Rose always expressed how she felt smothered. My Uncle and Aunty are a lot stricter with Rose. She went nowhere without a guard or Casen. I understood her need for freedom. Still, her idea of fun and mine are two different things, yet I can also relate.
It sucks living in another’s shadow, so it must suck even more being front and center of everyone’s attention, having your every move watched. I understand Aunty Sage’s fear. She fears Rose would be kidnapped and have the same tortured life she had before Uncle Andrei rescued her, but even I think they are a little too strict.
That is the reason she needs other outlets and rebels. I wish they could understand that.
Rose couldn’t go to her high school dance without a guard or attend anything by herself, not even birthday parties. She always had someone over her shoulder, watching her when we were little. Mostly Casen, and after spending the entire day with her, I could see how not being free to do anything could be suffocating.
“Fine, but we don’t stay long, and you remain with me at all times. Your parents will kill me if anything happens to you, and we have to be back before my parents wake up.” I give in.
As much as I don’t want to, as much as I fear the consequences and the danger of her decision, I want to be the one who gives Rose the much-deserved freedom she seeks. If a party is her only refuge, the sooner we get over it, the better.
“And Casen. I will be fine, you will be there, and I can kick ass. All you gotta do is touch them with your grim reaper hands.” She shrugs, and I roll my eyes at her.
Why do I think this is a bad idea
Marabella
Rose starts rummaging through her bag when her phone pings in her pocket. She pulls it out, checks the notification and looks up at me.
“Ten minutes and Maya will be waiting down at the entrance to your place,” Rose whispers, wiggling her eyebrows at me.
Oh, great! Maya is trouble, but she is Rose’s best friend. I’m not so sure if I want her anywhere near me. That girl is an actual menace. If one might think Rose is bad, they have no idea what they would be getting themselves into when they meet Maya.
“Whose party is it, anyway?” I ask, wondering what to wear.
Most of my clothes are sweatpants and oversized shirts. I find a pair of jeans that look decent enough and slip them on. Then, I reach for a tank top and jacket.
“Maya’s brother is in a band they are performing in the city. After the show, they are having a party for Henry’s birthday, which was yesterday,” she explains as her eyes scan my outfit. “You’re wearing that?” Rose points her finger at me, clearly surprised.
“Hey, I wanted to stay home, and I am not freezing my ass off,” I tell her, pulling my knee-high boots on.
Rose rummages through her bags before she pulls out a blue, skin-tight little dress and some heels. Is she actually going to wear that? I look on in disbelief.
“No, you are not wearing that. Where did you even get that from?” I ask, pulling my gloves on and flexing my fingers inside them. I don’t think her brother or parents would be impressed if they saw her in it.
“Borrowed it from Maya, pretty, don’t you think?” Rose grins at me as if he really thinks that awful thing is flattering.
“Pretty short, I can almost see your ass,” she shakes it at me. I try to tug it down, and she swats my hands away.
“Don’t, I like it,” she reprimands, admiring herself.
“I can see everything,” I protest. God, how I hope she could listen to me, at least for once. But it seems like she doesn’t care much even as I try to tuck her cleavage back into her dress.
“Kind of the point, it’s a party, and it will probably be the only one I get to go to,” she says, making me raise my eyebrows. Really? She goes to parties all the time. I’m not very fond of her attempts to manipulate me, but now, she’s kind of overstepping.
“You go to parties all the time,” I remind her.
“Yeah, chaperoned parties with Mr. Cranky Pants. You try having fun with him breathing down your neck. And when I manage to sneak off, I am dragged home within minutes,” Rose mutters. Her phone pings again, and she walks over to the window and tosses her shoes out. They land on the grass with a thud.
“Come on,” she whispers.
“We have a door,” I tell her, jerking my head toward it. She simply looks at me as if I have lost my mind.
“We can’t use the door. What if someone is awake?” she whisper-hisses at me.
I sigh, shake my head, but still follow her. We use the vines to climb down. God, I hope mom won’t notice how much damage we leave on them. She loves these vines.
It takes two hours to drive into the city and only two minutes to lose Rose amongst the crowd inside the overfull house. As I walk around, I realize that I have spent the last hour and a half looking for her. I am about to pull my phone out and ring Jonah or even Casen when I finally spot her.
I’m really beginning to worry.
Stalking over to her, I feel a wave of relief wash through me. She sways, and I grip her arm, taking the plastic cup from her hands. I sniff it, finding it contains vodka.
“You aren’t old enough to drink Rose, you are sixteen,” I remind her. I am here with her and I should have paid better attention to what she is doing.
“Nope, nearly seventeen,” she slurs, tapping her phone.
She squints at her phone swaying, and I take it from her. As I glance around for her friend Maya, I spot her nearby, already passed out on a table. Trouble, I tell you, the girl is trouble.
Fucking hell, she is supposed to be the designated driver, and I am a nervous driver. I hate driving. Now, I have two drunk girls to take care of. Shaking my head, I walk over to her; I rummage through her pockets for her keys and come up empty. Maya groans, and I tug her up when she shoves me away.
“Leave me. I am fine,” she snaps, and I clench my jaw. Kora is on edge, and the vibe I am getting doesn’t feel right. I really just want to get out of here right now.