Page 61 of Girl Violence

They eventually arrive. Despite Ian being a creep, he lives in a decent house. The door is open, and music crashes in the background. Jenna walks inside first, and a few people turn to look at her, eyes widening with recognition.

“Oh my God, Jenna!” A girl called Erica runs over to her and throws her arms around her neck. She’s in Jenna’s art classes, and Josette called her a stalker because she used to follow Jenna everywhere. Even to the bathroom.

“Oh, hey Erica,” she says, hugging her back, though her expression is stiff. Which is strange. She’s always been super friendly to her, even knowing how weird she is.

“When did you get back?” Erica’s eyes do a once-over of the outfit she’s wearing, and a shot of desire flashes across her eyes.Well, that’s new.

“Today,” she replies.

“Oh, that’s great,” Erica says. “Hey, are you—”

“Let’s catch up later. I need a drink,” Jenna interjects, grabbing Josette’s hand and pulling her away. All the while, Erica stares after them with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

They head into the kitchen that’s at the back of the house. It’s full of people, but no one Josette really knows enough to speak to. She can barely move, so she leans against a counter for safety as Jenna nudges someone out of the way to open the fridge.

She scoffs, slamming it shut again. “Amateurs. I need something stronger than beer.”

A guy standing next to them turns Jenna’s way, his eyes ballooning when he sees her. He’s familiar, but Josette can’t place him. Reaching over, he hands her a bottle.

“Oooh, vodka. Thank you, Charlie.” She smiles as she takes the bottle he’s holding out to her.

“Nice to see you back,” he says, his stare dropping to Jenna’s chest. Josette rolls her eyes. Of course—one of Jenna’s many admirers. “Where have you been?”

“Away,” she replies distractedly, finding two large glasses and pouring a generous amount of vodka into both. After topping it with coke, she hands Josette hers and downs hers in one.

Josette’s eyes widen. “Whoa, slow down.”

Slamming down the glass, Jenna pours another. “Drink up, bestie. We have serious partying to do tonight.”

Sighing, Josette brings the glass to her lips as she turns to face Charlie again, who is still staring at her expectedly. “I was in Germany staying with family. They own a huge cabin in the woods.”

“Wow,” he says. “Sounds really nice.”

She continues their conversation as Josette stands there wondering why Jenna is even chatting with Charlie. A little while later, after more vodka and coke, Josette feels the haze of drunkenness take over. She doesn’t know what time it is, and the party seems to get crazier as the night wears on.

Her phone buzzes sometime later. She smiles when she sees it’s Vince calling her. But as she’s about to answer, Jenna plucks her phone out of her hand and hits ignore.

“Leave him wanting,” she says, handing her phone back. Irritated, Josette is about to ask why she did that when she takes hold of her arm and pulls her out of the kitchen. They enter a packed living room, and she points over the room. “Because that is what they do when you’re not around.”

Josette follows the line of her gaze to the other side of the room. Austin’s there, surrounded by all his friends on leather couches. He’s sitting between two girls, one leaning over him and pushing her hand through his hair. She turns to Jenna warily, seeing hurt, anger, and betrayal written in pain all over her face. It hurts to see.

“Make sure you know what you’re doing with Vince. You’re theirs when they want you, but they’re not yours. They’re never yours. And the moment your back is turned... they’re everyone else’s.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

Josette loses Jenna a half hour later. After what she said about Austin, she dragged Josette back into the kitchen to drink more alcohol. Josette had stopped when the room started spinning. She last saw Jenna talking to Charlie but got distracted when there was a commotion behind her—a fight on the brink of beginning between two drunk guys over a girl. Jenna was gone by the time Josette turned back around.

She searched everywhere for her. Outside, upstairs, in the bathroom. Finally, as she enters the packed living room full of people throwing themselves around, she’s relieved when she sees her with Charlie in the living room.

She’s dancing with him, grinding up on his crotch in a way that makes Josette blush. Not only that, she’s doing it right in front of Austin still sitting on the couch with those two girls. Austin is glaring at her in a way that gives Josette chills. Is this the reason why she wanted to come to this party? To make him jealous?

Josette’s heart starts pumping against her chest. The atmosphere crackles with tension as she glances back at Jenna, wincing when Charlie’s hands grip her ass, something she doesn’t stop, even though she’s painting a massive target on his back. Jenna just laughs, encouraging him.

Worry rises inside of Josette. In the past, she’s seen Austin beat guys who touched Jenna. She’s practically written Charlie’s death sentence, and Josette has to admit she’s taken this one too far.

Going over to her, she taps her on the shoulder. “What are you doing, Jenna?”

Jenna’s mouth lifts into a drunken smile while wrapping her arms around Charlie’s neck. Josette feels like she doesn’t know her tonight. She’s being cruel. “What do you mean? I’m dancing.”

---