Chapter Three
The party was to start at seven o'clock. My mother and father's friends starting coming at around six thirty and no one I knew showed up until about 7:45. I never understood why people thought being late was better.
At 7:00 Greg and Carly rang the doorbell. I opened it quickly. I had seen them drive up in Greg's old gray pick up truck.
"Hi Carly, Greg," I said smiling. Carly was beaming. She looked so happy to be there with Greg that I stopped being jealous and was just happy for her. I had no right to be jealous anyway. Greg was my cousin.
"Happy Birthday!" Carly said.
They came into the den with me. All my mother's friends were in the fancy living room. I didn't know why they had to invite their friends. The party wasn't for them. I barely even knew the people they invited.
The den was decorated with balloons and streamers. There was a huge banner that stretched across the entire room that read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPE AND GREG!!
"Was that really necessary?" Greg whispered to me, gesturing towards the banner. I just shrugged. My mother was so stubborn. I couldn't have made her take that thing down if my life depended on it.
We sat in the den for what felt like forever waiting for the other guests to show up. The time seemed to pass by in slow motion. All I wanted was for this night to be over.
Finally some other people started arriving, carrying gifts wrapped in bright paper. Greg's and my friends came in first and my boyfriend, Jason Carter handed me a small box wrapped in silver paper. He smiled at me mischievously. I was wearing a black dress that fell above my knees and dipped low in the front. Daddy had almost had a heart attack when he saw me come down the stairs in it. I rarely wore dresses, but tonight was going to be special. I had told Jason that he was going to get a present tonight too.
My parents promised they would be leaving to go into town with their friends at midnight. I could hardly wait until then.
"You look great," Jason said. We had been seeing each other for a while now. About nine months. He had light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes that sparkled when he laughed. I really liked him and I thought I was ready to do what he had been wanted me to do for the last five months.
Only a couple of weeks ago we had been in his car at parked near the lake. His hands were roaming around a little too much and I pushed him away before he could unbutton my shirt.
"Jason, stop," I protested.
He groaned and pulled away from me in frustration. This was pretty much what happened on all our dates lately.
"C'mon Hope, we've been together for a long time," he said, "I want to show you that I love you,"
"You don't have to show me, I believe you when you tell me," I smiled at him, trying to get him to not be mad at me. I really liked him, but I just didn't think I was ready to have sex. He would try again every time we were alone but I wouldn't let him get to the point of no return.
I always remembered that Aunt Erin had had Greg when she was around my age. She had married Uncle Anthony and had never had a job of her own. All she did was stay home and cook and clean for her husband and son. I didn't even know if she had ever been outside of Duncan. Sometimes I would notice her looking at a picture of Europe or even the United States wistfully. I didn't want to end up like that. I wanted to accomplish all my dreams.
"Do I still get a present tonight?" Jason whispered in my ear.
Just then Aunt Erin walked into the room looking sad. She looked around at all the teenagers having fun. She looked like she wanted to be in here with us. Like she wanted to turn back time and have her child hood back.
My smile faltered and I didn't answer him.
He didn't seem to notice. He went over to the food table and got himself some chips.
So, my party went on for hours, with nothing really happening.
I was surprised at eleven o'clock when Jenna Andrews and her clique showed up. She was the "popular" girl at my school. She was beautiful I had to admit and she went out with all the most popular guys. Personally, I thought she was arrogant and annoying.
"Happy birthday Greg!" she called into the den when I answered the door. She ignored me and pushed into the house. All her followers followed her.
"Thanks for coming Jenna!" I called after her. She turned around for a minute and looked confused as if she didn't know who had said that. I rolled my eyes and went back into the den. Jenna had squeezed in on the couch in between Carly and Greg. Carly was scowling angrily. Greg looked uncomfortable. He had never liked Jenna. We made fun of her all time, mocking her high, perky voice.
Jenna's friends, if you could call them anything other than her loyal servants, hovered around her. All the guys looked jealous and all the girls looked bored.
