Barbie Girl (Baby Doll Series) (21 page)

“I don’t believe you.” Her lip trembles. Girls crying
it is
my kryptonite.

I pull her to my chest, “I have not been getting a lot of sleep because I have been thinking how I am going to ask you to prom,” I lie. “It is stressing me out; nothing I can come up with seems to suffice.” I give her a cocky grin, the one that used to work on Barbie; it would always make her try to kiss it off my face to see if she could get out of me why I was smiling. I was smiling to get that reaction out of her. “Really,” I nod.

She jumps on me wrapping her legs around my waist. “Oh Dylan,” she kisses me frantically. “You don’t have to do anything special, just ask,” she places her mouth on mine.

I set her back on the bed breaking the kiss, but quickly ask her to
prom before she starts to pout,
“Katie will you go to prom with me?”

She squeals. “Yes,” and tackles me again.

Kissing Katie is not bad, hell if Barbie wasn’t haunting me it would be more than not bad. My heart doesn’t feel like it is going to explode, my body doesn’t feel like electricity pulsing through it when I kiss her. I don’t have the hunger to keep kissing her. I don’t feel like I am drowning. This is what normal feels like. This is what it is supposed to be, not some twisted obsession.

When Tyler announced on Friday he was having. The Epic party of the year at his house Saturday night, he was not kidding. I make my way through the sea of people, at the house party. A game of beer pong is going on Tyler’s father white pool table, I watch as brown liquid spills onto the white felt from a red cup. A club mix spills out of a sound system over the noise of people.

“Hey doll,” a heavy arm drapes over my shoulders, I fight the urge to shrug it off.

“Why Tyler just the man I was looking for,” I turn and look up at his face batting my eye lashes at him.

“What can I do for you?” An easy smile slips on his face; I give him a knowing smile in return. “I knew you would get tired of playing dungeons and dragons with the nerd and come looking for a real man to fill your needs.”

“Oh yes, my womanly needs, and you know how to fulfill them,” I say sarcastically.

“Better
than
the dork can.” He leans down so his face is close to mine. The stench of liquor from him is strong. I shrug his arm off. “How about you go and get yourself a drink and come find me, when you can no longer hold back the urge to rip my clothes off.” He winks at me.

Arggh
. I should turn and leave, tonight is not going to end well, with my old demons lurking in the background.

“Tell the beer gardener that I sent you, no charge.” He says before disappearing in the crowd of people. Yeah right like that is going to happen. I usually fill my cup with water or a Coke, Nobody has to know I prefer not to drink, I have been around drunk people a little too much for my liking to become one of them. It is not like I have never had a drink before I just rather not go there.

“Holy shirt boobage,” Roxie comes up behind me. “That outfit is hot!” I had put on my shortest skirt and tightest top. I came here for a purpose. I thought I was okay, but my time with Dylan had opened something in me, something I wanted to numb. I want to go back to not feeling anything at all again.

“You want a drink? It is on me,” I offer.

“I thought you would never ask.” She loops her arm in mine. People glance at us before looking away quickly when they catch my eye. We must be an odd sight, me in my stripper attire, and Roxie in her long black dress that brushes the floor as we walk outside.

“Is Third here,” I ask in the line to the keg. I am starting to feel like this was a bad idea. And he can usually talk me out of the disaster I am about to get into. I am as antsy as I was at home; the ache in my chest is still here. I just want it to go away.

“Yeah he is around, can you believe that this is only the second time in his life he has been to a party,” she shakes her head as we shuffle forward. My stomach flutters with nerves.

