Truth of Dark Pasts, Serena Wood [read my book .txt] 📗

longer. Right?” she looks surprised when I say that but she doesn’t seem to have any objections. “Right, well if I’m staying any longer I’m going to need another drink. I’ll be right back.” She kisses me on the cheek again before disappearing into the crowd of people now huddling at the bar.

I look around nervously as soon as she leaves, disappointed that I don’t have any friends around me. It almost feels like I’m worried someone like Chloe will show up and hassle me as soon as I’m left alone for more than a minute.

But now that I actually get to look around, I’m surprised by the people I see here. Some of these people I’ve even seen around school, they usually look as shut in and as miserable as I am at school. But here, they look so happy. So themselves.

The first person I recognize is this irish boy in my yearbook class. He’s dancing with this short korean girl. I’ve seen them sitting together at lunch but for some reason no one at school really knows they’re dating. It probably has something to do with one of their parents and at the realization a hint of sympathy surfaces. Somehow I know how they feel.

Actually, as I look around at the other couples, I can understand a lot more about these people than I thought I would. They’re all outcasts. People that someone along the line had deemed not normal.

Beside the first couple I saw, there’s this terrifying looking man with tattoos all over his body and a burly black beard. He’s dancing with a blonde, curly haired woman with glasses. For someone who looks so terrifying, even from here I can hear the sweetness in his voice when he talks to her. He’s probably been judged for god knows how long because he looks like a hit man, but honestly the tone in his voice makes him sound like he couldn’t hurt a fly. It makes me think for a minute, that on the outside he could look so rough and people could judge him for it; but on the inside he could be an angel for all they knew.

And of course he’s not the only one. Beside him, there’s a redheaded woman in her early 40s dancing with a man who only looks about 25. Not too far away from them there’s this muslim girl (who’s face I can just barely see through the cloth) dancing with this geeky boy with a cross around his neck. A few feet away from them is another biker looking man dancing with an equally biker looking girl.

Then of course there’s Kathy and Shay. “The school dykes” as Chloe would call them. But I don’t see why they have to be picked on so much for a difference that shouldn’t really matter to other people. Of course people would argue that I wouldn’t understand because I’m not straight either, but that really has nothing to do with why people have to be so cruel to them.

And of course they’re not alone. On one side of them there’s an elderly man dancing with another man and on the other side of them there’s two people who if I’m being completely honest I can’t even tell what gender they are. All throughout the club there’s gays, transgender, intersex, and any other label you can think of.

Suddenly I recognize a face I swear I’ve seen before and I have to do a double take to find the guy again; just to make sure it’s who I think it is. But sure enough, it’s one of Ryan’s friends. Another football player. Dancing with that small, geeky boy that sits in the office during fourth block. The auburn haired jock outmatches the boy in height and strength, but yet the jock is looking down at him like he’s the most amazing thing in the world.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Lee’s voice startles me out of my thoughts and I nearly jump out of my skin. “Whoa, sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” I try to catch my breath, managing some kind of reply and I don’t even know what it is that I said. But it seems to be good enough for Lee and she goes back to talking, “Anyways, I saw you watching the dancers. It’s pretty amazing what this place turned into, isn’t it? I got the idea from my lil sis of course, I made a vow to myself that I would make a safe place where people like her could come. A place where everyone could feel happy. Feel normal.”

Her statement sends a shiver down my spine and I can only manage a nod in response. She chuckles, “Quite, aren’t you? You must be related to Mousy over there.” She nods in Shay’s direction, watching Shay dance with Kathy. Say something, you goob.

“N-no, I just met her not that long ago. She’s nice though, I like her.” that last sentence comes out of no where and I’m not sure why I said it but it was sincere none the less. “Me too, she’s a sweety. She’s been Kathy’s best friend since day care.” In the middle of their twirling and giggling, they manage to bump into yet another couple. The guy growls something rude at them and Lee seems as amused by it as her sister. She chuckles softly, watching the two of them twirl around. “God, what a pair of goofballs they are. You know, as much trouble as I give them, I'm glad they're happy. They've been through a lot. As long as I can remember, someone was always picking on Shay... Kathy always had her back though, nothing could ever touch those two. Kathy would always kick ass and Shay would always hold her back when she got in too deep…” I watch every little step of their lives play over and over in Lee’s eyes like a movie on rewind. She seems utterly lost in memory for a minute as she watches them like she’s Kathy’s protective mother.

