Rushing to help her up before the guys could, Byron muttered under his breath hoping neither of the guys would protest. Not that either of them was in any hurry to help her up. Instead, they stood there looking annoyed. Almost as if she suddenly didn’t seem worth the effort. Especially now that it appeared, they were being confronted about their intentions.
The girl glanced up at him pouting, as her eyes flooded with tears before hiccupping again. “I lost my- hiccup . . . friend.”
Byron helped her up, his insides tightening at the thought of what friend she meant, and what kind of trouble she might be in. He held her by her arm. “I’ll help you find her.”
Once on her feet, she dusted herself off with one hand while wiping tears away with the back of her other hand. All the while the hiccups were rampant.
Glaring at the guys who seemed to be pondering whether to stay and argue or walk away. Byron had one staunch sentence for them he delivered with undeniable finality. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”
Hesitating for a moment, one of them almost began to say something until the other one nudged him and they both walked away. Byron glanced up at the window that was no surprise, empty now.
“Did you just meet those two assholes?”
She nodded and now that he was this close to her, he could see just how glossed over her eyes really were. She stood there swaying in place, hiccupping, and glanced around looking completely out of it. Muttering under his breath again, because he sure as fuck hadn’t thought this through, he glanced back at his car blocking the driveway.
“What’s your name?” he asked still looking in the direction of his car wondering where he might find a better place to move it to.
He turned to her after hearing her sneeze. “Bless you.” She still looked completely out of it but now she peered at him strangely. “So, what’s your name?”
“I just told you. It’s Sochee.”
Confused for a moment it suddenly dawned on him why she was peering at him so strangely. After hearing her clarify her strange name he realized she hadn’t sneezed. Her name just sounded like she had.
Refraining from chuckling he smirked. “Ah. Sorry, I’ve never heard the name before I thought . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind. Listen . . . Sochee. I need to move my car before it gets towed. But I don’t think you should stay here all by yourself.” Starting toward his car he tugged her along gently but held her firmly. “Come with me and we’ll park it somewhere then we can walk back and look for your friend.”
She started to say something but then nearly stumbled again so he gripped her arm a little tighter. “Careful,” he muttered garnering all the patience he could muster.
Fucking hell.
Six
The Douche and the Liar
Vannah
This had been such a bad idea. Joseph rushed alongside Vannah and she was actually grateful for his clinginess now. She could use a second pair of eyes.
“How far could she have gone?” Swinging the door open to one of the many bedrooms in the house, Vannah gasped when she saw the half-naked couple on the bed. “Sorry.”
As awkward as the moment was, Vannah still glanced around in case Xochitl was passed out anywhere in the room. The girl hadn’t been kidding when she said she was a lightweight. Not that Vannah wasn’t also. She’d only ever been buzzed once before in her life. But somehow her friend went from mildly buzzed like Vannah to falling down drunk in a matter of a couple of hours. Vannah had left her for two minutes to go find a bottled water and she’d disappeared. Clarissa hadn’t been able to make it tonight and Silvia’s sister got them the booze, but after hooking up with her ex, Silvia had taken off with him and they’d been on their own for the rest of the night.
Closing the door, Vannah trudged ahead on a mission. With her heart at her throat, her parents’ warnings loomed in the air, about how dangerous it was to get drunk at these college parties. She was only grateful now that she hadn’t drank nearly as fast as her nervous friend. Whatever buzz Vannah had begun to get, was long gone now that she was growing more and more panicked with every passing minute that she couldn’t find her friend.
“Xochitl!” She called out as she neared the stairwell in case she was downstairs somewhere searching for Vannah as well.
“Is that the wasted girl you were with earlier?”
Vannah’s eyes zoomed in on the girl who was doing the asking downstairs. “Yes! Have you seen her?”
“She just left with some guy.”
Remembering the pushy guy who’d been trying to throw the moves on Xochitl earlier, Vannah turned to Joseph wide eyed. “Oh my God.” Turning back to the girl downstairs who’d gone back to dancing, Vannah rushed down the stairs “Excuse me!” She pushed her way through the crowd. “Excuse me.” The girl turned to her again barely slowing the hip swaying. “What guy? Which way did she go?”
“Some horndog who was all over her,” the girl said loudly over the blaring music. “He took her that way.” She pointed at the front door. “It was so obvious he wanted in her pants bad. But if you hurry you might catch them.”
Without even thanking her, Vannah rushed toward the door even more glad that Joseph was still sticking with her. Earlier she’d been annoyed by his overly eagerness. Now she might need him if this horndog Xochitl left with got confrontational.
Blasting through the front door, Vannah jerked her neck in every direction of the crowded front yard and sidewalks. “Hey!” She yelled when she saw them. The guy was helping her very wobbly friend into a car and Vannah practically sprinted toward them, glad she was so used to wearing such high heels. “Hey, you! Where do you think you’re taking my—”
Nearly choking when the guy turned to her and she saw who it was, she was rendered speechless.
“Vannah I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Her drunk friend’s slurred words pulled Vannah out of her stupor as she turned to respond to her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Refusing to look at Byron because the girl’s comments about the horndog all over Xochitl were suddenly not just maddening anymore. The very thought was doing something else to her now. A part of her felt incredibly disgusted and disappointed, but another part felt unbelievably jealous. Only she’d die before she’d let this jerk, she’d obsessed so much over and clearly had been way off about, notice. Instead, she kept her eyes on Xochitl. “Where are you going?”
Hiccupping loudly, Xochitl giggled. “We were- hiccup! – going to go park – hiccup! - and – hiccup!” Covering her mouth with one hand, even as Byron held her by her elbow, Xochitl pinched her nose with the other and inhaled deeply holding her breath.
“We were just gonna—”
“I don’t need to know what else you were planning on doing.” The harshness of her words toward Byron surprised Vannah, but she knew it wasn’t just because he’d been planning on taking advantage of her drunk friend. “Whatever it was, it’s not happening now.” Vannah hurried to help Xochitl out of the car again, refusing to even look at him.
“Wait I wasn’t planning on—”
“Can’t you see she’s completely wasted?”