Page 77 of Dirty Chorus

Omen leans into my ear. “That’s the fucker who trashed the store?” I subtly nod my head, but don’t spit out one word. I scan the room, finding several men in here. Some of them pointed at me with a chin, or a head tilt. They know who I am.

“If I die tonight, I’ll fucking haunt you for all eternity,” Omen punches me in the chest and knocks the wind out of me.

I massage my sternum and say, “I’ll gladly join you in hell.”

A bong is passed around, and Charlie doesn’t hesitate to take a long hit. The water bubbles and her chest caves in. Smoke pools out of her nostrils as she covers her mouth and coughs before passing it around.

Wait, she fucking smokes weed? And she was sobbing not even three nights ago about me using drugs. I feel like I’ve been lied to. I can’t make out the words, but she's clearly arguing with Payton, whose legs are shaking up and down.

By the look in Payton’s eyes, it settles in my stomach that she has no idea what this game entailed. An uneasy tension fills the room, and there are several girls who look uncomfortable. They're tucking hair behind their ears, glancing at each other all over the room. Guys point fingers, wink, bite their lips, rub their hands together.

I think I walked into a room where girls are assaulted just for fun.

Brody finds a seat next to the Barbie bitch. She leans her head on his shoulder, and kisses him on the cheek. My stomach flips because that’s the girl he cheated on Charlie with. The perfect straight blonde hair and doe-green eyes, her attitude combined with his ego is like mixing bleach and ammonia. They turn into a toxicity that sucks the life out of you if you breathe it in.

“You ready to fucking lose?” Brody leans over a few other players, lifting his bushy brows as he shuffles a stack of cards.

I’ll lose to her. But I’m not going to feed into him. I do what I know best. Shut the fuck up and say nothing. Silence has more power than any words right now. The cards are dealt and of course, mine are pure trash. I have a three, six, and eight. All different suits and a lame pair of twos. I glance at Payton, who continues to rock back and forth as Charlie is organizing her cards with a tongue sticking out at the side.

“I can’t wait for you to lose that shirt of yours,” a guy with fuckboy hair rubs his hands together, licking his lips like Charlie is a piece of meat. My fingers almost puncture the cards in my hand. “I’m gonna fuck you silly.”

I clench down on my cards.

“Chill out. I can read you like a book.” Omen leans into my ear, shaking his head in disapproval.

It goes around the circle. Girls taking off their clothes, guys saying they will take off everything if a girl wants to leave with them right this second.

Brody lays down a royal flush thrown in everyone’s face. Everyone groans and lays down their hands.

The redhead with massive tits has a seven and a two that are both of a different suit and bombs it. “Oh, my God! Me first!” She brings her shoulders to her cheeks and leans over and bats her eyes at me. “You’re so hot,” she whispers and spins the bottle as it circles around and around everyone in the room. The barrel of the gun lands on me.

“Fuck...” I shake my head. I’m already stressed out.

“Do you wanna kiss her, or fuck her?” Brody asks with a vicious grin forming on his lips.

Charlie’s eyes are on me, practically shaking. If I kiss the girl, I can already picture Charlie taking out a pocketknife and either stabbing me or the redhead. If I make her take off her shirt, I’m also the bad guy. Shit. Shit. Shit. I didn’t think this through when coming to play; I only focused on being with Charlie.

“Take off your clothes,” the words are boulders down my throat.

The redhead is too proud as she slip out of her heels and places them behind her. She takes the bottle, opens it up and takes a swig. I’m not even sure if she's aware of what is happening. Her eyes are foggy, and I’m waiting for her to plop to the floor like a dead fish.

The game starts picking up, going faster. Payton loses her shoes and the group of girls that had taunted her before picks on her again as she struggles to untie her laces. Charlie whispers to her, helping, and they bicker with each other.

When Charlie loses her first round, she tosses her red heels behind her back like it’s no big deal. The Segway-security-looking fucker loses entirely and leaves first with some chick falling over on his shoulders as they walk out of the room. Her head is flopping back and forth, and her legs are jelly as she tries to keep herself steady.

They must have gone into the adjacent room because all of us can hear the headboard banging against the wall. I blink several times, trying to process his grunts and swearing that’s muffled through the thin walls. It sounds like he was in heaven, but it wasn’t seven minutes. It was definitely seven pathetic seconds.

I haven’t lost a round yet, but each time another girl lands on me I have them strip knowing I’m part of the problem as they get closer and closer to having to sleep with someone, and more than likely it's with a guy they want nothing to do with. Omen isn’t the best at poker and only wears his pants.

We play a few more rounds, and Payton has a shitty hand, as mine beats every player throwing down their cards.

Brody laughs at Payton and says, “Spin it. You might get lucky and someone will spare you with a kiss instead.”

Charlie’s chest heaves up and down, her nose flaring as she sucks in a deep breath. Her fists clench in her lap as Payton spins the bottle. The glass clinks on the hardwood floor and, as it slows down, it lands right on him. Brody’s laugh rips through the room, and he covers his mouth.

“I’d rather fuck you, so take something off.” He bites his bottom lip. Payton trembles.

Charlie, on the other hand, goes cherry-red in the face. Clenching a handful of cards, she threw them into his face. “In your dreams!” Her fierce eyes glare at him. The words dig deep into my bones. I can’t make out if her eyes are glimmering with tears, or if she’s just really pissed off, but the hurt is ingrained and I can feel it seeping off her.