Chapter 1 Brian's Birthday Party

Tessa’s POV “Tessa, where is the ketchup?” “Tessa, we are going to need more drinks!” “Tessa, get more napkins!” I wiped the sweat off my brow and walked through the loud gathering of people. “Okay, just give me a minute,” I shouted over the music. This was my boyfriend Brian’s birthday party. I fell in love with Brian during our freshmen year. He was my first love. He was a boy who came from a wealthy family, and I was the girl who grew up in the countryside and worked on my father’s farm. I felt inadequate when it came to Brian and his friends. They all grew up living a wealthy lifestyle and I never quite fit in with them. However, I made up for it by trying to be the best girlfriend that I could be. That included throwing him the best parties. Like this one. Despite our differences when it came to wealth and elegance, I always believed that Brian and I would be endgame. That is why I tried so hard to make our relationship work. My best friend Ruby was leaning against the counter when I entered the kitchen, folding her arms across her chest. I already knew what she was going to say before she spoke. “Brian has been talking to Amanda all night,” she pointed out. I could feel her eyes on my face as I pulled the cans of soda and beer out of the fridge. “It’s his birthday party,” I said in return. “He can talk to whoever he wants to talk to.” “He’s also your boyfriend. He should be talking to you all night, not her.” “She’s his best friend, Ruby.” “You’re his girlfriend, Tessa.” “Please, just leave it alone. I don’t want any issues tonight. Especially with all his friends here.” They already judged me enough. “You work too hard,” Ruby said, grabbing the ketchup off the counter and following me as I entered the living room. I began placing napkins on the tables I had set up for the food and drinks. “They treat you like you are their slave, and they always have. How many more hoops are you going to jump through for them?” “As many as necessary to get on their good side,” I answered. “I’m doing this for Brian, not for them.” “You should rest and enjoy some of the party.” “I just want everything to be perfect,” I told her with a grin. She rolled her eyes at my response. “Must you always be an overachiever?” I didn’t answer her. Brian was my first boyfriend. I didn’t know about other people, but I’m used to trying my best for those that I loved. “On a new note, tomorrow is our first school day this semester. Have you heard who’s coming to our school?” Ruby changed the subject realizing I did not have an answer to her question. “No, I haven’t.” “Joseph Evergreen. That fantasy novelist you love so much!” “Wait seriously?” I asked, raising my brows. “He’s coming to our school?!” Joseph Evergreen was an incredible writer and an inspiration for my own writing, but he had been so mysterious. It is my dream to be a famous fantasy writer. But so far, my hard work didn’t help me much with that. “He’s coming to our school to teach a special writing course. We should sign up for that class together!” “I love that idea,” I agreed. “We will go first thing in the morning to sign up. I absolutely love Joseph Evergreen. He just reminds me so much of my writing idol, Christopher Moore.” I couldn’t help but get excited. “Maybe they are the same person,” Ruby teased. “Christopher Moore was alive hundreds of years ago. He would have to be some immortal vampire or something,” I teased in return. We laughed again. Soon, Ruby’s demeanor changed in an instant and I saw her looking at someone past me. I felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist from behind me and I knew who it was instantly. I could tell that Ruby was trying hard not to roll her eyes. She never liked Brian and she made that painfully obvious. “Hey beautiful,” Brian said, kissing the back of my neck. I chuckled, turning around to hug him. “Brian, not in front of everybody,” I said, peering up at him. “What were you two laughing about?” He asked, kissing the top of my head. “Joseph Evergreen is teaching a special writing course at our school next semester. Ruby and I were thinking about signing up.” “A writing course?” Brian asked, narrowing his eyes at me, and dropping his hands from my waist. “Do you think it’s wise to dedicate a whole course to a hobby?” “Well, it’s not just a hobby for me—” “Writing isn’t a career, Tessa. We talked about this.” “I beg to differ. Joseph Evergreen is very successful—” “Okay, one in a million make it as real writers,” Brian said, cutting off my words as he often did. “I thought we discussed taking a business course for your last semester so you can be prepared for when you intern at my father’s company.” My heart fell into my stomach. I hadn’t told him that I chose against taking a business course. More importantly, I decided I didn’t want to intern at his father’s company. I wasn’t sure how to tell him and I certainly didn’t want to do it during his birthday party. “I know,” I said, lowering my gaze. “But it’s our last semester and I wanted to take something I really enjoy.” “If you want to be successful, you need to start thinking about your future and writing is not a plausible career,” he said, shaking his head with dismay written all over his face. “It’s nothing more than a hobby.” “I could learn so much during this course, Brian…” “Forget it,” he muttered, turning away from me. “Do whatever you want.” He disappeared through the crowd of people, leaving me staring after him. “He’s such an arrogant asshole,” Ruby said, folding her arms across her chest. “Why do you let him control you like that?” “He’s not that bad...” I told her. But even I didn’t believe those words. “I’ll be right back,” I told her. I went through the crowd and in the direction Brian went. I didn’t want to leave the conversation like that. By the time I found him, I saw that he was back to talking to Amanda. They were in the back corner, and she was leaning against the wall, staring up at him. “She doesn’t care about a thing that I want. She’s too set in her ways. She might be pretty, but she can be incredibly dumb sometimes.” Those cruel words came from Brian. I stood frozen with a heavy heart as I listened to my boyfriend talking about me to his best friend. “I’ve said this countless times before, she’s not good enough for you,” Amanda said, putting her hand on his arm and leaning towards him. I widened my eyes. They were kissing. And it wasn’t a small sisterly kiss either. That was the moment I realized that I was probably the only one trying to make this relationship work. “You two bastards!” When I was about to step out, Ruby did it before me. Brian quickly pulled away from her. “Tessa… it’s not what it looks like!” Brian started walking toward me. “I can explain—” “That’s the end of it!” I said with my eyes beginning to betray me. “I have done enough for you to make this relationship work, Brian.” “But I will never try for a cheater,” I said it word by word, trying to stabilize my voice. “He’s not worth it,” Ruby muttered, draping an arm around me, and pulling me away from the party. Brian followed us until we reached the door, then he stopped and let us leave. When I glanced at his figure for the last time, I tried my best to not croak as tears fell out of my eyes. But I was surprised that I felt relieved at the same time. Maybe I didn’t need to try so hard for everything in my life, especially for someone like Brian. “Where are we going?” I asked Ruby. “You’ll see,” she said with a grin. We drove for about 30 minutes until we reached downtown, then she parked the car. “We are going to a bar,” she finally announced. “You need to loosen up and forget about that loser.” I sighed and got out of the car, following her down the streets until the bar, lit up in neon lights, came into view. As we continued walking, I brushed past a tall and incredibly handsome stranger. Goosebumps instantly formed on my skin. I paused and looked over my shoulder at him and that’s when I noticed he was no longer walking. He was staring with such a ravenous look in his eyes. It almost felt like I was on his menu. Strange feelings.