Page 39 of Lost
The party was bigger than any he’d been to back home. There was an abundance of alcohol flowing and a plethora of drunkards to go with it, but the party was tame in its own way. People were looking out for each other, older kids keeping an eye on younger siblings and people taking cups away from friends who had clearly had enough. Lysander’s mother had always gotten the wrong idea about these sorts of events. Zack, it seemed, knew better. He’d at least let Lysander go without the interrogation his mother usually gave him.
“You came!”
He turned. There was Eliza Beth, approaching them from the kitchen with her arms raised high. Lysander looked her over. She was dressed in much the same way that any other girl at the party was — a flowing cocktail dress in deep purple, with simply-done make-up that brought out her hazel eyes and made her lips look fuller. The only thing different about her outfit was her shoes. In place of high heels, she wore her tattered black sneakers.
Just like Dakota.
Lysander shook his head of the thought immediately. He was there to have fun for a night, not worry about his sister. Staying home wouldn’t bring her back any faster.
“Of course we came,” Jack replied, and Lysander realised that he’d been silent a few seconds too long. He smiled to make up for it. “We’ve been stuck at home all week, haven’t we? We couldn’t pass up a chance to have some fun.”
“Well then.” Eliza Beth grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Right this way, boys.”
They followed her to the back of the house, which opened up onto a polished wooden patio equipped with deck chairs on one side and a hot-tub tucked into the corner of the other. In front of them stretched a yard that had probably required a team of professional landscapers to put together, practically a forest in itself, and a brilliantly lit up pool that was under the supervision of three older kids.
“Wow.”
Lysander had thought he was the only one not accustomed to such grand houses being commonplace, but a glance at Jack told him that his friend felt the same.Wowdidn’t even cover it. Houses like this just didn’t exist in Columbus. Lysander hadn’t even believed that he would find them in Mapleton Beach. It looked more suited to Hollywood than anything else.
“Cool, huh?” Eliza Beth asked as she looked between Lysander and Jack. There was no stealing the smile from her face. “I’ve been here dozens of times and I still can’t get over how amazing the place is.”
She led them onward, showing them down a paved path that took them to the very back of the property. They stepped into what could have been a park if Lysander hadn’t known any better, with three wooden benches situated around a blazing fire pit. There was already a group gathered here. He recognised most of them from school — there was Melinda and her boyfriend Robert James, and there was Eliza Beth’s two other friends, Jodie Peterson and Yvonne Abelin. Yvonne was wrapped up in the arms of a senior boy that Lysander didn’t know the name of, and there was one last girl that Lysander didn’t recognise. She stared into the fire looking bored.
“Drink?”
He took the bottle Eliza Beth offered him, thanking her with a smile. He’d never been a drinker, never been the sort of person who needed alcohol to get through an evening, but a little liquid courage seemed like a good idea tonight. Zack surely wouldn’t have minded. How could he when the man had probably been drinking since he was thirteen?
The alcohol relaxed him further, until he all but forgot these were people he barely knew. It was like hanging out with Kieran and Dakota, with Mason and Amanda making out in front of them and Phillip talking the ear off whoever would listen. They were joined by more people every now and then, some who stayed and others who didn’t, and at one point their little area became so crowded that Eliza Beth ended up sitting on Lysander’s lap. The move took him by surprise, and he rested a hand at her waist gingerly. Was that too forward? She didn’t make any move to protest, so that was a good start.
“Walk with me a while?” she asked eventually, turning ever so slightly so she could face him. “It’s getting a little full around here.”
He nodded his agreement and she jumped to her feet at once. Lysander set his practically empty bottle down and stood to follow her. Jack looked happy enough conversing with Brigid, the bored girl who’d turned out to be Melinda’s cousin, so he didn’t bother interrupting. Jack had his number if he needed to reach him.
They headed back up toward the house and again, Lysander couldn’t help but admire the place. Almost the entire rear was made of glass, reminding him of a house he had once seen in some vampire movie, and a strobe light had been set up just inside of it so the light could both play out through the back rooms and illuminate the yard simultaneously. The music grew louder the closer they got — louder than he had expected. How long before the neighbours called the police to complain?
His thoughts were drawn away from the law when a familiar sounding guitar riff sounded through the speakers. He knew immediately where he had heard it — blasting out of Dakota’s room every day of the week — but it wasn’t until he heard the vocals start up that he felt stupid for not having recognised the band. Even to him, Pat’s voice was unmistakable.
“Oh!” Eliza Beth brightened up at once, the smile on her face growing wider. “I love this band! Dance with me?”
Lysander had to hold back a grin. It wasn’t hard when he registered what the question following her brilliant statement had been.
Dancing was not something that he did. But she was already dragging him inside to the designated dance floor before he had a chance to protest, and before he knew it they were in the centre of it all.
He let her dance, his eyes travelling down to her hips as she moved them in time to the music. Nobody seemed to mind that he was just standing there, so he made no effort to even pretend that he was dancing. He simply stood and watched, transfixed by the way she moved.
And she knew. Standing there in front of him, how could she not?
“I guess you’re not much of a dancer, huh?”
“That would be putting it lightly.”
She swayed to the beat, her long, dark hair brushing over her shoulders as she moved. The party lights played across her hair, her face, in her eyes, flashing purple, blue, red, making her look ethereal as she danced for him, moving ever closer until one song faded into another and she took his hands again.
They moved away from the dance floor, leaving the party behind as she led him up to the second floor of the house. From up here they could look out over the backyard and see almost everything. Lysander’s eyes lingered for a moment on the back corner of the property, sparing barely half a thought for his friend before following Eliza Beth further down the hall.
She walked with a purpose, determination in her step. He followed her without question and didn’t know whether or not to be surprised when she led him straight into what he guessed to be her friend’s bedroom. Eliza Beth shut the door gently behind him, blocking out most of the noise that had been filtering through the house. All they could hear now was muffled music.
“Much better.”
