January 19
We went to the city for the night out. We usually don’t go to the city unless we’re on the job, so I immediately knew something was up.
The first thing I did before we went out was try to cover up the scar. Again. I don’t know why I keep trying. I have too many events where it bleeds again. I wish I could heal it. Corvun said he was working on a remedy for me, but the most he’s ever been able to give me is an ointment with painkillers and something to make the skin less red. I don’t know why it bothered me that night, but it did. I think I just knew we’d be taking pictures so I wanted it gone, again.
Then, THEN they proceeded to kidnap me. I kid you not. If it had just been Vena or Jayren, I would not have let them do it alone, but Corvun was in on it. Corvun—he put a bag on my head like I was some prisoner or something. The nerve. He’s the only one I’d let get away with that. He’s just…he’s Corvun. I was in the middle of styling my hair. You have to understand: when I ask Vena if my hair looks good, she more or less shrugs. When I ask Jayren if my hair looks good, he yells something about being on the phone, or about reading (we all know he doesn’t read), or says he’s busy. Corvun is the only one who is ever in the least kind enough to say it looks good. He notices when I do something different with my hair. So I was styling it different that night, half up in a bun. He came in. He noticed. Complimented me. Right before he put a fucking bag over my head. (He messed up my hair.)
I don’t know how Carina got the car. God knows she probably stole it. They threw me in the back seat and Jayren went on about his alien conspiracy theories on the way into the city. I think he’s an idiot sometimes. If aliens were real, Jayren would be the first one they’d take out of this world. (Hah! Get it? Out of this world.) I told them it was too dark for me, with the bag and all, and Jayren was the one who took my side so I have to give him that much. They took the bag off my head. Jayren had picked out a red suit. Not like his typical, player-red suit. But like—like a crimson red that flashed like scales. Vena, she had picked out some skimpy cocktail dress. Gold and glitter, as always. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes. Damn, her eyes. She wore that dark makeup, too. She could’ve asked me to kiss her shoe right then and there and I would’ve done it.
So we got there, and it was amazing. They had a real karaoke setup with stage lights and mic stands. They had a baby grand piano, too. Corvun said he bought out the place for one night—only our acquaintances were allowed in. That meant some of our more-or-less friendly rivals. That meant Oph, later. And that meant the piano was all mine. I got straight to it before Corvun could dare me to a round of shots. I played the song I first played with Vena that first night we all went out for karaoke. Holy Ground by Taylor Swift. Vena sat on my lap this time, not beside me like before.
When she wished me happy birthday—hell, I’d forgotten all about it. When everyone started showing up, it all came together. I kind of wanted to disappear. I did for a while, with Vena. I like it better when it’s just me and her. She makes everything quiet. My heart was beating out of my throat, though. That was the only thing that was loud. I’m okay with that kind of loud. We went to the bar a little later, and she left me there while she went looking for the others to make a toast. Just about that time, these two dudes came up. They were good looking, I’ll give them that. I would have talked more, but I think I still had Vena’s lipstick on me. Couldn’t do it. So I just sat there like a blushing idiot.
Corvun came over and threatened to eliminate the two from existence if they didn’t leave me alone.
I didn’t necessarily want them to leave me alone. The blond one was cute enough.
Vena came back with Jayren, and they gave a toast. I wish I could remember the whole of it. I couldn’t see, halfway through it. Vena gave her two cents on me—how there’s always two ways to look at a situation, and that with me, it was always the better of the two. Jayren told the room how, if I wasn’t around, there’d really be no point at all. “I mean, there’s no point in YOLO if you can’t have a partner in crime. Who better than Death himself?” The idiot. He got a round of applause for it anyway. Corvun though. You know Corvun. He got up there and gave the sappy nonsense. He made us all cry. You don’t want to know the half of it.
In the end, it was the best twenty-second birthday party ever.
xoxo
Orion
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