Chapter 61

Bayla

I didn't really have anything against parties, not at all. Larissa had made me immune by now. But I hated noise, preferred quieter places and, to be honest, I quickly disappeared if the music wasn't good.

Larissa and I stood in the crowded parking lot, which was busier than Lola's Diner. People in costumes, whose faces I could no longer recognize in the dark and with all the masks, were streaming into the large industrial building, which had been converted into a club. The bass sounded from inside. I doubted that I would feel any better after this party.

“There you are, finally!” Larissa – dressed in her figure-hugging devil costume – waved to the two others coming across the parking lot, and I wondered why I couldn't have been blessed with her feminine body.

“Hot!” Grace, who had actually chosen the Medusa costume, exclaimed. It was more of a dress that looked like golden snakeskin and reached down to the floor. On her head, golden snakes protruded from her wild curls, and her make-up and glowing yellow contact lenses emphasized her eyes. For a moment, I remembered Julian and Emely's eyes, but I quickly pushed the thought aside. Tonight, I would enjoy the evening.

I was even feeling a little better, which was perhaps due to the pills I'd been taking again for two days.

Mum had been increasingly worried, but I had stayed in my room and read because I wasn't in the mood to talk to her until she would finally stop lying and tell me the truth. About everything.

To be honest, I would have preferred to stay in my room, but of course Larissa had turned up at the front door on time today, at eight o'clock.

I had gotten ready quickly, but my costume was limited to a long black skirt and a blue corset decorated with black floral elements. Larissa had made me wear it because she thought it would make me look very attractive, which wasn't my goal tonight.

I just wanted to survive.

“You two look really hot!” Grace continued, looking first at my costume and then at Larissa's.

“I can only return the compliment.”

Larissa looked at Grace, and then at Julie.

My gaze lingered on her white knee-length, skin-tight dress, which showed a lot of skin at the waist thanks to the lace fabric. It was buttoned from the chest to the top and had long silk sleeves that puffed out in the cool evening air. Additionally, Julie was wearing her mask and you couldn't recognize her at all.

I must admit, I didn't expect to see Julie in an outfit like this, as she hadn't taken any of the dresses from the store. This one had to have come from somewhere else.

“Someone's dressed to impress!” Larissa exclaimed and immediately picked up her camera. “Let me take a few photos before we go in there.”

Grace put her arm around Julie and they both smiled at Larissa's flashing camera.

“Stand with them, you nut,” Larissa urged me. I joined Julie's side, and then I gave Larissa a weak smile.

“Hey, you there!” Larissa waved to a dude dressed as Sherlock Holmes. “Could you take a quick picture of us?”

The guy nodded and took Larissa's camera. He knelt down before taking a few pictures of us.

Larissa stood next to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and some bunny ears, just like she had done in all the class photos with our high school nemesis Olivia.

After the guy gave her back the camera and she put it in Grace's car, we made our way inside.

As we entered the club, the bass got louder and a whole crowd seemed to be dancing to Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo in the color-changing spotlight. The building seemed to vibrate and there were even...pole dancers? Overall, this place seemed unexpectedly modern. There was a huge glowing dance floor with countless people crowded together. Next to the dance floor, there were occupied seating areas everywhere, some with shishas. In the distance, I spotted a long bar with seven very busy bartenders and, of course, there was a DJ on a raised platform.

When I looked up behind him, I could make out a second floor, where there appeared to be even more luxurious seating areas. But that was all you could see from down here. The factory hall was just too big.

There were many young people here, some of them two or three years older than us. Two massive security men at the entrance seemed to be making sure that no one sneaked in or smuggled anything in with them and who had fortunately let us through, because we were old enough by now and Larissa hadn't hidden half a minibar in her bag this time.

Back then, she'd always flirted a bit, and we had entered all the clubs more or less illegally.

“Oh my God, I didn't think there would be so much going on here!” Larissa shouted loudly so that we could hear her. However, the bass not only swallowed up her voice, but also brought out my headache again. It felt uncomfortable, because on the one hand I felt like dancing, but on the other my body was starting to go crazy again.

“Larissa!”

We both turned to Grace, who was pointing to a seating area where a few girls had just come out onto the dance floor with their drinks.

The DJ turned up Give me everything.

“Let's go there!” Grace shouted louder, but her voice was drowned out.

I pushed past a few dancing girls and tried not to push them over because I was getting a little dizzy. But I made it to the seating area in one piece.

“It's so hard to get a decent seat here, believe me!” Grace seemed to like it here, because she bobbed along to the beat of the music. “I think I'll go dancing in a minute, is anyone coming?”

“I'll be right behind you,” Larissa replied. “I'd just like to have a drink first. Are you coming, Julie?”

“Julie doesn't drink,” Grace laughed, but Larissa had already pulled Julie up again. “Then Julie will have a drink today.”

“I'll come with you,” Grace replied.

Larissa looked at me.

“Grace, I feel like dancing too,” I said quickly and got up to pull Grace to her feet, even though my desire to dance had finally disappeared a minute ago.

Grace looked up, a little confused, but Larissa and Julie had already disappeared into the crowd of dancing people. Perfect. Step one was done. I hadn't actually thought we'd be able to separate them so easily, but it had worked.

As if the DJ had a heart for me, he played There she goes by Taio Cruz and a few more people came onto the dance floor too.

Grace threw her arms up and immediately started dancing. And she could dance. I tried to keep up and move, but my body was weakened, and so I kept stumbling into people who luckily didn't pay much attention to me. In my mind's eye, everything slowly began to spin.

“Don't take offense, but I need to get you back to our place. You really don't look well,” Grace said, pulling me back to the seating area where a group of half-drunk guys had almost sat down.

“Grace...” I gasped, a little out of breath. “What did your mum do to me there?”

“You mean the rite of passage?”

I nodded and had to cough. My lungs felt like someone was putting pressure on them. And this pulling in my chest...

“She used a full moon ritual, which is conjured by the strength of the Circle's blood, ebony splinters and incense.”

I looked at her to let her know that I didn't understand.

The DJ switched to Scream & Shout, which my headache seemed to take personally.

“Why do you ask?”