6:59 (31 page)

Cam grabbed his drink and took slow sips from it. Then he nodded at Anjolie. “Gonna drink, Anj?” he asked, pushing her drink towards her.

Anjolie grabbed the drink and poured all of it down her throat, not bothering to let the liquid simmer. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she went back to glaring at Cam.

“Noooooiiiiiceeee,” Aspen said, draping an arm over Anjolie's shoulders. “Now
this
is my type of woman.” He picked up my drink and held it up to her. “Here, have another,” he urged, sloshing the liquid around in the cup.

Anjolie took the drink out of his hand and downed the cup, the liquid pouring out the sides of her mouth. I stared in shock and disgust as I watched. Aspen laughed loudly, clapping his thick hands together. Then he grabbed up Harper's drink and swished it underneath Anjolie's nose. “Have another,” he challenged as an arrogant grin spread across his tanned face.

I stared at his grin, suddenly feeling uneasy. Why was Aspen acting like such a creep? He was pressuring Anjolie into drinking that hard stuff and for what? So he could have fun and watch her drunk afterward? That was unfair. As much as I hated to do it, I decided to step in.

“No, stop,” I said, holding my hand out and moving Aspen's cup-holding arm away from Anjolie. “I think she's had enough,” I looked at Anjolie who already looked a little dazed and confused. “Don't drink anymore, okay?” I told her.

But Anjolie just frowned at me. “Leave me alone,” she slurred, grabbing the drink from Aspen's hands. She put the cup up to her lips.

I leaned across the table and grabbed the cup from her. “Anjolie! Stop,” I said, pushing the cup far away from her. “Stay away from the liquor. Please.” I couldn't believe I was doing this. Why was I helping her out when all she wanted to do was ruin my life? I mean, she's already taken away my best friend and now she's going after my boyfriend. Did she honestly deserve my help?

“Give me the cup!” she cried out, clawing at my hand. When her nails made contact with my flesh, I yelped and released my grip on the cup. She sloppily grabbed at the cup and splashed it into her mouth like it was the last drop of liquid on the planet. Aspen laughed loudly, clapping his hands again and wiping Anjolie's mouth. He motioned for the waitress to bring more.

“What are you doing?” Cam spoke up, shoving Aspen in the shoulder. “Stop it with the drinks, alright? Clearly she's had enough.”

Aspen just grinned at Cam as if he hadn't heard a word come out of Cam's mouth. “She's wants to drink; let her drink” was all he said behind his rows of teeth.

The drinks came — another round of five — but this time, they were all for Anjolie. “Drink up,” Aspen said, and then he kissed her on the ear, the impish grin still covering his angelic-looking face.

Cam reached across the table and pushed him away. “Quit being a creep, dude,” he said, his face going rock-hard. His glare alone sent chills down my spine.

Aspen kept grinning, unaware of what he was doing. He just watched happily as Anjolie kicked back two more drinks. I reached across the table and grabbed the other three. I didn't care about the protests — I just poured out the contents and left the cups lying empty on the table.

“Why… why did you do that?” Anjolie asked, her eyes struggling to focus. Her hands spread out like frogs' feet on the sticky, black table. “You… you—that costs a lot of… why did you do that?” She was drunk and stupid now. I'd only seen one other person drunk in my life and that was Abby on New Year's Eve. Seeing rigid, angelic Anjolie like this was kind of eerie for me.

“I think we should get out of here,” Cam said into my ear, already sliding out of the booth. He still held my hand in his, having not let go of it since we first got into this place. “It might get a little dangerous in a few seconds.”

Those words alone had my heart stop. I've never been in a situation like this before. I've only seen bar fights on TV and movies. There was no way I was going to sit around and wait for the cops to arrest everyone. Especially since all of us, except maybe Aspen, are under-age. “Where you goin'?” Anjolie shrieked at me. “You owe Aspen money!”

