Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) by Robin Keahey Page B

of him. I figured I could
just wait it out until summer. We would go off to different colleges, he would
meet somebody else, and I could get on with my life without him.
    We arrived at the
party, and it was already crowded. I spotted a group of kids gathered around a
keg, but we walked past them without stopping. I let out a sigh of relief, glad
to not have to deal with that. We found a spot on the couch and sat down. JT
spied us and hustled over, smiling at me. I gave him a tight smile before
looking away.
    “Your girl needs to
loosen up,” JT said, impatience obvious in his voice.
      Seth caught my
face in his hand, turning me to meet his gaze. I gave him the best smile I
could muster up. “I’m good,” I replied sweetly.
     His eyes narrowed
as he studied my face. “It’s a party, Katie. I know that you don’t drink, but
you need to try it at least once.”
     “No thanks,” I
answered, squirming out of his grasp.
     He flicked JT on
the arm. “Go get her something girly to drink. She won’t be able to handle
anything too strong,” he said with a laugh.
      As Seth was
distracted watching a couple of guys doing keg stands, JT spoke in a low voice
intended for my ears only, “You’ll like it. I promise.” He gave me a wink
before heading off to the kitchen. He made my skin crawl, but I tried not to
show it in front of Seth. I knew whose back he had, and it would never be mine.
    JT brought back a
plastic cup and held it out to me. I took it from him, eyeing the red liquid
warily before lowering my nose and sniffing it. It smelled like berries. I took
a hesitant sip and almost gagged. It tasted terrible. It might have smelled
like berries, but it didn’t taste like them. Both guys laughed and urged me to
take another drink. I choked down a few more swallows, barely resisting the
urge to hold my nose as I did. I hoped it was enough to satisfy them so they
would stop badgering me about it.
     “I’m going to get a
drink. I’ll be back in a minute,” Seth said and looked at JT. “Don’t let
anybody mess with her, okay?”
     “Man, I’ve got
this. Nobody’s going to bother your precious Katie,” he replied, waving him
off.
     I started to freak
out a little. I didn’t want to be stuck on the couch with JT. I tried to get up,
but he slapped his hand against my leg and using his elbow, pressed me back
into the couch.
     “Nope, you’re on my
watch for a while, princess,” he said and squeezed my leg, before slowing
sliding his hand away. He picked up my half empty cup, holding it in front of
my face. “I suggest you drink the rest of this before he comes back, or I’ll
tell him you tried to kiss me.”
     I glared at him,
wanting to slap the smug look from his face, but instead I calmly replied, “He
wouldn’t believe you.” 
    “He might or he
might not. That doesn’t really matter. He would still be mad, maybe mad enough
to do more than pull your hair,” he said, lightly tugging my ponytail. I
watched in horror as he closed his eyes and smiled, as if he were enjoying the
memory.
     I began to shake uncontrollably
as my eyes darted around the room for Seth. Where is he? What’s taking him
so long? I attempted to swat the cup out of JT’s hand, but he pulled it
from my reach before I could make contact. “Uh uh, careful. You wouldn’t want
to waste any.” After a few seconds, he sighed and held the cup in front of me
once again, “Just drink it, Katie. For once, can you not be such a loser? I
mean, the whole school knows that’s what you are. Why do think you only have
that Hallie girl as your friend? She’s a loser too and losers stick together.” 
     I gasped at his
words, and felt a blush of embarrassment creep up my neck and into my cheeks. Hallie
isn’t a loser! Seth had told me once before that I wasn’t a loser either,
but then he wanted me to change. Is this really how he and everyone else
sees me? It had never bothered me to think it, but to actually hear it from
someone