Friday soon arrived and I was actually looking forward to the party. One problem... Taylor was sick. He had come down with a summer cold and Mrs. Hanson was not letting him go.
"Jaida?"
"Yeah?"
"What the hell am I gonna wear tonight?" Kaara asked me. I laughed and then saw that she was serious.
"Oh well..... I'm sure Zac wont care what you wear-"
"Geez, thanks a lot"
"No! Kaara, what I meant was, I'm sure Zac will like anything you wear tonight... and I'm sure that he's having the same problem as you"
"No he's not"
"How do you know?"
"Because he doesn't care what he wears. And he told me that he'll be wearing a pair of those long, baggy shorts and a t-shirt..."
"Well, why don't you wear a skirt and singlet top?"
"I wouldn't look to slutty?"
"No! Just make sure your skirt isn't to short" I said. Kaara nodded.
"Ok... thanks!" She said before leaving the kitchen. She and I were the only ones home. Mom and Dad had gone out for lunch. Kaara was to nervous to eat anything and I just wasn't hungry. I had been talking to Emily a lot in the past few days and I had discovered that she was actually pretty nice. I noticed that Emily was around a lot when I was with Taylor. It didn't bother me though because I knew Taylor was mine and I wasn't going to lose him anytime soon. The shrill ring of the phone interupted me from my thoughts. I reached over the counter and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Jaida!" Emily's chirpy voice came through from the other end. I smiled.
"Hey Em... how's it goin'?"
"Great.... is it ok if I come over now? Mom is going out and I don't want to be home alone" Emily said. She was coming over later on that evening.
"Sure you can! Me and Kaara are home, but my parents are out" I said.
"Oh, that's ok.. so I'll see you soon then?"
"Yep cya" I said and hung up the phone. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.
"I'LL GET IT!" Kaara screeched as she came thumping down the stairs. She opened the door. "Hi!... Emlily" She said, sounding dissapointed.
"Well hello to you to. Did ya think I was Zac?"
"Yeah..." Kaara admitted. I heard Emily laugh.
"Where's Jaida?"
"Kitchen" Kaara replied. Emily then appeared in the kitchen.
"Hiya... thanks for letting me come over early" She said. I smiled.
"That's ok." I replied.
"Great..... too bad Tay can't come tonight hey?"
"Yeah... he was really looking forward to it.. I thought about not going but Taylor gave me orders to go and have a good time.. as long as I come and see him on the way home. He's gonna be alone tonight. Kim and Ike have a date, so do Zac and Kaara... and they're going to Zac's grandparents house afterwards cause that's where the rest of the family will be so I have to go visit Tay" I said. Emily's face seemed to light up when I had said that Taylor was going to be home alone.
"Aww poor thing. Maybe you and I should just go over to his house tonight and skip the party... give him some company" She said. I nodded.
"Yeah... that's a good idea, but to tell you the truth, I'm really looking forward to the party" I said. Emily nodded as she cast her eyes to the counter.
"Sure... thats ok" She said in a tight voice.
"Em? what's wrong?" I asked. Emily looked up and for a spit second, I saw rage in her eyes. Suddenly she smiled.
"Nothing's wrong!.... you wanna see what I'm wearing tonight?" She asked.
"Sure! You can get changed in my room" I said.
"Great. Be right back" Emily said as she picked up the overnight bag she had brought and walked out of the kitchen.
Emily walked up the stairs to Jaida's room and closed the door. She dropped the bag on to Jaida's bed and then sat down on the edge, next to the set of bedside draws. She pulled open the top one and rummaged around in it... and came up with nothing. Emily didn't exactly know what she was looking for but she knew that she would know what it was when she saw it. She closed the draw and opened the next one. Again, nothing that had anything about Jaida's past. Emily knew that Jaida was hiding something from all of them. She never talked about her past... especially when Taylor asked her about it. Emily noticed that Jaida would almost alway's change the subject. Fustrated, Emily slammed the second draw shut. "Third time lucky" She muttered to herself as she pulled open the third draw. Emily couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the picture. It was a picture of Jaida and a boy who had an uncanny resemblence to Taylor. His hair was a different colour and this boy was stockier than Taylor, he also looked a year or two older, but he had the same knee weakening smile and amazingly clear blue eyes. Emily turned the pictue over to see if there was any writing. There wasn't. Emily placed the picture on the bed beside her as she lifted up papers in the draw to see if she could find anything else. Who is that? Emily wondered as she glanced at the picture again. He looks so much like my Taylor... long lost brother? no... not possible. Where have I seen him before? she asked in her mind. After finding nothing else, Emily closed the draw. She picked up the picture again and looked closely at it before unzipping her bag and placing it in. Something in her told her to keep it, or at least get a copy of it and return it before Jaida noticed that it was gone.
