Page 144 of Demo
“You sure? He didn’t slip you anything?”
“No, I’ve been watching. I don’t think he has. And I don’t feel, you know, like I’m anything other than drunk, if that makes sense. But if I drink any more, I’m not going to have any more wits about me to be able to even focus.”
“You’re not drinking anymore,” Knox cuts me off. “We’re leaving.”
Marcus replies to that statement as he comes bounding back up the hallway toward the kitchen. “Nah, man, you can’t leave now. The party’s just getting started.” He opens a little baggie and shakes three pills into his hand and holds it up between us. “Whatdaya say we all loosen up a bit?”
I swear I hear Knox swallow next to me before he says, firmly, “No.”
I hold my hands up, and add, “I don’t even know what that is, but I’m pretty sure my body will reject it, so I’m gonna pass.”
Marcus chuckles and pops one of the pills in his mouth, then stuffs another back into the baggie. He swallows the pill without even taking a drink. “You’re funny,” he says to me, then looks at Knox. “She’s funny.”
“Yeah, she’s a real fucking treat,” Knox says, exasperated, as he tries to pull me a step toward the door, but Marcus grabs my other arm.
“Thing is, Knox …” Knox looks at where Marcus’ hand is circled around my arm, and I see his nostrils flare. “Thing is, I don’t like to get high alone. So, someone has to join me.” He holds the little blue pill up on the pad of his pointer finger between the three of us, at eye level.
“You’re not alone,” Knox says. “Sounds like you’ve got company in the basement.”
“You know what I mean,” Marcus responds.
I assess the pill. I honestly have no idea what it is. So it’ll fuck me up, big deal, right? I’m not an addict, I don’t have an addictive personality, so I will be fine if I swallow it, right?
I see Knox also sizing it up, and I know he would take 100 of them before he would let me swallow it, but that’s just the problem. If I take it, it’ll just be a bad night for me. If Knox takes it, it’s a much harsher sentence.
“If I recall, this didn’t work out so well for me last time,” Knox says to Marcus. “Not for my bank account. Not for … Jenny.” Hearing her name on his lips is a strike to the gut. “So why don’t we just call this a night.”
Ever so slowly, Marcus just turns his head from side to side in a slow shake. “Not gonna happen,” he says.
And before I can overthink it, I pluck the pill off his fingertip and pop it in my mouth, then grab the untouched shot off the table and knock it back.
“The fuck!” I hear Knox yell at the same time Marcus cheers. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“Why the hell would you do that?” Knox grabs both my upper arms in his hands.
Still cringing from the burn of the liquor, I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth, then look up at him. “Because you can’t.”
We stare at one another. It’s interesting that earlier today we spit venom at each other, burned each other to the ground, and now we’re trying to get each other out of this ridiculous situation.
The music from the basement gets louder, and we hear someone coming up the stairs. “Hey, no one told me it was a party up here,” I turn toward the familiar voice and freeze as I see Deputy Clark walking toward me. As we lock eyes, I swear I see him slow for a fraction of a second before he looks up to Knox.
He saunters right up to Knox, arm extended. “Robbie,” he says in greeting. Knox takes it without so much as flinching, and gives his name as they do a quick shake. Then Clark—Robbie—turns to me, hand outstretched. For a second, I wonder if it really is Deputy Clark. He’s wearing a zip-up blue athletic hoodie and a baseball cap that’s angled off to the side. He looks youthful, playful even.
Knox clears his throat. “You’re going to have to excuse Lizzie, she’s a little … We’ll she’s on her way to being totally fucked up,” he says with a little laugh.
Clark steps forward and takes my hand and shakes it like a dead fish, since my limbs are useless to work on their own. “It’s very nice to meet you, Lizzie, was it? Is that short for something?” He’s staring right down into my eyes, like he’s trying to convey something to me.
And suddenly my brain starts to work again.Oh! He must be undercover!
Clark is still staring at me, and I realize I never answered his question. “Lyzbeth,” I practically shout, then clear my throat and try it again. “My name is Lyzbeth, but people call me Lizzie.”
“Lizzie.” He nods, then scratches the side of his nose, and I think he can see that blood and oxygen are once again circulating to the part of my brain responsible for any kind of thinking at all. “Anyone up for pizza? I was just gonna call the place on the corner.” He’s pulling a phone out of his back pocket. “Rammy’s? Remy’s?”
“Ricco’s,” Marcus answers.
“Ricco’s! Yes. They have a buffalo chicken pizza that’s out of this world.”
“Nah, thanks, man. We were just headed out,” Knox says as he puts a hand on my elbow.