I should just leave now. All I want is something to numb me; I am bound to do something I will regret later on. I am about to tell Roxie when I feel like I have been hit in the gut, I grab my middle like I have really been hit. Dylan is here. Dylan in
my
favorite
Spider Man
hugging tee
,
with his old faded jeans
. His brown, messy hair messy falls into his eyes covering his deep brown eyes; he is wearing that cocky smile that says he is up to no good. Seeing him wear it for her is what is killing me. My mother’s words flood into my head
‘
you will never be good enough for him… He will never love you…
’
I turn away just as he leans in to her. I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want to feel anything. Numb is all I want to feel. I push into people trying to put as much distance between me and Dylan. I ignore Roxie calls to me. I need to get out of here. This is what was supposed to happen, he is supposed to be with her, he was meant to be with someone like her. I helped him get the girl of his dreams, so why should I be upset. I knew what we had would was not real. It could not last, we are from two different worlds, how could I let myself forget that. He did not trust me. I push into a Goth guy with piercing blue eyes, spilling his beer down the front of his black shirt.

“Hey, you okay there,” he grabs on to my elbow trying to steady me. I yank my arm away, I am anything but okay.

I am in the kitchen; I push in front of a girl who waits in line to take a shot of amber liquor.

“Hey!” she yells at me.

I ignore her.

“Tyler sent me,” I gasp at Bubba a linebacker from Central, he still wears his red and white jersey from practice. He gives me a knowing smile and hands me a shot glass of the same amber liquid. I toss my head back and hand him back the glass wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Whoa girl,” he smirks but fills it again. I repeat the process downing six glasses. The girl I cut gives up on waiting and storms out. My body is warm, and I salute Bubba as I walk away feeling fuzzy. I make my way through Tyler’s huge house. It should be a crime for someone to be this rich. If I was rich I would give money to everyone I met. I let a giggle escape my mouth as I climb the stairs. I push open doors of random rooms; shouts erupt from a room where two girls and a guy are having a make out session. I laugh, “Excuse me,” I shut the door. I continue on my mission, I begin to mimic the music to all spy movies on my way down the hallway,
do,
do, do, do, DUNG ah nun!
At least that’s how I think it goes. I open a smoke-filled bedroom, “Shut the door,” a guy with long red hair says as he inhales something that is not a cigarette. Tyler sits in a chair in the corner I should probably thank him for the whiskey. Besides he might help intensify this numbing that has begun to travel up my body. I smile and shut the door behind me.

The place is packed, I am nervous walking up, but if there is one thing I learned from Barbie is to act confident even if you want to tuck your tail and run. I need to talk to her, find her and make things right, tell her I don’t care about what happened. I could forgive her, and we can move forward. I love her.

I need to find Barbie, I am not even sure she is here, but there is a good chance she showed up because everyone and their mother
are
at this party. A group of girls that look a lot like Katie’s friends are dancing with each other.

“Dylan,” Katie waves her hand above the group of dancing girls.
Great
I was trying to avoid her. She pushes forward, her hair is in a frizzy pony tail and pieces or coming lose, her cardigan is crooked and unbuttoned revealing her cleavage. “I was hoping you would change your mind and show up,” she sways a little. She is drunk, I never thought of her as a girl who would get drunk off cheap beer at a house party.

“Hey Katie,” I kiss her cheek. “Have you seen Barbie?”

She scrunches up her face, “Why ya want to find her? When I am right here,” she throws her hands in the air like she is a prize.

“I need to give her something back from when we were together,” I lie.

Katie stumbles forward, spilling beer on us. “Opsie,” she laughs.

I roll my eyes, what did I ever see in her?

“Hey wait,” she drapes her arms around my neck. “I am really drunk and I really want to make out with you.” She whispers in slurred tones into my ear.

I grab her hand and pry her off me. “I really need to find Barbie first and then I will be back,” she pouts but let’s me go.

I search everywhere for her, she is definitely here; she has been spotted by several party goers. I ignore the anger that rises up in me when Randy says, “Hell yeah, I saw her, that girl was looking banging tonight, no wonder you hitting that. Hey do you mind if I tap that?”

