Chapter 4

Chapter 5 1

The music was blasting and everybody was either dancing, eating, or you didn't even want to know what they were doing.  But the house was a mess and Sean was still trying to clean as much as possible.  Carie started to think that something bad was going to happen tonight. She could just tell when Rachel wanted to drag her to this party.  What was she supposed to do though?  Rachel would think she wasn't a very good friend if she wouldn't let her have a little fun. "Rachel, I still don't think this is such a good idea." She said. 'Oh...I really shouldn't have said that.' she thought to herself. 2

Rachel just stood there and looked at her and stared.  "Do you want me to have any fun at this party?" Carrie said yes but still said she should reject him because he was drunk. "Stop it.  You're acting like my mother. Just Shut up and leave if you think there's something that shouldn't happen." This was one the first times that Rachel and Carrie were in a fight in about at least like three or four years. It amazes some people how fast  friendship can be washed out to sea. Like draft wood, It can come back to tide. 3

Rachel grabbed her lip gloss and ran out the door. Watching the back of her walk swift fully across the room and into the heard of people made Carrie thank she lost a friend. One of her only friends. The only one of her very few friends that actually understood her. What was she supposed to do now? Was she supposed to just stand there and watch her friend get hut? There were too many questions in her had for her and she couldn't answer any of them.  4

Carrie wished she hadn't come to that party at all.  She started walking out the door and onto the sidewalk outside his house. There was chalk all over it, Names like Alex, Mary, and Tim with little half drawings of people with their legs coming out of their heads.  Carrie remembered drawing people like that.  She looked up at the pinkish sky and walked on.  "Carrie, Wait up!" It was Sean. She was a little surprised that he actually knew who she was. She stopped.  "I saw you and Ray in a fight... well...actually i heard you fighting from outside the bathroom door, but anyways, are you alright?" He ran towards her. "I said are you okay." He sounded tense, but didn't look it.  Like there was a murder that no one could find.  He had a good poker face. 5

Carrie just looked at him with her own face. "I'm fine." she said. she felt like she should have aid more, but shew as thinking about too much.  6

Sean followed her as she walked. "Are you sure?  I mean I know that you two have been friends for a while and you'll work it out."  He walked next to her and acted like she was supposed to have a response to that.   But she didn't.7

All she could say was "Shouldn't you get back to your party?"8

"Well, I'm afraid to go back there." He answered jokingly, "There are way too many things going on there that i just can't and don't want to have to clean up or stop." He kind of laughed as he said the last few words. They kept walking. 9

Sean took Carrie's hand and smiled. She didn't like him, but she somehow didn't mind him taking her hand. "Carrie, I'll go back, if you go back with me."  He made it sound like a mission from a movie or something.  Like it was a scary thing but they had to do it to save the world.  But that wasn't how it was. 10

"Okay." Carrie said.  'Oh no.' She thought she actually might like him and that wouldn't be good because Sean was popular and she would have to join the "In Crowd" to hang out with him if she ever became his girlfriend. 'But that wouldn't happen' she thought 'because he doesn't like me back.' But the sad thing was that she didn't know that as a fact.  He might because he took her hand just now.  But he was probably just being nice since she had a fight with her best friend.  He put his arm around her and they turned around to walk back. 11

The music was loud and Usher's new song played.  Can, napkins, and unwanted information was all over the area around Sean's house. The neighbors looked like they were going to call the police.  Carrie and Sean walked through the door and as soon as they were about to sit down on the couch, they heard someone scream. It was the scream of hell taking over the cold world.  That scream made the whole room silent.  That scream drowned out the entire house.  That scream came from Rachel.  Carrie and the crowd rushed to the back of the house and ran through the door in the basement.  There was Rachel.  She was crying and her mascara strained down the side of her face.  It was one of the worst moments in her life.  People were whispering and pushing each other trying to get a good view of what happened.  The weird thing was, no one bothered or even thought to even simply walk into the room and help her.  Rachel was sitting on the bed, staring out the window.  Not noticing that it was slightly quiet and everyone was staring at her.  12

Carrie and Sean were stuck in the back of the crowd. Sean knew who it was because he saw Rachel and Tyler walk into that room before he left to follow Carrie.  But he had thought nothing of it at the time because he had no idea that he was drunk.  But Sean grabbed Carrie's hand and ran through the crowd to get there.  Carrie had warned her that something bad was to happen, but she didn't try to do anything to stop her. Which is one of the reasons that this whole mess happened.  "oh...my...god!" Carrie said.  This surprised everyone because 99% of them had never herd her talk before.  But she didn't care at this point.  All she wanted to do was try to help Rachel.  13

Rachel looked down and out the window at the same time and said, "Oh, Carrie, I should have listened to you."tears started falling again.  "Tyler did this." She said. Carrie had a very confused look on her face. they were both sitting on the bed.  Rachel had legs crossed and her knees to her chin.  Carrie was on the opposite side but leaning over to to see her face.  Rachel turned to the side to reveal the bruise and cuts ion the side of her face and then looked to Tyler on the floor. No one had left the scene.  But still no one except Carrie, Sean. and Tyler remained in the room.  14

