05. The chapter in which Rose is an insane bitch

Rose

Liam was right, I didn't hear from Allie the next few days and only met her again on Saturday, during the party he made sure to take me to.

I parked my red 66 Mustang outside the frat house, where loud music was playing. A few girls in bikinis walked past us, attracting the boy's attention. I reached for my cell phone, activating the front camera, checking my appearance. After running my hands through my loose hair, I smoothed the flowery fabric of the blouse I was wearing, checking that the knot between my breasts that held it closed was firm.

" Come on, little Michelangelo wannabe, be ready to turn heads wherever you go," he winked at me before getting out of the car.

I couldn't hold back a small smile at hearing that ridiculous nickname, and I got out of the car, walking beside him as I watched the movement around us. I could see two guys being barred for not belonging to any fraternity, and for a moment, I thought the same would happen to us, but Liam just walked into the house, dodging the people dancing downstairs, while his gaze searched for something.

" The drinks table, what would you like, Rose? " His smile widened as he met his target " We have cheap beer and... something mixed with cheap vodka.”

He declared after sniffing the contents of one of the red paper cups that were lined up on the table.

" I'm driving, Liam," I denied.

" More cheap booze left for me then," he shrugged, picking up one of the glasses, "I thought you might be up for some fun tonight.”

That's when a lively song started playing in the other room, making me smile.

" And who says I'm not?” I winked at him, taking his hand and dragging him toward the music.

I let go of his hand as soon as I reached an improvised dance floor, joining a few girls dancing there. Liam watched me, sipping the contents of his glass with a smile on his face, and it only took a few minutes for him to finish, approaching me as he noticed the other guys from the fraternity starting to come toward me.

He hugged me from behind, attaching my body to his, moving at the same pace as me.

" I might want to meet those guys," I turned my face to look at him.

" Believe me, you don't. These guys are the worst, you'll want to stay away from them," he warned me with an expression serious enough that I didn't question him.

We finished the song and he pulled me into the kitchen, in search of something better to drink. 

We stood in the doorway as soon as we arrived, exchanging amused glances as we were confronted with a curious scene, to say the least. Allie and three other girls, who I assumed were the freshmen who had joined the sorority, were lined up with brushes and some paint, doing body painting on a row of boys. 

My former roommate looked mortified as she made a shaky drawing of a tribal on some guy's abdomen.

" Now that's something you don't see every day," I caught her eye, receiving a relieved smile in return.

" Rose, Hey... you came.” 

" This looks like fun, I want to try it," Liam scoffed, taking off his shirt.

" Do you have another brush? " I asked, knotting my hair in hopes of keeping it out of my face while I worked.

Allie indicated a glass with numerous brushes and paints. I chose one, approaching the boy to begin working on his body.

" What do you say, Van Derr Waal? Would you like a barbed wire? A skull? A bunch of butterflies? " I winked at him. 

" I trust you and your artistic skills," he assured me.

I placed the brush on his collarbone, moving down his chest, drawing the silhouette of a snake across his muscles. His eyes followed my every move with a smug smile on his face. I couldn't deny that Liam was handsome, and if it hadn't been for the feeling I had already noticed Skyller had for him, I probably would have taken the opportunity to find out if he lived up to his reputation.

I finished the drawing with white paint, making some details like eyes and scales, ignoring the other girls' glances at our little interaction.

" I'm next, pussycat," a male voice caught my attention, making me snort as I found Jax O'Donnel, the troglodyte who had run me over last week, standing beside me taking off his shirt.

" Just what I need " I muttered disgruntled.

" I'll have a barbed wire around my..." He brought his hand up to the waistband of his pants, making my eyes widen. 

Does the jerk really want to take his clothes off here?

Liam looked as if he was about to interfere, but a raspy female voice interrupted him.

" If you start disrespecting my girls while they're guests in your party, we have a problem, Rookie," Audrey Dixon approached, to the relief of the girls who were with me.

" No, I was going to say I want a barbed wire in my arm, there's no disrespect in that, is there? " he said.

" Of course not," Liam sneered.

" Wow, we have a talent." Audrey traced the muscles of Liam's abdomen, running her fingers up to where the snake was painted.

" I'd look a lot hotter tattooed, wouldn't I, Ade? " Liam winked at her.

That remark made her giggle, and she turned away to check on the other girls' work.

" You should get a tattoo," she agreed.

" He could do it if they used paint brushes instead of needles," I answered, putting the brushes aside and receiving a surprised look from the girl.

Liam's fear of needles was no secret in our group of friends, but it seems she hadn't expected me to know this information.

" Come on girls, someone wants to meet you, Allie," Audrey changed the subject, wrapping her arms around us and pulling us toward the door, leaving me satisfied to leave Jax O'Donnel behind.

We crossed the foyer, heading for a game room where a group was gathered playing video games. I watched the group of guys who looked more like children surrounding the couch, cheering as if they were at a major sporting event. The game ended, causing a young man with light hair and green eyes to get up from the couch vibrating with victory.

