Bet my Life (EDITING!!) #BOOK1

30. I see the lights

"Best two out of three."

"Don't be a sore loser, Oli," I smirked.

"Come on, one more round. Please," Nate begged along with Oli.

"Why? We already know that you are going to lose," Lily replied, pretending to be annoyed.

"Pweesee," Chace pouted.

"Hold your ground, Lil. Remember. Shirtless Channing Tatum," I whisper in her ears, while the guys groan in protest.

Post dinner, we headed to their place for a sleepover, wanting to give Izzie and Zach some space. We were currently arguing about what to watch. After 2 rounds of 'rock, paper, scissor,' both of which we won, we voted for 'Magic Mike'. But the boys, being boys, didn't want to watch a movie about male strippers.

"Come on, babe. I'll strip for you. Can we please watch something else?" Nate begged.

I paused for a minute and pretended to think about it. Lily was a goner, Chace had managed to sway her to the dark side. Now the fate of Mathew McConaughey's clothes rested solely on me.

"Babe!"

"Zoe!"

"Zo!"

Nate, Oli, and Elli took turns in poking my shoulders, trying to get me to change my mind.

"Fucking hell! Fine. We'll watch something else. Just this once. The next movie night, you don't get a say." I turned my attention to Lily and gave her a mock glare, "I had such high hopes from you." I shook my head, while everyone laughed.

"So what are we going to watch?" Lily asked, grabbing two bowls of popcorn from the kitchen. Taking one from her, I sat on the couch between Nate and the armrest. Cuddling to his side, he draped a blanket over us. I gave a sigh of content, enjoying the warmth.

"How about 'The haunting of hill house'?" Oli chimed in, settling himself on the mattress that the guys had set on the floor. Eli sat beside Nate, while Chase and Lily joining Oli on the ground.

Just then, the doorbell rang, which resulted in a series of protests.

"Not gonna be us. We are settled in," Lily said, pointing towards her and Chace.

"Not me. I'm too comfortable," Nate said, and I hissed in response. Don't blame me. I was way too comfortable.

"Claws away, kitty. I'll go get it," Eli rolled his eyes at me, and went up to the door.

"Good kitty," Nate laughed and pulled me closer.

"Who is it, Eli?" Chace called, but we got no response.

We turned around to find Alexis standing on the door. She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt, and leggings and her hair was pulled into a bun. Her face was streaked with tears. Eli, ignoring our stares, pulled her to his room on the ground floor, and shut the door.

"What just happened?" Lily asked the question that was in all our minds.

"Let's not pry. Give him space, and he'll tell us when he's ready. No prying, and by that I mean Lily and Zoe," Oli replied, giving us a pointed look.

We pouted but decided to drop it. Turning our attention to the screen, we tried to focus, as much as we could. After nearly an hour, the door opened, and Alexis stood there awkwardly, while Eli had a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, Alexis. It's movie night, and we would love for you to join us," I called out to her with a small smile.

"N-No, it's okay. I don't mean to intrude," she said nervously and glanced at Eli.