C4 Chapter 4

I should have guessed it. A guy like Zander could never be a great host. He would more likely be the guy who would sit in a corner and smoke all throughout the party. A party that he was keeping because our parents were currently on a date and were not due to return until the next day. Weird, I know but I didn’t question it, it wasn’t important, I’m not important and its not like she left me all alone, I had a very caring step brother. A snigger escaped my lips, caring yeah right.

I was leaning against a wall in the living room watching two guys with sticks in their hands pushing balls into the holes in the corner of the table they were playing on. Every now and then they would make snarky comments at each other and yell in victory.

“You like pool?” a voice asks from beside me.

“Pool or the pool,” I asked confused at the choice of words still watching the game. To me it was something unexpected and new. I mean I expected to see a bunch of people sitting in a circle playing spin the bottle or truth or dare but I guess this was way better than that. Real life is so much better than the movies so far.

The voice giggled and finally I turned around to see Hailey beside me. She stop giggling when she say that she had my full attention. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stood in front of me. Her dark eyes watch my every move keenly and I shamelessly return the gesture. Her smooth looking chocolate skin looked amazing with her cherry lips and her eyes reminded me of little balls of chocolate. I must be hungry.

“Just pool,” she cleared her throat after a few minutes and said. “It’s the game those guys are playing over there on the table.”

“Oh, yeah it looks fun,” I said glancing back at the table.

“What looks fun,” Willa appeared out of nowhere. Holding three red cups in her hands. She handed me one. I brought the cup up to my nose sniffed it. It smelled like strawberry and something else that I had never smelled before. I bought it to my lips and drank it all in one big gulp. I pause tasting the horrible after taste of the drink, it wasn’t all that horrible but it wasn’t pleasant either and it wasn’t enough to get a disgusted reaction from me. I glanced at the girls to see them staring at me like I was crazy.

“Where did you say you lived again,” Willa asked.

“Here, in this house, why,” I replied cautiously.

“Cause you just became my new best friend,” she replied smiling.

Hailey rolled her eyes and shakes her head.

“Oh, what were you two talking about earlier,” she said suddenly after a long moment of silence.

“Pool, Charles thinks it’s fun,” Hailey replied.

“Oh, then why don’t you go play, come on I’ll get you in a game,” before I could even protest I was being pulled to the side of the table. Willa immediately started introducing me to the guys surrounding the table, I just stared blankly and nod. This chick was going to get me killed.

A stick was pushed into my palm and I was pulled out of my trance. The guy across from me put the balls in a triangular shape thing and carefully removed it. He positioned a white ball in front of the bundle. I watched his form, how he hold the stick, in particular. I could be very attentive when I wanted to be and right now I was so happy to be finally fitting in. My childhood was not exactly the best, but then at least I had my dad.

Soon it was my turn and to say I was nervous was an under statement because I did not know what I was doing.

Taking a deep breath I got into formation and chuckled softly to myself trying to calm my nerves though I was positive I was going mad. I position the stick in front of the white ball and observed the table. A thin sheet of sweat coated my back and my stomach churned. The stick slip between my middle and pointing fingers and hit the ball rather forcefully. The ball rolled into three other balls, one making contact with the side of the table along with the white ball and the other two going in separate direction and into the holes at the corners of the table.

Two games later and I felt like I was the king of the world. I was winning and I had a huge grin on my face. And I didn’t even know how to play the game properly. Everyone was cheering me on. Hands grabbed at my arms and giggling followed.

“What’s going on here,” a gruff voice said moving through the crowd that had formed around the pool table. Silence consumed the atmosphere and the music was turned off. I could still hear the soft beat from downstairs though.

“Dude, someone just took your title,” another voice came from somewhere closer. I glance in that direction and saw a guy dressed in baggy jeans, printed shirt, three jackets and a beanie that hid frizzy, wild, red hair that was peeking out.

A guy around my height steps from the crowd staring at me with cold blue eyes and a sharp face. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, ripped jeans and sneakers. He held his right hand oddly though. This dude’s glare was intense. Gee, what his problem.

“What!” the guy yelled, he walked over and stood directly in front of me. I rose to my full height. We were just about the same height. This guy was definitely a jock.

“What’s your name kid,” the dude ask angrily coming into my face trying to be intimidating. Kid, ouch he just wounded my confidence, not. This guy looked around the same age as me and by the looks of it he had major anger issues.

“Charles,” I answered calmly unaffected by the fact that we looked the same age but he called me a kid. I mean I was…partially.

“Ethan leave him alone,” Willa said pushing Ethan away from me and coming to stand between us.

“Oh, so you making a girl fight your battle for you,” he said chuckling sinisterly “you can’t become the king until you beat the king.”

The world stopped. I felt my head spinning and my stomach turning and as quickly as it started it ended. The world was moving again. I thought it was a flashback or something but I didn’t see anything, it was just a feeling and one that I didn’t like.

“Shut up you idiot, you just got 20 stitches pulled out of your arm. And if you even touch that stick I’m going to tell Mom that you left the house without her permission and get you grounded and you won’t get to go to basketball practice,” Willa said loudly, smirking at the end. She was standing in front Ethan with one hand on her waist and the other holding a cup filled with liquid. She took a sip of her drink a swayed a little.

Opportunity lost, I had much better comeback but that one did the job just fine.

“She is not your mother and you are not my sister so don’t you dare talk to me like that and get out of my face,” Ethan boomed. The crowd standing around us gasped on cue. A strangled sound came from the back of her throat.

In that moment Ethan grabbed the cup from her and walked around her and stood directly in front of me.

“You better watch your back, Scarface,” he said raising his hand over my head.

Before I could even react wet, sticky substance run down my face from my hair to my chest causing my hoodie to stick uncomfortably to me. I breathe deeply and smell strawberries with the weird scent from earlier. I hear someone gasp from behind me.

I leaned a little closer to him and whisper, “wrong, you better watch yours.”

Ethan scoffed before forcefully ramming his shoulders into mine and walking off.

A victory smile appeared on my face.

I pulled my hood over my head and briskly walked out of the room. The hallways that was empty before was now packed with drunk people and otherwise. I didn’t even know how I got to my room but I reached.

I opened the door and entered my dark room, quickly slamming the door behind me. I lean my forehead on the door and warm tears begin to flow down my cheeks. If my dad was here he would tell me how to fix this, how to not handle these situations, how to be a teenager. But no he was gone and it was all my fault. My sadness turn into anger. My fists hit the door fast and hard.

Minutes later I stopped. I sighed. My hands were burning. I glance down and couldn’t see a thing. I walk into the bathroom and looked at my hand.

“Crap,” I cursed as it dripped with blood. It felt a paper cut in the dark but looked like I was in a fight or something. My eyes flutter and my head swayed.

I couldn’t go to sleep with blood on my hands nor could I covered in strawberry and something, my mother would kill me and she would be worried too. I didn’t want her to worry even though she clearly wasn’t worrying about me.

I stripped and entered the bathtub. It wasn’t ideal since I was sleepy but I was so tired. The cool water felt heavenly on my skin and soothing for my cuts.

My eyes fluttered again and then darkness consumed me.

The last thing I felt was warm hands on my shoulder gentle pushing me down.