Shae's secret: part 1
It was a party the high school seniors had thrown to celebrate the end of exams. No results were out yet so most of the people were still on edge and a little stressed out. The timing was perfect for a huge blow-out to let off some steam. One of the senior girl's parents was out of town at a doctor's conference for the weekend making her house the location of the party. Most of the school would be there as the invites were spread by word of mouth. The downside of skip through most of grade school was the Shae wasn't old enough to drive like her friends. Just having turned 15yrs old she wasn't even old enough for a learner's permit. It was left up to Shae to arrange an alibi for her and her friends – movie night + slumber party. It was a total cliché excuse but hey it works. The party was much bigger than expected and judging from the cars haphazardly parked across the lawn there were probably a bunch of college kids here too.
Shae walked through the house to the backyard. There was a bonfire going and three or so Hookah pipes had been setup and small groups gathers around each one. (Hookah's are water pipes used to smoke fruit tobacco). She headed to a nearby group and settled down. She knew a few of the other people from school but there were two guys she didn't recognise. They seemed friendly and welcoming so she didn't mind their company. After a while most of the group headed back into the house for food and refills for their drinks. Shae stayed and puffed on the pipe even though it was about to go out as the coal had turned to ash.
The main group leaving had left her with her two new acquaintances. They were friends of the girl who threw the party's older brother. They also used to attend the same high school as Shae so they chatted about teachers and school stuff. It was getting colder and the Hookah pipe was definitely dead. Just when she looked like she was about to leave Blue Hoody (He had said his name – You-something but Shae wasn't paying attention) slid over to her and asked her if she wanted to go exploring the house with him. His friend who lived there had a cool projector in his room; they could check it out together and get out of the cold. Shae stared at him blankly and then nodded her head. Blue Hoody wasn't particularly big or muscular looking. Shae thought she could probably take him in a fight if she surprised him and maybe she was feeling a little cold too. He turned around and got something from his friend. Probably keys or something Shae thought. He stuffed it into his pocket and motioned for her to follow him back into the house.
He put his arm around her as they walked up the stairs next to the kitchen. A normal reaction would be to try and get out of the situation. She didn't know this guy and he was leading her to an unfamiliar place away from other people. Shae had taken her meds that day and was feeling detached from the situation. How far would she let things go before she felt afraid and stopped? She didn't know.
Saeran was in the kitchen grabbing another beer. It was his fourth for the night but he didn't particularly care. Tom dragged him here against his better judgment but at least he could get some free booze for his troubles. He saw her walk up the stairs accompanied by a blonde guy in a blue hoody. He was smiling with his arm around but her expression was half smiling or was that a grimace? She didn't look drunk or like he was forcing her to go with him. He sighed audibly and shrugged his shoulders as they disappeared from view. She would probably regret whatever happens tonight but it wasn't his place to interfere. He always saw her as a smart girl.
Apparently book smarts don't equal street smarts or else she wouldn't go near a guy like that. He'd seen his type before, even with a face like an Altar boy he was still just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Saeran hung out at the party for another hour before he texted Tom. It was almost 2 am and he wanted to leave. What he saw earlier in the kitchen had kind of put him off for the rest of the night. He wasn't sure why though, it's not like Shae and him were even friends or something.
He sat in the car listening to the radio, trying to sober up a bit before the drive home. He was going to leave Tom behind; the dumbass deserved it for dragging him here and making him wait forever. Right then there was a loud knock on his driver side window. He was expecting Tom but the person he saw was Shae. Her clothes looked dishevelled, hair messy and her pupils were as big as saucers. She was distressed, frantic and on the verge of tears. She wanted a ride home and needed to leave right now. Saeran's mind raced, had that hoody guy forced himself on her? He unlocked the door on the passenger side and she climbed in. They drove off into the night.
Saeran hadn't realised that he had drove her back to his home. He was on autopilot and being slightly drunk didn't help. He hoped she wouldn't freak out but she just sat there quietly, occasionally tugging at her clothing or hair. She was sweating even though it was a cold night. He walked her to his room in the pool house. Maybe they would call the cops in the morning when he was sober. She practically chugged the bottle of water he had offered her and she curled up on the couch. He also offered her a blanket, careful not to touch her. He didn't want any of his DNA or finger prints on her in case she did call the cops in the morning. (He mentally slapped himself for thinking that and his inner voice said "You sir, are a grade A asshole for worrying about getting blamed for this". This time he couldn't disagree.) He quietly retreated to his bedroom for the rest of the night. If it was bad now it would be worse in the morning.
Shae woke up in a room she didn't recognise and feeling like she got hit by a truck. She got up too quickly and promptly fell onto the floor knock the glass ashtray onto the floor too. The noise woke Saeran up and he came to investigate. She recognised him immediately. "Saeran, where am I and what are you doing here too?" He walks over slowly to pick up the pieces of the broken ashtray careful not to spook her. He then sat down next to her and asked her what she remembered about the night before.
A look of horror passes over her face followed by tears as she clamped her hand firmly over her mouth. "I guess she does remember" Saeran thought worriedly. She sobbed soundlessly for what seemed like forever but was actually just a few minutes. Finally she faced Saeran. Shae spoke in a soft voice, "I have to tell you something and you have to promise not to tell anyone else about this".
