Chapter 1: The Party
Chapter 1: The Party
Mary Camden couldn’t believe that she was actually doing this.
She had spent the last couple of hours getting ready for this. She had to lie to her parents to even be here. They never let her go to parties unless it was being held for her basketball team, and her coach or another school official closely monitored it.
She needed to prove something to her peers. That she wasn’t a goody two-shoes like everyone said. Being a preacher’s kid came with a lot of backlash. She was never invited to things because of her parents. So she rebelled and agreed to come when her teammate called her earlier about the party.
Her family had gone out for the day. A day trip to some national park. She had feigned exhaustion from the end of the school year. Her mom had fought her case to her dad telling him that she had been putting too much pressure on herself with her junior year starting in a couple months. He relented and promised to call throughout the day for check-ins. She relaxed once she heard them all leave and started to get ready.
With her dad’s last phone call she had pleaded to sleep over at her friend’s house. He had hesitated but when she told him that her parents would be home the whole time and all they would be doing was watching movies and eating lots of junk food he relented. She hung up victorious as she headed out and started the walk to the house party.
Mary had never been to a party like this before.
The lights were low, pulsing with the beat of some song she didn’t recognize. The air buzzed with perfume, sweat, and the unmistakable sting of alcohol, though she told herself she wouldn’t touch any of it. She wasn’t like “those girls,” or so she thought. She was just here to prove she could loosen up, have fun--be normal.
“Hey, Mary!” a familiar voice shouted over the music. It was Lisa, her friend from the basketball team. She held out a plastic cup filled with punch. “You’ve got to try this-who knew high school parties could actually be decent?”
Mary hesitated, then smiled.
“Why not?” she shrugged, taking it from her.
The punch was sweet, syrupy. She didn’t taste anything off. People were laughing, moving, grinding to the music that made the walls shake. It was chaos-but for a moment, she let herself fade into it. She let herself forget about curfews, family dinners, and Pastor Camden’s sermons. Just for tonight.
Minutes passed. Or was it longer?
A strange warmth began crawling up her neck, down her arms. Her thoughts slowed, like someone had pressed a hand over her mind and told it to be quiet. The room tilted slightly. Her fingers trembled around the cup. Mary blinked, trying to focus. She looked for Lisa, but couldn’t find her. Faces blurred together in the dim, flickering light.
Someone touched her arm. A guy. Chad? No-his name was Jason. She remembered him from gym class. He smiled, too close.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I….I think I need some air,” she muttered, though her voice came out slurred.
“I’ll help you,” he said, already steering her away from the noise, the people.
Her legs felt like jelly. The hallway stretched in unnatural ways, like a bad dream she couldn’t wake up from. She tried to push his hand away, but her arm felt funny. Her vision wavered. The music faded behind them, replaced by the sound of a door clicking shut.
“Wait….” she said. “I don’t feel good.”
Then everything fractured-like glass hitting pavement. The last thing she saw was the ceiling fan spinning in slow, lazy circles above her. Her world went quiet.
“I just want to go home,” she thought.
And then-nothing.
Mary woke to silence.
No music, no voices. Just the faint ticking of a clock somewhere nearby and the throb of her own heartbeat in her ears.
She blinked against the soft morning light bleeding through closed blinds. Her head ached-deep and pounding-like she’d been hit by something. Her mouth was dry, her tongue thick. She tried to sit up but winced as her body protested, stiff and sore in ways that didn’t make sense.
Her eyes slowly adjusted. She wasn’t in her room. She was on a couch, a blanket tossed carelessly over her. Someone’s living room-scattered red solo cups, a knocked-over lamp, an empty chip bowl on the floor. Her stomach twisted.
The party.
Bits and pieces returned in flashes: laughter, lights, Lisa handing her a drink, Jason’s hand on her arm….
Mary’s chest tightened.
She sat up slowly, brushing tangled hair out of her face. Her clothes were rumpled-her top stretched in a way she didn’t remember, and her jeans were unbuttoned. Her heart skipped. She didn’t remember doing that. She didn’t remember much of anything after….what? Talking to Jason?
Her breath hitched.
She checked her phone: 7:12 a.m. No missed calls. No texts. She had no idea how she got here.
