There's No Price On Love

You know, there’s really nothing better than the sound of blasting music and laughter in your life.

Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but right now, at my party, that’s what was making me smile.

Hoards of people had shown up, each with little wrapped gifts in one hand and bottles of Smirnoff vodka in the other. Most were people I knew but the majority were people I didn’t, which in the end, didn’t matter because the whole party was about me anyway.

The door bell rang again and I hoped to God it was Sam. It was already past midnight and he still hadn’t shown meaning that if he decided not to come, he was dumped. I wouldn’t even think twice about it either.

Sam still hadn’t called me after our fight, without the exception of him calling my lost cell phone. I get that he’s mad and all, plus I kind of went overboard when throwing his phone out the window but seriously, he should get over himself. Couples fight; people get mad, big deal. It’s life.

I fought through the crowd to get to the door, only to have my mother answer it before me. Turns out, it was Sam and Derek, each with a nicely wrapped gift in their hands, politely saying hello to my mother before merging into the crowd. I let a grin cross my face as I went after them, trying to get to Sam.

I know I owe him a big apology but I wasn’t going to ruin my night.

I tapped his shoulder lightly after he placed the gift on the towering table and he spun around, his grey eyes fixing on mine. He half-grinned at me before gesturing to the table of gifts.

“Looks like you’re not short on birthday presents.” I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, raising an eyebrow.

“None of these mean anything.” I whispered in his ear. “The best on I have is right in front of me.”

I kissed his lips lightly and ignored the horrible guilt pounding through my veins. I could be such a heartless bitch sometimes.

“So I’m guessing that this means you forgive me?” He murmured over the blaring music. I pretended to look thoughtful for a brief second then gave him my best smile.

“Depends on what you bought me.” I teased and rested my head on his shoulder. His hand placed itself on the small of my back and lead me through the crowd. The music rang deafeningly through my head, the DJ calling out my name and the crowd repeating it. Sam was high-fiving people around him, no longer fixing his attention on me.

Finally I got out of the crowd and ignored the calls of my name while I headed to the bathroom, running a hand through my messy brown locks. I slammed the door shut and sat down on the sink, breathing in deeply. Okay so maybe I was just a little more than guilty.

It wasn’t like I wanted to somehow screw around with William of all people. He was everything I wanted to be against: Perfect, rich and a liar. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn’t exactly fighting back against that in a way that I should. I was still trying to live up to those expectations more often than I should. Not necessarily my parent’s but my teachers, friends and Sam.

I sighed heavily and turned the tap on, running my wrists beneath the ice cold water to slow my over-beating heart. I wouldn’t tell Sam tonight, maybe I wouldn’t ever tell him. If I never told him though, I would never be in trouble and I wouldn’t be any better than the people I want to leave out of my life.

I’d tell Sam in a week or so. Maybe if I’m lucky, William won’t show up to my party and things would be so good that I won’t act awkward. If only life was that perfect.

I got off the sink, my heels making a loud clicking noise and turned to face myself in the mirror.

I looked fine, my hair was perfect and so was my makeup. My dress hugged every curve of my body and my legs looked long and lean. My eyes were a different story.

I glanced away, unable to hide the guilt. Emma Taylor doesn’t do guilty.

But there’s only so long I can stand in the bathroom feeling guilty without someone knocking on the door, threatening that if I don’t get out right now, they’re going to puke on the birthday cake.

I left the bathroom, narrowly missing the person running into it and slamming the door in my face. Before I knew it, hands were reaching out and grabbing my arms, lifting me up and passing me through the crowd despite my loud laughs of protest.

Once I was lifted onto the stage with an apple martini placed in my hand, I looked out to the crowd and grinned, my eyes locking with Sam’s. I glanced away quickly, a shamefaced look covering my face and felt a hand grasp my shoulder. My mother was standing beside me, looking more like it was her birthday party than mine. She retrieved the microphone from the stand and cleared her throat before giving me a beaming smile.

“So is everyone having a good time?” She said and laughed when a tidal wave of cheers erupted. I actually had to plug my ears, a smile still playing on my lips. My mother shushed them and brushed a strand of perfect, blonde hair out of her eyes. She smoothed down her skirt then turned to me.

“Emma, I know you’ve heard it time and time again but . . .” She placed a hand on my shoulder, her touch feeling distant on my skin. “I am so proud of how far you’ve come in life.”

I glanced down at my shoes briefly then out at the crowd again, my eyes narrowing slightly. She was going to say it, I could feel it.

“Your father would be proud as well.” There it was. I jerked my head at her sharply and murmured:

“Don’t you dare mention him.”

