Forty minuets later and already a few drinks in, we sat crowded around in a large circle with snacks sprawled in front of us and up beat music playing low in the background. Our friend Thomas sat by the open window, a cigarette hanging out of his hand and rolling his eyes as we made bets on the age he'd get lung cancer. "Lung cancer? That shit's years away, man. It don't bother me now, so I don't care. Least I'm doing what I want instead of slaving away for something that might not happen anyway", he snapped back at us, pointing out Leslie for dropping out of school to work and save money so she could move to pursue her big dreams of performing on Broadway. Thomas's green eyes scrunched and his unruly long hair fell against the wall as he leaned back and laughed. Leslie rolled her eyes, flicking her hand back to look at her pale orange nails, slightly chipped and in need of repainting. She took another drink of the bottle in front of her, glared at him and smiled coyly, "Well, when I'm famous and you're a washed out nobody I guess we'll see won't we? I can tell you one thing for sure, no girl wants to kiss a guy who tastes like sour dirt. Wonder if that's why you go through girlfriends like a fucking slot machine?". Leslie's word's were biting and we all shifted uncomfortably. I coughed awkwardly as Thomas, clearly already well on his way to being wasted, took notice of me. "Hey, I'm doing better than Twig over there. She can't even manage a hook up with her fucking doe-eyes served to her on a silver platter".
"Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I exclaimed back, feeling my face turn red with the groups eyes on me, and gripping the red cup half filled in my hand.
"Hey man, cut it out, don't be starting shit tonight", I looked up to see Zach shaking his head disapprovingly at Thomas. Zach reached over and placed a water bottle beside Thomas's dirty green Vans. "Time to sober up a bit man".
Thomas frowned and shot back "Dude, it's the truth! Everybody knows it, they just-". He was cut off by an urgent and loud knocking at my door.
"UGH!" I whispered. "I thought I told you guys not to invite him tonight! What the hell!" The group looked at each other wide eyed and confused, muttering to each other and asking who the culprit was. With shoulder shrugs and "it wasn't me" all around I got up to check the door.
My mismatched socks dragged across the carpet and I opened the burgundy painted door to the tall figure of Don standing excitedly with two bags in his hands. "...Hey Don.." I said hesitantly, as he paced side to side with a wide smile.
"Hey! I heard we were all gonna be over here tonight so I brought some stuff!", he said as he pushed past me and walked into the apartment. I closed the door and walked behind him, shooting angry eyes at the group. I eyed Laura, noticing her hiding a grimace and grabbing my jacket off the chair positioned behind her. The group awkwardly greeted Don as he made a beeline for the the empty spot beside Laura made available by me opening the door. I saw Thomas roll his eyes and glance at me as he chuckled from his spot.
"Hey Don, wanna smoke? Got a free drink and spot over here man", he said as he offered him a bottle and motioned toward an empty spot by the wall. Don looked around, smile slightly ajar and unsure, but walked toward the outstretched beer. I plopped back down, with Laura scooting over to lean into me. "Hey who's dealer? Let's play another round", I said looking for the deck to break the ice in the room.
As we traded cards in front of us and passed drinks around I noticed Laura still had most of her cup full. I reached over to offer it to her but she shook her head no, eyeing Don in the corner. Every opportunity he got, he spoke in a nervous fashion, trying to get her attention. His words were slurring slightly and he asked to change the music to something more "fun". Leslie turned and tossed him the remote, giving a frustrated grunt in the process. We went back to playing our game while he scrolled through options on the screen hung behind Laura and I.
"Hey Laura, do you know who the Police are?", he asked, apparently excited.
"Uh, yea. Everybody knows who they are Don", she replied, slightly annoyed.
"Oh! Well, I figured you living down there in cult land, probably didn't get to hear them any", he joked back. "Man, that must have sucked not being allowed to do anything. What did you guys do for fun?"
Laura sighed, "Its not like I lived under a rock...and just because we went to church don't mean it was a cult". Her annoyance was evident. "It wasn't as fun as up here, but we found shit to do", she shrugged, ready to move on.
"Ha! I bet you did", he said, eyeing her chest. "Bet you're real close with your cousins, huh?", he laughed and we heard the snap of a drum start with the music he had selected start to play. "Hey, what do you think about this one? This is probably my favorite by them".
"It's literally the most popular one, Don", Thomas quipped from the corner, on his 3rd cigarette of the evening. "If you're trying to impress anyone, you're failing".
"Yea, and it's kinda creepy too. I mean, have you listened to the lyrics?", Jo spoke up emphatically. "Every step you take, I'll be watching you? He sounds like a stalker".
"He loves her, clearly!", Don defended. "It's iconic. His girl goes and fools around with someone else and he's just saying that he see's it happening. He's madly in love and she hurt him" I noticed him glance over at me, and I stared back, dead pan.
"Well, how do we know if it's not all in his head to begin with?", I asked flatly. The group looked at me. "Maybe if the guy could have taken a hint, he wouldn't have gotten disillusions that they were together to begin with". Jesus- I thought to myself- tonight is going just great. Thomas was laughing to himself in the background. Zach and two other friends stood up from the circle, heading to the kitchen asking who else wanted anything. This prompted jovial requests from the guests while I heard the sound of bags being opened. I put my arm back around Laura and conspired with her on how we would win our game together as a distraction while the group went back and forth.
As midnight ran past us, and the night stretched into early morning the laughter died down and the group walked around on unsteady legs looking for places to either hunker down for the night or keys to get home. Certain sets of keys had been placed in rather difficult to find spots ahead of time by the well-meaning Zach. His older brother had been hit by a drunk driver years before, and while he'd survived, his family was well aware of the thin line between life and death that we tread every day. While bodies shuffled around, I left Laura, already asleep and curled up on the floor beside me, and went to grab a stack of colorful blankets from the closet beside my room in the back of the apartment. I walked past the doors of my two roommates and gathered a hefty amount along with a few towels in case that wasn't enough. As I came back into the main room I could see a pale blonde head frantically darting around the room, turning things upside down in search of something.
"Jo. What are you doing?", I whispered aggressively. " I can't find my phone charger. I-I... think I left it in my-my car?", Jo replied choppily. She was in no case to go searching for the mysterious missing charger. "Ok, fine. You stay here, where's your bag? I'll go get it". She pointed to a shiny brown leather bag hanging off of the back of a wooden chair by the door, a bedazzled pepper spray container hanging half out of a pocket. I glanced back at Laura and told Jo to help her into my room. I could see the dark shadows coming in from the sliding glass patio door and hear that Don and Thomas had moved outside from the spot by the window and made a mental note to thank Thomas later. He was a dick sometimes, but he was also the first to have our backs when we needed it. I grabbed the keys from the bag and stepped out into the hall, jogging down to the parking lot looking for the dark green sedan that Jo drove. After searching for a few minuets I spotted the car among a couple of other mis-parked vehicles. After rummaging through it for a few minuets my hands found the charger and I locked up, heading back. I could hear the faint sound of angry voices from the balconies above me and I heard a small "TWHAP" as something hit the pavement and broke. I jumped and cursed.