“Me?” I asked, turning around and facing her. “I don't owe him anything. He bought those drinks to see them wasted, and now here they are.” I slid my foot around in the liquid on the floor. “Wasted.”

“That crap is expensive,” Aspen said, standing up from his seat in the booth. “I should kick your man's butt for money.”

Suddenly I was frozen with fear. The bar fight was going to happen! And I was going to be in the middle of it! What had I gotten myself into? Why didn't I just stay at home and study for that math test tomorrow? Why did I have to put myself in this situation?

“There's not going to be any fighting, Asp,” Cam said, setting down his half-finished drink. “We're gonna get out of here. Make sure Anj gets home safely, alright?”

Aspen took a step towards Cam, his eyes level with his. He clenched his jaw. “You owe me for those drinks your girl just flushed on the floor,” he said firmly.

Cam just stared at him. “Pop off, Asp,” he said, clenching his jaw. The hand clasped around my hand clenched as he nudged me behind him.

“Hit him in the face!” Anjolie cried out, glaring at Cam.

“Only if he doesn't give me my money,” Aspen said.

“I don't have any money, Asp,” Cam said calmly. Then he nodded at Anjolie. “You dispensed your cash in that slob over there, why don't you ask
her
?”

Then Anjolie was up, peering at us from behind Aspen's wide shoulders. “What did you call me?” she screamed.

Cam just shook his head and spun around. “Let's go,” he said, pushing me forward. But then, as the two of us walked away, Anjolie hopped her rail-thin body onto Cam and pressed her fingers into his eyes.

Cam let go of my hand and shrieked, prying her bony fingers off of him. When he did so, she fell onto the floor and wailed out in pain. She was acting as if Cam had back-handed her in the face! That's when I saw Aspen spring into action and swing at Cam. Cam dodged the first two blows and lunged at Aspen's waist. Aspen pounded Cam on the back angrily as Cam tackled him to the floor. The crowd around us gasped and dove out of the way as Aspen and Cam crashed into everyone, struggling to get a punch in.

Everything in my aching body told me to scream and run away but all I did was turn my glare on Anjolie and then fling myself at her. I didn't know what I was getting into — all I knew was that this whole thing was her own stupid fault.

Olive

I grabbed Anjolie by the hair and dragged her along the floor. “You are such a sloppy drunk!” I screamed at her, pulling her towards the exit. Anjolie clawed at my hands but I ignored the pain. All I needed was to get her into the car and take her home so she could stop acting crazy.

As I pulled, I saw Harper coming our way with a smile on her face. She saw the way I was dragging her out and her mouth fell open. Then she giggled. “Very hands-on of you, girl,” she said, picking up Anjolie's legs.

I laughed as I adjusted my grip underneath Anjolie's armpits. “All I know is that we have to get out of here before we all get caught,” I said. Then I smiled at her. “My name's Olive,” I said.

Harper nodded and adjusted her grip on Anjolie's bony legs. “Nice meeting you,” she said, still smiling.

The two of us dragged Anjolie all the way out of the club and across half the parking lot. When we got to Cam's car, I flung her onto the hood and pressed her cheek against the cool silver metal. She tried struggling but quickly stopped because “the metal felt like snow” or whatever drunken slur she said.

Harper waited outside with me, twirling her dark hair around a finger. “This was fun,” she said with a giggle. “I didn't know that in one night I would see the boss get drunk, a normal human drag her out like trash, and my brother and Cam get into a fight. It was just
so
eventful!” She giggled again.

“I'm used to taking out the trash,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. Then I climbed up onto the hood and sat down on Anjolie's back. She groaned loudly as she tried to struggle. Harper joined me on Anjolie's back, giggling the whole time.

“You're funny,” she said. “And really cool. Have you done all this before?” she asked, popping a stick of gum into her mouth. She twirled the gooey, pink substance around with her red-nail-polished finger.