My mother’s face faltered slightly but she regained composure quickly. She pasted another fake grin on her face and turned back to the crowd.

“So now, both Charlie and I have decided on the perfect gift for you. We both know that you needed a new car and so . . .” She held out a pair of keys and kissed my forehead. I accepted them and immediately hated the feel of the cold metal on my palm. “Happy birthday Emma.”

I smiled tightly then jangled the keys in front of the crowd, cheers rising.

“But wait! There’s something else.” My mother said loudly into the mike, a grin still on her face. I twirled the keys and waited for her to continue.

A car, what else could there be?

“Emma, meet ALL TIME LOW!” I nearly dropped my keys when music began playing. For fuck sakes, she really outdid herself this year.

Of course, the boys from All Time Low came on stage, Alex already singing the first words to ‘Stella’.

I could have died.

I smiled and began dancing, wondering how on Earth I could be so lucky and so unlucky at the same time.

*

3 AM.

I rubbed my eyes and staggered around the room, wondering if I had passed out or just fell asleep. My party was still raging and I couldn’t find Sam no matter how hard I tried. I was missing a shoe and the room spun dangerously as I giggled drunkenly. So my brain was a bit out of it, at least I was having fun.

I leaned against the wall for a second, watching everyone dance energetically and have the time of their lives. The bar was pushing out drinks like crazy and I could see my mother and Charlie standing in the corner, laughing and dancing together.

Charlie’s strawberry blonde hair was messed up and sticking out at odd angles, making him look like a psychotic version of ‘Strawberry Shortcake’. My mother still looked perfect, a glass of champagne in one hand and the other hand clamped to the back of Charlie’s neck.

The car keys were clenched in my hand, poking holes in the palm. The music was still pounding through my ears and my head began to pound as well in response. I ran a hand through my hair and began trudging through the crowd, thoughts of finding Sam still fresh in my mind.

People said their ‘happy birthdays’ and ‘congrats Emma!’, words all making no sense in my mind. I nearly tripped three times, finally taking my shoes off so I could paddle through the crowd without killing myself.

I managed to get outside and inhaled the fresh air deeply. The sky was spinning dangerously and I nearly collapsed when a pair of hands caught me, wrapping them comfortably around my waist. I giggled and turned around, expecting to see Sam but then my smile turned to a frown as I looked into the eyes of William.

“Would you like, mind getting your filthy hands off of me?” I slurred, pulling the hands off of my waist and falling to the ground. I landed on the ground with a heavy thump, my hip now screaming in pain that I couldn’t really feel. I scowled and rubbed it as I stumbled to get onto my feet, ignoring William’s stare.

“I think you’re drunk Emma.” William said with a hint of humour in his voice, crossing his arms over his chest victoriously. I pointed a finger at him and shook it.

“You shut up.” I said loudly and began walking in the opposite direction that William was standing in.

“Emma, you can’t go out there alone. Especially not completely wasted out of your mind.” His hand clamped on my wrist and I jerked away again.

“I’m not wasted if I know better than to go anywhere with someone like you.” I snapped and glared at him the best I could without wobbling on my feet. William laughed and followed me, his hands placed in the pockets of his blazer.

“You didn’t think that way yesterday Emma.” He responded and moved closer to me. I stopped suddenly and gave him the dirtiest look I could muster.

“Yesterday, William, was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life. Don’t go thinking that all of a sudden I have feelings for you or something.”

“I know for a fact that you do.” He murmured and twirled a strand of my hair. I pulled away and slapped him across the face, which didn’t do much considering I kept missing his face.

“I don’t William.” I snarled and looked around me for anyone else. The yard was empty except for me and him.

“Look Emma, I understand that you don’t want this lifestyle. You want to escape, get away from everything like your family and of course, Sam. You don’t know where you’re going in life and honestly, I don’t know where I’m going either. That’s why you’re going to come with me for a drive, where you can drink with me and talk about these things. Where you can finally understand that we aren’t as different as you’d like to think.”

I paused for a moment then met his gaze, still tipsy and unsure now of what to do.

“How . . . How do I know that you’re even telling the truth? You’re just like the rest of them; you lie to get what you want. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

William smiled slightly then sighed heavily.

“Fine, don’t believe me.” He said at last and touched my cheek.

“I won’t.” I snapped before moving back toward the house. William didn’t follow me this time and stayed put.

“But Sam might believe me.” He called out and I stopped. My breathing increased and I looked back at him over my shoulder, his smug face sending pangs of anger through my system. I moved back toward him quickly, placing my face inches from his.

“You better not say anything to Sam. Whatever happened between you and me that night meant nothing and it’s up to me to tell him myself.”

