Chapter 7

"Is this a Zobel boy party?" I asked over the music. 

"Uhh, yeah," she answered absentmindedly while trying to roll up her window to stop the bitter chill of night. I figured if this was a Zobel party we'd be more likely to find a suspect worth our time. 

"Why? You got your eye on one of them?" Raven teased while the wind breezed through her dark hair. 

I threw her a half-smile. She knew better than anyone how I felt about relationships. I just didn't need them. I loved the thrill of a kiss but dreaded the burden of love. That's just the way it was for me. 

"Well Corpus Cole from biology does weed and I'm going to join them tonight." Raven grinned.

I scrunched up my face before laughing. "Are you serious?" 

"What?" she asked with a propped brow. "You don't think I'm cool enough to do it?!" 

"Not at all," I denied. "I'm just surprised that you're stupid enough to believe your mother won't smell it on you as soon as you get home." 

"Lucky I'm sleeping over yours tonight then, right?" She smirked. 

I shook my head with a small smile. Raven and I had been friends forever. She lived down the road from me so it only made sense after all. She was the only friend I had ever made without my mum and we'd kept that friendship through school and even attending the sixth form together. She had helped me through things when my mom left and I always let her stay at my house when her family got too much. 

We balanced one another out. Her personality was bright and easy to get along with while mine...well, wasn't. 

"Hey, Rei?" she called quietly. The shadow of a smile lingered at her lips but her eyes were serious. "How are you? Really." 

I sighed and kept my eyes on the road as we left our little valley town. The trees cocooned the streets and as the city neared, more cars appeared on the roads beside us. 

"I'm fine, babe." I smiled. "I didn't even know him so I'm not sad over it." 

"You still found a dead body." She frowned. "I know you didn't know him but you still saw it. That stuff proper screws with your aura and I can see yours is dim." 

The rumble of stray stones under the tires wobbled the car and I stepped my foot down to pick up speed. Lights flashed, people blurred into the distance and cars passed quickly. 

"I promise I'm fine right now and I'm really glad that we're going to this party. If I do decide that I'm not alright anymore then you, Raven, will be the first person I see. I promise," I admitted as we turned down the rows of houses. We were close to the party and between each mansion, I caught a glimpse of the rushing waves of the ocean behind. 

She seemed satisfied with my answer and she turned her attention to the window and ogled at the huge houses we passed. It didn't matter that we attended Zobel's party every other week, this sort of money still left us speechless. 

I glanced at the rear-view mirror once again but this time was caught by Deshawn's honey eyes. They captured my gaze and held it with a stern look as he pursed his lips. It felt like a warning and an invitation all in one. 

"There it is." Raven pointed to one of the houses and I fluttered my attention back to the car. Right in time, I stopped the car from hitting a few drunk boys as they stumbled across the road and onto the sand opposite. We were right next to the empty beach that smelt of summer nights and sex. I breathed through my nose roughly and decided to swing the car into space by the house. 

Before I could, I recognized one of the boys in the gaggle and he turned to us. With a wide grin, he ran to the driver's side and tore the door open. Ross Rivera, my best friend. Or rather he used to be. 

It was his party that Deshawn died at, I was surprised to see him out again. The last time I saw him was the night I'd found Deshawn. The time before that was at my fourteenth birthday party that I'd invited him to. 

The only reason I knew a Zobel boy like him was because of Mom. Avery and Ross's mum were best friends before she disappeared. It left Ross and me to grow up side by side, he was always the strong one and all I did was follow. He practically collapsed into me for a hug, the smell of Strongbow clung to his chestnut brown hair. 

"I didn't think you'd ever come to a party again, Bambi." He sighed into my neck. 

While my father had fallen in love with the crazy, carefree, and passionately drunk woman, Robin De Vega hit tough luck when she was so different from what once seemed. Mom was a snob who reveled in lives like the Rivera's. Sometimes I wondered if that was the reason she left. Perhaps Dad and I never did or would fit into her perfect fantasy and she realized that far too late. Maybe the only option she had left was to flee. 

Ross and I lost contact when my mother left. We weren't in the same school and we lived nowhere near one another, there was no point. But that night when I'd found Deshawn, I remembered what it felt like to have him in my life again. He'd allowed me to sob into his shirt as he clung to my frail body, whispering soothing words into my ear. He held a hand to the back of my head, keeping me close to quietly break down above the sound of the ambulance screeching. I'd never forgotten the rise and fall of his chest as he took harsh breaths to control the situation. It felt as though either one of us could've broken. 

But now, as a drunk giggle escaped from his lips I knew he wasn't the same Ross who protected me so closely just two days ago. 

"Okay, get off now," I muttered after a few moments where he just lay across my body, probably sleeping. The rest of his group still lingered at the front of the car, watching our interaction curiously. 

He pushed against my shoulders to get up and I refrained from jabbing my elbow into his stomach. 

"Promise you'll come to see me later to have a drink, yeah?" He slurred with a big smile and pleading eyes. 

He pulled and poked at my cheeks when I didn't answer. "Come on," he drawled out like a child. 

I rolled my eyes with a groan. "Fine, whatever. Just go away now." 

He squeezed me into a hug once more before running off to his friends who pushed him teasingly and messed up his hair. 

Before anyone else could have gotten in the way, I slammed the door shut and pulled the car into a parking spot. The door to the house was wide open as people flooded in and out. A few of them ran to the rough beach opposite while others chugged a beer in the front garden. Raven didn't hesitate to slip away quickly mumbling about Corpus Cole and her junkie boyfriend. 

I looked at my bronzed wrist where the words 'Reniella De Vega' stood out against the blue veins. The black ink stuck to my skin like an anchor that guided me to reality and further pushed that I certainly was not in a dream. 

I glanced at Deshawn in the back, I was as ready as I'd ever been.