And Then There Were Four by Lilith Carrie

I never imagined going to a party would be the way it was. I had attended a few in high school, but it wasn’t ever my scene. So when I followed Kate into the massive fraternity house, I was in shock. There had to have been a hundred people here, and the smell of sweat and beer lingered in the air.

No wonder I never came.

Scrunching my nose, I moved through the bodies following Kate towards the back where drinks lingered, and the music blared.

“I am so glad you came out tonight!” Kate exclaimed as she poured us a drink.

“Yeah, me too. I really needed to get away from all the male testosterone at the house. It’s become overbearing.” I giggled, causing her to laugh. “Where are the girls?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders, looking around, “I don’t know. They said they would meet us here.”

Looking around, I attempted to search for them but quickly gave up because my eyes landed on a figure I hadn’t expected to see— James.

His hands were wrapped around a pretty blonde, and she was giggling at the way he leaned in and kissed her neck. My heart sank at that moment, and the urge to throw up was real. I couldn’t believe that he would come on to me the way he did and then turn around and throw me away like I was nothing.

Kate’s eyes followed mine, and when she saw what I did, she touched my arm. “Don’t Ivy. He is a complete a s s h o l e . Don’t let him ruin your night.”

“Oh, I’m not.” I snarled before downing my drink in one go and pouring myself another.

“Whoa!” Kate laughed, “I thought you said you weren’t going to really drink?”

As I looked at him again, I noticed his eyes on me and a look of shock on his face.

“Yeah, well, I guess I changed my mind.” Lifting the cup back, I downed it, not breaking eye contact with him, and then held it up in salute before pouring another. “Let’s go dance.”

Turning, I made my way through the crowd back into the house and into where everyone was grinding and dancing on each other. Kate swayed to the beat with me, and before I knew it, the alcohol took hold of me, and I lost myself to the music.

The warm fuzzy sensation running through my body helped me to forget about why I had been upset in the first place. I no longer cared what anyone had to say or what they thought. At some point, Bree and Mandy had found us, and Kate quickly filled them in on what was wrong with me.

“Don’t let him get to you!” Bree yelled over the music, causing me to laugh.

“Oh, I’m not.” Grabbing a tall, built body, I pulled it close to me and smiled up at his hazel eyes. I wasn’t sure who he was, but he didn’t seem to care either, and he held onto me with a firm grip.

He wasn’t James or even one of the others, but at that moment, that’s what I wanted. Someone to help me forget about the way those four men made me feel.

“Get the f u c k off her.” Someone said as a growl resonated through the living room, causing others to stop and stare at what was going on.

Looking up, I found James’ eyes and his disappointed stare at what I was doing. “Is there a problem?” I asked him with irritation and confusion.

“Seriously, Ivy?” His reply was sarcastic, “let’s go. It’s time to leave.”

“Look man, she is having fun. Leave her alone.” The guys I was dancing with said, causing James to glare at him again and growl.

“Take your hands off her right now, or I will personally beat you within an inch of your life.” The guy quickly did as he said and lifted his hands in the air in defense.

“Ain’t no b i t c h worth a beating. F u c k i n g take her, man.”

All it took was the guy to call me a b i t c h, and before I knew it, the guy was lying on the floor with a busted lip. “Disrespect her again!” James yelled, causing me to jump back in shock before his eyes turned back to me.

“Let’s go… now.”

As I looked towards Kate, her own eyes were wide, and confusion filled me. James, however, wasn’t planning on giving me any more time to think about it. He hoisted me over his shoulder once more and carried me out of the frat house and back towards my car.

“James put me down!” I yelled at him, “you don’t get to do this! Go back to that blonde wh o r e you were talking to, and let me have my fun.”

James quickly dropped me to my feet, pressing me against the passenger side of my car. “Shut your mouth, and get in the d a m n car, Ivy.”

I had never seen this side to James before, and he was beyond furious with me and what happened tonight. The entire drive back to the house was silent, but as soon as the car was parked, I jumped out, slamming the door behind me as I marched myself back towards my cottage in a drunken state.

“Ivy!” James yelled after me as I continued to ignore him.

A night that was supposed to be fun and stress-free turned into a s h i t show. Opening the door to my cottage, I went to close it and came to face with James, who pushed his way into my place once again. “Would you stop and listen to me?” He asked.

“Why, James? I was having fun, and you just had to ruin it.”

“Fun.. with that piece of s h t?!” He exclaimed in anger. “He would have used you and threw you away like you were nothing!”

“So what! What if I just wanted that one-time release!”

“No.” The growl that left him had his eyes turning gold once more. “You will not let another man touch you.”

“Are you listening to yourself? You don’t have the right to dictate to me what I can and can’t do.” All the emotions of what was happening let tears build up and slowly stream down my face in frustration.

“There are things I can’t explain to you, and trust me, I wish I could. It would make things so much easier…” A sigh left his lips as he ran his fingers through his hair as if fighting internally with himself on what he was supposed to do.

“Just tell me. What’s going on?” I pleaded with him wanting to understand.

“I can’t, Ivy.” He mumbled, “I wish I could, but I can’t..”

I couldn’t understand why they were treating me the way they were. None of it made sense, and the more and more I tried to understand, the worse it made me feel.

“You can’t or won’t? I know I am nothing but a s t u i d southern b it c h with no sense of life to you and your brothers, but you have no idea how wrong you are.”

“Ivy, don’t. We don’t think that.” The concern and confusion on his face sat deep within me.

“Then kiss me…kiss me, James. Or leave.”

Hesitation sat between us, and I waited for him to kiss me, but instead, I saw him back up towards the door, and a little piece of me broke. “That’s what I thought…”

Shaking my head, I sighed, letting the tears stream down my face, “f u c k it…” His reply caught me off guard, and before I knew it, his lips were on mine.

The heated passion between us blew my mind, and I didn’t want it to stop. James made me feel a flow of emotions I didn’t know were real, and at that moment, I never wanted them to stop.