Sean sat down next to Carrie and grabbed her hand. "Rachel, so...Tyler did this to you?" he said this like it wasn't true or he didn't believe it. "I've known him since like,..forever and he's never dome anything like this before.  Are you sure it was him?"  He didn't want to question her because he looked like she had been through a lot so far and he didn't want to make it worse, but he needed to know if that's exactly what happened.  15

"Yeah!!!!!" Rachel said. she was yelling and by this time everyone left the doorway. "I'm the one who got hurt!  Why do you think I wouldn't know who hit me?? Who else could it have been!!" She broke down again. Like a three year old's wagon that had been left out in the rain, run-over by a car, and then hit by it's boyfriend.16

"I'm really sorry, but you never know what happens at a Friday-night party." Especially if there's a drunk there." He stopped for a second. "Wait, was he drunk or was he just being out of control?" 17

"Do you have to ask every question that you can think of or are you just being annoying on purpose?" Rachel was getting madder than she already was. 18

Tyler was getting up from the floor he had passed out on. "w-w-what's going on?" he yawned. It was now about 12:34 am.  He tried turning over, but he would nave thrown up if he moved any other direction  than up....to go to the bathroom So he could throw up. "What is everyone staring at me for?"  The three knew that Tyler was talking to them, but they really didn't' want to even notice that he was there.  19

Rachel was urging to slap him in the face. Or better yet, kick him in the balls.She wanted him to drown in his own blood. That's how much shew wanted him to suffer. There was only the silence of Ciara playing on the stereo.  But they didn't notice that they had to yell a little if they wanted to hear each other.  "Let's go home." Carrie said quietly.  "We can get you cleaned up and you can spend the night at my house. Donna won't care." 20

"You cab use my phone." Sean grabbed the cordless phone from the hook on the wooden table.  The table was next to the bed, which had a blue bedspread and red and white pillows, but they were a little messy from Tyler and Rachel.  21

"Hello?" Said Mrs. Clifton, "Who is this?"22

"Mom, it's...Rachel, Is it alright if i spend the night at Carrie's tonight?" 23

"Sure, How's the party?  Meet any cute boys?" 24

"no...mom, I'm just having fun."25

Mrs. Clifton could hear the tears in Rachel's voice.  "Honey...are you okay? You sound like you got hurt or something? Do you need me to come over there?"  Sean and Carrie were sitting on the bed.  They were talking and Sean moved to lie down on the bed. Carrie followed.  She lay ed next to him with his arm around her she felt like she was in heaven and hell mixed. Heaven because she realized that she liked Sean and that Sean must have liked her. And hell because Rachel was siting there on the phone crying and she was having a semi-good time.  26

"Are you sure? I mean, you sound like you should come home now."27

Rachel didn't want her mom to know what happened. "Mom, I just fell off the swing in the backyard. I hit my head ion the concrete and got a scratch. I'm fine, but it hurts a little."28

"Oh, okay, well, if you decide to come home, you know I'll be there. Just call me when you get home tomorrow because I'm supposed to have a meeting at about 3 or 4 tomorrow so i might not be home, but you have your key and Carried is welcome to join you there."29

"Okay mom. Thanks, bye."30

Rachel hung up the phone and stood up. It took her a while to catch her balance, but she was okay after a while. 31

Sean and Carrie got up from the bed and walked with her outside. Just leaving Tyler there would be one of the many ways that he would end their friendship. Sean thought that getting Rachel and Carrie home was more important than how fast he could clean up his house.  Besides, the maid can do it.  he would have driven, but there were too many eggs on the roof and windshield of the car to drive it.  32

"Sean looked at Rachel "now, the best thing you can do right now is sleep. But you should put a little alcohol on that and a few ice cubes." He said, "But you should get a lot of rest and i suggest that you don't tell your folks what happened. I know it would be worse just lying to them, but how could they find out?"33

"True." Carrie and Rachel said at the same time.  On the way back to Carrie's house, She listened to Sean and Rachel talking.  She thought Sean would start holding her hand or put his arm around her or at least flirt with her, but he didn't and that surprised her because even Carrie knew that Rachel was closer to the kind of girls that he liked than she was and will ever be. 34

When they got to her house Donna was waiting by the door. She knew that Carrie and Rachel were okay because They weren't crying, but laughing at Sean.  Carrie and Rachel and Sean told Donna what happened to her. Somehow it was easier for all of them to trust Donna than Mrs. Clifton. Sean was thanked by Donna and he soon after left.  Carrie  and Rachel said their good nights and put on heir pj's.  It was now 1:AM.  35

Carrie put her toothbrush next to the sink and Rachel did the same. "I'm so tired." she said. I don't think we should stay up any later. So they layed their heads down on the pillow and slowly closed their eyes. As they drifted off into the darkness, they both were wondering the same thing, 'If Everyone knows what happened, What will Monday be like?  Will Tyler hurt her again, and How long will it be before the truth comes out? But none of those questions could be answered until they were at that point on the time line.,36