I see her stumble forward laughing, she is drunk. Her black mini skirt is riding up her ripped fishnet-covered thigh. “Go to hell,” I shove past Randy. My stomach clenches as Tyler grabs her elbow steadying her. She throws her head back in a laugh, and pats him on the chest. I need to break this up before she does something I will regret.

“Barbie,” I call as I make my way to her. She spins around, her hair whipping around her, she reminds me of a wild fairy that you see on postcards. I grab her other unoccupied elbow to lead her away. “Why don’t I take you home,” I say in a low voice.

“Why don’t you go
home?
” Tyler says.

“Why don’t you go to hell!” I clench my fist.

“Don’t you get it loser, she doesn’t want you anymore. She came to find h
erself a real man,
” Tyler smiles, taunting me. I raise my clenched fist, but before I can punch him in his face. Barbie bursts out laughing and points to me and then to Tyler,

“You are just like Darth Vader,” she pokes Tyler in the chest, and okay I have to admit I fall a little bit more in love with her at that moment. But then she turns to me, “And you are like that little green guy,” she is laughing so hard she is holding onto both mine and Tyler’s shoulder for support.

Ouch that hurt. “Okay let’s get you out of here,” I wrap my arm around her waist.

She straightens up, “Who do you think you are? My father? Well let me tell you something buster…” she shoves me. She is strong for a girl and I stumble backward. “That asshole bailed on me when I was a baby, and I ain’t looking for a new daddy. Got it?” She turns to leave. She drinks the remainder of her drink before dropping it to the floor. “Let’s dance,” she yells throwing her hands in the air and shaking her head from side to side.

I spend the next two hours watching her dance on Tyler who feeds her cup after cup of beer. I know I am a stalker but I am not going to let Tyler get what he thinks that she is going to give him. It sucks. I hate seeing him touch her. But if I leave her I know what will happen and I can’t. Barbie stumbles and I go rigid, but Tyler catches her and leads her over to a love seat. He makes a couple who is in a heavy petting contest get up and take their game of who can hold their breath longer elsewhere. I make my way over, I am tempted to throw her over my shoulder and beat on my chest taking her away from the situation. Bracing for a fight I tell Tyler, “I am taking her home,” he looks up at me blinking, and then shrugs. “She is too sloppy anyway. I like them tipsy but not this tipsy, they need to tell their friends just how amazing I am,” he gets up and I want to deck him. He blends into the crowd to find his next willing victim.

“Come on Angel,” I reach down to take her hand.

“No,” she swats my hand away. “You think you are so much better than me.” Her red-rimmed eyes narrow into slits. “Well…well…you are,” she crumples into herself and begins to sob. I pick her up and she doesn’t fight me this time. She grabs a fistful of my shirt and sobs into it. I hold her tighter.

Roxie and Third are in the kitchen, when Barbie sees Third she sobs and wiggles out of my arms away from me. She wraps her arms around his neck like he is her savior. Jealousy flares in my chest.

“Hey. Hey,” he says patting down her hair. “It’s okay.”

She shakes her head buried in his meaty arms. Her friend shoots me a death glare. “What did you do to her?” she snarls.

“Nothing,
” I don’t want to piss her off anymore so I avoid her eyes. I can barely make out Barbie’s words over the party.

“I lost him forever. No one will ever love me.”

Third wraps his arm around her waist supporting her. “Nah it’s not that bad Bee,” he says to her. My chest burns with the ache for her to tell me these things, for me to be her confidant.

“I can never be with him, I am too fucked up,” and she collapses, Third picks her up like she is a doll.

“Okay I got you,” he looks at me. Hatred burn
s
in his eyes. The feeling
is
mutual.

“Let’s get her out of here,” Roxie says by his side.

I follow them outside, “I will take her,” my voice breaks.

“Yeah I don’t think so pervert, who knows what things you will try to do to her in this state, besides doesn’t your girlfriend need you back inside?” Venom drips in her words. Who the hell does this girl think she is?