" Oh my God, it's Wayne Simmons," Allie whispered to Audrey.

" Yes, and he's dying to meet you," she confided.

" Who is Wayne Simmons? " I asked Allie in a low tone.

" He's a senior in pre-med, and his dad is super influential. Waterfall Central Hospital has a wing named after the Simmons family," she explained.

 " He is exactly the kind of person that someone as successful as Allie wants to be, should have a relationship with," Audrey assured.

That's when I saw Christian Davis making his way through the crowd, looking out of place. I nudged Allie, pointing him out, but to my surprise, instead of being happy, she looked annoyed.

" Well, your friend has arrived.”

" Who is she talking about? " Audrey followed my gaze.

Christian saw us, and waved discreetly to her, giving her a small smile, seeming to expect her to come to him, since he had been avoiding me since our last contact.

" Oh, he's nobody, just a guy who lives in the same residence hall as Rose. I used to talk to him sometimes," Allie remarked, causing me to raise my eyebrows in surprise.

" Great. Wayne, someone here is dying to meet you," Audrey hummed.

The young man handed the control to a friend, coming toward us in a confident pose. While Christian looked confused as he noticed that he had been ignored.

" What are you doing? " I whispered to Allie.

" Don't say anything, please," she returned, before rushing forward to meet the guy, leaving me stunned.

My gaze turned to Christian, who stared at the situation with a disbelieving expression, just before a small sarcastic smile appeared on his lips. I felt my blood boil with Allie's attitude, she spent the last weeks encouraging this guy, she invited him to come and didn't even bother to talk to him!

" If you want, I can introduce you to some interesting boys, Rose. Anderson Cutter thought you were very pretty at the party last week, and you know, the invitation to join the sorority is still open, so you should take advantage of it.

" Thanks, but I promised my parents that I wouldn't join any cults while I was in college," I muttered before turning my back on her, not expecting any response.

I walked toward the entrance hall, watching Christian make his way through a group of boys laughing near the entrance. I tried to catch up with him, even though I didn't know what to say, but the sheer number of people prevented me from moving quickly.

" That jerk thought he had a chance with a babe like that," I heard Jax sneering at some of the guys as I approached the door.

Once again I felt my blood boil with Allie's selfish attitude. Christian may be the jerk I'll gladly throw some more booze at, but he didn't do anything to deserve that attitude.

I finally left the house, seeing the boy almost at the end of the street, walking nonchalantly with both hands in his pockets.

My car was parked in front of the house, and to my unpleasant surprise, a guy was leaning there, talking to three girls. I took a deep breath and approached in determined steps, causing his smile to widen at the sight of me.

" Hey sweetie, you want to know a little bit about the car too? " he winked at me.

" What? " I frowned, not understanding what that idiot was talking about.

" I'd invite you for a ride, but I left the key in my room and it's impossible to get in there right now," he insisted.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile as I understood what was going on.

" I really want to go for a drive, but luckily I have the key, since this is my car. So I'd appreciate it if you'd pull over before you end up scratching the paint job," I warned, turning the group around and heading toward the driver's side.

The girls exchanged a disdainful look and walked away in silence when they realized that they were being cheated, but I had no time for that drama. I took off in the Mustang and after turning the corner it didn't take long for me to catch up with Christian who was walking along looking up at the sky with a thoughtful expression. I slowed down, lowering the window to get his attention.

" Hey Davis, get in the car, I'll give you a ride.”

Christian looked at me, ignoring me as he walked back nonchalantly.

" The residence hall is two miles away, let's go," I insisted, following his slow pace with the car.

" Get in the car with the lunatic who hit me with a glass last time? No, thanks," he replied without looking at me.

I took a deep breath, resisting the urge to just leave him behind.

" Don't be childish, that party sucked.”

" Did you ask her to do that? Because I was just messing with you, there were other ways to get revenge," he commented thoughtfully, making me feel bad for what had happened.

I stopped the car, going over in my mind my brief friendship with Allie. I shouldn't be surprised, she acted exactly as she did in high school, deep down, she was still the same spoiled girl as always.

" If I agreed with what she did, I wouldn't be here threatening you, would I? " I raised my voice to get his attention.

" But you didn't threaten me," he answered without looking at me again.

" Sorry for the slip, get in the damn car so I can be nice and give you a ride before I run you over! " I yelled back.

" You may be a crazy person, but you're not a completely insane bitch, so I'll just keep walking and you won't have the courage to…

He didn't finish his sentence, as I sped away, throwing the car at him, stepping a few inches onto the sidewalk. Christian jumped to the side, falling close to a fence, narrowly missing being hit, and let out a surprised yell at my attitude.

I stopped the car a few meters ahead, sticking my head out, watching his astonished face stare at me in utter disbelief.

" You have no idea what this insane bitch has the nerve to do, so get in the damn car," I offered him my most innocent smile, having the pleasure of watching the guy  give up on me and walk towards the passenger door.