Page 24 of Battling the Enemy
“She’s at Trent White’s party and she’s drunk,” I said, barely managing to get the words out through my clenched teeth.
“Let’s go,” Ramsey said straightening up and ready to go.
“I think I’m going to fucking kill her,” I muttered more to myself than the group.
“Hear her out, Deke,” Roselyn implored.
I shot her a look. “And if she’s with another guy?” I didn’t wait for her answer. I just turned and headed out the door praying Ava’s panic wasn’t warranted, or else, God help Delaney Martin.
Chapter 16
Delaney~
Iwas drunk.
I knew this.
I knew this but couldn’t muster up the sense to care.
I had never planned on coming to Trent’s party, but I had felt…restless all day long.
Like the coward I was becoming, I had called in sick to school today to avoid Deke. I had felt like I needed all the space I could get at his threat that tonight I’d be his. I was on edge, and I needed time to gather myself together. I knew Deke’s words meant he planned on having sex with me, and while I wanted to, the anticipation was killing me.
I wasn’t a femme fatal. I wasn’t a sexy come-hither kind of temptress. How excited would he be when he realized I didn’t know anything? It wasn’t even my virginity that I was worried about. I still had that simply because I couldn’t be bothered with dating. I’ve always been more interested in school and making something of myself, I really didn’t care about dating around. Plus, getting to know people was just so…daunting. I hated doing it.
And if my anxiety hadn’t already been sky high, Deke had sent me a text shortly after school had started telling me that he was granting me a pass because he knew I was nervous.
Granting me a pass.
The nerve.
At any rate, I had really planned on just staying home and throwing up from anxiousness, to the point where I’d just pass out, and Deke would have no choice but to leave me alone. However, my plans changed when Ava sent me a text that she might go to Trent’s party if I didn’t want to hang out tonight.
I had texted back that I was staying home, not ready to tell her about Deke, in case he didn’t come over. But the more I thought about Ava and Trent’s party, the more I thought the party was a great idea.
I thought it was a great idea because, if Deke couldn’t find me, well, that meant I could bide my time a little more. Deke would never think I’d be at Trent’s party, oranyparty for that matter, so if I could avoid him for a little while longer…
And now I was here, drunk, and wondering where Ava was. I had texted her when I got here, but I hadn’t heard from her and I couldn’t find her anywhere. And because I was a loser with no friends, I had gone straight to the liquor to drink my awkwardness away until Ava got here.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I was hiding out in the backyard, away from the crowd, when Winston’s voice lashed out at me. I turned around to face him.
He looked awful.
“What the hell areyoudoing here?” I countered. “Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know. At home, resting or something?”
“My face is busted up, Delaney,” he snapped. “It’s not like my arms and legs don’t work. I’m not an invalid. And what the fuck is that on your neck?” He gestured towards Deke’s bite mark.
My brows shot up. Angry Winston was new. “I’m here to party,” I said, ignoring his question.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you party, Delaney?” He didn’t give me a chance to answer. “Oh, I get it. You’re hanging out with the cool kids now, and so, you think you need to party and get drunk to fit in. Is that it?”
I took a step back. “No,” I snapped back. “They’re not even here, you asshole. I’m here…I’m here just to have a good time. It’s about time, don’t you think?”
Winston’s eyes searched mine. “No, Delaney. I don’t think it’s about time,” he gritted through his teeth. “This isn’t you.”
“Maybe it is,” I argued. “Maybe it’s time to quit wasting my teenage years being your doormat.”