William smiled daintily and shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re no better than the rest of us Emma. You claim that I’m no different from anyone else with this lifestyle but really, what makes you so different from me? You lie to get whatever you want, you’re materialistic and you have to have the best of everything. You’re just another spoiled rich bitch, just like any other teenage girl in this world.”

I avoided his gaze and narrowed my eyes, my eyebrows furrowing.

“You don’t understand.” I muttered angrily. William tilted my chin up to face him.

“You think I don’t when really, I understand better than anyone here. They aren’t like us Emma. They don’t understand what it’s like to live a life of lies like we do.” I shook my head and brushed my bangs out of my face.

“They live here; they have the same pressures we do. We aren’t different from them. I’m different from them.”

“Then tell me how you’re so different from me.” William placed his hands on my cheeks, sliding them down to my shoulders. I didn’t pull away because in actuality, I was curious on how he was different from me.

“I lost my father, I hate my stepfather, and I have a brother who isn’t even fully related to me. My mother doesn’t care about and she doesn’t miss my dad, my dad died in a freak accident. I don’t think that happened to you, I can’t end up like my mother. I don’t want to be that heartless.”

“My mother cheated on my father and my parents divorced. The reason why she cheated is because my father went bankrupt.” I glared at him.

“That happens all the time out here.”

“She cheated on him with another woman.” William half grinned at me and for a second, I didn’t see a slime ball but instead, an actual human being with problems of his own.

“That sucks.” I murmured and folded my arms over my chest. William nodded and we stood in silence for a few minutes, the only sound was the wind and the distant sound of loud music.

“So, does that mean you’ll go for a ride with me?”

I looked up and met his gaze, unsure of what to do. I finally nodded slowly and slipped my hand in his, stumbling after him to the stretch limo that was parked in front of the house. I hesitated a second before I went after him, throwing my new car keys onto the grass in front of my house with a laugh.

“You knew I’d say yes didn’t you?” I managed to say, watching him crack open a bottle of champagne. I was drunk already, if I’m going to drink, I might as well get really drunk.

William poured the bubbling liquid into two champagne flutes and laughed, handing me one and holding onto the other.

“Your mind isn’t exactly in the right place right now so yes, I knew you’d come with me.”

“So you’re taking advantage of my lack of judgement right now.” I concluded with a small smile and took a sip of my champagne. It tasted a little off to me but I took another sip and another.

“If that’s what you believe.” He answered. I glanced it him, ignoring the fact that his face was now blurry. Shit . . .Did he drug me?

The movement of the limo churned my stomach dangerously and everything began to increase in volume. I nearly passed out and reached out a hand at William.

“You . . . You drugged me didn’t you?” I managed to choke out, blinking my eyes quicker as lights grew brighter. William laughed and placed his glass down, taking my hand and smiled sheepishly.

“You can’t figure out why we’re different Emma, so I’ll tell you. I use girls like you because I can. Why we’re the same is that we both lie to get whatever we want. I made up a bunch of shit because there was no other way to win you over. Sorry, life’s just a bitch isn’t it?”

He had the limo driver pull over and let us out, me falling onto the sidewalk like an idiot and him helping me up before pressing his lips dangerously against mine.

I tried to push him away, only to have myself tossed to the ground with his body pressed against mine.

So Emma, this is it. You’ve really fucked up this time.

I screamed out for help as his hand trailed up my thigh. Thoughts of Sam washed through my head, making me wish that right now he was here. That he’d protect me and never let me get into this mess.

William suddenly stopped and was pulled off of me, his eyes wide in surprise.

I squeezed mine shut, wondering what was happening and why he had suddenly got off. I finally inhaled sharply and opened my eyes to see a perfect mane of golden blonde hair and two tanned hands holding William up against a wall. William’s face was shocked and scared, his eyes still wide and mouth pressed into a firm line.

The blonde haired guy said some pretty harsh words to him before throwing him to the ground and watching him run back to the limo, leaving me on the ground, breathless and red-faced.

He turned around and stared down at me, his eyebrows lowered in confusion and partially from anger.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He snapped at me as I studied his face. It was him, that boy. The boy that I had seen a few days ago with Myranda.

His perfectly sculpted jaw was clenched and his perfect green eyes were focused so intently on me that I thought I might melt. Well, maybe, or float considering I was high as a kite right now.

“Well? Are you going to answer my question?” He barked and I jumped slightly while getting to my feet. I swayed slightly and grinned goofily, wiping my hands on my dress.

“Sure, once I can figure out what the answer is.” I replied and then passed out on the ground.

Not the best first impression, I’m sure of that.