Runaway Devil
9

“Jake?” Ben tossed his keys into a small bowl by the door. There was a large staircase that probably lead to at least five bedrooms and a monstrous chandelier in the main entrance. I could tell that his parents made bank, even more than Cinnamon. I raised my eyebrows and just tried to take it all in. Issac and Jerry passed by me, as if they were home, and not guests in Ben’s house. They were probably over there all the time, so it really was like their second home.

“Yeah?” A deep voice called from down an adjacent hall. Once he made his appearance I understood more about Ben's family. They were all tall, blonde, and self-assured. “Ben, you brought a girl home?”

“She’s staying the night.”

Jake grinned and laughed, “Oh honey, I’m sorry. If I were you, I would run before he even gets you to his room-”

“Hey! Come on, she’s just going to crash here.” Ben sounded agitated, and it didn’t suit him. I lightly touched his arm as I walked past him. I had hoped that it comforted him, it always worked with Dusty. He looked down at me and I felt his eyes on my back as I ran my fingertips over the back of the couch, where Issac and Jerry had made themselves comfortable. They had their feet up on the coffee table, which was undoubtedly made from expensive mahogany.

"Can Balan come in?" I asked without looking back at him.

"Yeah that's fine, he just can't get on the couch." I nodded and snapped my fingers. Balan had been patiently waiting in the open doors threshold. Jake approached me slowly, beer still in hand.

“You know Ben from school?" I nodded and smiled politely, resting my hand on Balan's head.

He nodded and silently assessed me. I looked him in the eye and revealed nothing. "You want a beer?" He nodded towards the hallway he had emerged from.

“Got anything stronger?” My voice was sharp and I needed something to release the tension. He raised his eyes brows and nodded without a word. I scratched behind Balan's ears and nudged him with my knee.

"Go rest." He huffed and sat next to the couch, fully aware of the boys' dis-ease in his presence. The hall was dim, some light filtered through open doors and uncovered windows. Jake pushed open the last door on the right. The room was darker than the hall and cold as if the heating had been turned off due to disuse. There was a large bed, with a plush comforter. The room was mostly a deep, rich maroon, with cream and brown accents. I watched Jake open a cabinet beneath the flat screen mounted on the wall. He knelt down and pushed some bottles aside, their clinking was loud in the quiet room.

"Pick your poison. We've got Jameson, Buchanan's, Woodford," He looked deeper into the cabinet. "Jim Beam, Four Roses, Johnnie Walker." He looked over his shoulder at me.

“Jameson.” It didn't really matter, anyway. Human alcohol was nothing compared to the stuff I got in hell. Dusty didn't bring it out with anyone else, we always drank together. The shit he got his hands on could curl the wallpaper right off the walls. It felt like a real fire in the chest. It was the best shit I had ever had. Human alcohol tasted watered down, but I would take anything at that point.

He grabbed the bottle and handed it to me by the neck. I grasped it and examined the label. The door that lead to the hallway was pushed open and a lost-looking guy poked his head in. "Oh, there you are." He looked at me. "Hello there." I waved at him and smiled awkwardly. "I just wanted to let you know that we were going to leave soon."

"Alright, I'll see you guys out-"

"You're not going to introduce me?" His friend looked from Jake to me with a smile. "Don't tell me you keep pretty girls locked up in here?"

"Pretty girls?" Another voice sounded from the hall.

"I'm just going to go back to the living room." I held the bottle up and gave Jake a small smile in thanks and pushed past the boy in the door. He was much taller than I had anticipated. When he stepped out of my way he stood up to his full height, which meant he toward over me. I paused, looking directly up at him. He gave me a smile and a wave. I nodded at him and quickly bypassed his curious friend.

"No, that's not the point. I'm just saying, she could've taken care of herself, you know, if the situation arose." Jerry said. Balan was looking painfully bored as the boys debated something heatedly.

"If what situation arose?" I asked as I vaulted over the back of the couch and bounced next to Issac.

"He's saying that if Dante ended up breaking into your place in the middle of the night, you'd be fine." Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"That's highly improbable. She's one person, and you honestly think Dante would show up by himself?" Issac looked at Jerry with a raised brow.

"Who's Dante?" Jake had followed me, and his friends had followed him. All four of us paused.

"Uh... it's kind of complicated." Ben hesitated. None of us were exactly sure how to go about an introduction.

"I mean, not really. He's the leader of this gang on the other side of town." Jerry looked around both Ben and Issac, at me. "What's that?" I held the bottle up a bit and smiled.

"Jameson."

"Alright, now we're talking." He got up and grabbed it, attempting to open it. I stood quickly and snatched it back.

"Ah ah ah, ladies first." I opened it with ease, taking a swig. It was malty and eased a bit of tension in my chest.

"Did you just say a gang leader? What could you guys possibly know anything about him?"

"He's got a little sister, he buys cheap weed, and he perpetually smells like stagnant water." I took another swig and handed it to Jerry. I sat back down and Balan quickly moved to sit at my side. Jake stared at me disbelievingly and plopped down on a chair beside the couch. His tall friend took the other chair, which was next to me, while his other friend just stood near the couch.

"Whose dog is this?" The tall friend started reaching for Balan, but the low growl in his throat advised him to keep his distance. He kept his hands as far from Balan as possible for the rest of the night.

"Mine." I said. "Oh yeah, and he has a broken arm. And his rotater cuff is fucked."

"How-?"

"Not important." I smiled at Jake's grumpy face. I pouted my lip at him and said in a mocking voice, "Awww is Jakey upset?" I grabbed the bottle from Issac, who had gotten it from Jerry. I took another swig and looked over the Jake when he got up. He strode over to me and leaned over the couch, resting his large hand on the arm rest. I met his eyes and raised a brow. His face was about five inches from mine, with a smirk slowly forming on it. He grabbed the bottle and stood abruptly, chugging a good three mouth fulls.

"Hey, that's for all of us." Ben stood and snatched it from him. Jake just chuckled in response. The bottle was almost empty, which the collective efforts of Jerry, Issac, Me, Ben, and Jake.

"Chill, I'll just go get another." Jake promptly disappeared down the hall to go get more booze.

This could get sloppy.

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