Lustful Hearts
Chapter 12: Hell- P2

My body flinched in surprise when Elijah grabbed my hand. He jumped up onto the coffee table, pulling me up with him.

Our bodies were pressed tight together, grinding up against each other. We worked the table like a dancer's podium. Whoops and screams filled the air when we touched each other. Everyone in the room was staring, but my eyes never left Elijah's. This was the release I needed, I finally felt alive.

I never wanted to be sober again.

Over the music I heard some guys hollering for me to take it off. Elijah spun me around, and I caught sight of Joel glaring at me. He was standing talking to a girl.

Arsehole.

I ground extra hard into Elijah just to piss him off even more.

Ha, take that!

I smiled as the whoops grew louder. Elijah grabbed my leg, and I squealed as he hoisted it up so it was pinned against his hip. He bent me over backwards in a Dirty Dancing style pose. He laughed hard into my chest, kissing me hard on the lips before bringing me back up.

Oh he was definitely wasted too.

A scream left my lips as a strong pair of arms grabbed me around the waist pulling me down pressing me up against a warm, hard body.

I spun around, and my face automatically dropped looking into a pair of angry blue eyes. "Get the fuck off me," I slurred, pushing him away like he repulsed me.

His eyes flashed with anger and his jaw twitched, but his eyes remained locked on mine. He stared intently for a few moments then grabbed me again. "Iz, you're drunk. I think you need to lie down until it wears off. Let me take you to your room."

I scowled at his words. "Why do you care?" I screamed in his ear, pulling myself out of his hold. I staggered back over to Elijah and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards the kitchen. "Let's do some shots," I shouted extra loud so Joel could hear.

I was enjoying pissing him off.

He deserved it.

We pushed our way through the crowd congregating in the kitchen. My eyes lit up the moment they fell on the bottle of tequila. I was totally over vodka. Tequila was now my new best friend. The first few shots were hard going. I scrunched my eyes tight each time, dealing with the after burn, my throat was on fire.

The chuckling in the distance grabbed my attention, and I popped open an eye to see a really cute guy standing there. He was watching me with great amusement as he slowly sipped on a beer. His smile was enough to coax me over, the tequila giving me the extra confidence I needed. I had no inhibitions. I was finally free and loving every minute of it.

"Hey, you're certainly hitting the tequila hard." He motioned to the bottle I was clutching tight in my hand.

"Well, it is a party." I lifted up the bottle, jiggling it at him, and then I poured another shot. I sloshed some onto the counter. My hand eye coordination had definitely gone out the window. "True, I'm Rob, by the way." He looked at me a little too intently, and I flushed a little. I wasn't too drunk to notice his eyes slowly trailing down my body.

Ugh, pervert.

“Izzy.” I faked a smile. “Do you fancy taking a shot, Rob?" I asked, holding up a glass, using my powers of persuasion on him.

"Yeah, why not, with a beautiful smile like that who could refuse," he replied winking. He finished his beer, placing the bottle down on the counter.

I smiled awkwardly, filling his glass up to the top. We clinked our glasses, downing them both together.

"So you're Mike's sister? I've never seen you before, 'cause believe me I would have definitely come over." He licked his lips as his eyes flicked down to my chest before returning up to my face. Creep.

"Do you know Mike?" I asked. I didn't recognise his face from anywhere. He was a decent looking guy despite the creepy persona. Maybe a little too over styled. His blonde, short, spiked hair was gelled within an inch of its life. I preferred the more natural look like Joel's.

Shit.

I needed to forget about Joel and concentrate on Rob, but ugh Rob. I'd prefer to stay permanently single.

"Yeah, we play football together." He opened another beer, taking a long draw to wash away the after effects of the tequila.

I nodded smiling, my mind automatically going back to Joel. "So you know Joel?" I asked nervously, almost hesitant in what his reply would be. But my curiosity had already won.

"Yeah, we're good friends. He's a great pulling partner." He winked and grinned. His fingers checked his overly styled hair, but he didn't have to worry, I could take a pickaxe to it and it still wouldn't move.

I watched on in astonishment when his eyes rested on a blonde, giggly girl walking in the room.

Seriously?

The guy had no shame.

He didn't even attempt to hide his obvious delight, his eyes were practically out on stalks. He was perfectly suited to be friends with Joel. Once again I was reminded of Joel's lifestyle, it always did precede his other qualities.

The laughable thing was Joel had practically pulled the female population of Camden, yet rejected me.

"I bet he is," I snapped, coming down from the alcohol with a thud. My nice buzz had evaporated with the mere mention of Joel. The nausea began taking over just what I didn't need.

