Blood-Red Tear by Donna Flynn Page A

if willing it to happen.
    As I walked to the stairs, I could hear my parents talking to Scott. My father asked him a million questions and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment at the third degree he was giving my date.
    Scott looked u p as I walked off the last step, his smile wide as he looked me over, and my heart raced with exhilaration.  “Hi,” I said, blushing under his appraising stare.
    “Hey, a re you ready to go?” he asked, obviously ready to get out of the line of fire.
    “Yes. ” I looked to my parents and beseeched them with my eyes not to embarrass me any more than they already had.  
    “It was n ice to meet you,” Scott told them politely, shaking my father’s hand.
    “Eleven , Katie, no later,” my father warned.
    “Don’t worry , sir, I will take good care of her,” Scott promised, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
    “I bet,” m y father said under his breath, earning a sharp glare from my mother.
    “Can you give me a minute?” I asked Scott. He nodded and went outside to wait for me.
    “Change your mind , sweetheart?” my father asked hopefully.
    “Dad , please, everything will be fine, stop worrying.” I kissed his cheek and he hugged me close.
    “I will always worry about you ,” he said, before loosening his hold. “Go, have fun with your …uh…date.” He pushed me toward the door despite the worry I knew he felt, and with one last smile, I walked outside to where Scott was waiting.
    “Now that I passed the parent test we can have some fun,” he said , walking to the driver’s side and getting into the car, leaving me to open my own door.
    “Strike one,” I murmured as I opened the door and got in.
    “Let’s go,” he said , turning up the radio and pulling out of the driveway.
    “Where are we going?” I asked as we drove towards town.
    “A friend of mine is having a party. I told him we would stop by.”
    “Oh .” I tried to hide my disappointment. I did not really want to go to a party, but I kept that thought to myself.
     
    *****
     
    We arrived at a house near the outskirts of town that I recognized as another football player’s home, and he parked. “Sounds like things got started early,” he said, getting out of the car and waiting on the sidewalk for me to get out and join him. “Man, I hope they aren’t all trashed already.”
    His words gave me pause. I didn’t drink or do drugs, but I also didn’t want to appear lame, so I followed along behind him as he walked up to the house. As we walked inside it was clear everyone had been drinking for some time. Partygoers were dancing to very loud music, grinding their bodies together in ways that made me uncomfortable, and others were weaving in and out of the many rooms the house boasted, some stumbling, others barely able to stand on their own. The smell of alcohol permeated the air, and somewhere close by I could hear someone retching.  It was not the kind of party I would ever choose to attend and I wanted to leave, but I knew if I asked Scott to take me home he would be offended, so I didn’t voice my thoughts.
    “Do you want a drink?” he yelled over the music.
    “Just a soda,” I answered , trying to ignore the flash of disapproval on his face before he turned away and left me standing there alone.
    He disappeared for about fifteen minutes , and when he came back he handed me a can of soda. I couldn’t help the frowning as he took a long swallow from the beer can he held.
    “A few beers won’t hurt ; loosen up and have fun,” he said, looking annoyed.
    I knew that was not true . A few beers could have dire effects. But again, I kept my mouth shut.  An hour later, though, and I began to understand why the girls Scott dated did not go out with him again. He all but ignored me, finding his friends’ company more interesting than mine until he had more a lot alcohol inside him. Then he suddenly remembered I was there and grabbed my hand, dragging me to where everyone else was