"We're leaving now honey," Mom said, coming up behind me.
When all the adults were gone, Jenna whispered something into one of the guys ears and he went out the front door only to return a minute later with two cases of beer.
"Hey! You can't bring that in here!" I cried, stepping in front of the guy before he could get into the den. He just looked down at me and laughed. Anger bubbled inside me. I didn't like being ignored. And I hated being laughed at.
"Get that out of here!!" I screamed in fury. Everyone stopped what they were doing behind me. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable.
"C'mon Hope, it's just a little," Jason came up beside me and grabbed one of the cases from the guys arms. I stared at him in surprise. He had never done that to me before. He had never disagreed with what I was doing in my own house. It was my party not his.
"Jason, my parents will kill me," I hissed at him.
"Since when do you care what they think?" he asked. He opened the box and took out a can. I grabbed his wrist and stared into his eyes. I silently pleaded with him not to open that can. He popped it open and took a sip without breaking eye contact. I let go of him. Most of the other guests came and grabbed a beer from the case.
Before I knew it, there were five more cases in the den.
"Greg, what am I going to do?" I wailed. He looked nervous too. He hadn't had anything to drink and for that I was grateful. I needed someone who wasn't getting hammered to help me. He had managed to pry Jenna off his arm for five minutes to come and talk to me out in the hall. \
"We'll just have to wait until your parents get home," he said, staring past me into the den. The music had been turned up and now most people had had at least three beers each.
I thought about Tyler who was probably up in his room trying to sleep. I couldn't ask him to come down and stop the madness. No one, not even high school students took him seriously. He always babbled nonsense to himself when he was in town. Everyone thought he was crazy. The only thing I was thankful for right now was that Colin was at a friend's house for the night.
"We have to just ride it out, there is no way the two of us are going to stop this," Greg said. I stood there and watched as Greg went back into the room and picked up a couple beer cans that had been thrown on the floor.
Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Jason standing there looking more than a little wobbly.
"Hoppppppe, let's go upstairs," he said. He tried to wink but ended up blinking. He stumbled over bump in the carpet.
"No, not after what you did to me in there," I said. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I want to give you your present," he said, producing the silver box from his pocket. I stopped for a minute. I didn't have to do anything with him. I could go up and see what he had to say.
"Fine," I followed him up the stairs to my room. I sat down on my bed. I made sure that I was far away from Jason.
I ripped open the paper to find a small, blue velvet box. I opened it. Inside was a pair of diamond earrings. Normally I would be ecstatic to get a gift like this from him but right now I was just angry.
"Thank you," I said halfheartedly.
"Don't you like them?" he asked frowning.
"Yes, they are beautiful, I'm just angry at you," I said. I put the box down on the nightstand and stood up.
"I have to go back down." I said.
"Wait, you didn't give me my present," he said.
"You aren't getting any presents form me tonight Jason," I told him.
"Stop teasing me," he said. He put his arms around my waist from behind and pulled me down onto his lap. He started to kiss my neck.
"Stop it Jason," I warned him. His grip around my waist was like steel. I started to squirm, trying to get out of his grasp. But he was determined to keep me there.
"I love you Hope," he pushed me down onto the bed and he straddled me.
"Jason get off!" I yelled, I was starting to panic now. I kicked my knee up and hit him in the back. I flung my arms around but he was too strong. He grabbed my hands and held them down on the bed. My dress was hiked up to my waist now. He reached down with one hand and tried to pull my panties off.
"Stop it!" I screamed. Tears were coming to my eyes.
"Don't you love me?" he asked. He kissed me roughly on the lips and I felt him unzipping his pants. I groaned into his mouth in terror. This couldn't be happening to me. I couldn't be.
Suddenly a shadow fell onto the bed and a voice said, "Get off her,"
"What the-" Jason turned around. I looked at the figure in the doorway.
It was Tyler and he had a gun.
