Chapter 1: the Party - Lala

“C’mon, Lala”, my best friend Meme begs. “My brother won’t let me go if I don’t bring you along”. Kyle is Meme’s brother, who is two years older than us. Even he knows she’s… Promiscuous is putting it nicely!

“That’s because I keep your ass out of trouble”, I chided. “Listen, Meme… I don’t feel like being ditched at a party where I don’t know anybody. It’s different when you do it at our high school after parties. I at least know people when you run off to get fucked”.

“Hey bitch”, she groans.

“Tell me I’m wrong”, I scolded back.

“You're not, but it’s at Kyle's best friend’s house. You know Benny”, she tells me this like it’s supposed to make me feel better. I haven’t seen Benjamin in years!

“Still”, I tell her, unsatisfied with her justification.

“I promise, cross my heart and hope to die. I won’t ditch you this time”, she pleads.

I know I’m going to regret this, “fine! But if you leave me this time, I’ll never forgive you”!

She flings her arms around my neck as she jumps up and down. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret this, I promise”. Too late, I’m already regretting this!

I just rolled my eyes and headed to cheerleading practice. As I’m walking out onto the field, I feel an arm being draped over my shoulder but the familiar cologne smell soothes me. “Hey boo! Tonight is an away game, so you know I won’t be here. Sorry to leave you alone on a Friday night, what are you going to do''?

“I’m being dragged to some party of Kyle’s as Meme’s babysitter”, I whine.

Travis, my boyfriend just chuckles, “you at a party?! I would love to see it”!

“Haha! I met you at a party. Remember that”, I stated.

“A birthday party”, he chuckles.

“Whatever! It was still a party”, I frowned.

“I love you my innocent boo”, he says as he pecks me before pulling his helmet over his head.

“Love you too, Tiger”, I told him as we parted ways on the field.

After practice, the boys are loaded onto a charter bus to take them to tonight’s away game and I catch a ride with Meme since she lives right next door. When I get inside, my foster mother is at the stove prepping dinner and I wash my hands before helping her. I’ve been in this foster home for eight years now, and when I turn eighteen on New Year’s Eve, they agreed to let me stay so I can finish school. I love them, and I think they love me, but kids who grow up like me never really know!

“Hey, Maxi”, I start.

“Mmm, Lala”, she says.

“Can I go to a party with Meme tonight?” I asked. I know she doesn’t care because I’m a good kid, but I ask anyway.

“Yeah”, she says. “Do I need to leave the door unlocked or are you crashing next door”?

“Uh, I dunno actually”, I told her. “But I’ll take my key if anything”.

“Ok Lala”, she says as she pats my cheek gently. “You text me if things change okay. That way I don’t think I’m being robbed in the middle of the night when it’s just you”. I laugh… We literally live in one of the safest neighborhoods in Upstate New York. I know for a fact that Meme’s parents don’t even lock their doors half the time!

I headed up to my room to get ready before I headed next door. I chose a pale pink midriff long-sleeve tee and black low-cut jeans. I tie my hair up into a messy bun and slip on some heels. After tossing my essentials into a handbag, I check in with Maxine one last time before heading to Meme’s.

As expected, the front door was unlocked and I walked right in! Her parents are in the kitchen, and they hug me when they notice me. “Hey Lala, Meme is still getting ready”, her mom tells me.

“Okay, I’ll just go see if she needs any help”, I told them as I headed for her room.

Meme stands in her room in panties and a bra, the contents of her closet thrown about the room! Seriously?! Just pick some shit and let's go! “Lala, help me pick something. Oh, you look cute. Let me see if I can slutify your outfit and we can twin it”.

“Really Meme”, I tell her as I pick up a black skirt and low-cut pink shirt! “There, twinning and slutified. Can you get dressed now”?

She wraps her arms around me in her still half-naked state and says, “thank you! Dunno what I’d do without you”.

“Yeah, yeah! Now get dressed”, I told her.

Twenty minutes later, we are sliding into her car, and driving through our rural ass neighborhood to some lake house owned by the parents of one of Kyle’s friends. He’s already there and will be driving us back in Meme’s car she shares with her mom later. We pull up to a scene of disarray! The lawn is littered with cars that no longer fit in the driveway. People are everywhere! Music is blasting. Even though every light on the first floor is on, the second floor looks dead!

The moment she turns the car off, Meme has long forgotten me already and is running for the lake house door. “Meme”, I holler after her, halting her progression.

“Sorry”, she says as she waits for me to catch up while I glare at her. She links arms with me and drags me into the house. We stay like this, our arms linked and her dragging me about until some cute guy catches her attention and she points out that she’ll be just a few feet away on the couch with him! I nod, and sit on a folding chair, nursing my water bottle.

Some guy named Fazio sits in the chair next to me and we have a conversation about nothing, and when he finally gets the hint that I’m not interested, he leaves. I turned back to see that the sofa Meme was just on is empty! Shit, she obviously went off to fuck him and forgot about her promise. I get up and start looking around for any trace of her when I stumble into the kitchen after being bumped from behind by some drunk idiots horsing around.

“Lala”, I heard my name being said by a familiar male voice.

“Kyle”, I say back as he wraps his arms around me and twirls me around.

“Still beautiful”, he says. “Want a drink”?

“Nah! I’m good with water”, I told him as I felt the stare of his friend. I glance over to see blue eyes so clear, it’s like looking at the sky on a cloudless day. I snapped out of it and turned back to Kyle, “seen Meme? She ditched me”!

Knowing how big of a whore his own sister is, he just rolls his eyes. “Probably went up to the bedrooms”!

“Well, I’m not chasing after her”, I tell him, making Kyle chuckle. His friend hasn’t stopped staring at me, and my skin crawls in discomfort. “I’m going to get some air, if you see Meme tell her I went out to the pier”.

“You got it Lala'', he says. I guess Kyle remembers I can’t swim because he adds, “don’t get too close to the edge”!

I looked back at him and smirked, “yes big brother! I won’t”. He winks at me before I head out the back door. I’m pacing back and forth in the chilly Autumn air when I feel someone approaching. Thinking it was Meme, I spun around and said, “bitch you promised not to abandon me”!

To my surprise, two men chuckled. One is the guy who was flirting with me earlier! “Oh, we won’t abandon you sweetie”, he says.

“In fact, we plan on being with you all night long”, the other says as he looks at me.

“Gross”, I say as I try to walk past them back up the pier, but they block my way. “Move”, I demand!

“With your body on mine baby”, the second guy says as he tries to grab hold of me.

This is where my life went wrong, that moment! I know I’ve come to feel safe in my current foster home, but as a kid who was raised in the system you never really let go of the feeling of defending yourself. My defenses kick back in overdrive after lying dormant for so long, and I start kicking, swinging, and screaming. In the midst of my ambush, I’m shoved back… Right off the pier into the water!

I flail like a mad woman trying to get back to the surface, but it’s no use! I continue to sink like a boulder attached to my ankle. My lungs started to burn. I don’t know how much longer I can hold my breath as I slowly blow it out. I feel something enter the water and see a light being shined down as my mouth fills with the murky lake water. Something wraps around my waist, the force pushing the water back out of my mouth, as I’m being pulled through the water toward the surface.

As soon as my head is above the water, I gasp for air and choke on its welcome intrusion back into my lungs. A warm hand is patting me on the back when I turn to face those same blue eyes from the kitchen. “Thank you”, I manage to gasp out before my world goes dark!