Chapter Four

Rock

        "Are you all settled in, buddy?" Mom asks when she enters the room, which is now mine at the Darby's house.

          "Yeah, I still have a few things to unpack," I reply. I glance around the room and notice that all my posters are up on the wall. I've also replaced the old, stuffy sheets and comforter on the queen-size bed. The guys and I went out and bought some new ones. It's more my style, especially with the credit card Jim gave me. How cool is it that I have my own credit card while his own daughter has to work for her money, on top of school and everything she does for the team?

       "Loser!" I say jokingly.

      "That's good to know," Mom says. "Well, I'm going to head out. I have to work the night shift at the hospital tonight."

      "Hey Mom, do you still have to work two jobs now that you're marrying Jim?" I ask.

      "No, probably not, but I enjoy my jobs," she replies.

     "Okay, it's just that you work so hard."

    "I'm not marrying Jim for his money, son. Your brother is staying at a friend's tonight. River and Jessica are working in Jessica's room. Then River has to work, so Jessica is going with her. You're on your own for dinner."

    "Where is Jim going to be tonight?" I inquire.

      "Oh, he is out of town until next weekend."

     "Alright, well, I'm going to call Speedy and the guys to come over."

    "Only them... mom says."

    "Yes, ma'am," I say, but I have my fingers crossed behind my back. She will never be the wiser.

     Once Mom's gone, I walk down the hall to my sister's room and peek my head in to see what's going on. "Looks nice," I announce after watching them for a minute.

    "Thanks," my sister says, and I have the satisfaction of seeing Water Girl stiffen up.

    "Jessica, we need to get going soon, so I'm going to go get ready for work," River tells my sister.

    "Okay, I'll be waiting for you here."

    River goes to walk out of Jessica's door, so I make it tight for her to squeeze through. When she does, she brushes up against me and it sends a shock through my body. "Damn, even my body doesn't like you, Water Girl," I whisper in her ear as she makes it through. "Oh, hey Water Girl, maybe you should go on a diet. You're looking a little chubby there. I would hate for people to oink at you."

    "Rock, that is enough," Jessica scolds me.

   "What River knows I'm just teasing her. Isn't that right, Riv?"

     River simply walks to her room without saying a word or even looking back at me.

    Jessica scolds me for being mean to poor little River as I make my way back to my room to get ready to go out with the guys and buy some things for the party. Once I'm dressed, I head out to my truck and drive down to the beach where Damion lives.

     Damion's family is one of the wealthier families, second only to Mr. Darby's family. While Damion's family seeks luxury and extravagance, Mr. Darby seeks wealth and money.

    "Hey, bitch," Damion greets me as I walk up to his front porch.

    "Hey, fucker. So, Damion's stepdad is out of town this week and his mom is working the night shift tonight. I'm thinking of throwing a huge party at their house."

    "Fuck yeah, brother. Let's gather the guys and get this party started," Damion shouts, pumping his fist in the air like a five-year-old.

    "And that, my friend, is why you can't get any girls," I tell him.

    Damion just gives me his infamous "go fuck yourself" look and we set off to find the other guys for our mission to get food and alcohol for the night. Once we find everyone, we head out to buy supplies for the party.

     Speedy posted on his social media page about a party happening tonight, including the address. With his large following, the party is expected to be a huge success.

    Brody asks me about River's reaction to the party being held at her house. I playfully punch him in the arm and assert that the house is just as much mine as it is hers. I joke about locking her up in her bedroom for the night if she has any objections.

    Brody doesn't seem pleased with my response, but I couldn't care less. We gather everything we need and head back to the house. Speedy and I take care of the keg while the others handle the food and other items. We decide to set up the keg on the back porch.

   Before we know it, people start arriving in groups, and by 8:30, the party is in full swing. Everyone is enjoying themselves, drinking, dancing, and having a great time. It's my first time hosting a party at my own house, so I'm pretty excited about it. Plus, it'll be interesting to see River's reaction when she comes home to find a house full of people. I wonder if she'll tell her father and what his response would be. In his eyes, I can do no wrong.

    Amy and her friends approach me, but I'm not really in the mood to deal with her. Lately, she's been getting clingy, especially now that she knows I have money. But damn, the sex is good, and I don't have to reciprocate.

   "Rock! There you are. I've been looking for you for over an hour. I need a drink. My glass is empty."

     "So, go to the keg and get yourself another drink, Amy," I said. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind, acting like she was too good to get her own drink.

     "Hey Amy," I said, "I think we need to go to my bedroom and talk for a minute."

     "Awe baby, do you need some attention?" she asked.

    "Yeah, something like that," I replied, starting to walk towards the bedroom. As I climbed the stairs, I thought about what I was going to say to her and how I could make it seem like it was her idea. I knew it wouldn't go well at first, but if I spun it just right, maybe we could remain friends and she would find someone else at the party to distract her. That's what she always did whenever we broke up in the past.

    We reached the bedroom and before I knew it, she was on her knees, ready to give me some attention. I should have let her, but I wasn't that much of a jerk. "Whoa Amy, I brought you up here to talk, not fool around," I said.

   "Ah, Rock, you're not going to try to propose to me, are you, baby? I don't think we're old enough for that," she said.

   "Fuck no!" I exclaimed.

   "Are we breaking up again?" she asked.

    Damn, she got me there. "Yes, I think you're getting bored with me and let's face it Amy, we're going to college in five months. We might meet new people and find our forever. You don't want to go through a breakup while trying to fall in love with someone else, do you?"

    "James Donald Martinez, you're a terrible human being. You think you can just play with people's feelings like they're rag dolls. Well, let me tell you something, buddy. You can take your 'we're going to college soon' speech and shove it up your ass. But you're right, I was getting bored with you and I've had my eyes on someone else for a while. Maybe this breakup is a blessing. But mark my words, ROCK, your new piece of ass will never be as good as me."