The party was to start at seven o'clock. My mother and father's friends starting coming at around six thirty and no one I knew showed up until about 7:45. I never understood why people thought being late was better.
At 7:00 Greg and Carly rang the doorbell. I opened it quickly. I had seen them drive up in Greg's old gray pick up truck.
"Hi Carly, Greg," I said smiling. Carly was beaming. She looked so happy to be there with Greg that I stopped being jealous and was just happy for her. I had no right to be jealous anyway. Greg was my cousin.
"Happy Birthday!" Carly said.
They came into the den with me. All my mother's friends were in the fancy living room. I didn't know why they had to invite their friends. The party wasn't for them. I barely even knew the people they invited.
The den was decorated with balloons and streamers. There was a huge banner that stretched across the entire room that read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPE AND GREG!!
"Was that really necessary?" Greg whispered to me, gesturing towards the banner. I just shrugged. My mother was so stubborn. I couldn't have made her take that thing down if my life depended on it.
We sat in the den for what felt like forever waiting for the other guests to show up. The time seemed to pass by in slow motion. All I wanted was for this night to be over.
Finally some other people started arriving, carrying gifts wrapped in bright paper. Greg's and my friends came in first and my boyfriend, Jason Carter handed me a small box wrapped in silver paper. He smiled at me mischievously. I was wearing a black dress that fell above my knees and dipped low in the front. Daddy had almost had a heart attack when he saw me come down the stairs in it. I rarely wore dresses, but tonight was going to be special. I had told Jason that he was going to get a present tonight too.
My parents promised they would be leaving to go into town with their friends at midnight. I could hardly wait until then.
"You look great," Jason said. We had been seeing each other for a while now. About nine months. He had light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes that sparkled when he laughed. I really liked him and I thought I was ready to do what he had been wanted me to do for the last five months.
Only a couple of weeks ago we had been in his car at parked near the lake. His hands were roaming around a little too much and I pushed him away before he could unbutton my shirt.
"Jason, stop," I protested.
He groaned and pulled away from me in frustration. This was pretty much what happened on all our dates lately.
"C'mon Hope, we've been together for a long time," he said, "I want to show you that I love you,"
"You don't have to show me, I believe you when you tell me," I smiled at him, trying to get him to not be mad at me. I really liked him, but I just didn't think I was ready to have sex. He would try again every time we were alone but I wouldn't let him get to the point of no return.
I always remembered that Aunt Erin had had Greg when she was around my age. She had married Uncle Anthony and had never had a job of her own. All she did was stay home and cook and clean for her husband and son. I didn't even know if she had ever been outside of Duncan. Sometimes I would notice her looking at a picture of Europe or even the United States wistfully. I didn't want to end up like that. I wanted to accomplish all my dreams.
"Do I still get a present tonight?" Jason whispered in my ear.
Just then Aunt Erin walked into the room looking sad. She looked around at all the teenagers having fun. She looked like she wanted to be in here with us. Like she wanted to turn back time and have her child hood back.
My smile faltered and I didn't answer him.
He didn't seem to notice. He went over to the food table and got himself some chips.
So, my party went on for hours, with nothing really happening.
I was surprised at eleven o'clock when Jenna Andrews and her clique showed up. She was the "popular" girl at my school. She was beautiful I had to admit and she went out with all the most popular guys. Personally, I thought she was arrogant and annoying.
"Happy birthday Greg!" she called into the den when I answered the door. She ignored me and pushed into the house. All her followers followed her.
"Thanks for coming Jenna!" I called after her. She turned around for a minute and looked confused as if she didn't know who had said that. I rolled my eyes and went back into the den. Jenna had squeezed in on the couch in between Carly and Greg. Carly was scowling angrily. Greg looked uncomfortable. He had never liked Jenna. We made fun of her all time, mocking her high, perky voice.
Jenna's friends, if you could call them anything other than her loyal servants, hovered around her. All the guys looked jealous and all the girls looked bored.
