He mind-links someone before his eyes fall back on me.
“Poker?” I ask, grabbing the chips out of the box.
He nods, sitting on the couch and fiddles with my hair and I lean between his legs putting my head back. “I love you,” Ezra whispers, leaning down and kissing my lips. I turn back to the cards and chips, getting them out of the box. Mateo took around half an hour before returning.
“Since when do you drink this girlie shit?” Mateo scoffs, walking in. He balances the pizzas on the coffee table before opening a bag and pulling out some colored drinks.
“I don’t. They are for her,” he says, pointing at me.
“Are you letting her drink?” Mateo’s voice betrays his shock, grabs a pink Vodka Cruiser. He opens it, handing it to me before sending me a wink. I shake my head at him taking it, when he looks at the TV.
“Not this shit. I saw an ad for this. It’s about ghosts,” he says, glaring at me.
I shrug and Ezra chuckles at Mateo’s pale face.
“Fine, but we are watching The Lion King after.” Mateo grits the words out.
“The Lion King?” I giggle at the choice.
“It’s a classic,” Mateo defends, sitting down and opening the pizza.
Ezra turns it on and we play poker while watching and stuffing our faces. They get bored of the game pretty quickly, when I am the only one that is winning. I pack everything up and am about to walk out when Mateo calls out to me.
“Wait, I need to pee,” he yelps, hopping up.
I roll my eyes at him and wait. I lean against the bathroom door waiting for him, before he follows me into the rec room while I put everything away.
Turning around Mateo stares wide-eyed around the darkened room. “Does this place remind you of the one in the movie?” He whispers.
I snort. A wildly evil idea forms, and I am too weak to not carry it through. “I don’t know,” I muse, looking around. My eyes widen and I point with a trembling finger to something in the corner. “What is that?” I screech.
Mateo turns to see what I’m talking about and I race away from him, out of the door and shutting it behind me.
He screeches like a banshee and bangs on the door, screaming. “Open it, open it, open it, Kat!” he shrieks at being in a closed room by himself in the dark.
I let the handle go and dart off hiding behind the stairs, only to see him race out like his ass is on fire and he is running for his life. He runs straight past me, heading for the light of the living room.
“Where is she?” he growls at Ezra, as I sneak up behind him.
He’s standing behind the couch, practically trembling. Ezra glances up at him, a potato chip almost to his lips. He spots me and I put a finger to my lips.
“No idea bro,” Ezra says with a shrug and Mateo turns around to continue his search when I jump out. “Boo!” He shrieks, jumping in the air before tumbling over the couch and onto Ezra.
Ezra grunts at the impact, and I hear the air leave his lungs with an oomph. I erupt into giggles, while Mateo looks like he just about wet himself.
“That was not funny,” Mateo growls at me, climbing off Ezra who is also laughing.
“It was, I got you good,” I giggle. Mateo growls and reaches over the couch and drags me over the back of it.
“Brat!” he scolds, as I fall into Ezra’s lap between them.
I lay across them watching the show before noticing it getting late. I am supposed to meet my mother in a few more hours and know if they aren’t asleep by 11, I will have to tell her I can’t come. Thankfully, Ezra becomes tired and decides to turn the TV off.
“Ah, what about The Lion King? You can’t expect me to sleep after watching half that shit!” Mateo objects.
“Watch it in our room then,” Ezra suggests, pulling me off the couch with him.
“What?” Mateo asks, staring at him confused.
“Hurry up before I change my mind,” Ezra grunts and Mateo jumps up. Ezra waits for him to climb the stairs and flicks the hall light on before turning the foyer light off.
Once in our room, I go into the bathroom, slip my pajamas on and climb into bed. Ezra climbs in after me and Mateo lies on my other side in the bed, flicking through the movies before finding The Lion King.
I snuggle against Ezra, his hand trailing up my back while he dozes off. Mateo turns the TV down, so he doesn’t wake Ezra and after about half an hour of the movie, he too falls asleep. I watch the entire thing fighting my sleep. When it is close to the time I have to leave. I move Mateo’s leg off me from where he rolled closer in his sleep, snuggling against me.
Climbing out of bed, Mateo grabs my hip and I freeze, peering down at him. “Where are you going?” he mumbles.
“To get a drink,” I lie and he nods, letting me go and snuggling back into his pillow. I wait a few minutes for him to fall back asleep.
I walk to the walk-in grabbing one of Ezra’s shirts from the hanger.
“You have drunk too much, Kat. I don’t think I can shift. I feel queasy,” Kora whimpers. Great, now I have to run. I feel fine though. Grabbing some track pants and a jumper, I slip them on, ditching Ezra’s shirt on the floor and sneaking out of the room.
Going down the steps, I forget about the third one, and it creaks beneath my foot. My heart almost stops at the loud noise, made louder by the deafening silence that has fallen over the house. Hearing no movement, I make my way out the back of the packhouse and slip out the back door.
It takes me thirty minutes, longer than last time to get there and I stay for around an hour when my mother tells me to head home because I can’t stop yawning. Trudging back through the woods, we part ways when I am halfway back to the packhouse.
Kora is off, making me wonder if my drinking affects her and not me because I feel completely sober while she feels sluggish. I am nearly home when a twig snaps. I freeze, sniffing the air. My heart is hammering in my chest and Kora stirs nervously as I peer into the darkness.
Kora presses forward sluggishly, and peers out my eyes which enhances my vision a little.”What is it?”
“An animal?” I suggest and keep walking, yet I can’t shake the sensation of being watched, nervously I keep glancing over my shoulder and listening for noise, the darkness becomes eerie, and worry starts to freak me out. Maybe this is what I get for torturing Mateo with his fears.