"Call your brother, Bren! He'll worry otherwise."
It wasn't just annoyance rolling around in my gut. I stepped into the back room, and I felt my hands shaking a little.
What was that about?
"You disappeared today."
Race Ryerson stood in front of me, drink in hand.
God, I didn't like this guy. He was coming at me like he knew me, or like he wanted to know me.
He'd changed clothes since this morning. He wore lightweight black sweatpants and a black hoodie. The clothes molded to his form, showing off his arm muscles and broad chest. He had the hood pulled up too. It would've looked ridiculous on another guy, but it only added a mysterious appeal in his case. I skimmed the room and saw that it was working. A few girls were sneaking looks at him.
I gestured to his drink. "Your fake must be pretty good to get alcohol in here."
He looked down at it, then back at me, a faint grin on his mouth. "The soda came from the counter. Alex snuck the liquor in."
I heard Alex's laugh and Sunday's giggle, and I turned around.
Alex's group was here--not all of them, but a fair amount of the teenagers and a few who'd graduated with Drake. Some were playing pool. Others were throwing darts, and Alex was at the biggest table, his arms around two girls like he was holding court. I narrowed my eyes, scanning for Zellman, but I didn't see him.
"Since when do we hang out at Manny's?" I asked under my breath, not expecting a response. I had a feeling they came more than I thought.
"It was my idea."
I turned back to Race. His grin became more pronounced.
"Drake told me about this place, and since it's my first day here, Alex asked where I wanted to go." He looked behind me to Sunday and the other cheerleaders. "The rest found us."
"Hey, hey!"
Alex's voice no longer came from across the room.
I braced myself as Race looked behind me. An arm came down on my shoulder. I was jerked against Alex's side.
Stop...
I whispered that word to myself in my head.
Breathe.
I was in Heather's place. I could smell the booze on Alex's breath. I could feel the sweat, the heat from his body. Race looked completely sober, but Alex was not. He was weaving, half-using me for balance.
My instincts were to lash out.
No one touched me against my will--a point I'd reminded him of twelve hours earlier--but he was drunk. And this is Heather's place. This is Heather's. I couldn't cause a fight... Not here.
Race's smile dropped. His eyes sharpened in alarm. "Hey, cuz. Why don't you step back from her."
"What?"
I could feel Alex's body become rigid.
He hadn't noticed that mine already was.
"No--" he started to growl, but suddenly he was gone.
I saw it in slow motion.
Sunday stepped up next to us with a high-pitched giggle. Then it dropped low in my head and faded out. Everything moved at a slower pace. She looked behind me, her eyes widening, her laugh changing to a yell. Race lifted his head to look too, craning to see behind me. Alex tensed even more, stiffening up.
I could see another girl's hair lift in the air as she suddenly dropped in position to jump