrong people to talk to, first? I had the feeling I couldn’t trust a single word out of either of their mouths. “Did I see you come here with Elias? How do you know him?”

Ah. It was like that, then. All the pieces clicked into place. This Dana chick didn’t care about me at all; she wanted to see if I was with Elias. Like, dating him. Hooking up with him. Whatever.

“We came together, yeah,” I told her. “My mom and I are staying with him for a while.” I chose to keep the fact that we were related out of it; these two girls didn’t need to know we were cousins.

“Oh, that’s so nice Mrs. Whitenbaker is letting you stay with her and Elias. Since you transferred to Blackrain, I’m assuming that means you’ll be sticking around?” Dana, hedging for more information… also letting me know that she’d apparently met my Aunt Maggie before.

I nodded. “How do you know the Whitenbakers?” It was my turn now to see how much info I could get out of these two—although it mainly seemed like Dana did most of the talking and Carly just stood there and listened with judgment on her freckled face.

Dana smiled. It was the kind of smile that got her a lot in life, I’d bet. The kind of smile that took over her whole face, the corners curled upward in a mischievous smirk, but innocent at the same time. “Elias and I go way back. We’re kind of a thing.” Beside her, Carly giggled and nodded.

I kept my gaze fixated on Dana, mostly because she seemed like the threatening one of the pair. This was all for Elias, huh? Trying to mark her territory over him, just to make sure the new girl knew he wasn’t available.

Two could play at that game.

“That’s weird,” I spoke. “He hasn’t mentioned you at all.”

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