I Love You More Than I'm Afraid (Our Forevers #2) by Rebel Hart (the first e reader .txt) 📕

around the VIP room, which had been decorated with streamers, all sorts of ‘CLASS OF 2021’ decorations, and the old couches had been covered with some sheets that Suli brought in to make them look nicer. Polly brought some homemade food for us to eat, and they also had a three tiered cupcake-cake. They were all wearing dorky hats and glasses and had brought me a variety of gifts, including a thousand dollars that they had all pitched in for to get me started in NYC.

It was wonderful.

“I will never forget you guys! I really hope you come visit me. My apartment starting out isn’t massive, it’s a studio, but if we can squeeze in here, we can squeeze in there,” I said.

“How are you affording an apartment in New York City anyway?” Darton asked. “I’ve heard it’s so expensive to live there.”

“Yeah, you’re not living in a really shitty neighborhood or above some deli that doubles as a mafia den are you?” Suli asked.

I laughed. “No. They don’t have facilities for participants to actually live on site, so they give you a rent stipend and it’s up to you to find a place with that stipend. It was difficult, but I technically qualify as a student, which made it a little easier. I’m gonna get a part-time job when I get there, and if all goes well, by my third year, I’ll be interning with the company and they’ll increase my stipend to something higher.”

“That’s good,” Polly said.

“Man, are you going to be like a big, New York City inventor lady?” Darton said. “You’re gonna be all,” he flicked his hand in the air and started wiggling his shoulder. “‘And this is my new thing that makes stuff and now your life is easier,’ and we’ll be like, ‘Hey! Arden! It’s us, your old friends!’ and you’ll be like, ‘Oh that’s right! Hi, Denton!’”

I laughed. “I’m never going to forget you. I might start calling you Denton.”

“Oh, please do that,” Polly said. “I’ll call him Denton too.”

Darton snorted. “In bed.”

Codie looked over with a lifted eyebrow. “Do… do you want her to call you Denton in bed?”

Darton laughed for a minute and then frowned. “No.”

Suli set down her glass and then grabbed my hand. “Okay! Let’s go dance off this delicious food.”

“Yes please!” I said, snagging Codie’s hand. “Come on!”

Codie, true to what Suli had said, was totally mellow and having a good time. He set down his glass and allowed me to pull him along with us towards the dance floor. We slid from our side of the curtain to the other and out into the crowd. The music was thumping and bass was blasting through my veins. I was glad that I let Suli talk me into coming inside. It was such a good time and all my friends put in so much effort. They’d stayed away from anything illegal for me and themselves as promised, and it was just a good, sober time.

We got to the middle of the dance floor and I made myself a sandwich between Suli and Codie, my favorite way to dance, but as soon as we were about to get into it, the music stopped. There was a murmur as everyone looked around, wondering what was going on, and then the lights came on.

“Aria!”

My head shot in the direction of the door. I could have sworn I heard someone scream Aria’s name. “Did you hear that?” I asked.

“What’s going on?” Codie asked.

“Uh,” the DJ said into the mic, “I’m being asked to tell everyone to stay put. I don’t know why?”

“Aria!” I heard again.

“God, I swear to god, I’m hearing someone scream ‘Aria,’” I said.

Suli rubbed my head. “I think you’re just hearing things because you’re worried she’s gonna find out you’re here. Don’t worry about it, I’m sure whatever is going on will be cleared up soon and we can get back to your party.”

“Maybe, but I’m just feeling a little paranoid. Can you go and make sure Aria’s not outside? My phone is still in your car where you stole and locked it,” I said.

She smiled. “You said it was a good thing I did because you wouldn’t have been able to pay attention.”

“I’ll go see what’s going on,” Codie said. “Stay here.”

He started to slip and slide his way through the group when suddenly the half the crowd started to rush towards the door. We were all shoved forward as people behind us picked up on the hype and started to run towards the door just based on curiosity.

“What the hell is going on?” Suli barked.

“There was a huge brawl outside,” someone that overheard responded to her. “Apparently some high-schooler fell and cracked her skull open.”

Suli, Codie, and I all froze. People were pushing around us, but the exact same thought had hit us all at the exact same time and we were briefly stuck in place.

Then Codie and Suli sprung into action.

“Undersound employee!” Suli started to yell. “Let me through please! Move to the side please! If you don’t want to be fined, you need to let me through!”

With Suli blazing the way forward, Codie saddled up behind me and started pushing me forward, keeping me pinned to Suli’s back. People were still pushing and shoving, trying to get to the door, but Suli and Codie kept me moving forward. My heart was pumping and the sound was gone from my ears.

Please let it not be what I was fearing it was.

Finally, a burst of cold air hit me as Suli got us through the front door. She took a single step past the security guard and then turned around and looked at me with horror in her eyes.

“Oh no,” Codie said.

“Arden—”

I shoved around Suli and rushed outside. There was an ambulance pulling up and to my extreme upset, Tristan was teary-eyed and overseeing Aria on a stretcher being loaded in.

“Tristan,” I said. He whipped around and burned me with a harsh glare. “What happened?”

“What happened is