“No, never,” I said with a chuckle. “Just last month I was freaking out about whether or not I'd be able to say ‘here' in class.” It was true. Not too long ago I'd been so shy, worried about who I would talk to in the classes I didn't share with Cameron or Hudson. Now here I was picking fights with Anjolie of all people in a bar filled with alcohol and dangerous Gray Eyes. Man, was I changing.

Harper giggled. “It's a good thing you have such a great guy to help you with these experiences,” she said. “I mean, we're only young once, right?” She giggled.

I laughed, too, wondering how lucky I was to finally get out of the house and become, well,
me
. In less than a month I'd completely transformed — for the better. Now all I had to do was overcome this trash that lay underneath me.

As if hearing my thoughts, Anjolie moved underneath us. “You know what?” she mumbled against the car's smooth surface. “I'm kind of glad you treated me like this, Olive.”

I rolled my eyes. “You're glad that I rescued you from the club instead of gouging your eyes out?” I asked.

“Not because of that,” she said flatly.

I sighed. “Why, then?” I asked, not caring to converse with a drunk. It was hard enough talking to everyone at the football games.

“Because now I get to tell Cameron what a crazy freak you are,” she spat, writhing underneath me.

“You're the crazy freak, Anjolie,” I said flatly. Harper giggled and blew out a bubble with her gum.

“Just shut up,” Anjolie said. “Don't you realize how bad of a situation you're in right now? Once I tell Cameron all of this crap, he'll dump you like he should've done earlier when you poured that pie on my shirt.”

“You did that?” Harper asked, gaping at me.

“It was an
accident
,” I said. It really was. I guess it didn't seem like it, but I hadn't seen Cameron's foot there and the pie just flew out of my hands. In no way was I trying to hurt Anjolie. It was just luck that it happened that way.

“You're a terrible girlfriend,” Anjolie continued, shimmying underneath us, still trying to free herself. “Cameron needs someone better than you. Someone who listens and respects him. Someone who can relate and understand him.
You're
not the one that can do that for him.
I
am.”

She'd said it. I knew this time would come and I was oddly ready for it. For some reason, I didn't feel shocked about it. I felt satisfied. She'd just answered the question running through all of our minds since day one.

“Are you trying to tell me that you're better for Cameron than I am?” I asked flatly, already knowing the answer. Suddenly I felt exhausted.

“No duh, I am,” she screamed. “I am
way
better for him than you are. And what you did today just confirmed that you suck.”

“And what you said today just confirmed that
you
suck,” I said bitterly, finally realizing what was going on. Anjolie is indeed trying to get with him and all I could do was watch.

Anjolie struggled some more, slobbering all over the hood of the car. “Get off of me!” she yelled, pounding her small fists onto the car's hood. “I'm more powerful than you think!” Her weak threat was drowned out with a moan. “I'm gonna throw up.” She groaned louder.

Harper and I immediately hopped off of her, putting major distance between us and her. “That is totally sick.” Harper shuddered.

I sighed and watched as Anjolie slid off of the hood and onto the ground, landing on hands and knees as she puked her brains out. Recalling some of the reality TV shows I've seen, I went over to her and held back her hair. Even though watching her puke this close up was completely disgusting, I knew that I was doing the right thing. Taking the hint, Harper walked over and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Finally, Anjolie finished her major binge episode and fell backwards away from the vomit, exhausted. Her silvery, blond hair sprawled out all over the asphalt, resembling several lightning bolts shooting through a night sky. She moaned once but then fell completely silent, her eyes closed, her breathing quiet.

“She's out cold,” Harper confirmed, sucking on her gum.

I shrugged, rolling my eyes at the irony. She was such a
wimp
. How could such a weak little girl be the boss of some of the most dangerous people in the world?

I peered at Harper, my eyes frustrated. “How is she the
boss
?” I asked, voicing my concerns. “She's so weak!”

Harper chuckled, twirling her gum once more. “She wasn't supposed to be,” was her only response to my blunt question. She stared down at Anjolie, a tiny flick of sympathy shining in her gray eyes.

