Chapter 4

Elle

I couldn’t stop looking at Luke. He wasn’t the type of guy who screamed for attention. In fact, he was practically the opposite. But somehow, that made him stand out more.

I blinked, realizing I had been staring for far too long. I quickly looked away, hoping no one had noticed. But just as I did, I saw him glance in my direction. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and I quickly turned my head, my heart racing for reasons I didn’t fully understand.

I was still trying to steady my breathing when I heard a loud, shrill sound cut through the music. At first, I thought it was just a part of the party—the kind of thing that happens when someone cranks up the volume to try to get the crowd’s attention. But the sound was too urgent. Too sharp.

And then I heard it again.

This time, I could make out the siren of a police car in the distance. And not just one car—there were at least two.

“Shit! The cops are here!,” someone near the front door shouted, and the next thing I knew, the entire house seemed to erupt in chaos. People were yelling, scrambling to grab their things, and running for the back door. A couple of guys bumped into me, not bothering to apologize, their eyes wide with panic.

Jasmine! I turned, hoping to find her in the crowd, but the sea of bodies was so thick that I couldn’t see anything.

I pushed forward, trying to make my way through the throng of people, but it felt like the crowd was swallowing me whole. My heart started pounding in my chest as I fought to stay on my feet, feeling myself getting shoved further into the chaos.

I kept calling Jasmine’s name, but the sound of the music and the sirens drowned everything else out. I tried to move faster, but it was like the crowd was pushing back, making it harder and harder to escape.

And then, in the middle of the chaos, I lost her.

I spun around, desperate to find her, but there were too many people. Too much noise. The flashing lights outside painted the room with a strobe-like effect, and all I could hear were the frantic sounds of people yelling and running. I was alone in the crowd.

In a panic, I pushed toward the door, my heart racing as I finally burst out onto the lawn. The front yard was filled with people scattering in every direction, some running toward their cars, others ducking behind bushes or trees, trying to avoid getting caught. I stumbled across the grass, my shoes slipping on the wet ground, desperate to get away from the scene.

I reached my car and jumped in, slamming the door shut behind me. I was out of breath, my hands shaking as I fumbled for my keys. I started the car, the engine rumbling to life.

Just as I’m on my way home the car sputtered, and the engine died.

“No, no, no!” I muttered, trying to turn the key again. But it was no use. The engine wouldn’t start.

I grabbed my phone, hoping I could call someone—anyone—but when I pressed the screen to unlock it, I saw the dreaded message: Battery Low.

My stomach dropped.

I was stranded. In the middle of nowhere and on the wrong side of town.

And I had no idea where Jasmine was.

Luke

I saw the panic hit the crowd before I even heard the sirens. One second, everything was normal. The music was loud, the people were dancing, and Dylan was laughing with a group of his friends. But the next thing I knew, the party was on edge.

A guy near the kitchen yelled something about the cops, and in an instant, the whole room was in motion. Bodies were running in all directions. Some pushed toward the back door, some to the front, and some—like me—just stood there frozen for a second, unsure of what to do.

Dylan’s face lit up with a grin as he headed toward the back door, clearly not worried. “We’ve been caught before,” he shouted to us. “Just get out before they shut this shit down!”

I stood there, my mind racing. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt a pull to leave with the crowd.

Yes even though me and Dylan are best friends, I wasn’t part of Dylan’s crowd. Sure, I’d been to parties like this before, but they were never my thing.

I shoved through the crowd, pushing toward the exit, but just as I did, I saw Elle. She was trying to make her way through the chaos, her face frantic as she called out to someone—Jasmine, I assumed. But the crowd was too thick, too chaotic. I couldn’t see her for long before I lost her in the crowd.

Something gnawed at me as I hurried toward the door. I didn’t know what it was. Something about her.

But the sirens were getting closer, and I had to make sure I didn’t get caught.

I ran outside, the cool night air hitting me as the chaos swirled around me.

Elle wasn’t the only one lost in the frenzy. The crowd had scattered like roaches when the light turned on. It was hard to make sense of the mess of people, flashing lights, and frantic chatter.

I reached the curb, not sure what I was even trying to do. Everything felt out of control.

And then, just as quickly as it had started, the sirens grew faint.

Before I even knew it, Elle already got in her car and drove off.

As I did the same thing.