Chapter Two - The Party

Dad was home, as promised, that night. I cooked diner for us and we all watched T.V together after.

Jesses didn't say anything about Kristen or the party and neither did I.

Dad was gone when I woke up for school the next day. He left forty dollars on the counter for emergencies as always.

The day was like any other day at school. Lana talked about Carter and the party the whole time, naturally.

"What to go to the mall after school?" Lana asked, "I want to get a new outfit,"

"Sure, I guess," I said. I actually needed a new skirt. I had been saving my birthday and Christmas money for the last few years because I realized that my Dad couldn't always buy me everything I needed. I had around five hundred dollars in the bank. Dad's parents sent us money for birthdays and Christmas. I had only met them once when I was five years old. They never visited or called but they still managed to send presents on special occasions.

Jesse picked me up at the end of the day. Lana was behind me.

"Can you take us to the mall?" I asked him.

He just nodded.

"Hey Jesse," Lana said after getting in the back.

"What's up Lana?" he asked, not looking back. He was used to her flirting with him. She had been doing it since she was ten years old.

"Oh, not much, what to go with us to a party tomorrow?" she asked. I turned around to glare at her. She didn't know when to quit. She was going to see Carter but she wanted to bring Jesse as a date.

Jesse laughed, "Thanks but I'm busy," he said.

"You better not be cheating on me," Lana teased. She liked to pretend she was dating my brother.

"Actually," Jesse said in a serious tone, "I think we should break up,"

"What? Why? I thought you loved me!" Lana wailed.

"I met someone else," Jesse said.

"Stop it you guys," I said grinning.

"Who is this person? I'll kill her!" Lana exclaimed and laughed. Jesse laughed too. I rolled my eyes and smiled. They always did stuff like this.

"You tow are psychotic," I muttered.

We made it to the mall in London, the city about twenty minutes away. There were no decent stores in St. Thomas, let alone a mall. Jesse never seemed to mind driving me anywhere, he never complained. He was the perfect older brother.

"Can you pick us up at six?" I asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he countered.

"Not unless you want us to sleep here tonight," I said.

"Alright," he agreed.

Lana and I roamed the mall looking for some sort of outfit for the party. Lana found a pair of bright red floods and black boots. Her parents were rich, both successful lawyers and they put a hundred dollars a week in a bank account for her for spending money. That was their way of making up for not spending much time with her.

I found a knee length jean skirt to wear and Lana said she would lend me a top.

Jesse picked us up and drove Lana home. I promised to be at her house at four o'clock the next day. At home Jesse and I sat in front of the T.V all night.

"Do you ever think about Mom?" I asked all of a sudden.

"Not really, it only makes me sad," he answered without taking his eyes off Jay Leno. I went to bed after that.

I couldn't help but think about Mom all the time. I wanted to know what it was like to have a mother for once. To have a woman who had experienced things to talk to. There were something's that a girl just couldn't talk to her father about no matter how close they were.

I went to bed wishing I could just have a few minutes with my mother. I didn't know then that you should be careful what you wish for.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You're going to love Carter," Lana gushed as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. We were going to leave for the party in a few minutes and I wasn't even dressed. I had spent the afternoon watching a movie. She, on the other hand, had been getting ready for the past two hours.

"I'm sure I will," I said.

"Here, wear this," she tossed me a black tank top with long sleeves made out of red mesh. Normally I would toss in back to her but tonight I was feeling daring. Despite my earlier hesitation about going to this party I was actually kind of excited about it.

Lana did my hair for me, which was not something I let her do often. She created a crazy up-do with strands sticking out all over the place. I even let her put temporary red streaks in it. After she assured me a million times that it was in fact temporary.

"You look amazing," she gushed when she was done, "You should really let me do your hair more often,"

I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. But strangely enough, I liked it. Tonight I was no longer Lucky Sinclair, the conservative, responsible one, I was Lucky Sinclair the crazy, exciting one.

"Lets go!" Lana said.

We walked to the party in a about a half an hour. It was on the other side of town. There was already music pulsing and people dancing when we arrived. The house was a bungalow that looked like it could use a paint job.

We went inside and I recognized a couple people from school.

"Hey Llllllaaannna," Nathan Beck slurred .He was in my art class but I had never spoke to him because he always seemed stoned in class. Now he just seemed drunk.

He thrust a beer into Lana's hand and she thanked him. She was too busy looking for Carter to speak to Nathan and longer.

"There he is," Lana said nudging me. I recognized the guy we had met at the mall.

I had to admit he wasn't bad looking with his shaggy light brown hair and striking blue eyes. His lips looked like he was always on the verge of smiling. His nose was a little large but it fit his face perfectly. His chin had a cleft that a thought created individuality. I liked how he didn't have any obvious piercings. He was the kind of person who had a wild side but was good at keeping it under control.

He waved lightly and Lana dragged me over to greet him. His perpetual grin widened when he looked at me.

"Lana," he said and kissed her for a moment, keeping his eyes on me the whole time, which I thought was kind of creepy.

"You remember Lucky right?" Lana said to him.

"How could I forget a name like that?" he asked grinning.

"Nice to see you too," I said smirking. Carter was coming off as incredibly arrogant as he looked me up and down. He had just kissed Lana as thought they had been together for years and now he was staring at me without shame. I suddenly felt uncomfortable wearing Lana's shirt. I didn't feel like myself in that outfit. The combination of Carter's stare and my own insecurities just made me panic. I had to get out of the crowded living room.

