We Were Barely Seventeen, and We Were Barely Dressed

“What movie should we go see?” Haylee asked.

“Um, I don’t know. Just pick one,” Chace said.

I zoned out a little bit and didn’t catch what movie we were watching. It was some horror film, and, let’s face it, they’re all similar.

We walked into the theater and took seats. The order ended up being Maria, Rylan, me, Adam, Violet, Chace, Mick, and Haylee. I saw my phone light up and reached down to respond to the text.

Taylor

Hey, woman. I miss you. Just checking up to see how ur doing. Love ya<3

I quickly hit reply and responded back.

Hey, Tay. Miss you, too. In a movie right now, but I’ll call you later<3

I turned my phone down to silent and turned back to the movie. The previews were just starting up when I looked up.

“Have you heard anything about this movie, Cass?” Adam asked, draping his arm over my shoulders.

“No, have you?”

“Yeah. I heard it was insanely scary. You can cry on my shoulder if you need to,” he said with a smirk.

“Ha! In your dreams. These movies never scare me. They’re not realistic, but I’ll be right here for you to bury your head in fright,” I said, tousling his hair.

“Hey! Don’t mess up my do!” he said, removing his arm from my shoulder and fixing his hair.

I laughed and turned back to the screen.

“So, scary movies don’t scare you?” Rylan asked, glancing at me.

“Nope. Never have. They’re so fake and staged. Like ‘oh, let me check around for the murderer instead of getting the fuck out of here,’” I said, with a laugh. He laughed too before responding.

“What happened earlier, Cass? I thought you hated me,” he said, looking up at the screen just in time to see someone violently murdered.

“I don’t hate you, Rylan. I don’t know. I’m just confused. My mood has been all over the place. I’m just stressed and can’t deal with anything right now. I don’t know what my problem is. I’m sorry,” I said with a sigh.

“It’s okay, Cass. I forgive you. Friends?” he asked, holding out his hand.

“Friends.”

I reached for his hand, but it was soon pulled away as Maria practically jumped on Rylan’s lap. I laughed and he gave me a look that said he was not enjoying this.

“Maria, get off of me,” Rylan said.

“But why?” she asked, looking up at him with big eyes.

“Because I don’t want you on me,” he stated like it was obvious.

I had to hold back my laughter and look towards Adam, who was slightly freaking out.

“You all right, Adam?” I asked.

“No. This movie is fucked up,” he said, burying his head in my neck.

“Aw. Poor baby!” I said, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.



After the movie, we all decided to go back to Rylan’s house. His parents were away on a business trip so he said it wouldn’t be an issue. His parents never seem to be home.

We all got into cars and rode back to Rylan’s. When we got in the door, his butler immediately greeted us.

“Welcome home, Master Rylan. Nice to see you again, Mick, Haylee, Adam, Chace, and Violet. Oh, and Maria. And you must me Cassidy,” he said.

“Uh, yes. Nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.

He shook my hand and replied, “You, too.”

“Hey, David,” Rylan greeted him. “Can you possibly get some blankets and pillows for the living room?”

“Sure thing, Master Rylan.”

“David, just call me Rylan. Please.”

“Okay,…Rylan,” he said before walking off to get blankets and pillows.

“So, do you guys want to stay the night?” Rylan said, turning to us.

We all agreed and followed him into the living room and plopped down on the furniture.

“So, what should we do?” Haylee asked, bouncing in her seat.

“I don’t know,” Mick said, looking around for something to do.

I looked down at my purse and saw my phone lighting up.

“Oh, excuse me for a minute,” I said, picking up my phone and walking out the front door.

“Hey, Tay. Sorry I forgot to call y-”

“Cass? Look, there’s an emergency back here. You need to come home,” she said clearly crying.

“What is it, Tay? You have to tell me now,” I said, getting worried.

“Okay, well, they found Brylee. You need to get home. Now.”

I dropped the phone and ran back into the house to grab my purse. Tears were streaming down my face.

“Cass? What’s wrong?” Violet asked.

“I need to get home. Can someone please take me?” I asked, sobbing now.

“Yeah. Come on Violet,” Rylan said, jumping from his seat and pulling her towards the front door.

Violet ran up to me and started pulling me towards the garage. My vision was blurry and I couldn’t see what kind of car we were getting into. I just hoped it was fast.

Neither of them questioned what was wrong. They just helped me get into the house as fast as possible.