Every End Is A New Beginning (BWWM) (BWAM)

Chapter 1

A party. It was just a party. A high school party to be exact. A high school graduation party to be even more exact. A high school party that left supposedly 16 dead and 14 boys and girls missing. Oddly I remember everything about that day.

Our graduation day seemed a little too perfect. The sun was out, the clouds were fluffy and it wasn't even a bit humid. We sat patiently in the cheap lawn chairs organized in rows for hours just to walk across that stage and receive our diploma. Yes, a piece of paper that took four years of hell to earn. But it was worth it. We all knew it. Pictures were taken for who knows how long until kids were forcefully ripping the cameras out of their own parents' hands. For some students the busiest part of their graduation day had come to an end but my friends were just getting started.

I was never a social butterfly in school but when I did make good friends I kept them close. I spent most of my time with four other girls. Some I've know since I was in diapers while others I had only met my sophomore year but every single one was special to me. Penelope Johnson. A true firecracker. Penelope and I were alike in a lot of ways. Overly sarcastic, bitchy and in love with ASAP Rocky. But we were different in a lot of ways too. She knew everyone and I knew who I wanted to know. She took risks and I didn't. Despite our differences we always got along great so when she asked all of us to attend her party how could I refuse?

Penelope had invited around forty people to her party. Ideally nothing could go wrong. Her parents were out of town, her little sister would sleep at a friend's house and she had a pool. As people were told to show up at around six, the girls and I arrived early to help set up. After distributing plastic cups and utensils on her kitchen table and moving any valuables to the basement we figured a few extra hours of tanning wouldn't hurt. I remember pulling out the new baby blue bikini I had bought. Dying to show off my "summer body" that I vigorously worked on for three months. Thinking back, we never knew four hours later nothing would ever be the same.

By seven o'clock almost everyone invited was there. The sun was just beginning set, people were having drinks and I remained where I had been for the last three hours. Laying in a beach chair. Well actually I had fallen asleep. Apparently sorting forks, spoons and knives was had work. But that was besides the point. My friends had left me for hours out in the sun to the point where my already brown skin turned an even deeper shade of brown. Believe me, I loved my summer glow but the tan lines weren't going to be pretty. Around eight-thirty I realized I was alone. I woke and passed by a couple of rowdy kids in the pool, heading to the bathroom near the kitchen. Someone must have been hooking up in there because the door was locked so I made my way to the upstairs bathroom. Halfway through washing my hands the lights went out. I flipped the light switch several times to see if they would turn back on but nothing worked. I exited the bathroom making my way back downstairs where I could still hear the music and muffled voices. As I reached the very bottom step, chaos erupted.

Gun shots. It could have been fireworks but the screams near the pool said otherwise. Kids began to push each other towards the front door. As the shots got closer and closer to Penelope's porch kids began to push harder and harder. I couldn't see anyone clearly only glimpses of faces due to the LED lights. I called out my friends' names but my small voice was drowned out by cries of another kid getting shot near the front door. Up ahead stood men built like linebackers in a black suits guarding the front door. As the crowd retreated towards the back door they were only met with similar men. With nowhere to go we all decided to just stay put until two shots were fired into the air.

"Everyone listen up! If you want to live you'll do as I say," the voice said from the direction of the front door. "Everyone in this room needs to slowly, very slowly, sit on the ground with their hands up. On your way down you must close your eyes. If I see any part of your eyes we'll shoot."

I immediately shut my eyes while trying to calm the rest of my body down. I was beginning to shake and I could practically hear my heart pounding in my chest. I was sweating profusely yet I wasn't crying yet. The shuffling of shoes could be heard all over the house. The urge to peak and see what they were doing was strong but I wouldn't let curiosity get the best of me, I valued my life a lot more. As I focused on my breathing I noticed the shuffling getting closer to me. It became impossible to keep myself calm. I could feel a presence behind me as a tear finally rolled down my cheek. A gloved hand gently rested on the left side of my neck while something damp was used to wiped the right side. I heard more rustling from behind me before there was a stinging sensation where they had wiped before.

"No, no please don't," I tried to wiggle out of their grasp but there was a tingling spreading throughout my body. Soon everywhere felt numb and I couldn't move a muscle. I felt myself being carried but I didn't know where as I was still too afraid to open my eyes. I noticed that more tears escaped my eyes as I could taste the saltiness in my mouth. What did they give me? What type of drugs? Was I going to die? I was beginning to slip unconscious. I don't remember too much after that but one of the last things I heard was the firing of shots in the distance.