"We're leaving now honey," Mom said, coming up behind me.
When all the adults were gone, Jenna whispered something into one of the guys ears and he went out the front door only to return a minute later with two cases of beer.
"Hey! You can't bring that in here!" I cried, stepping in front of the guy before he could get into the den. He just looked down at me and laughed. Anger bubbled inside me. I didn't like being ignored. And I hated being laughed at.
"Get that out of here!!" I screamed in fury. Everyone stopped what they were doing behind me. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable.
"C'mon Hope, it's just a little," Jason came up beside me and grabbed one of the cases from the guys arms. I stared at him in surprise. He had never done that to me before. He had never disagreed with what I was doing in my own house. It was my party not his.
"Jason, my parents will kill me," I hissed at him.
"Since when do you care what they think?" he asked. He opened the box and took out a can. I grabbed his wrist and stared into his eyes. I silently pleaded with him not to open that can. He popped it open and took a sip without breaking eye contact. I let go of him. Most of the other guests came and grabbed a beer from the case.
Before I knew it, there were five more cases in the den.
"Greg, what am I going to do?" I wailed. He looked nervous too. He hadn't had anything to drink and for that I was grateful. I needed someone who wasn't getting hammered to help me. He had managed to pry Jenna off his arm for five minutes to come and talk to me out in the hall. \
"We'll just have to wait until your parents get home," he said, staring past me into the den. The music had been turned up and now most people had had at least three beers each.
I thought about Tyler who was probably up in his room trying to sleep. I couldn't ask him to come down and stop the madness. No one, not even high school students took him seriously. He always babbled nonsense to himself when he was in town. Everyone thought he was crazy. The only thing I was thankful for right now was that Colin was at a friend's house for the night.
"We have to just ride it out, there is no way the two of us are going to stop this," Greg said. I stood there and watched as Greg went back into the room and picked up a couple beer cans that had been thrown on the floor.
Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Jason standing there looking more than a little wobbly.
"Hoppppppe, let's go upstairs," he said. He tried to wink but ended up blinking. He stumbled over bump in the carpet.
"No, not after what you did to me in there," I said. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I want to give you your present," he said, producing the silver box from his pocket. I stopped for a minute. I didn't have to do anything with him. I could go up and see what he had to say.
"Fine," I followed him up the stairs to my room. I sat down on my bed. I made sure that I was far away from Jason.
I ripped open the paper to find a small, blue velvet box. I opened it. Inside was a pair of diamond earrings. Normally I would be ecstatic to get a gift like this from him but right now I was just angry.
"Thank you," I said halfheartedly.
"Don't you like them?" he asked frowning.
"Yes, they are beautiful, I'm just angry at you," I said. I put the box down on the nightstand and stood up.
"I have to go back down." I said.
"Wait, you didn't give me my present," he said.
"You aren't getting any presents form me tonight Jason," I told him.
"Stop teasing me," he said. He put his arms around my waist from behind and pulled me down onto his lap. He started to kiss my neck.
"Stop it Jason," I warned him. His grip around my waist was like steel. I started to squirm, trying to get out of his grasp. But he was determined to keep me there.
"I love you Hope," he pushed me down onto the bed and he straddled me.
"Jason get off!" I yelled, I was starting to panic now. I kicked my knee up and hit him in the back. I flung my arms around but he was too strong. He grabbed my hands and held them down on the bed. My dress was hiked up to my waist now. He reached down with one hand and tried to pull my panties off.
"Stop it!" I screamed. Tears were coming to my eyes.
"Don't you love me?" he asked. He kissed me roughly on the lips and I felt him unzipping his pants. I groaned into his mouth in terror. This couldn't be happening to me. I couldn't be.
Suddenly a shadow fell onto the bed and a voice said, "Get off her,"
"What the-" Jason turned around. I looked at the figure in the doorway.
It was Tyler and he had a gun.