Shay buries her nose in Kathy’s shirt, looking like the happiest girl in the world. Lee chuckles again, “Funny thing is, Kathy always cared for that girl. She practically worships the ground Shay walks on. It goes both ways though. They’re a match made in heaven, those two.” it seems like she’s talking more to herself than to me but a part of me still feels honored to get to know such an intimate part of their lives.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we all got the romantic movie ending like those two dweebs did?” she finally comes back out of her world and peels her eyes away from them to look at me. “Yeah…”

“And they know exactly how lucky they are, always flaunting around they’re happy love crap around my single ass. Jeez, I feel like I need another drink.” She says it in this joking tone but I know there’s some small part of her that does envy them. And I know how she feels, I spent years of my life envying the couples that walked around in school; just wishing to have the same thing. What about now? Has all that changed?

River walks up with a drink in her hand and Lee snatches it right out of her fingers as she walks over to us. “Ask and you shall receive, thanks for the drink, River.” she hands River the money she probably spent on that drink for herself before the older blonde walks over to Johnny. “God, what is it with that family?” River huffs, watching the trouble making club owner walk over to Johnny to reprimand him on his bartending skills.

Another fast paced song starts blaring through the club and Kathy rushes over to us. Shay walks up to stand beside me, shaking her head “She’s been sneaking drinks the whole night, wait until Lee gets her hands on her. She’s not suppose to be drinking this much.” Kathy stumbles around River and begs her to go dance with them. River pulls herself free from her and Kathy loses her balance a bit. “Hell no, I can’t handle any more of the trouble sisters. I’m getting another drink.” River grumbles, leaving a saddened Kathy to cling to me instead. “Well, her loss then. Come on, Ellie. I know you’ll dance with us.” Kathy tugs on my arm like a toddler. “I’ve already told you, I can’t dance.”

“Pssh please, like I can? Who cares? You’re suppose to be having fun.” she tries to coax me out of my corner but I stay glued to the wall. “I’m having fun right here.” I grumble and she laughs this cheery, clearly half drunken laugh. “Come onnnn…” She whines and not wanting to ruin her fun, I reluctantly move away from my corner to join her on the dance floor.

But her drunken fun only lasts for a few minutes. “Katherine May Stern!” Lee’s voice emerges from the crowd and because I hear her before I see her, I jump a bit at the sound of her angry tone. Kathy’s eyes widen like a scared puppy and she turns to find her sister pushing through the crowd to tower over her. “Come on, just because I own the joint doesn’t mean you can get wasted on my expense.” She clamps onto Kathy’s arm and drags her back over to the corner in the back. Cautiously Shay and I tag along, sitting on the couch across from the sisters.

“You’re going to have a hell of a headache, here take this. I swear you never listen to me.” The eldest sister rants on as she opens a bottle from her purse and hands Kathy a pill and a glass of water. “That should sober you up in a few minutes, I hope your hangover teaches you a damn lesson. Shay, I need to get back to the bar. When she’s sober, take her home.” Lee moves to stand and starts to walk away throwing “Actually watch her this time, please.” over her shoulder as she leaves.

By the time River comes back from wherever she disappeared to, the medicine has done it’s job to sober up Kathy. “God, my head. I wanna go home.” she groans, struggling to stand at first. “What did I miss?” River interjects curiously as we follow her out. Shay gives her a quick explanation as she catches up to Kathy and steadies the girl with her arm. “Jeez, I leave to go to the bathroom for five minutes.” River grumbles, moving to take my hand as we walk past the guard and the red rope. For a second her hand startles me before I realize that we’re supposed to be use to holding hands by now.

We stand outside the main entrance for a few minutes as Kathy leans against the wall to steady herself. “Can someone get a taxi or something? I think I’m gonna hurl.” She grumbles, bending over as if she might actually throw up. Shay moves barely a foot away from her to try to call a taxi and River moves to take her place against the wall. With my hand linked to hers, I follow along and stand by her.

I glance around to take in my surroundings as we wait. It doesn’t take me long to recognize this familiar blonde and her friends walking up to us. Despite me knowing who it is in an instant, I spot them too late to warn the others. “Well it looks like our night just got more entertaining.”

“Oh for fucks sake.” Kathy is the first of us to make a verbal acknowledgement before bending over again and coughing a few times. Chloe takes us in for a moment, trying to process everything in order to make her attack. “Wait… Are you hanging out with the Freak and the gay queens? At fucking gay central of all places?” River flenches a bit, her hand tightening around mine in this