      Well, that didn't go as planned. Oh well. When I make my way back downstairs as promised, I see Amy talking to another guy. It's Brody. This is not going to end well. He's into River, who is friends with Amy.

     I lose track of Amy and Brody, so I walk over to where Speedy and the guys are standing around, drinking and chatting. "What are you guys up to? Why aren't you with some girls right now?"

    "We were just wondering the same thing about you. Why is Amy hanging all over Brody instead of you?"

    "Because she's not my girlfriend anymore," I reply. Damion raises an eyebrow at this. "So, you finally broke up with her?"

    "Yep."

   "About time, brother," Damion says.

    I've had a few drinks by the time I make it outside to the porch. I sit down on the lounge chair by the pool in the backyard. I see Sydney, the girl who hangs out with River. "Hey Sydney, come talk to me!" I yell at her from across the lawn. She gives me a glare but reluctantly stomps over to me. She stands with her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

   "What do you think you're doing at my friend's house? You can't just have parties whenever you want. It's her who will get in trouble, not you," Sydney yells at me.

    "So what?" I reply.

    "You don't care if she gets in trouble, do you? Why do you make her life so difficult? What has she done to you?"

    "She stole my life."

      "What does that even mean? She didn't choose to have a terrible father and a mother who couldn't handle being in her life. Are you so angry because that's the life you wish you had?"

      Well, when she puts it that way... It makes me feel like a jerk. Sort of, but not really. My mom and Mr. Jim dated in high school, but once they went to college, Jim and Rivers' mom ended up at the same school while my mom and dad went to a different one. They all ended up falling in love with each other. My mom and Rivers' mom were best friends and remained friends even after the betrayal. Even though my mom says she and my dad fell in love way before Jim and Rivers' mom did. But hey, I guess it all worked out since my mom is about to marry Jim. But it's still so frustrating to tease her.

     After a moment, I look up and see Sydney walking away. Well, damn, I was planning on hooking up with her. Now I have to get up and go after her. "Hey Sydney, wait up," I say, chasing after her as she walks out of the backyard through the gate.

     "What do you want, James?"

      Oh, damn, she's calling me James now instead of Rock. Once I catch up to her, I grab her arm and pull her close to the fence, trapping her between the fence and me. "I wanted to talk to you about what you're wearing underneath your jeans," I tell her.

    "Get the hell off me, James, or I'll make sure you never use your little dick again," she threatens and pushes me to the ground. Damn, I think I'm in love.

    "You know you want me, Sydney."

   "About as much as I want to have sex with a dog," she yells at me, and I scrunch up my nose. Girl, you need a hobby.

     Sydney growls in frustration and walks away to her car. I ask her if she's going to tell the water girl about the party, but she just gives me the finger and leaves. I laugh and return to the party. Brody asks me where I went, and I reply, "Well, shouldn't you be upstairs with Amy?". Brody looks confused and asks if I knew about Amy coming over and asking him to go upstairs. I tell him that Amy mentioned being interested in someone else when we broke up, but I didn't know it was him. Brody insists that he wouldn't do that to River and advises me not to do it either. I sarcastically mention that he doesn't seem to mind drinking the beers. Brody reveals that he hasn't touched a drink because he's been busy making sure the party doesn't get out of hand. I sarcastically ask him how much I owe him for a job he hasn't done. Brody tells me to "fuck off" and informs me that we have a problem - the police are at the door because someone called in a noise complaint. Fucking Sydney.

      "Oh shit. This can't be good," I mutter to myself as I enter the house and make my way to the front door. "Hello officers, what can I do for you this fine evening?"

      "First of all, son, you can start by telling me where the homeowner is and why you're in their house on a weeknight," one of the officers sternly responds.

     "Well, sir, Mr. Jim Darby is my soon-to-be stepdad and I live here now. But to answer your question, he is out of town and River is at work, wherever that may be," I explain, hoping to diffuse the situation. Just then, I notice a new vehicle pulling up in the driveway. It's River's jeep.

     "Oh no, I'm in for it now," I mutter under my breath.

     "Hey Riv, tell these nice men that I live here now with you and Poppa Darby," I plead with River. She looks at me, and for a moment, I fear she's going to deny knowing me to the officers. But thankfully, she comes through for me.

    "Yes, he lives here," River confirms.

    "And does your dad know that you guys are throwing a party?" the officer questions River, and I can see panic in her eyes.

    "I knew nothing about this party. I was at work," River tells the officer. Jessica steps up beside River and corroborates their alibi, stating that they have been at the mall since five o'clock in the afternoon.

    I can't help but wonder where River works at the mall at five in the afternoon. I don't know of any place that would be open after 6, but what do I know.

   "I need you guys to shut down the party for the night. It's a weeknight, and it's 10:30 at night. Everyone needs to go home. I don't want to come back here tonight or any other night during the week, understood?" the officer commands.

   "Understood, sir," I reply, saluting him.

    Once the officers leave, River unleashes her anger on me.

     "What are you doing throwing a party at my house and leaving me to clean up after you, Rock? Why couldn't you have had it at your own house? Does your mom still own it? She wouldn't have known any different. If anyone calls my dad, it's me who gets in trouble, not you, Rock."

     "No one is going to call your dad, so calm down, girl."

     "Now is not the time for you to be calling me names. Rock, please get everyone out so I can clean the house before your mom comes home and calls my dad."

    Brody helps me get people out of the house, and as I turn away from River, her phone rings and I hear her groan. When I look over, I see her dad's name on her screen. She pushes past me, heading to her bedroom, but before she goes, she looks at me and whispers, "I hope you're happy."

    "Yep, I'm pretty damn happy."