Read Online Canary by Rachele Alpine - Free Book Online Page A

yelling at us to stop giggling. Ali had blackmailed him into giving us a ride, threatening to tell her parents about the party if he didn’t. He made us promise we wouldn’t drink. Ali winked at me as she promised.
    There was no way I’d admit it to Ali, but I’d never gotten drunk before. The taste wasn’t completely foreign to me; I’d had sips from glasses during the holidays, and once I found Brett with a beer out by the pool and talked him into letting me try some. But the idea of going to a big party—one where people probably drank until they puked and then wiped their mouths with their sleeves before slamming another beer—scared me.
    But ready or not, Jeff swung the car into an open spot on the street and turned off the engine. The party was packed. You could hear everyone from two blocks away, which was where we had to park because of all the cars.
    â€œThe police are going to be here soon,” Jeff warned, a weak attempt to scare us away.
    Ali pumped her arms as if running. “Then we need to walk fast.”
    â€œBe careful.” He sighed. “Don’t do anything that’s going to get you in trouble.”
    â€œYeah, yeah, yeah.” Ali slowed to walk beside me and let her brother move ahead of us.
    She and I were dressed identically in jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts with tank tops underneath. Ali, however, wore a pair of shiny red heels while I wore flats like the rest of the girls we passed.
    â€œDo you ever not wear heels?”
    Ali slowly made her way up the front walk, trying to avoid the cracks in the concrete. “Nope. When you’re as short as me, you gotta make sure you work it some way.”
    A boy from Dad’s team greeted us when we walked inside. I couldn’t remember his name, but it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. The music was so loud, we wouldn’t have been able to hear each other talk. He put an arm around my shoulders and directed us to the beer before he disappeared through a mass of people. The house wasn’t as crowded as the cars outside led me to believe, and Ali and I found our way to the kitchen without having to elbow past
everyone. Getting to the keg was a different story. The space around it was crammed with people putting their cups under the nozzle and pumping vigorously, as if that would make the beer come out faster.
    â€œWe’re not getting a drink from here anytime soon,” Ali said, opening the refrigerator door. “Here, take one of these.” She handed me a can and took one for herself. “Let’s go outside.”
    The cold drink cooled my sweaty palms. “Do you think it’s okay to drink these?” I didn’t want to seem like a loser, but I also didn’t want someone to bash my face in because I took their beer.
    â€œRelax. It’s fine. When my brother has people over, I take their beer all the time. It tastes a million times better than the stuff in the keg, and usually whoever brought it is too drunk to notice.” She popped the tab and gestured for me to do the same. “Enjoy yourself. Tonight is going to be a good, good night.”
    I opened my can and held it up.
    â€œCheers.” Ali clinked her beer against mine.
    I took a tentative sip, wrinkling my nose. When I saw that Ali was watching, I took a bigger one. “Cheers,” I responded, feeling the sour liquid bubble down my throat.
    We made our way to the backyard, which was packed with bodies. I looked around for Jack, but there was no sign of him.
    The night was windy, but with so many people bumping shoulders, it felt warm. Perfume, sweat, beer, and cigarettes mixed in the air, creating a unique scent that wasn’t good but wasn’t all that bad either. Ali spotted Jenna, who must have escaped from her grandma’s party early, and we fought our way over to her, trying to move fast so they wouldn’t disappear into the sea of people.