chapterseventeen

�Right,� Mara said.

Zac poured a shot in her belly button and placed a slice of lime in her mouth. For some reason, he was feeling stage fright like none other.

�Come on guys�count it off!� Bianca yelled.

The crowd counted to three and within seconds it was over. Mara was laughing hysterically and Zac chewed proudly on the lime in his mouth. He helped her off the table and Mara turned to Zac.

�You know,� she said. �The only reason I wanted to come in here was to get a drink.�

�Well I got mine,� he said with a smile.

�Well I didn�t. Where are the Mike�s?� she asked.

Zac found her a bottle of Mike�s lemonade and handed it to her.

�OK, so we found Isaac. One down, one to go.�

Mara nodded and led the way through the kitchen door.

�If I were Taylor, where would I be?� Mara asked.

�God only knows,� Zac replied. �You never know with that kid.�

After another five minutes of wandering, the search grew quite boring.

�K, fuck the brotherly thing to do. I�m ready to find somewhere to park,� Zac said.

�K,� Mara said, looking around the living room.

�Umm�yeah�� Zac said. �Am I the only one not seeing seats?�

�I�m not seeing any either,� Mara told him.

�We could find another room,� Zac suggested.

Mara just looked at him.

�No no no! Mara, Jeez! I�m not gonna try anything, I swear. I just want to talk,� he said, holding up two fingers. �Scouts Honor.�

Mara laughed. �I didn�t know you were a Boy Scout,� she said.

He took her hand and led her down the hall. �I wasn�t. It just sounds cool.�

�Zachary you are a complete nutcase. Anyone ever tell you that?� she asked, laughing hysterically.

�Oh yeah,� he said. �Constantly.�

They came to a door that was opened a bit.

�Door�s opened. Should be safe,� Zac said. He dropped Mara�s hand and made a fake gun with his fingers, doing his best James Bond impression.

�We must survey our location,� he whispered in a pathetic British accent.

�K Zac. It�s official. You�re completely whacked,� Mara told him.

�Shh!� he chided. What if there�s someone in there?� Zac asked her.

�Then they should have closed the damn door!� Mara said as she walked past him. She pushed the door open and reached for the lights.

�See,� she said. �I told you there was no one ��

Mara went silent as she and Zac�s eyes fell on the bed. There were two bodies buried under the sheets, completely hidden from view.

�Hahaa,� Zac laughed. �This is fucking hysterical. Who�s under there?�

Neither of the bodies attempted to move. Mara turned to Zac.

�We should go,� she said, reaching for the light again. On her way there, she tripped on something.

�What the hell?� she said. Zac reached down and picked it up. A pink polo shirt with � sleeves.

�That�s actually a really cute shirt,� Mara said. �I have it in blue.�

Zac took a few steps toward the bed and picked up something else.

�Zac can we go?� Mara asked.

Zac didn�t answer. In his right hand he held some random girl�s shirt. In his left, his own black sweater, now all rumpled. The black sweater Taylor had borrowed that night.