4. Diablos
Chapter four
Diablos
It was already eight p.m. when I headed downstairs to help Bren get ready for game night. Excitement bubbled in me, making it hard to sit still. Tonight was exactly what I needed to forget all the crap from today. Or, well, just pretend it didn’t exist, which was as good as it could get.
“Are you ready for a night of mayhem?” I turned to my left, where I heard Bren’s voice.
He was already in the game room, which was exactly what it sounded like. There was a shelf full of board games, a billiard table, and one arcade game machine.
On the left side of the room was the bar loaded with various kinds of alcohol.
That was a newer addition. King let us add it two years ago.
The begging and the constant whining were worth it.
I chuckled, remembering how we drove our dad insane.
One of us always talked to him about how much we wanted it.
When one stopped, the next one continued. Ah, good times.
When we joined forces, there was no stopping us.
I looked around the room with fondness. The game machines were close to the bar. In the middle were several couches and an enormous wooden table, which we used to play board games and eat on.
The TV was on the right side of the room, where we watched movies and chilled.
Another spacious couch was in front of it.
It was oversized enough for almost all of us.
The slowest one ended up on the floor with the big fluffy carpet.
Sometimes, I would "forget" my drink on purpose, just to end up on all that fluffiness.
Well, I used to. Years ago. There was no need to do that nowadays because it was only Bren and me most of the time.
I shook off the sudden nostalgia and focused on the other memories this room held. It was my favorite room in the house since it held some of my happiest memories with my brothers.
I looked back at Bren and answered his earlier question. “Yes, I’m ready for tonight. Do you need some help?” I pointed toward the food he was bringing from the kitchen.
“Sure. Though if you’d daydreamed any longer, I would’ve finished it all myself.”
I gave him an innocent smile, and he nudged my shoulder.
“Ouch!” I clutched my arm dramatically.
“Oh, please. That was nothing.”
Laughing, we busied ourselves with the preparations.
Bren made a couple of his famous sandwiches and a salad. We opened a few snacks and brought whiskey, vodka, and gin to the table. I loved preparing all of this with Bren.
Unsurprisingly, the first one to show up was Wild. A little after that, Luc and Andras came. Seeing Andras alone stirred something in me. Did I really expect Dagon to show up? It had been years since he last came to one of our nights.
As I was about to grab one of the sandwiches, I tensed.
I could feel Dagon approaching, and fuck if that wasn’t weird.
I always knew somehow when he was around.
I turned, and there he was, glaring at us like we had done something to him.
I almost laughed. He had always been like this, but I knew much more was hiding behind his stoic mask.
“Finally!” Bren jumped from his couch seat. “So, what’s first? Games? Movie? Drinking?”
I chuckled because I could sense which one he was more eager about.
“Games,” Luc said while chewing on some snacks.
“Drinking.” Andras and Bren said at the same time.
Huh, who knew these two could agree on something?
Bren’s strange glance at Andras almost made me choke on my sandwich.
I didn’t stop eating, though. There was no way you could stop when you started.
Bren made the best sandwiches in the whole world.
Some special mayo, crisp chicken, fried potatoes, fried onion, and arugula.
So tasty! I could eat them all week, every day.
“Movie or games.” Of course Wild would choose a movie. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked drinking.
Bren stared at me expectantly. Honestly, I was uncertain. I contemplated for a second, but in the end, I said, “It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Come on, you have to choose.”
My gaze connected with Dagon's, and I swear I saw a smirk on his face for a second. Glancing at all my brothers, I didn’t know why, but I got a feeling this would be the last time we were together like this. Chills ran down my spine.
I finally had what I’d wanted for so long, all of us together again.
But I couldn’t shake this uncomfortable feeling in my gut.
Not to mention, the voices in my head decided it was the perfect opportunity to grab onto these uneasy feelings and flood me with terrible images of one of my brothers dying or getting hurt.
Shit. Couldn’t I have one goddamn ordinary night? Just one!
I remembered the times we had had the best nights, and I knew my answer. “Drinking with games and music,” I said.
Bren screamed, “Fuck, yes!” and pointed to Dagon. “Your opinion doesn’t matter. We already have three votes for drinking.”
Dagon shrugged like he didn’t care. I bet he would have chosen to drink anyway.
“Wait! How does his opinion not matter? We could be even if he says games.” Wild interrupted Bren, who threw daggers at him.
“Bro, haven’t you learned anything in so many years?
” Wild’s genuinely confused expression was amusing.
I tried not to laugh because I knew the best was coming.
Bren waved his hands as he continued, “We,” he pointed to me and himself, “are the little brothers, so we get what we want. Our voices hold more power.”
Luc’s jaw dropped. “What about me? I’m the littlest!”
“You don’t count since there are two little ones voting for drinking and only one little one voting for games.”
They kept bickering, and I glanced at Dagon. If only he’d open his damn mouth and vote. As if he could hear me, he raised his voice and said, “I vote for drinking.”
