let’s get you up.” With strained pain, Eric got to his feet.
Darien nodded to his brother. “I’ll see to it that the ladies are taken care of.”
With a gentle demeanor, he crouched down to the ground and scooped Lani up into his arms. She was so out of it that she barely registered what was happening, but by the trembling wide eyes and queasy look on her face, Diana could tell she was going to get very sick, very soon.
“I need to get Lani home so I can take care of her,” Diana said to Darien. “I think she’s in for a long night.”
Darien considered her words a moment before shaking his head. “You can stay here for the night. It will be better for the both of you.” Without giving Diana time to register his offer, Darien walked to area with the largest concentration of partygoers, and with Lani still cradled in his arms, yelled out in a strong commanding voice, “This gathering has come to an end! The authorities will soon be here and I highly doubt the majority of you are consuming alcoholic beverages legally.”
In a very quick response to Darien’s declaration, everyone left their drinks and scuttled out of the backyard in a rush.
Once inside the house, Darien tried to make a similar announcement but the music was much too loud for everyone to hear him. Diana was also quite surprised, and rather disgusted, to find that hardly anyone in the throng of people seemed to care about Lani’s condition. A guy carrying a barely conscious girl in his arms must be a standard sight at the typical college party—whether or not they had been drugged.
With Diana following close behind, Darien pushed his way through the sea of people until he arrived in the parlor, where large speakers stood connected to a silver laptop on the nearby table. Holding Lani in one arm, Darien reached down and placed the palm of his hand onto the keyboard. As Diana considered the curious way Darien was trying to close the music program, she was startled by the sudden sparks that erupted from the computer as if the motherboard had just fried. The sudden silence throughout the house brought all attention onto Darien as a plume of smoke began to rise from the laptop.
“Leave.” His forceful gaze matched the commanding tone in his voice.
Without protest, every person in the house poured out of the front door like water through a spout.
Mesmerized by the smoking computer, Diana couldn’t help but be reminded of what had happened to her cell phone earlier in the day. Darien Shepherd and technology apparently didn’t mix very well. Her grandmother had experienced similar problems in the last years of her life. Diana’s father had just about refused to let her near his entertainment center—she had a way of breaking things just by fiddling with them.
Once all were gone, Diana was saved from the awkwardness of the silent, and very empty house, when an elderly lady in a simple maroon dress began descending the staircase to join them.
“Your evening is finished so soon Endym—” her words caught in her throat when she locked eyes with Diana. “Darien sir, forgive me. I wasn’t expecting you to still be entertaining guests.”
“It’s alright Marjorie,” he replied with a warm smile. “These two ladies require aid and will be staying here this evening. Can you prepare a room for them?”
The elderly woman’s kind smile was most welcome. “Of course. This way dears.”
The three of them followed Marjorie up the stairs, Darien still carrying Lani, to a room at the opposite end of the long hallway from Darien’s study. The guest room was just as beautiful as any of the other rooms in the house and was probably three times larger than her dorm. The walls were lined with flowery Victorian wallpaper and the room was dominated by the large four-post bed against the far wall. It looked quite comfortable with its plush comforters, thick mattress, and too many pillows. At the foot of the bed sat a small sitting couch. Exquisite
Darien nodded to his brother. “I’ll see to it that the ladies are taken care of.”
With a gentle demeanor, he crouched down to the ground and scooped Lani up into his arms. She was so out of it that she barely registered what was happening, but by the trembling wide eyes and queasy look on her face, Diana could tell she was going to get very sick, very soon.
“I need to get Lani home so I can take care of her,” Diana said to Darien. “I think she’s in for a long night.”
Darien considered her words a moment before shaking his head. “You can stay here for the night. It will be better for the both of you.” Without giving Diana time to register his offer, Darien walked to area with the largest concentration of partygoers, and with Lani still cradled in his arms, yelled out in a strong commanding voice, “This gathering has come to an end! The authorities will soon be here and I highly doubt the majority of you are consuming alcoholic beverages legally.”
In a very quick response to Darien’s declaration, everyone left their drinks and scuttled out of the backyard in a rush.
Once inside the house, Darien tried to make a similar announcement but the music was much too loud for everyone to hear him. Diana was also quite surprised, and rather disgusted, to find that hardly anyone in the throng of people seemed to care about Lani’s condition. A guy carrying a barely conscious girl in his arms must be a standard sight at the typical college party—whether or not they had been drugged.
With Diana following close behind, Darien pushed his way through the sea of people until he arrived in the parlor, where large speakers stood connected to a silver laptop on the nearby table. Holding Lani in one arm, Darien reached down and placed the palm of his hand onto the keyboard. As Diana considered the curious way Darien was trying to close the music program, she was startled by the sudden sparks that erupted from the computer as if the motherboard had just fried. The sudden silence throughout the house brought all attention onto Darien as a plume of smoke began to rise from the laptop.
“Leave.” His forceful gaze matched the commanding tone in his voice.
Without protest, every person in the house poured out of the front door like water through a spout.
Mesmerized by the smoking computer, Diana couldn’t help but be reminded of what had happened to her cell phone earlier in the day. Darien Shepherd and technology apparently didn’t mix very well. Her grandmother had experienced similar problems in the last years of her life. Diana’s father had just about refused to let her near his entertainment center—she had a way of breaking things just by fiddling with them.
Once all were gone, Diana was saved from the awkwardness of the silent, and very empty house, when an elderly lady in a simple maroon dress began descending the staircase to join them.
“Your evening is finished so soon Endym—” her words caught in her throat when she locked eyes with Diana. “Darien sir, forgive me. I wasn’t expecting you to still be entertaining guests.”
“It’s alright Marjorie,” he replied with a warm smile. “These two ladies require aid and will be staying here this evening. Can you prepare a room for them?”
The elderly woman’s kind smile was most welcome. “Of course. This way dears.”
The three of them followed Marjorie up the stairs, Darien still carrying Lani, to a room at the opposite end of the long hallway from Darien’s study. The guest room was just as beautiful as any of the other rooms in the house and was probably three times larger than her dorm. The walls were lined with flowery Victorian wallpaper and the room was dominated by the large four-post bed against the far wall. It looked quite comfortable with its plush comforters, thick mattress, and too many pillows. At the foot of the bed sat a small sitting couch. Exquisite
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