Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

berry-colored lipstick under an inch of gloss. She was so gorgeous.
    “ You’re going to age prematurely, if you don’t stop wearing so much make-up.”
    She looked unfazed and glanced down at the dress. “I WAS taking it back, but since you like it so much, you can keep it.”
    I gulped, trying not to let her get to me, but her face lit up. “Ahhh and here comes another one of my leftovers you seem to like. Hello Shane.” It stung.
    I felt the warmth of him come up behind me. “Hello Satan. You know, without the horns it's deceiving. Maybe you should wear them year round, instead of just on Halloween.”
    I smiled at her response to being called Satan. She bounced back taking a deep breath. “You can keep him, Aimee, and the dress. Thank me later.” She batted her long false lashes at us and grabbed Blake by the belt buckle. She dragged him through the crowd of people. He tried to make eye contact with me but I ignored him.
    “ Can we go now?” Shane asked watching her walk away and be swallowed up by the crowd.
    I nodded, taking my water and drinking it quickly.
    I looked over at Jaime, my sister’s friend. She was holding a glass in her hand and leaning against the wall in the dining room. She was staring off into space and seemed to be swaying like she was on a boat. It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet. The glass looked the same as the one Giselle and I drank from. The one the police had shown me.
    I felt my chest tighten. I recognized the look in her eyes. It was what I’d seen in the mirror, after I’d been revived. Aleks was holding me in the mirror at Shane's. My face looked exactly the same.
    She was either crazy drunk or she had been drugged. I looked at Shane who was talking with a guy named Murray. I tapped him lightly to interrupt and whispered, “I think the date rapist has struck again. Does Jaime look like I did?”
    Shane looked around the room scanning for her. “Where is she?”
    I pointed to where she had been. “The dining room.” I didn’t see her anymore, but I knew she couldn’t have gone very far.
    I walked through the foyer into the dining room and looked around. There were people everywhere. Someone must have seen her leave.
    I asked a girl leaning against the wall, “Have you seen where Jaime went?”
    Her face grew confused, as she looked around. “Was she in here?”
    “ Yeah.” I sighed and walked back to Shane.
    He looked concerned. "Is she okay?”
    I shrugged. “I couldn’t see her. I want to look around and see if she went out to the deck to throw up or something.” I walked away before he could talk me out of it. I held my breath as I entered the kitchen, scowling at the idiots smoking on the deck. I peeked through the open doors. Jaime was nowhere to be found.
    I walked back to the dining room and went down the hallway. I looked in each bedroom and bathroom, but there wasn’t anyone around. I slipped down the stairs in the hallway to the basement, literally, as the stupid shoes caught on the carpet.
    The hall was dark and the loud music made it impossible to hear anyone, so I didn’t bother yelling for her.
    I peeked into the bathroom but it was empty. “Probably peeing outside, the dirty savages,” I muttered.
    I opened the guest bedroom door to see struggling on the bed, I panicked flicking on the lights, “Get off her!” I shouted.
    Michelle Mitchell, the hostess and her boyfriend scowled at me. “Turn out the lights, pervert.”
    I nodded flicking them off and locking the door from the inside, before closing it.
    I took a deep breath as I stared at the closed wooden door. I would always be the girl who walked in on them. I nodded to myself and continued down the dark hallway. I felt like Nancy Drew, but maybe a little sleazier-looking in my red dress. I opened the door to the garage and reached my hand into the darkness. I felt nervous sticking my hand in, feeling alongside the wall until I found the light switch.
    “ Aimee.”
    I jumped turning, as the lights flicked on. I smiled to see Aleks standing in the hall outside Michelle's guest room.
    He was frowning at me, but his white-blue eyes were all I noticed.
    “ Hey, Aleks. What are you doing here?” I knew Alise would have invited him. It burned inside of me.
    “ Worrying about you and the reckless things you do, when I’m not around. What are you doing down the dark hallway of the house party, full of drunk teenagers and dressed like that?” he scolded me.
    I laughed looking into the