At first, I didn't think she'd continue explaining, but she surprised me by chucking out her gum and looking at me with serious eyes. “Being the boss of the Gray Eyes isn't something that people can compete for,” she said, shrugging her slim shoulder. “The position has been owned by her past generations — from way back, her kin have been the boss of us since we started this whole thing.” She looked down at Anjolie again, crossing her arms. “Her dad died when she was still young, and, well, she was the only one up for the job. She's weak, but…” Harper looked back up at me again. “She has to do it.”

I looked down at Anjolie, watching as she slept peacefully on the cold asphalt. It was true — people really did seem at peace when they were sleeping. “I didn't know that,” I said, crossing my arms as well. There was so much stuff about that girl that I didn't know, stuff that I didn't
want
to know. I didn't need to start feeling sorry for her. She was an idiot. That's all I needed to know about her.

Harper just shrugged, giving me a slight smile. “We wouldn't expect you to know.
She
probably doesn't even know about that.” It was silent before she cleared her throat and clapped her hands together. “Well, just so you know, I don't even think that being the boss is all that hard, anyway,” she said, coming to stand near me. “So, you have to clean someone else's mess if they don't do it. So, you have to report to the devil himself. So, you have a lot of stuff to deal with.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “But the boss still gets all the powers, gets the most free days, and gets the most respect. To me, being the boss should be an honor, really.”

I laughed, nodding at her words. “I know. She makes it seem as if it's the worst job in the entire universe,” I added, rolling my eyes, too.

Harper held her palms out to the sides and up to the sky, looking at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. “I know! Seriously?” she exclaimed, her face holding an expression of surprise. “She's
so
dramatic about it! Like, think of it this way: people get hired to work at a manufacturing company. They have to work a hundred hours a week and get paid practically nothing. And they all work to become
manager
because the
manager
gets more benefits, even though working at the company is hard work for
everybody
.” She gripped my shoulders. “She's whining about being the manager while all of us workers are trying to get by with nothing!”

I laughed at her exclamations. “You're so right,” I agreed, taking in her analogy. Harper was on the ball with that one. Who whines about being the manager? Last time I checked, that job was
good
.

Harper joined in with my laughter and we just stood there, laughing at anything and everything. We didn't even notice when Aspen and Cam showed up.

“Did ya kill her?” Aspen asked, sighing as he motioned to Anjolie's motionless body. Frowning, he scooped up her tiny wrist and pressed a finger to her vein. I could see that his face was littered with a few bruises here and there. But nothing too serious.

Cam just shoved him in the shoulder. “She's passed out, you moron,” he said. Then he looked up at me and smiled. I quickly surveyed his pretty face for any cuts or bruises that he might've gotten during his fight with Aspen. But he was fine, except for the cut on his eyebrow and the bruise on his chin.

Before I could even say anything to him, he pressed his lips onto mine for a brief moment, and then took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. “Sorry about all of that,” he whispered, giving me a shy smile.

I smiled back at him, shaking my head. “You should only apologize if you didn't win,” I said slyly, eyeing Aspen once more. He now had his hand on Anjolie's belly, ear pressed to her chest, “hearing” for a heartbeat.

Cam scoffed as he watched him also. “You know I won. We got kicked out afterwards though. It sucked 'cause I wanted to see all the blood I got out of him.” Cam smiled again, this one cocky and not shy like the one before. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

“Let's get out of here, guys,” Harper said, opening up the car door and hopping into the backseat.

Cam kissed me once more before releasing my hand and heading to the driver's seat. I sighed and turned to help Anjolie again, but Aspen held out a hand to me.

“I got her,” he said, and scooped his hands under Anjolie's neck and knees, picked her up, and carried her to the backseat of the car.

I then joined them in the car, sitting up front with Cam. “Alrighty, we're out,” I said, running a hand through my hair.

Cam gave me a private smile and then pulled out of the parking lot.