Calia Read: Unravel

“Naomi.” The hairs on my arm rise. “No one will believe you.” The voice becomes louder, powerful, darker.

Paranoia makes me turn in my seat. Nothing is there, at least in the physical sense. But I feel something. The presence is so ominous it feels like it’s only a matter of seconds until the bowels of hell reach up and swallow me whole.

I remember the girl I saw in the hallway. Her eyes flash through my mind. “How the hell am I still here?”

I don’t want to get to that point. I know I’m close. Darkness is ready to pull me under.

“Naomi? Are you okay?”

I look up at Dr. Rutledge, but I hear Lachlan’s voice.

“The Naomi I know would have never just given up so quickly. She would have fought to stay in the present.”

And then Max’s.

“If you love me then don’t give up.”

Their words mesh together. Their voices become one. And it becomes a small piece of hope for me.

I give her a blunt nod. My body is shaking.

“I’ll tell you.”

She sits there calmly, waiting for me to tell my story. But before I say a word, I hold her gaze. Pay attention, I say with my eyes. Listen closely. Hang onto every word. But most of all, please believe me.

Six months ago, in the summer heat, surrounded by laughter and people that I’ve known my whole life, everything changed. The sun was setting. Colors of burnt gold, orange, and blue painted the sky. Champagne flutes tapped together. A gentle breeze cooled my warm skin. Paper lanterns were strung inside the white tent. Everything felt normal and serene.

I was so sure. So confident. You see, I thought I could control my life. I thought I had the power to make my own decisions. Good or bad. It didn’t matter as long as they were mine.

The reality was that all the power I thought I possessed was never mine to begin with. It was destiny’s. It was all around me—walking me down the path it saw fit.

The breeze that was a reprieve from the summer heat? It caressed my skin, but it guided me forward. It encouraged me to put one foot in front of the other.

And those beautiful white lights? They were thousands of stars pulled down from the sky. They twinkled bright. They lured me in.

That beautiful sunset? It was a prelude to that night. The colors blended together, making people stop in their tracks and stare. They held their breath, watching the transition. The ending of the day was the ending of a powerful song, one that filled you up with anticipation because all the mistakes you made in the blazing light of day were erased. And the night was just beginning.

But I didn’t look long enough. I skimmed over everything with approval. “This is beautiful,” I said to my best friend, Lana.

She nodded and toyed with the fabric of her dress. She was the reason I was here. She was the only reason I would willingly come back home during my summer break.

“Come on,” I closed my eyes and dramatically breathed in the air. “A perfect summer night. A perfect summer party.”

“It’s the worst, isn’t it?”

“Every party is the worst for you,” I said.

She didn’t put up an argument. There was shy and then there was Lana. She was her own unique person, who reserved her true self to a select few.

Lana’s shoulder touched mine. Her voice lowered, as she looked at the people in front of us, calmly waiting to get into the tent. “It’s the people here. All that matters to them is their money, their expensive clothes, their Beamers, Mercedes, and Jaguars. It’s ridiculous. They’re ridiculous. It’s…”

“The same as it’s always been,” I finished for her.

We rubbed shoulders with people that we had known our entire lives. They finished every sentence with “my dear”. Flashed their perfectly straight and whitened teeth. They were members of Congress, diplomats, and successful entrepreneurs. They all had exorbitant amounts of money and multiple mansions in numerous locations. Every possession they owned was a symbol of their wealth.

Welcome to McLean, Virginia.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she said.

“Anytime.” I looped my arm through hers and took one step. Then another. “How long do you want to stay?” I asked.

“Just fifteen minutes. That should be long enough to make my parents happy.”

“I can do fifteen,” I said casually. “And a business associate of your dad’s is hosting this event?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

I thought back to our conversation in the car, trying to remember his name. “Maximilian?”

“Everyone calls him Max,” Lana replied back.

I turned to her. The line was slowly moving forward. “Have you met him before?”

“Nope.”

“So he could be some fat old, bald dude that cops a feel when he hugs?”

“Or he could be some young, gorgeous guy,” she suggested.

I snorted. “Definitely not.”

We didn’t get a chance to talk more about this Max. The line was moving at a quick pace, and when we entered the white tent, the two of us stared at the people around us. I saw smiles. Heard laughter. I felt the happiness around me. Lana saw an area jam-packed with people. She heard voices that made anxiety slowly creep up on her. She felt the beginnings of a panic attack.

“Hey.” I nudged her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just fifteen minutes. That’s it.”

She nodded. Her face was pale. But she took a deep breath and stepped forward with me. Our lips pulled up into friendly smiles. We made our way around the tent. We made artificial conversation. Saying “hi” to this person, and “good to see you” to that one.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lana’s parents, Michael and Constance. Her dad was one of the U.S. Senators from Virginia. I remember the countless rallies that Lana would endure during her dad’s election. She would stand there stiffly while her mom beamed at the crowd, soaking in all their attention. Even now, her mom had a brilliant smile on her face. I waved at them. They nodded our way and smiled in approval, satisfied that Lana was here.

Tonight, I represented my own family. My parents were successful in their own right, yet not on the scale of Lana’s family. They were away for the summer, touring Europe. One week would be spent in Italy, the next in the Bavarian Alps, then off to Prague. I was staying with Lana for the entire summer.

I grabbed champagne from a waiter passing by and held it away from my body, knowing that in seconds, someone would accidentally bump into me and I’d spill it on my dress.

The tent was filled to capacity, yet they were still letting people in. I weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to find a single spot that would give me a few inches of space to myself. There was none. I opened my mouth to say something to Lana, but she wasn’t next to me. I turned in a circle, standing on my tiptoes to find her, but it was useless. The crowd had broken us apart.

“Naomi!” Someone called out.

I turned around.

The man walking toward me was Patrick, a friend of my parents. He was bald with gray hair growing out on the sides. Like most people there he was filthy rich, which gave him power. But he had ruddy cheeks and a big smile on his face, and that made him approachable.

“Hello.”

“Have you met the host of tonight’s party?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“We need to change that!” Patrick turned in a full circle, on the prowl for Max. Finally he gave up, cupped a hand around his mouth and shouted out for the host. Most of the people around us stopped talking long enough to glare at him. Patrick was oblivious and sipped his drink. “That boy… he’s something else.”