Chapter 1
Catalina's P.O.V
*All translations in Spanish are roughly translated from google.*
"Alright, I'm headed out for the night Dad! I'll see you tomorrow! Te amo papa!" ( I love you Dad!)
I paused in the doorway, for a response.
"Yo Tambien te amo Nina, mantente a salvo!" ( I love you too baby girl, be safe!) His deep voice carried through the house. Somewhere, he was tinkering with something. He loved to fix things. He was probably working on that old '69 Chevy. He was building it from the ground up.
I smiled and closed the door behind me.
Sure, I was 24 now. As of today actually. But that didn't mean I couldn't live with my only living family. I was really dragging my feet on moving out. My dad was all I had out here. Sure I had friends, but My dad? He's my best friend. After moving out of my grandparent's home in Guatemala, I really was in no rush to leave dad's side anytime soon.
Dad had moved here for work, meanwhile, I stayed home in Guatemala to care for my grandparents. Abuela's health took a dive one night, and then she was gone. Broken-hearted, Abuelo passed the next day. I had nothing left there, so I packed up and moved in with Dad. Just two years ago, everything had changed. Glancing at their pictures as I closed the front door, I let out a sorrow-filled sigh.
"Hurry up bitch! The party has already started without us!" Arlo had her hand against the horn as she yelled out the window for me.
Rolling my eyes "We are the party bitch!"
Closing the door I threw on the seat belt and pushed until I heard the click. Safety first. Even though I was absolutely going to get trashed tonight.
Arlo had her black hair combed to perfection into a high ponytail, her makeup was striking. As always. She was sporting a lace top that was for sure going to turn some heads, as well as piss off that boyfriend of hers. But she likes to take risks. Any chance she got, I think that's why we got along so well. She's the wild to my calm.
Val was in the back seat with her head down, thumbs tapping away at the screen of her phone. Her outfit was a little more laid back, distressed jeans and a white tee with sneakers. Her blonde hair was flowing with effortless waves, she's a natural beauty.
Tonight, I had on a red tank top, black high-rise distressed jeans and a cropped zip-up sweater for the night. My make-up was on the natural side, apart from the red lipstick I decided on. My brown hair was tied up in a ponytail to showcase all my piercings. I was wearing pretty hoops with seven other small diamond earrings.
"Bitch, Diego is going to be alllll over you tonight looking like that." Arlo gestured her hand over me.
"Oh please, he isn't interested. He made that very clear. You, on the other hand. Jaxxon is going to kill everyone that looks at you tonight." I sat back with a grin over my face.
For a moment it looked as if Arlo cared, but then she quickly masked it with a sly grin of her own. "Well too bad, because we broke up earlier this week."
Ah. That again. God, they were so on again and off again I could never keep up. I always just assumed they were an item because no matter what they gravitated to each other like magnets.
I peeked over my shoulder at Val "Hey girl, who are you talkin to?"
Her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she jammed her phone into her pocket quickly. "Oh, no one. OMG. This place is Poppin!" Damn, I wonder how many traffic laws Arlo broke to get here this fast.
Arlo quickly found a spot and threw her jeep into park.
Stepping out, you could hear the music blaring from inside the house. Or should I say Mansion? This place looked like it had 20 rooms. I bet they even had a pool in the backyard.
"Alright bitches, let's go get trashed!" Arlo whooped from her side of the car as she passed over a bottle of tequila.
Val took off in a sprint, jumping into some guy's arms. "I'll come find you guys in a bit!" She hollered over the guy's shoulder as she was carried away from us. "Tap that ass Val!" Arlo shouted out through cupped hands.
Both of us giggled as we made our way into the home. The music was so loud I couldn't hear my own heartbeat. Arlo gestured to the drinks table and I nodded my head and pointed to the back sliding doors that were wide open.
Stepping out, the cool air was tinged with smoke and carried mixed smells of all kinds. Mostly heavy perfumes and colognes.
"Happy birthday Catalina!" A voice shouted from the pool. I couldn't see any familiar faces though. There were so many people, almost all the girls here had some skimpy ass costume on. Or just bikinis that barely covered anything.
"Come join us in the pool! It's heated." Ah, now I knew who it was. Jay, one of our oldest friends from high school was stepping from the pool and drying off with a towel one of the girls had passed him.
"Hey, jay! I think I'll be okay here, didn't bring any pool attire so." Jay shrugged his arms and went back to chatting with the flock of women around him. He was an attractive man, so I could see why. The man was ripped with tattoos all over. Dark hair and blue eyes, naturally women flocked to him.
Arlo came out with a couple of beers in hand, "Bottoms up bitch, let's celebrate your 24th properly."
The rest of the night went by in a blur of bottles of either beer or hard liquor and booming music that we swayed to.
Val was still busy with that guy she left with, she at least texted us to let us know she was okay.
As the party started to dwindle and people were leaving Arlo was dragging me towards the car, both of us stumbling our way to the jeep. "Hey, you guys aren't driving are you?" Jay shouted from the street on the side of his car.
"Uh-" Arlo started and was cut off when Jay threw up his hand. "Come on you alcoholics. I'll be the D.D. tonight."
"Ugh thank goodness. I can't even see straight." Arlo mumbled out in a slur as I laughed at her.
"We'll pick up your car in the.. Tomorrow. Sometime." Jay cracked a smile at us.
"You are an angel Jay, thanks!" I said as I hugged him.
"Happy birthday Catalina, I'd rather deal with you guys being annoying assholes than going to a funeral." He said as he patted my head.
