Barely Breathing

Besides, the music was pretty angry. It was a compilation of aggressive songs, featuring Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed―not exactly grinding music.

Things started to get a little more interesting during the second and third hours―right around the time the alcohol took effect. Sara had to refill her water gun twice, being the prominent enforcer of the rules. I thought it was going to piss people off, but she seemed to be aiming for the guys―and they didn’t have a problem being sprayed with water by a girl dressed like Sara.

It was innocent enough. Talking a little too close, then a hand slipped to the hip. One of the girls sitting down on her boyfriend’s lap while he was playing cards at the kitchen table. The first kiss happened around ten-thirty, and Sara and Mandy went ballistic, drenching the guy who thought he was finally hitting it off with one of the girls from the basketball team. As horrified as he was, there were plenty of people laughing―I mean, it was pretty funny.

“Sara, there’s someone at the door for you,” Evan hollered when the doorbell rang.

“You can answer it,” Sara returned, taking a sip of her red martini.

“No, this one’s for you.” He walked toward me, careful not to touch as he leaned against the wall beside me. “Things are about to get very interesting."

Sara approached the door. I watched her lips form, “Oh no,” when she finally opened it. At the same time, Jared’s eyes just about fell out of his head. “Hi,” he choked. “That’s quite the anti-Valentine’s day attire.”

“What are you doing here?” she responded, her cheeks a brilliant shade of red.

“Fuck Valentine’s Day,” Jared exclaimed, handing Sara a dozen dried black roses. “These are for you.”

“Aren’t you going to let him in?” Jill scolded, pulling Jared in by the arm and closing the open door that was making most of the scantily dressed girls shiver.

“Thanks,” Sara responded blankly, taking the dead flowers―obviously in shock.

I looked to Evan who wore a devious grin. “You don’t play fair either, do you?”

“It's Valentine’s Day,” he defended. “I kinda want to kiss my girlfriend.”

I smiled brightly, admiring his strategy. Sara spotted Evan and shook her head, shooting him a tight eyed glare. She knew that Jared’s presence was his doing. Evan laughed.

Jared had a guitar case strapped to his back. “What’s that for?” Sara inquired, leading him to the help-yourself bar on the sun porch.

“Later,” Jared replied, grabbing a beer from the galvanized tub.

Without Sara realizing it, Evan switched the music to more popular dance songs, and the room started filling with bodies. She slacked on her patrol and handed her water pistol off to another enthusiastic enforcer who took to the dance floor with a vengeance.

About an hour later, we were running low on ice, and I didn’t have the key to the basement where the freezer was stored. I searched amongst the flashing lights and teasing bodies in the entertainment room, but didn’t find Sara. After lapping the first floor, I decided to try upstairs.

The door to Anna and Carl’s sitting room was slightly ajar. The crack allowed me to see Sara sitting on the loveseat, leaning forward and completely mesmerized. I was just about to push the door open when I picked up on the strums of the guitar. I barely touched the door to open it an inch farther and found Jared sitting on the ottoman across from her strumming the guitar. He was singing. I was too stunned to move.

“Be my, be my valentine,” he sang as he strummed the upbeat chorus.

“I think I’m in love,” Jill crooned drunkenly beside me, throwing her arms around my neck and laying her head on my shoulder.

“Do they breed them to be like that?” Casey cooed on the other side.

I hadn’t even noticed they'd followed me. I quickly closed the door and knocked hard to warn Sara of our presence―but I think she may have heard us.

“Sara, you need to get out here,” Casey yelled obnoxiously, knocking harder. “Jill’s breaking the rules big time.”

Sara opened the door wide enough to be seen, but kept Jared concealed in the background.

“Shoot her,” Casey demanded in her intoxicated enthusiasm, pointing to Jill. “She’s breaking the rules. Shoot her right in the face.” When Sara only looked at her in confusion, Casey grabbed my gun and shot a stream right in the middle of Jill’s forehead. Jill let me go and screamed.

“I’m going to kill you,” she bellowed, sending Casey down the stairs in a fit of laughter with Jill in pursuit.

Sara and I looked at each other, shaking our heads. “Hey,” I finally said as casually as I could, “we’re out of ice. Do you have the key to the basement?”

To my surprise Sara replied, “Yes. Let’s go.” She shut the door behind her and led me down the stairs. I clenched my teeth in a grimace, glancing at the door and hoping Jared didn’t think she was rejecting his Valentine’s ballad.

We filled up the tubs with ice, and Sara noticed the music change. She pointed to Evan accusingly, ready to pounce. He held up his hands, feigning innocence with an adorable grin on his face.

“You were in charge of the music,” she spat.

“And look,” he pointed to the swaying bodies, “they’re dancing. Not a bad job if I do say so myself.”