Mary stood, her legs shaky beneath her. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she steadied herself against the arm of the couch. Someone had covered her-maybe Lisa? Maybe Jason? Her mind raced, reaching for answers, for logic, for anything to fill in the black void between “I don’t feel good” and waking up alone.
She walked quietly through the house. It was mostly empty now. A couple of kids were passed out in other rooms. Nobody stirred.
Mary found the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She stared at her reflection. Her mascara had smudged beneath her eyes. Her hair was a mess. There was a faint bruise on her collarbone. Her breath caught in her throat.
She didn’t know what had happened. She just knew it wasn’t right.
Mary sat on the edge of the bathtub, her phone resting in her lap, untouched. She had scrolled through her call log, her texts, her photos—nothing. No record of the night beyond the blurry punch of a hangover and the empty, gnawing spaces in her mind. Her hands trembled slightly as she tied her shoes. It felt mechanical, disconnected—like she was moving someone else’s limbs.
She walked back through the house quietly. Someone mumbled from another room, but no one noticed her. The front door creaked open with a soft groan as she stepped outside into the harsh brightness of morning. She started the trek home, not wanting to call anyone to come get her. They would just have lots of questions, which she did not have the answers to.
The walk home was slow, her body heavy, her thoughts louder than the sound of tires on pavement. By the time she reached the Camden house, the world had started to blur again. Everything looked the same—flower boxes by the porch, her dad’s car in the driveway, Ruthie’s sneakers abandoned on the front step. The normalcy of it all felt surreal. Like the past twelve hours had happened in some other life.
Inside, the smell of coffee and toast hit her like a wave. It was Sunday. Church. Everyone would soon be rushing around the house trying to get ready in time to leave for the service.
“Mary? Is that you?” she heard her mom’s voice.
Mary sighed, realizing that she would not be able to escape the questions after all. She quickly grabbed the hoodie that she had left hanging on the coat rack the day before and pulled it on, not wanting her mom to see the state she was in. Not yet.
“It’s me,”
She walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where her mom was preparing everything for the day. “I didn’t think anyone would be up yet.”
“Morning, sweetie,” Annie smiled at her. “I got up early to call Lisa’s house. I wanted to see if you would be joining us at church or if you just wanted us to pick you up after. You’re up early for someone who had a sleepover last night.”
“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep.” Mary forced a smile.
“What time did you go to bed last night?”
“You mean this morning?”
“I remember those days.” Annie smiled. “Did you have fun then?”
“Yes. Thank you for letting me go.”
“You okay?” Annie glanced at her, brow creasing just slightly.
“Just tired,” Mary mumbled.
“Why don’t you skip church today?”
“What?”
“You had a long night. I remember what it was like going to sleepovers when I was younger. It usually took me a couple days to recover. Get some sleep, take a shower if you need to, and I’ll wake you when we get back home so we can have some lunch together.”
“What about dad?”
“I’ll explain it to him. Now go on. Lucy should be done getting ready by now, so you should have the room to yourself by now.”
“Thanks, mom.” she started up the stairs.
Her room felt like a sanctuary. She closed the door, locked it, and collapsed onto her bed. She heard the sounds of her family gathering downstairs for breakfast, and then not that long after the sound of the door closing and a vehicle backing out of the driveway.
Mary lay on her bed, searching her brain for any memory of last night.
Bits and pieces came back, just flashes:
The taste of punch.
Jason leaning in.
Her own voice slurring.
A hallway.
A door.
His hand on her waist.
And then—
Nothing.
She sat up suddenly, grabbed her phone again, and texted Lisa.
M: Hey. What happened last night? Did you see me leave?
The three dots appeared. Then vanished. Appeared again.
L: You left with Jason I think?? I couldn’t find you after like 11. You good??
Mary stared at the screen.
M: Did you see him give me anything? I don’t remember drinking more than one thing.
Dot. Dot. Dot.
L: I dunno… I think he handed you a cup?? You seemed out of it. I thought you were just drunk tbh.
Mary dropped the phone on her comforter. Her throat tightened. She wasn’t drunk. She was sure of it. Not like that. Not blackout drunk. Not helpless.
She curled her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around herself like a shield.
Something happened.
And it wasn’t just a party.
