Fatal Flaws

chapter 26

Why won't they drop the subject? We all know he's a hoe, so we don't need a constant reminder. Of course, these thoughts are private and not spoken out loud.

"Shut up! You know I don't like it when you talk shit about him. He's my brother and I'm the only person allowed to," Skylar growls, her voice dripping with anger. Her playful eyes narrowed, shooting Hope a death stare.

"Geez, sorry, I was speaking the truth," Hope mumbles. Her heavy eyes drift downward as a sour expression takes over her face.

"I'm going to get me a drink. Do you guys want one?" Skylar offers, standing up, breaking the awkward silence. But with a hint of attitude still lingering in her voice. I hope they don't argue all night. Between this and Hayden, I wish I would have stayed in bed. I'd be watching TV right now or sleeping. Both of which would be better than this.

"I'll take one," I mumble. Finally catching on, she wants an excuse to get away for a minute. To collect her thoughts and have a few minutes of alone time for a second. I know that feeling all too well. It's now or never, I think to myself, attempting to gather up the courage to look over.

My chest hurts as I inhale a sharp breath before looking over, stealing a glance. His face stays hidden in the shadows, but I would know that body and those tattoos anywhere. He looks pretty good for someone who doesn't like to dress up.

He's dressed in a firefighter costume with the jacket wide open, and bare skin underneath. A pair of bright red suspenders helps to hold his oversized pants up. The suspenders are a major turn-on. But the red-head girl grinding her body up against his is not.

She doesn't look familiar. I don't think I have ever seen her around campus. I'm pretty sure I would remember her if I had. She's the textbook definition of trailer park trash. Sporting a red strip of leather, acting as a tight mini skirt accompanied by a black halter top. It's held up by one frail frayed neckpiece. The worn-out string is the only thing keeping her smaller-than-average breast contained. With each thrust she makes against him, I keep waiting for them to fall out the bottom of her top.

She has her bright red hair platted down into two braids. Like how Sky does hers. Only she braided her hair inwards instead of outwards. I can't help but wonder what her costume is. A prostitute or stripper I guess.

"Here Bex" Skylar hollers over the music, handing me a red solo cup. It's filled to the brim with some pink fizzy drink. The bubbles hit my nose as I bend down inhaling the sweet aroma of mangoes. She seems to be a lot more calm and level-headed than before. Her little walk to get drinks must have given her enough time to cool down.

"I know you don't normally smoke, but I figured I'd offer it to you, anyway. You kind of look like you could use it tonight," Hope offers, holding out a lit blunt. I haven't smoked or done any other drug in so long. My self conscious is screaming at me right now. It's almost uncanny how much it sounds exactly like my mother. "You know marijuana is a gateway drug. One hit and the next thing you know you're going to be popping pills again". The sound of her nagging voice echoes in my head. Against my better judgment, I shove that annoying voice deep down in the back of my mind. At least for tonight.

"Sure why not? It's Halloween after all. Everyone pretends to be someone else. I might as well take advantage of it," I laugh, taking the blunt from her. It feels foreign in my hand like it doesn't belong there. Someone had gone a little overboard on it. The end of it was completely drenched in saliva. My stomach goes queasy, but it's not the worst I've ever had. Remembering back to my smoking days, I use the edge of my cape to wipe the end off before bringing it up to my lips. My chest burns as I inhale. The smoke instantly fills my lungs, causing me to exhale a giant cloud of smoke. Out of habit, I inhale the cloud back up through my nostrils, and let it escape back out through my mouth.