Mutilate My Heart

Chapter 10

I hug Carli's fluffy black pillow to my chest and pop another grape into my mouth. Ink cursed Sketch out the whole way back to their bus and blamed him for what Corpse said. I don't think anyone of us expected anything to happen at Hetrick Hall, but I swear, I'll never go back to that music hall again. Sketch couldn't even convince me.

"Seriously, these people are like nearly fifty, and they listen to their music louder than we do," Carli complains.

She's right, though. Her mom has the stereo up so loud I'm surprised the neighbors haven't complained. Mrs. Gray swears it's only because they can't hear it as well by the pool.

"I don't think Mom realizes she's forty-seven and not twenty-seven," Carli says. "I just texted Corpse telling him to save us. He probably won't see it until tomorrow afternoon knowing him and his stupid sleeping patterns."

"Sketch may still be awake. I can call him and tell him to wake Corpse up," I offer.

She gives me a mischievous grin. "Do it."

I grab my phone from the bedside table and dial the toxic boy himself.

"Hello?"

I can barely hear his whisper over the music downstairs.

"Hey, did I wake you?" I ask.

He laughs. "Nah, what's up?"

What's up is Carli should have asked to stay at my house and not me at hers. This party is driving us insane!

"We're near death having to stay here. You and Corpse want to rescue us?" I ask.

I can hear his smile in his voice. "I'll wake the zombie boy, and we'll grab a taxi and head your way. What's her address?"

A sharp ping sounds from across the room. Carli and I jump up from her bed and run to the window. Corpse and Sketch squat down behind one of the many cars in Carli's yard and wave up to us. Salvation.

"Think we can get out without being seen?" I ask.

She nods. "Oh yeah, Mom's probably on her sixth martini. I doubt she'd know we were leaving even if she held the door open for us."

I take her word and slide my flip flops on. We hurry downstairs and push through the crowd of Carli's mom's middle-aged co-workers. The wet grass pokes around the top of my flip flops.

Carli runs straight to Corpse's arms like she hasn't seen him in months.

"I've always wanted to throw rocks at someone's window," Corpse says, laughing.

"And I was the one you lost your rock-throwing virginity to," Carli says like it's the sweetest thing in the world.

Sketch shakes his head at the two of them and turns to me.

"You know, if you two leave with us, there's no turning back," Sketch says.

I fall into his arms and breathe in the scent of his apple laundry detergent.

"I'm yours for the taking," I tell him.

He leans down and kisses me on the forehead before he laces his fingers with mine and pulls me to the road. The streetlights are like spotlights on the black asphalt ahead of us.

"So where do you ladies want to go?" Corpse asks.

"Let's go to Kidz Town," Carli says, jumping onto Corpse's back. "It's only a block away, and we can turn on the lights."

"What's Kidz Town?" Sketch asks.

"It's like a massive playground," I tell him.

He nods his head and tells me to lead the way.