Page 15 of From the Ashes
“Good thing your mom took pity on me when I moved in, huh?”
“I’m glad she did. I was pretty annoyed when she brought you over that first time. I can’t tell you how many times she tried to get me to make friends, one way or another. But I’m glad she brought you.”
A crooked smile filled Nix’s face. “Listen to us. Carrying on like a couple of old biddies. All this mushy stuff is making me want a beer.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, pulling my hand away even though it was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
We turned a corner and Nix let out a gasp. “Thank god! We’re here at last!”
I looked up, the light of a massive bonfire catching my eye. I could already hear the thumping of the music and see the dozens of bodies silhouetted against the flames, swaying back and forth with red cups in their hands. There were cars lined up and down the road and not a parent in sight. It was just the place for a bunch of high school seniors to cut loose one last time before they started their final year.
One last chance for Nix to find someone else before we headed off into the great unknown.
One last chance for my heart to break when that someone wasn’t me.
“Come on,” Nix said excitedly as he pulled the car to the side and threw it into park. “Let’s go get a beer and see what this shindig is all about!”
I put on my best fake smile, for his sake, and pretended to be excited as I got out of the car. Jogging to catch up with him, I followed him up to the fire where he immediately spotted three kegs propped up on flat stones. He grabbed us both a cup, filled them to the brim, and handed one to me. Holding his high in the air, he shouted toward the sky.
“To the great fire of love that consumes us all. May we rise from the ashes as one to walk through life hand in hand!”
“Right… uh… to that,” I replied, holding my cup up to the sky.
I’d heard that toast from him on more than one occasion. It was a play on his name and a salute to his favorite daydreaming subject. The romance he thought he’d never have. Not in Creekside at least. He was always coming up with poetic things like that. Although I found it a bit odd that he was doing it in front of a bunch of other people. Usually, it was just us down by the creek when he let out his creative side and allowed himself to be a bit silly. It was the part of him I liked the most.
Even as a few of them turned to look, Nix simply drained his cup and began to refill it. I, on the other hand, took a tentative sip, hated the flavor immediately, and decided I would be nursing this single cup for the rest of the evening. Besides, one of us needed to remain sober enough to drive home and judging by the fact that Nix was now working through hissecondcup of cheap beer, that person was most definitely going to be me.
It didn’t take long for Nix to drink enough beer to become friendly with all the people he’d come to hate over the years. I did my best to stay by his side, making sure he didn’t get into too much trouble. However, more than once he jumped over the fire before I could stop him and on the third time he singed a hole in his pant leg. I barely had enough time to snuff out the embers before he was off again.
After an hour or so, I was exhausted. I realized I couldn’t babysit Nix every second of the party. So, instead of trying to fit into the crowd or act like I wanted to be there, I went and found a quiet place to sit where I could watch. That way, just in case he got into any real trouble, I could be there to help.
The sound of the music was impossible to escape. However, I found a tall boulder a few yards up the mountain that made a good perch. I crawled up on top of it and swung my legs over the edge, staring down at the party below. My cup lay abandoned somewhere amongst the throng of bodies, but I didn’t miss it. I did find myself wishing I could leave though. Nix and I could’ve had a much better night by ourselves back at my house than what was going on here. Although now that he’d found the kids from the other school, he at least seemed like he was having fun.
“H-Hey,” a voice said from behind me.
My head whipped over my shoulder, nearly throwing my neck out. I hadn’t expected someone to be there. And as my gaze came to rest on a familiar face, my surprise doubled. Instead of returning the greeting, I just furrowed my brows.
“What do you want, Patrick?” I made no attempt to hide my disdain. The last person I wanted to talk to was the guy that was trying to fuck my best friend. “Leave me alone.”
“I… I wanted to talk to you, Charlie.”
“Oh? You using my first name now instead of calling meTubbyor some equally shitty nickname?”
Patrick seemed surprised by my animosity, but not confused by it. “I… I’m sorry, Charlie. I just did it because Jordan did.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I scoffed. “Fuck you.”
He nodded. “I deserve that.And worse.”
Nowthatgot my attention. None of the football boys, thekingsof the school, apologized for anything. Ever. If I didn’t hate him so much, I might’ve asked him why he suddenly felt the need not to be such an insatiable prick.
“What do you want?” I asked again.
“Just to talk for a second. Then I’ll go.”
I huffed in reply.
“Can I sit?”