A twisted, misplaced disappointment filled me when he didn’t move to get up and demand to know what I was doing here. Instead, he closed his eyes, pulled the redhead’s ponytail to the side, exposing her neck, and kissed her with a hunger that invoked the sharp pangs of something I refused to admit was jealousy.
He didn’t care about me anymore. He’d moved on. It was a good thing, but instead of being happy for him, I was upset, which was absurd.
Jess inhaled sharply, and I followed her gaze to Blake Jones, who was sitting on the same couch as Hayden with some brunette. He stared back at Jess in disbelief. The brunette was kissing his neck, her arm wound around his waist, but he didn’t pay any attention to her. He gave Jessica a once-over, and the air grew thick with the strange vibes from both of them.
I glanced at Jessica. She stood paralyzed, her gaze solely on Blake.
“Um, Jess?” I began, but then Melissa yelled, “Don’t pretend like I’m not here!”
Masen ignored her, racking up the balls and getting ready to make the opening shot. He bent and aimed, focusing on the cue ball. I caught sight of a few fresh bruises on his cheeks too.
“Are you listening to me?!”
“Move away, Satan. Stop bothering me.”
“What did you just call me?!”
Masen straightened. He was six feet tall and only hovered over her by two inches, but he looked intimidating nevertheless. “You heard me, Satan. Go and harass someone who gives a shit.”
Melissa looked like she was going to chop his head off. Masen leaned over the table and rested the front end of the cue stick between his fingers. Just as he was about to hit the cue ball, Melissa smacked his elbow and Masen’s pool cue scraped the felt.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Masen pushed her backward, throwing the cue on the table.
Steven got up from the bar stool and stopped between them, putting his hands on Masen’s shoulders to calm him down. “Hey, Mace. Relax.”
“This nutjob should relax! She looks like she needs to get fucked. She has a lot of that crazy tension inside of her that really goes on my nerves.” Mel’s face reddened in anger, the veins popping out on her temples. “Oh. Is that it? You need sex to let off some steam? Well, I have some bad news for ya, Satan. No one would fuck a disgusting, ugly girl like you. You don’t even look like a girl, to tell you the truth. Now, go back to your room and play with your voodoo dolls or something.”
“Bro, don’t talk to my sister like that,” Steven said in a raised voice, shoving him away.
Masen caught himself and gave Steven a cold look. “Stop defending her every time she fucks something up. She’s your sister, I get it, but don’t always try to get her out of the mess she’s made herself.”
“Nobody needs to get me out of my mess,” Mel hissed. “In fact, I’ll make an even bigger mess. Of your face!”
She pushed Steven aside and jumped on Masen, who lost his balance under her violent blows and fell on the ground trapped beneath her. Straddling his waist, she delivered a flurry of punches onto his chest and shoulders. Masen tried to push her off him, but she didn’t even budge.
“Get off of me, bitch!”
I shot over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, yanking her back. “Hey! Hey, Mel! Calm down!” I yanked her again, but she was strong.
“Let me go, Sar! I’ll show Barbie who he’s messing with!”
Barbie? What the hell was wrong with her? I knew she hated Steven’s friends, especially Hayden and his best friends, Blake and Masen, but her verbal clashes with Masen were getting worse recently, and I had no idea what had gotten into her.
“Barbie?” I growled into her ear, struggling to tear her away from him.
“Yeah. He’s blonde and stupid.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, now I know you drank too much.” I tugged her forcefully, and we both fell back on the floor.
“Finally,” Masen hissed. He stood up and glared at Mel. “I didn’t think the day would come when I would have to thank you, Sars,” he said sarcastically, but his sneer was directed at Melissa. “I’m not surprised you two are such good friends. Both of you are fucking creep shows.”
“YOU!” Melissa shrieked and got to her feet, tensing all over again. “I’ll show you a creep show! I’ll—”
“Mel! Enough!” I stood and grabbed her shoulders. She smacked my hand away, glowering at me. She opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted when one of the guys told Steven, “I think your sister would do great in the ring. She’s a natural fighter.”
Steven chuckled and looked at Jess on Mel’s other side, and then at me. “Sarah and Jessica! It’s good to see you here, girls,” he exclaimed, finally acknowledging us.
“Sarah Jessica Parker?” a guy who looked like Drake said, and a couple of guys chuckled.
Mel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, really funny. Steven, I want all these people out of my house right this moment.”
“And I want you to stop acting like you’re my parent, my little sister. Chill. We came here to relax after some fights. We won’t set the house on fire.”
“First of all, I’m not your ‘little sister.’ I’m only ten months younger than you. Secondly, you were fighting again. You obviously lied to our parents last week when you said you wouldn’t do it again.”
“So I lied. What’s the big deal?”
“What’s the big deal?! Underground fighting is a crime. It’s what criminals do, idiot! And our family is going through a rough patch at the moment! Do you want Mom and Dad to separate? Anything could push them over the edge, and we don’t need a reason for them to get divorced sooner rather than later!”
Steven’s expression turned serious; his stoned gaze suddenly cleared. A shadow crossed his face as he held her stare. “If that would make them stop breathing down my neck, then yes, I want them separated. Don’t you see they’re making everything worse? All they do is fight and find problems when there aren’t any.”
“You’re wrong. It’s not like that. Besides, you’re making everything more difficult for them—”
Steven rested his hands on her shoulders and leveled his eyes on hers. His jolly mask was back on his face in an instant. “Hey, sis. Relax. This is not the time to talk about something so lame. Since you’re here, have some fun instead of stressing over nothing.” He dropped his hands, rising to his full height. “But the next time you come hang, try wearing something else.” His eyes slid over Jessica and me, and he chuckled. “What are you three? The fifth graders? Those pajamas are so childish.”
I wished the ground would swallow me up and I wouldn’t have to face this embarrassment. I felt my cheeks burning as I returned Jess’s gaze, who looked equally uncomfortable. My skin prickled under the scrutiny of all these people, and I felt naked once again.
I glanced at Hayden and flinched when I found his dark eyes on mine. I still couldn’t discern any emotion in them as he returned my gaze without blinking. The redhead moved to sit next to him, looking at us with a mocking smirk on her beautiful face, and recognition dawned on me. It was Maya, a senior at our school and member of the cheerleading squad. She was also the girl Hayden had been kissing at Steven’s party two months ago.