"Great Party!" Zane yelled to me over the loud music and thumping of the heavy base. All I could do was nod. I couldn't be bothered trying to yell over the music..it was basicaly impossible. The only people I knew at the party was Emily, Anita and Zane... and I rarely saw them, but I was happy to walk around and listen to other peoples conversations.I was also happy with my apperance so that made my mood brighter. I was wearing a light green satan button down shirt with a short black skirt. I wished like hell that Taylor was with me.
"I'll be back later!" Zane shouted and then turned his back and walked into the crowd. I made my way back into the kitchen to get a drink.
"Hi there... haven't seen you before.. I thought I knew all of Gregs friends..." A voice said beside me. I looked to my right and saw a guy of about 18 and gorgeous.
"Hi... I'm Jaida... I don't know Greg.. I'm here with some other people." I told him. It wad a little quieter in the Kitchen so we didn't have to shout.
"Oh, ok... well, I'm Shaun. Nice to meet you Jaida." He said, extending his hand. I shook it, smiling.
"So, what'll it be? I'm the official "Bar Man" of the night.." Shaun asked.
"Oh, nothing alcoholic thanks... just a soda will do.." I told him.
"Oh, come on! This is a party... you have to have at least 2 alcoholic drinks... it's the law here in Tulsa you know." Shaun informed me, a cheeky smile on his face. I wrinkled up my nose and thought for a moment. I then decided Shaun was right.
"Ok, what have you got?"
"Thats my girl! Well.. seeing as you asked for soda.. why not some Scotch to go with it?" He sujested.
"Sure... why not?" I looked around the kitchen while Shaun was preparing my drink. "This house is huge! Gregs parents must be loaded!"
"Yeah, they are.. but this house belongs to Greg.. it was brought in his name, so when his folks cark it.. he'll get the house and a shit load of money... now you can see why I'm his best buddie." Shaun told me, smiling. I laughed and took a mouth full of my drink.
"Whoa!, that's strong... but... God it's good!" I said, taking another two gulps and then followed Shaun into the living room where there were teenagers dancing and making out. The music was once again loud and I stated to dance. As the night wore on, I kept on dancing with Shaun, Zane and a number of other guys I didn't know. I soon forgot about Taylor as my glass was refilled before it was emptied every time. At 3:00am the party was still going strong and I had lost count of the number of drinks I had had. As we danced, Shaun was getting closer and closer until our bodies were touching.
"Hey, follow me." Shaun whispered in my ear. I was to drunk to say no, and I let him pull me out of the living room, though the house and we came to a stop at a closed door.
"Where you takin me? Don't think yur gonna get any.... I'm ... I have a -" I stuttered... I couldn't control my mouth.
"Shhh... I just want you to meet some friends of mine.. You remember Greg...?"
"Yeah but-"
"Well, he's down here.. I want you to meet him... so you can thank him for the great party.. you said yourself a little while ago that you wanted to do that." Shaun said, his arm around my waist tightly, as though he didn't want me to leave. My head was spinning and I just wanted to sit down. I nodded and he opened the door. When I saw the staricase I tired to stay back but Shaun's arm was still tight.
"I... I don't wanna.... Tay won't like it.... he's my baby you know that? Do you know my baby Taylor, Shaun?" I asked, taking the staris one at a time.
"Taylor Hanson? Sure.. he's a good mate of mine... how do you know him sweet stuff?" He asked me. I stopped walking and frowned at Shaun.
" I told you.... He's my boyfriend... silly" I said, poking him in the chest with my finger, giggling.Shaun gently tugged at my arm, urging me to continue down the staris. I did.
"No he's not... he hasn't got a chick , not since he split with Em.." Shaun said. I started to get frustrated. Shaun wasn't listening to me.
"No, I told you... I'm with Tay... and I wanna go back to the party... we can, ... dance some more..." I said, my head was starting to clear out of fear. My heart was pounding and I didn't want to get to the bottom of the stairs. Even though my head was clearing up... my legs weren't. I could hardly walk by myself. I also couldn't get out of Shauns grip.
"Nah... this is more fun... you'll see." He said, seeming to have forgoten about Taylor. We reached the next door and Shaun opened it. Inside was a large game room.. and about 15 other guys or so. I immediatly tried to turn around.
"Shaun, I want to go back up... I don't want to be here." I said, quiet soberly. He lauged.
"You can't now Babe.. you've seen our secret club house."
"Wow Shaun... you did good this time, shes a hottie... not like that other scrag you brought down.." A tall, dark haired guy said.
"Greg, guys, this is Jaida... Jaida these are the guys."
"Huh? ... um.. ok, nice to meet you fellas but I think I'll be going now." Shaun had released my waist but had closed the door. Shaun made no attempt to stop me as I turned and reached for the door handle.
"You ain't going anywhere sexy... that there door is locked... can only be opened from the outside." Greg said, taking small steps towards me. I backed up until my back hit the door.
Chapter Twelve
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