Sara rolled her eyes and disappeared upstairs. Evan yelled, “You’re welcome,” after her, and she flipped him the finger―which made us both laugh.

“It’s almost midnight,” I shared, walking past him, wanting to touch him so bad it hurt.

“Don’t worry,” he promised, “it’ll happen.” I grinned and kept walking into the crowd.

The rule that Sara was most adamant about enforcing was that no one was allowed onto the deck that overlooked the enclosed pool and hot tub. They were deemed instant aphrodisiacs, with the waterfall built into the rocks at the far end of the pool and the rolling bubbles of the hot tub. She kept the lights off, so as not to tempt the hormone driven drunkards.

I caught a glimpse of lights coming from the forbidden space and groaned in frustration―not wanting to be the person to kick them out. I waved Evan over and continued onto the deck as he cut through the dance floor to follow me.

The pool was surrounded by what resembled a green house, panes of glass arching over a cut stone floor. In the summer, it retracted away from the house to become an outdoor pool. In the winter, it kept the pool in use, even though the glass was frosted over and there was snow piled up against the exterior.

I stepped out into the balmy air to find the potted trees around the pool lit with small lights, creating a romantic setting. By the pool’s edge were Sara and Jared, kissing. I wanted to scream!

“No way,” I fumed at the sight of them. I stormed down the stairs. She was the one who made up these asinine rules, and within an hour of Jared’s arrival she was going to break them?! Not on my watch!

Before Sara even realized I was there, I exclaimed, “Rule breaker!” and shoved her. Jared tried to recover their balance, but it was too late; they plummeted into the blue water. Sara came up for air, gasping.

“What the fuck?” she stared at me in shock, her hair slicked back and her red lips smeared.

Evan started laughing, which made Jared start. A smile crept on my face, and I joined in. The commotion brought spectators out onto the deck.

“You are so dead,” Sara threatened without sincerity. Before she could lift herself out of the pool, Evan swept me into the water alongside him. This set off a chain reaction, and bodies began plunging in after us.

When I surfaced, I found Evan in front of me, smiling proudly. He pulled me toward the rocks, away from the splashing and jumping. I held onto the side of the pool, my weighted boots threatening to pull me under as Evan wiped my lipstick off with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Told you I’d kiss you by midnight,” he grinned, pulling me toward him. His lips encased mine. I could taste the chlorine of the water and feel the warmth of his breath. I gripped his shirt and pulled him closer, feeling his hand glide along the skin of my back. He turned me so that my back was against the pool’s wall, placing his hands on either side of me, pushing himself against me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and his hand ran along my thigh. My heart raced and I couldn’t breathe, the flitters capturing the air from my lungs.

Before I knew what was happening, I was under the water again. The submergence separated us, and I resurfaced breathing heavily.

“Now who’s breaking the rules?” Sara gloated while Jared treaded water with a grin behind her.

“I hate your rules,” I declared, splashing her in the face. She hollered and splashed back. A water war ensued. Amongst the splashing and dunked bodies, I caught sight of Sara again, her arms around Jared’s neck as he kissed her cheek―and she was smiling.

~~~~~

I blinked my eyes open, the chiming ringing in my ear. The room was dark, and I could feel the weight of Evan’s arm around my waist. There was a beep, then silence. I started to close my eyes again, sleep pulling me under. The chiming started back up. My eyes shot open.

I rolled over and picked up my phone from the nightstand. Without looking to see who it was, I answered, “Hello?”

“Where are you?” my mother demanded in a panic.

I sat up, jolted awake by her desperation. My sudden movement disturbed Evan, but he just rolled over and remained asleep.

“What?” I tried to register what was going on.

“Where the fuck are you? Why aren’t you home?”

“I’m at Sara’s,” I replied, my heart racing. She was so upset. I tried to remember if I’d told her―but knew I had. Doubt coursed through me anyway. “Remember she had the party tonight?”

“You don’t want to live with me anymore, do you?” she cried. I knew she was drunk; her words weren’t forming properly, but I was too shocked to make sense of why she was saying this.

I felt Evan move beside me but my back was toward him as I sat on the edge of the bed, tears forming in my eyes.

“You hate me. I know it,” She’d reached the point of hysterics. “That’s why you never sleep here. You're going to leave me too, aren't you?” I gasped at the agony in her voice, a tear escaping down my cheek.

“Rachel, what are you doing?” I heard in the background. “Who are you talking to?”

“She doesn’t love me anymore,” she sobbed, the pain smothering her words.

“Who?” Jonathan asked, sounding groggy. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. Give me the phone.”

“Why doesn’t she love me?” she bellowed, the phone moving further from her mouth.

“Emma?” he asked softly. My mother’s drunken rant continued in the background. “Are you there?”

“Yes,” I whispered, barely able to speak with the knot lodged in the back of my throat. It was silent. He must have left the room, closing the door to block her out.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently.