Free Beneath Our Faults by Charity Ferrell Page A

beat of the music. Everywhere I turned, there was either a dry humping couple or someone with their tongue down another's throat. The cup in my hands grew slippery around my sweaty hands as the room started to grow hotter. The hurt I had been carrying around like a backpack began to loosen its straps and slowly fade away.



O NE MORE phone call
    If my phone lit up her name one more fucking time, I was going to toss it out the window. Piper's incessant phone calls were beginning to irritate the shit out of me. The girl had been up my ass since I quit taking her to school. Yeah, she was annoying before but it was never that ridiculous. She even tried to pull the waterworks with me when I told her I was driving to Lane's party solo, so she needed to find another ride. It was about that time to cut her ass off.
    I passed the driveway packed with cars and drove straight to the garage. I was already running late because Theo was out of treats and the little runt gets angry if he doesn't have his daily dose of Beggin' Strips. Someone had to take care of the little guy, since my mom basically ditched him. Typical Layla fucking Hudson. I remember the day she brought him home. She was in one of her "moods" again and showed up with some dog I knew she would get tired of. And I was right. Her "mothership" with Theo lasted about a week before she was MIA again.
    Rifling through my center console, I found the garage door opener my aunt had given me. The only times I ever used it was for these parties. I always parked in the garage for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I didn't want my car to get fucked with. There were too many pissed off girls that would love to take their anger out on my poor car. Plus, if the cops came, they wouldn't see my car. I would just hide out until they left.
    I hit the button, waiting for the door to open all the way before parking in my usual spot. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I turned off the ignition and got ready for the mayhem. Lane's parties were always fucking killer.
    I headed straight to the kitchen, dodging conversations with everyone. I needed a beer first. I turned the corner and wasn't surprised what I was walking into. Piper was dancing on the counter, giving me a clear view up some hideous pink fluffy shit she had around her waist.
    She looked down, spotting me. Well shit.
    "Keegan!" She screeched, her voice eager and drunk. I watched her jump off the bar in her heels, but instead of landing, she ended up falling down to her knees. Damn, drunk girls were not attractive. "I've been trying to call you," she slurred, looking up at me from the floor. Nodding my head, I moved around her to the keg and started filling up my cup while her little friends helped her back up to her feet. I knew I was being an asshole but I needed some alcohol in my system before I could deal with her.
    She stumbled over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and licking it. "I've missed you so much, baby. We never see each other anymore," she whined. Did I mention drunk girls were a major turnoff?
    "I gotta find Lane." I shrugged, dragging her hands off me. "Find me later." Did I want to see her later? Probably not but you never know how drunk or horny I would get and things might change. When I'm drunk, I like to get laid.
    I left the room on the hunt for my dumbass cousin, shuffling through the swaying bodies and ignoring the girls who wanted me to dance with them.
    After checking the back deck and walking in on a couple having sex on the dining room floor with no trace of him, I stepped over the rope blocking off the stairs and walked up. As my foot hit the top step, I dug into my coat pocket for my phone. I needed to call Lane before barging into his room to double check he wasn't banging his girlfriend. Last time that happened, Cora threw his damn alarm clock at my head giving me a black eye. I was just about to hit his name in my contacts when a soft body ran right into me, causing my beer to spill over the