"I'm going to get some air," I mumbled and pushed my way back through the crowd to the front door.

"What a drag?" Nathan asked shoving a cigarette in my face .I just kept hurrying away, desperate for the feeling of cool air on my face.

I sighed in relief as I grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. I stepped outside and took a deep breath.

I looked around the yard. It was small and the grass looked almost dead. There were a few shrubs on the walkway leading up tot eh house but they seemed out of place in the yard.

The music was pounding behind me. I stepped off the porch and on a whim I started tto walk around to the backyard.

It almost looked like the backyard of an old abandoned house. The grass was brown, there was a old looking barbecue near the low wooden fence and to top it all off there was an old rusted swing set that squeaked whenever there was a even the slightest breeze.

The backyard was such a change from the crowded house and somehow I was more comfortable being back here alone than I was in the house.

I went over to the swing set and sat down on one of the swings. It creaked and groaned so much I thought it would collapse but it held up.

I just sat there for a moment listening to the boom of the music from inside.

I don't know what I was thinking coming to this party. It wasn't my responsibility to look after Lana. It wasn't like she would listen to me anyway.

It was time for me to leave. Lana could take care of herself.

"Hey, where you going?" a voice asked when I got closer tot eh house.

I turned towards the voice to find Carter. He was smiling confidently.

"Home," I said.

"C'mon you just got here," he said.

"Shouldn't you be inside with Lana?" I asked still walking around the house. He followed behind me like a little puppy dog on a leash.

"She already found someone else more to her liking," he said sounding, surprisingly enough, sheepish.

I stopped to look back at him. Just one hour before Lana was going on and on about him like he was some kind of immortal God. Now she had found someone else? I would never understand her.

"And besides, I like you better," he added.

I smiled, despite myself.

"We don't have to go back in there, we could just sit and talk," Carter said.

I was surprised. I thought he was the type of guy who would never pass up a good party. I guess first impressions aren't always right.

I didn't want to say yes, but I couldn't stop myself. We went back to the swing set and sat down.

"Why are you friends with Lana anyway, you seem so.different," Carter said.

"We've been friends so long, I don't know, I think we'll always be friends," I said.

"I know what you mean," he said.

"You do?" I asked surprised.

"My friends," he said gesturing towards the house, "Are drug addicted losers, but they'll always be my friends,"

I laughed.

The night passed by quickly. We talked about everything we could think of. Family, school, friends, music. I found out that Carter had an older brother who was killed in a car accident four years earlier. His parents were still together but it his opinion, shouldn't be.

"All they do is fight," he said.

"That must be hard," I said.

"I try not to stay home too much," he told me. He was my bother's age and I asked him if he knew Jesse.

"I know of him," was all he said. I was surprised I had never seen Carter before; we had gone to the same school for two years and St. Thomas wasn't really a very big city.

He told me his friends were always having parties like this and he just went to them for something to do. He said his tongue ring was really just a cry for attention. His parents still hadn't noticed.

I told him about my Dad and brother and most of all how I missed having a mother.

The only thing I noticed about the party was the occasional drunk coming out to throw up. The music had died down a few hours later and I looked at my watch. It was two A.M!

"Oh no, I have to get home," I exclaimed jumping up.

"Already?" Carter asked.

"It's two A.M!" I told him.

Carter's eyes widened in surprise. The time had gone by so quickly.

"I have to find Lana," I said, hurrying towards the house.

Inside, there were a few couples making out in the living room. In the kitchen there was a guy with a bright orange afro passed out on the floor. He had a beer bottle clutched in his hand. I almost laughed at him.

"Oh no, not again," Carter moaned, coming up behind me, "Tony wake up," he said. He slapped the guy on the face and he stirred a little but didn't open his eyes.

"You know him?" I asked.

"This is his house," he answered.

I left Carter with Tony and continued searching for Lana. I went upstairs and opened random doors. I found a couple in a.. compromising position and I slammed that door shut quickly. Finally I was at the last doorway. If she wasn't in here then I didn't know where she could be.

I pushed open the door and let out a sigh of relief. There was Lana, sleeping in the single bed. She was covered with a pink Barbie sheet.

I went closer and realized in shock that she was completely naked. There were beer bottles all over the floor and the room smelled like marijuana.

"Lana," I said shaking her, "LANA!" I yelled. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me.

"Lucky," she smiled.

"Get up and put some clothes on," I ordered. I threw her pants and top at her and turned around so she could get dressed.

"What happened to you?" I asked when she was finished.

"I had fun, did you?" she said, giggling. She leaned against me and I dragged her down the stairs.

"Carter?" I called. He wasn't in the kitchen and neither was Tony. I didn't see him in the living room either.

I took out Lana's cell phone, which miraculously hadn't been stolen.

"Hello?" Jesse picked up on the first ring.

"It's me, can you come and get us?" I asked.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later, just please come and get us," I told him the address and Lana and I sat on the lawn. She fell asleep on my shoulder and drooled on her own shirt,

Jesse drove up a couple minutes later, he helped me get Lana in the back. He didn't say anything on the way home and I was grateful for that. I could still hear Carter's voice in my head. I smiled to myself.

No matter how terrible the actual party was, I was still glad I went. All I could think of before I feel asleep was when I would see Carter again.