The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 56

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I got out of the car and stood there staring at Avery's house as a tear escaped the corner of my eye and slowly started to trickle down my cheek. Part of me wanted to run in there and rip Natalie's hair out of her head for being with Easton, and the other half wanted to go home and cry my eyes out. More and more kids were starting to arrive at the party in the few short minutes I stood there staring at the big oceanside house.

"Chelsi, you ready to join the party?" Blakely asked, walking around the front of the car. 

"Yeah." I started walking toward the dark-colored double front doors. "Don't let me do anything stupid this time," I yelled over my shoulder because of the music coming from the back of the house by the pool. 

"What?" Blakely hollered back, letting me know she didn't hear a word I had just said. 

"What are my favorite ladies doing out here?" Gavin asked, walking up behind us. 

"Having a panic attack." Blakely motioned over to me. 

"I'm not having a panic attack!" 

Gavin walked around, looking down at me, shifting his eyes side-to-side as if he were a doctor trying to examine me in an office. "She looks kinda anxious to me." He stood up, looking over at Blakely. 

"Really?" I tilted my head to the side, narrowing my eyes. 

"You do." He laughed. 

I rolled my eyes and raised my hand toward the doorbell when the door on the left opened, startling me. 

"Hey, Chelsi! Come on in!" Jeremy said, opening the door. "Avery is wandering around somewhere in the house."  

The second I walked through the door, my eyes started scanning the living room for Easton. I didn't see him or Natalie anywhere. I walked through the living room toward the dining room, hoping I'd find him there, and again, it was like the house swallowed him up. 

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere, Chelsi," Blakely said next to my ear. "I'm going to go get something to drink. Do you want anything?" 

"Sure," I mumbled, still looking around the room through the groups of kids scattered throughout, trying to find Easton. But, of course, I knew he was here with her; It was just the question of where. And the where was what had me so worried. The mere thought of him being upstairs in one of the bedrooms with her made me physically ill. 

Gavin asked if I would be all right here by myself until Blakely got back because he was going to join some of his friends from school. I told him I would be fine. I kept scouring the room for Easton as kids walked through to go outside by the pool. A few minutes later, Blakely made her way back through the crowd with two red party cups in her hands, holding them above her head. She lowered her hands once she was out of the group and away from the dancing. 

She handed me a cup. "No, it's not beer." Then, she took a drink of hers. 

She knew I hated beer. I lifted my cup to my nose and smelled what was inside because the lights in the house were so dim I couldn't really tell just by looking in my cup. "Wine?" I glanced up at her. 

"Yeah, because I know you don't like beer, so Avery, let me open a bottle of wine for you." She took another drink. "Have you seen Easton anywhere?" She said, leaning in closer. 

I shook my head no as I took another drink. She motioned me to follow her toward the stairs. I was a little apprehensive at first to follow her up there in fear of what I might find. I couldn't take any more disappointment right now. I didn't know what I'd do if I stumbled across Easton kissing Natalie. We got upstairs, where kids were dancing, drinking, and hanging out by another little bar area. And again, no Easton to be found anywhere amongst the crowds. I flopped down in an empty spot on the couch. At this point, I just wanted to go home and cry into my pillow. 

"We'll find him. We saw him walk into the house with Natalie. It's not like he just up and disappeared. He's got to be around here somewhere." She waved her hands around. "Come on, let's go enjoy the party a little bit, and maybe he'll eventually show up." She grabbed my hand, trying to pull me up off the couch. 

After a few tugs of my arm, I got up off the sofa, downed my drink, and took off toward the bar area for another drink. Blakely was right; this was a party, and I needed to enjoy myself. I needed something harder than wine, for one. So I walked around behind the bar and started rummaging through the liquor bottles until I found a bottle of tequila. Except it wasn't just any bottle of tequila; this was an expensive bottle. I knew I shouldn't be opening it, but I didn't give a shit at this point. I took a big drink right out of the bottle and started coughing from the burning in my throat from the tequila. 

"Um...Chelsi, why don't we leave the bottle of tequila up here." Blakely reached for the bottle. 

I jerked the bottle out of her reach and headed back toward the stairs. "Are you coming?" I yelled, raising the bottle in the air. I stumbled down a couple of stairs before I caught my balance. Blakely asked if I was all right; I waved my hand back at her to let her know I was perfectly fine. Well, maybe not perfectly fine, but I was starting to feel pretty good. I took a couple more drinks of tequila as I made my way through the now heavily crowded living room. At this point, I had given up on finding Easton or didn't care anymore about seeing him. I think it was because of the alcohol that I didn't care anymore. Finally, I wandered out onto the patio, where I found Gavin talking to his friends and a couple of girls. 

"It's my dear friend, Gavin." I wrapped my arms around him. "You're too good of a friend to me." 

"What do you have here?" He grabbed my hand, taking the bottle. "Angel Tequila, that is half gone." He gave the bottle to one of his friends. "I think you've had enough tequila for tonight, Chelsi." 

 I looked across the pool to find Natalie talking to Savannah and the rest of their friends."I need another drink." I stumbled back away from him and turned to go back inside the house, searching for another drink. I probably didn't need another drink, but I wanted another drink to dull the pain of not being able to find Easton. I walked through the living room patio doors and stood there for a few minutes, watching my classmates having fun with their friends. They were either dancing, sitting, or standing and drinking. I felt like I was the only one at this party who was miserable. I wanted to leave but didn't want to ruin Blakely's fun; then, I remembered where Jeremy and his friends hung out. I headed back outside, past the pool area to the basement door, where I could see Jeremy and his friends through the door's tiny window. I banged on the door a few times before Jeremy saw me. Finally, he walked over and opened the door for me. 

"Hey, Chelsi. Did you get tired of the party already?" He laughed. 

"Gavin took away my bottle of tequila." I huffed, walking into the basement. 

"That sucks." He closed the door behind me. 

I looked around, and Easton was across the room in one of the chairs, facing the TV with a controller in his hand. He looked hot sitting in his blue jeans and a tight button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves. I didn't know whether to be happy or to rip the controller out of his hand and beat him with it. So, I did the only thing that made sense: I turned and staggered out of the basement in search of something else to drink. I made my way back up to where I had left the bottle of wine. 

"What are you doing, Chelsi?" Easton asked. 

"What is with everyone tonight? I'm finally having fun, and now everyone is trying to stop me." I grabbed the bottle and lifted it to my mouth, but it disappeared. 

"This isn't you. What's going on?" 

"Give me my wine!" I yelled, reaching for the bottle in his hand. 

"I think you've had enough to drink for tonight." He moved the bottle away from my reach. Then, he told one of his friends to take the bottle. 

"Come on, let me take you home." 

"I'm not leaving yet." I looked up at Easton as his face became distorted, and all of a sudden, it felt like I had just gotten off a roller coaster ride. "I'm going to be sick." I ran toward the stairs to Avery's bedroom to her private bathroom. I didn't want someone walking in on me while I had my head shoved in the toilet, throwing my guts up from drinking too much. I laid my head on the cold tile floor and closed my eyes.