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But I couldn’t let her do that.
“We should probably get to the after-party.” I stood, lifting her up and placing her back on the couch before tucking myself back into my pants and zipping up.
Chapter 46
Catharina
The back seat of the limo wasn’t as comfortable driving from the trailer as it was driving to it.
The journey was bumpy, fast yet far out, and silent.
Remi didn’t talk or look at me after sitting inside the limo and giving me a glass of sparkling champagne, which I almost didn’t accept, telling him, “I’m not twenty-one, and I already feel wasted.”
But I accepted the drink. Remi never said a word after that. He just gave me a smile that faltered from his lips quicker than it arrived and sat back, slumped with his legs parted. He never drank his own drink, placing it in a holder at his side. His head angled to the window, taking in the sights as his hand moved to the striped bag he’d brought along for the ride. A gummy landed on his tongue.
I followed his gaze, viewing the beauty of the city after leaving the trailer park behind. The streets that were alive with people only a short time ago were now empty.
Bright colors faded away as we moved from the city. I was so high on life that I could feel the colors around me.
But all that beauty, and the wild feelings it ignited, slipped away when the dock came into view. Our journey ended, and the only thing ahead was an industrial estate that looked dead of life and on the verge of decay.
Odd place for a party, I thought to myself.
Remi was still silent, and without the bright colors, I needed his voice to keep me high.
“Are you mad at me?” Maybe he thought I was older? Maybe he was angry that I wasn’t, given the stuff we’d done. “I’m not a minor if that’s what the silent treatment is about. I’m eighteen. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
He visually swallowed, his gaze still out the window and nowhere near me.
I shivered when he still didn’t talk, but it had nothing to do with being cold because his jacket kept me warm, too warm, but it didn’t get rid of the feeling of discomfort quickly spreading over me since the color faded from my world.
I felt strange, like my body was floating. My heart started to race. The pounding heated my blood and it became too hot for my skin. My body temperature was increasing, and sweat was glistening on my cheeks. I dropped the jacket from my shoulders, allowing it to hang around bent elbows. My fear crept from the shadows outside the stretched vehicle, and something inside me, beneath all the weird feelings, told me something wasn’t right.
My eyes moved with Remi’s to a building in the distance, no cleaner or more significant than any other, but standing out against the black backdrop of night for some reason.
I could hear the cracks in the poor foundation. Not see them. Hear them. And I felt like every little noise was so much louder than it needed to be.
“Is the after-party down here?” My voice seemed louder, blaring into my ears.
Remi’s silence continued, but his jacket crunched and creaked around me. I almost looked away, desperate to escape the noise, when his head bobbed.
“They’ve converted one of the warehouses for events.” He straightened, sitting forward, closer to me as I balanced on the edge of the seat now that the vehicle was no longer whizzing around corners. Our knees touched, denim against bare goose-bumped skin.
“It’s quiet here.” He was wrong.
It was so loud. Too loud.
“Lots of the other buildings aren’t in use, so we can make as much noise as we please.”
Please, don’t make too much noise.
My tongue smeared my dry lips. I glanced down to the drink in my hand, fascinated by the pretty bubbles floating. With a shaking hand, I led the slender glass to my lips.
My drink was gone in a second, and I tipped the glass for every last drop.
Remi downed his own drink and popped another gummy in his mouth. He reached for the door handle, paused, and then turned to me.
Catching me by surprise, he swooped in. His hand hit the empty glass from my fingers, and it rolled down the red carpet. His fingers caressed my cheek, his grip tightening as it moved from my face and through my hair. His lips landed on mine, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. I tasted him, mint mixed with the champagne and another foul bear that made its way onto my tongue before he pulled back, leaving me chewing the green animal.
