The Reason Why
//chapter fifteen//

     Not long after I had put down my phone, Stephanie burst through the front door, shopping bags weighing down her arms, friends at her side. 
     "Are you gonna help, or what?" She snapped at my laziness. 
     "Oh, uh, yeah," I said, sitting up straight. "But what exactly are we doing?" 
     Stephanie rolled her eyes at my lack of experience. "You just set out the food on the kitchen counter. I'll handle the rest," she insisted. "Randy, bags please!" She ordered to a man in a suit, snapping her fingers. We have a butler? 'Randy' set down what looked like way too many grocery bags in front of me.
     My eyebrows shot up and I gave Stephanie the is-this-much-food-really-necessary look.
     "Didn't I tell you that everyone is coming?" She laughed, turned, and led her friends upstairs. That meant Dominick. I did my best to control the butterflies in my stomach.
     "Well, might as well get started," I muttered to myself, putting out multiple bowls full of chips, liters of pop, etc. I was just happy not to see beer. 


     It was only 9:00 and people started to arrive. They enthusiastically hollered "get this party started!" and, "PARTY OF THE YEAR, HELL YEAH!" They danced to songs booming so loud I could feel the vibrations rocking my body. Covering my ears, I ran upstairs for an escape from the music. 
     "HERE!" Stephanie shouted over the music and shoved a pair of small, clear earplugs in my hand. I gratefully put them in, and it was much more comfortable.
     At 11:00, the party really started. I wormed my way through a sea of people, my eyes searching for you-know-who. Dom. I passed way too many PDA-ing couples, grinders, all of that. I found Dom and Stephanie in the back of the kitchen.
     "Baby, why?" Stephanie whined.
     "I'm sorry, I really am. It's just not working out." Dom said. I gasped. Did that really just happen?! I hurried out of the way so Stephanie could storm past me. I followed her upstairs to her room.
     "Steph, I'm sorry." I told her, an arm around her shoulder.
     "It's fine. He's not ruining my party," she promised, and stomped back down the stairs.
     "Someone toss me a drink!" She cried to a guy who had brought a cooler. Soda, I assumed.
     But no. He tossed her a beer, and Stephanie downed half of it. 
     Crap. This was about to get bad.