SEVEN
BIANCA ROSE
It was eight at night and I was rummaging through the small bag of makeup I had. Uncle Ryan informed me that he would be out with his friends at a bar a few blocks away. He demanded that I be home by one in the morning, stopping at the bar to help him get home. I examined the tube of mascara that I had gotten two years back with money Jasper had given me for my fifteenth birthday. It was expired, but it was all I had so I quickly put it on instantly. After a few minutes of adjusting my hair and smudging chapstick onto my lips.
"You ready?" Claire asked, fluffing up her blonde hair and posing her lips into the mirror.
"Yeah." I sighed, I glared down at my busted black flats. My hands brushed off the lint pieces I had on the cheap black dress I had gotten from Ross.
Claire had attempted to convince me that I looked good, but the scrunched look on her face told it all. I looked horrible. She was wearing a pink dress from Macy's, Claire would brag about how expensive it was. That it was so called one of a kind. Yeah right! It looked like the person who made it had their eyes closed. I could never say that to her face though, I always decided to stay quiet.
"Then lets go! It smells like alcohol in here." Claire was sure to whisper the last part. I chose to ignore it as we gathered our things and headed out my bedroom to the front door. "So do you have any booze?" She questioned.
"What do you think is causing the smell, Claire?" I rolled my eyes as I fished through my purse for my keys.
She bit her lip nervously, "Sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear that." She apologized. I nodded. "Can we get some? Before we leave? So we can get a little fucked up beforehand?" Claire smiled at me. "Your uncle wouldn't care would he?" She asks.
Uncle Ryan would flip if he found out, but I gave in. Pointing down the hallway to a tall grandfather clock, "It has a cupboard. Open it." She squealed and jogged over to it, grabbing at a small bottle of whiskey. Claire quickly followed me outside and sat down on the steps of the porch.
"Uber is almost here." Claire informed me, opening up the bottle and taking a swig of the brown liquid. "I should have asked Luke if we could borrow one of his cars, right? From what I've seen, there's dozens of them. Maybe I should pick the Mercedes-Benz, what do you think?" She rambled.
I sighed, "I think you both are moving too quickly." My lip sunk into my bottom lip.
Claire scoffed, "As if! We've known one another for a solid two months now. He really cares about me, Bianca." She argued.
My shoulders shrugged, "You asked what I thought. That's what I think." I replied.
"Not about our relationship! I was talking about the car." She groaned, "Anyways, I really don't think you should be talking when you haven't even had someone to call a boyfriend yet." Claire raised an eyebrow. "Only fuck buddies, am I right?" She laughed.
I hummed, wanting to tell her no. I've been wanting to finally admit that I was a virgin, but Claire was the only person I considered a friend. Bad one or a good one, she was the only person who really talked to me. I knew the fact that I was inexperienced would ruin it all. My legs shook as we continued to wait for the Uber in the cold air. I gripped my winter coat tighter, looking over at Claire as she continued to talk, but she was muted in my mind. I wondered what the party would be like, how many people would be there and how drunk they would be. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. The party would be packed with Hearson students, none from Quantum, nobody to know who I was exactly, none to question my bruises.
"There's the uber!" Claire jerked my arm and dragged me towards the red SUV. "Hi, how are you." She spoke with the driver as we got in.
The ride consisted of Claire rambling to the driver and I both. I was tempted to open the door and roll out, hoping a car would run over me. It only took about thirty minutes to get across town, traffic was heavy in Hearson. We watched people walk up and down streets to go to restaurants and shops. I rarely went to the other side, mostly because I had no ride.
