“Prick!” Turning my back to him I follow Christopher back to his car.
“That was fucking original.” Freddie laughs and as I’m about to slip into the back of Christopher’s car, he shouts, “Last one to the house is a shit head.”
“Fucking knob.” Christopher groans.
“Yeah, but what would you do without me, dickhead?” Opening the door to his car, Freddie winks at me and asks, “Want to drive a real car, Princess?”
“Jesus, will you fuck off and get out of here already?”
We have this conversation a lot. Freddie seems to think that my convertible Evoque is nothing more than a Barbie mobile because it’s not an accident waiting to happen. Mind you, in his hands? I think any car is dangerous.
“Is it me, or does he become an even
bigger lunatic with age?” Arabella says with a drawn-out breath.
“I don’t know. He’s always been wild.” Fluffing my hair, I give myself another once over in the tinted window. “Should I go change?”
“No, you look great. I on the other hand…” she murmurs. Sighing as she loosens her messy bun and shakes her hair until it looks artfully messy, before topping up her lip gloss. “I’ll have to do.”
“You always more than do, Bells.” Christopher tells her as he reaches over and squeezes her thigh.
“You have to say that.” Cupping his hand, she squeezes and then traces up his arm, shoulder and neck, until her fingers are knotting in the short hair at his crown. Pressing a kiss to his shoulder she says, “But, thank you, anyway.”
It’s such an intimate gesture that I find myself turning to look out of the window. I watch fields and farms fly past as we navigate the twisting country roads until I recognise where we are. Even in the pitch black of night, I recognise the abandoned mansion on the edge of the Hamilton’s estate.
It’s gone from a haunted looking house, that Freddie’s stepdad inherited, to an almost ruin. But still, it stands and hosts some of the best parties I’ve been to.
Chapter 3
Cassandra
Lanterns dot the in and out driveway that’s been made into a makeshift car park for the expensive cars lining the front of the old, abandoned house. Ivy covers the facia of the stone building giving it an ethereal beauty that’s even prettier in daylight.
Making our way inside, I’m as surprised as always that it doesn’t smell of damp and mildew and all the things that constitute to decay. Instead it’s got that overwhelming botanical scent that comes from seeping leaves, as well as, cigarettes and a melange of expensive perfumes.
The ivy has crept from the outside in and the tall double height stone arches are thick with it and other shrubbery. Even the old chandeliers are stripped of their expensive crystal, instead, they drip in foliage, the ivy curling down towards the ground, unfurling like it’s looking for something else to wrap itself around.
More lanterns line the stone steps, they’re bright enough to make each one visible, but they still keep most of the dark mystery to the place that’s amped up by the punchy electronic music pounding the air.
There are pockets of people dotted everywhere and they get heavier towards the main part of the house, where the music is louder and sinks deeper into your bones.
“Make sure you don’t go out of sight, got it?” Christopher whisper shouts into my ear as he and Arabella walk close behind me.
He always gives me this freaking speech detailing where I can and can’t go. He may as well tell me what I can and can’t do. These people are meant to be friends, acquaintances at the very least.
Why does he worry so much all the time?
“Why don’t you go take care of your guy shit and leave me to take care of myself?”
“Don’t be a brat.” He turns me to him and the way in which he’s glaring at me really pisses me off.
Arabella looks between us and when he opens his mouth to say something else, she interjects, “Christopher, I need to get a water. The smell in here is making me feel sick.”
Pulling her closer, his glare on me turns into a scowl dripping with authority. “Stay. In. Sight. Understand?”
“Fully. Grown. Adult. Got it, Daddy?” My tone is mocking and when Arabella laughs, he growls so loudly that I think he’s going to drag me around with them the rest of the night, as punishment.
He contemplates it too, I can see it in the way his face is all screwed up and just when his hand starts to reach for me, Fleur comes to the rescue.