Paxon

Monday, July 22nd, 11:47pm.

My head aches when I pick up my phone from where it's buzzing on the pillow next to me.

"Hello?" I murmur, my lip swollen and sore as I don't bother to check the number.

"Hey, Pass," the voice on the other side slurs.

I sit up, my drowsiness evaporating as I hold the phone close to my ear. Ice crawls across my skin as the sheet falls away from my chest and the box fan next to my bed blows cool air on me.

"Dani?"

"Me, yeah, it's me," she mutters, her voice just audible over the buzzing of the fan.

"Dani what's-."

"Can you pick me up?"

"Where are you?" I ask as I throw back the covers and grab for a t-shirt that is piled on a recliner in the corner of my room.

She giggles at this and the realization hits me as I feel abruptly nauseous.

She's drunk.

"Coolwood," she whispers. "There's a huge party, can't miss it."

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

I write a note for my parents and leave it on the counter in case they notice me missing as I grab my keys and pull on my shoes. It's still muggy outside as I jog for my truck. I leave the headlights off so they're not shining into the house as I back it down the driveway.

She's right when she said I couldn't miss it as I drive to the far side of campus where a neighborhood is situated. I can feel the music rather than hear it at first as I wonder why no one has called the cops on it. But most all of the windows are dark on this block so I can guess that they're campus housing and they're probably still vacant until the semester actually starts.

Danica and Nikki are out on the front porch and she waves as I pull up. She staggers to her feet and Nikki helps her walk down the yard before she pulls open the passenger door. Danica scrambles in and I notice her motions are slow and uncoordinated as she struggles to get seated.

"You take care of her," Nikki warns and I smile as I sign back to her.

"I will, thank you for keeping an eye on her."

"Anything for you Wells, you have a goodnight" she replies as she shuts the door.

"Dani...?" I dare to say, but Danica cuts me off with a shake of her head.

"Just drive," she whispers as she suddenly seems more alert.

I oblige as I pull away from the curb and head out to the main road. She's quiet for a long while as she stares out the window silently, but I leave her alone. There are a few cars out on the road as I focus on the stripping ahead of us, the road winding away into darkness.

"That night was all my fault."

I grip the steering wheel at the sound of her voice, which is heavy and unlike her as I glance at her.

"What do you mean?"

She shakes her head and doesn't turn to look at me.

"Livy...what happened to her, if I hadn't trusted Derrick that night...," her voice chokes off. "Paxon I'm sorry."

"Danica-."

"No! I should have kept her safe! That's what girls do at parties, we look out for each other," she trails off and hunches down in the seat, her knees coming up to her chest.

I try to reach over to touch her, her long, soft hair cascading down her back as I brush a couple fingers through it. She tenses at my initial touch as I keep my eyes on the road before she starts to tremble and I know then that she's crying.

"Dany...no one could have predicted what was going to happen that night," I rasp as my throat tightens.

And it's the truth.

I can still remember the smell of smoke...of the splash and Olivia.

Oh Olivia.

My eyes are filling with tears before I can stop myself.

"Let me out, I think I'm going to throw up," Danica croaks and I gladly pull over to the side of the road.

Her door opens and a second later she's vomiting onto the grass.

A car blares its horn as it speeds past in a flash of red taillights and I put my truck into park as I flip on the hazard lights. I sit back in my seat, my hands on the steering wheel as I try not to listen to the painful sound of her throwing up. I focus on the weeds lining the ditch as the flash of the hazard lights cut through to light them up.

Danica sits back and shuts the door as she buckles back up. She glances over at me, her eyes bloodshot and her face a startling shade of bone white. Her gaze hazily focuses on me, her brow furrowing with confusion as she leans toward me.

I can smell cheap alcohol on her as she blinks a couple of times, a shaky hand coming up to touch a finger to my bottom lip. I wince at her touch as pain blooms under her fingers and she frowns deeply.

"Who...Adam?"

I nod.

"Why?" she rasps.

"He's scared, he thinks they're trying to blame Derrick's disappearance on him," I say carefully around her finger as I try not to agitate my lip. "He thought he could get the truth out of me by beating me up."

It's like a gas burner has been lit in her eyes as they somehow look bluer. Intense and deadly. I've seen her swing a softball bat for a homerun before and it doesn't take much to imagine a person's head being hit instead.

"Bastard," she growls.

Another car zips by, the headlights flashing through the cab as her face is half lit in white light and her eyes squint. I put my truck into drive then and shake my head.

"I got the truth out of him, he should leave me alone," I assure her.

"But what if someone else comes after you? What if Adam's just the start?"

"I can take care of myself," I reply.

She's silent at this for a long moment, her back to me as she stares out the window. I almost think that she might not say anything at all, but at last, she speaks.

"This was all my fault," she mutters.