Everyone fell silent for a second before Bren started screaming excitedly. Wilder groaned, and Luc sank deeper into the couch. I chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
I finished my sandwich and ate some salad as well. I wasn’t a big fan of drinking, but tonight, I wanted to get hammered and let go of everything. Better to do this on a full stomach, or I’d definitely regret it later.
While I was eating, Bren scolded Andras and Dagon for being at the bar. “It’s not Andras and Dagon’s night. It’s our night, so drag your asses over here!”
Surprisingly, they did. Andras sat next to me, Dagon on his other side.
“Hey, Di?”
“Yeah, Bren?”
“I’ve got an idea.”
“What idea?” I was already scared. Bren’s ideas either ended up with us in trouble or in situations no one would have thought possible.
“You remember 20/20/20?”
I burst out laughing and into a fit of coughing since I was taking a sip of my gin. “Fuck, Bren! Couldn’t you wait until I swallowed?”
“No!” He screamed.
We burst out laughing, everyone watching us like we’d lost our minds.
“Let’s do it,” I said with excitement.
“Fuck, yes!”
“What is 20/20/20, and do I want to know?” Wilder genuinely looked afraid. He was often the one who would run after us when we got some wild idea into our heads.
“We used to play this together at game nights.” I saw how some of my brothers shifted uncomfortably. “It’s a simple and fun game. Bren, will you explain?”
“Yes, please.” He took a big sip of his whiskey before explaining.
“So, it’s a game with drinking and challenges.
The numbers are minutes. In the first 20 minutes, we challenge ourselves to do certain things and must complete them before the time is up.
The number of things we didn’t manage to do is the number of glasses we must drink. ”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, Lu, but that’s not even the funniest part.
We will walk in a straight line for the next 20 minutes of the game.
We use tape on the ground to create the line.
You can’t step outside of it. At the same time, we must answer a truth before we reach the finish line.
If we don’t do one of those things, we drink half a glass.
If we don’t do either, we drink a full glass.
It’s like truth or dare but better because we are already drunk. ”
“I don’t want to know what the last 20 minutes means,” Wild said, and looked terrified.
“The last 20 minutes…” Bren cut off suddenly and looked at me. I knew that look. He had a wild idea. “You know what? There are way more of us now. Let’s switch it up!”
“Change it how?”
“We group up! Do something different.”
“Groups? What do you mean? How?” I was lost.
“Easy.” I could come up with many crazy ideas, but never on Bren’s level. It was like he was conjuring them out of another universe. “So, for the last 20 minutes, we will split into groups.”
Everyone seemed interested except for Dagon.
I wasn’t surprised by that. What startled me was his gaze landing on mine.
His fist was clenched, resting on his spread thighs, his eyes razor-focused on me.
My breath stuttered as I got lost in his stormy eyes.
My gaze dipped to his lips. When they parted, it was like cold water had been poured over my head.
What the fuck was I doing? I turned my attention back to Bren just in time to hear him continue.
I listened to his words, but my fucking heart wasn’t calming down.
“We’ll go group against group. Imagine I’m in a group with Di. He didn’t answer two truths, so I must answer instead of him, and he must answer mine. I must convince him to do the challenges he didn’t do and vice versa.”
“What happens if we have both answered and done all the challenges?” Oh, Wild, you had no idea what was coming your way.
Bren smiled with a gleam in his eyes, “If this happens, and that’s a big if… then you two pull out new ones. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”
“Squeezy?“ Dagon chuckled under his breath.
“I can squeeze you instead if you want?” Bren arched a challenging brow at him as Dagon shook his head. We all knew he wasn’t the hugging type.
“I like this idea,” I said before Bren could jump on Dagon.
The twist Bren came up with of separating us into groups was fun. No point in asking what if someone cheated because none of us would. Yes, we all wanted to win, but lie to each other? That was not our thing.
“I bet you do. Well, what do you all think?”
The first one to speak was Andras. “I like this. Let’s try it.”
Next, Luc said, “We better not get too drunk. Whoever is paired with me, I’ll hold you responsible.”
Wilder groaned, “Whatever. It’s not like if I say don’t do it, you will listen to me. And for the record, I’m drinking beer, that’s it.”
We all turned to Dagon, and I was sure he would say this was stupid, but he surprised me for the second time that evening. “Let’s do it. I’m with Andras.”
“It doesn’t work like this. We draw a name from a piece of paper, and that’s how we choose our partner. But we will do it after the 20/20.”
“Fine. What about the challenges?”
I jumped from the couch at Dagon’s question and ran to the drawers under the board games. I pulled out the glass bowl full of folded papers and said, “These are our challenges.”
“That’s a lot.” Luc’s eyes widened.
Yeah, it was. But when we had planned this, we had hoped it wouldn’t be just Bren and me. Hence, the big bowl stuffed full of hundreds of challenges.
“The more, the better.”
We cleared the table, leaving only Bren’s sandwiches and the alcohol. I locked eyes with Bren, and we shared a mischievous smile. Dear brothers, you had no idea what you’d just signed up for.