My breath left my body hearing his laugh in the distance. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. His voice grew increasingly louder until he stopped dead mid sentence.

I felt his hot stare penetrate into the back of me, without even looking. Judging by Rob's lifestyle admissions he wouldn't be happy with me talking to him, but fuck him.

I wanted to hurt him back.

I deliberately reached up, brushing my hand against Rob's face. I kept my fingers lingering there hoping Joel was witness to it all.

"Do you fancy going out for a drink some time?" Rob asked, snapping my attention back to him.

No...

"Errmm." I was just stalling for time. My drunk fuzzy brain was struggling to function and form any words. A bottle slammed down hard against the counter, and I almost jumped with fright. Yep, he was definitely pissed.

"Do you need me to persuade you some more?" He leaned in for a kiss, but I wasn't that drunk.

I quickly swerved his unwelcoming lips. "I don't think Mike would be happy about us dating, I think I'd better go." I didn't wait for a reply and hurried straight over to Elijah. I was now officially over the whole flirting thing.

I wrapped my arms tightly around him, burying my face deep into his warm, hard chest. He was my safety blanket, my one source of comfort. All I needed was him right now.

His arms pulled me in tighter. "What's with all the crazy flirting tonight?" he asked, pressing his lips against my hair.

"Oh just trying to be someone else for a change," I huffed, but the whole thing had been a complete waste of time. I was miserably back to square one.

"You don't need to be anyone else, you're perfect as you are, but I know that was for Joel's benefit. I saw what just happened, what's going on?"

I turned my head away as tears began to form in my eyes. His hand gently pulled my face back to his, giving me a silent plea to tell him what was wrong.

"I love him, but he doesn't want me." I burrowed my head into his chest, trying to hide. I didn't want his pity. I knew right now it would send me over the edge.

He cupped my chin, lifting my face, and stared deep into my eyes. "That's not true, I can see it in his face. The jealousy before when we were dancing, when those guys were checking you out. When he came

in and saw you flirting with that guy, his face was unrecognisable when he stormed off. He definitely has feelings for you."

I half attempted a smile, quickly becoming distracted by the moaning sounds coming from the other side of the kitchen. Rob now had his tongue down blonde girl's throat.

"Well, he doesn't appear to be that choosy." I snorted.

Elijah turned to look and laughed, pulling me back into a hug. "Joel does love you. He's just afraid to." He kissed my hair again, and I clung onto him for a few minutes more.

After a quick detour to the bathroom to redo my eyes to mask the puffiness, I took a few deep breaths and headed back into the lounge. Hoping to resolve and rectify this whole mess with Joel. Mike was off his face, I'd just passed him in the hallway, but I was hoping Joel would be reasonably sober.

Slowly pushing my way through the crowd of people, I scanned the room before focusing on three pairs of legs wrapped around each other.

I instantly recognized the Converse.

My heart dropped when my head snapped up seeing Joel's tongue down one girl's throat. Watching on as the other girl stroked him through his jeans while licking and sucking on his neck. Oh god, he was hard, and I wanted to be sick. The bile began to rise up in my throat. I flew upstairs to the toilet unable to hold it back, with tears streaming down my face.

How could he do this?

I wanted to kill him.

I wanted to punish and hurt him the way he'd hurt me.

After ten minutes of throwing up the vodka and tequila, I was pretty certain I had nothing left to bring up. I pushed myself off the cold tiled floor, staring at my red, puffy, tear-stained face in the mirror. God, I looked dreadful.

I had to get out of here and fast.

I couldn't be witness to Joel getting it on with those sluts. Watching for a few seconds broke me, any longer would destroy me.

I ran through to my bedroom, throwing some clothes and toiletries into my bag, and quickly closed the door behind me.

I hesitated, not wanting to leave mid party. To let these kind of people have free reign to my house. But I'd die if I had to witness anymore of Joel's activities.

I ran down the stairs, grabbing Elijah. He quickly noted my mascara stained face and left without asking any questions.

When we were at a safe distance, he stopped and pulled me into his arms. "I saw Joel and the two girls, I'm so sorry," he said softly.

I clung to him, sobbing, the grief taking over. "I hate him so much, he doesn't give a shit about me, just cares about whatever girl he can screw next." I pushed away, striding off down the road.

I needed to put as much distance between us as possible. I hated him with every single breath I took. I despised myself for allowing him into my heart.

Why? Why would he do this to me?

Elijah's arms wrapped tightly around me. I gave into the sobs, burying my head into his chest and let the misery consume me once again. I was plummeting to the bowels of hell. Hello, darkness.0000