Chapter 12 #2
“It’s not,” Finn says to him. “You want to do shit weed, go ahead, but I go for quality. And this guy’s shit is grade A. But since you don’t appreciate it, you’re not getting any.”
“You drove out here to get weed?” I ask.
“Not just any weed,” Finn says. “This shit’s organic. Grown indoors in the guy’s house. Best shit I ever had.”
“He’s a weed connoisseur,” Briggs says. “It all seems the same to me, but whatever.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Finn says. “If you actually did it more, you’d know this shit is awesome.”
Parker turns back to me. “You want to try it?”
“You’re not giving her my weed!” Finn yells. “That’s fucking gold.” He picks up a water bottle from the center console and gulps down half the bottle.
“I’ll pass,” I say.
“You’ve never even tried it, have you?” Briggs says, laughing a little.
I don’t answer, knowing they’ll just make fun of me if I do.
“Bet she doesn’t drink either,” Parker says.
Again, I keep quiet.
“Bet she’s a virgin,” Finn says, laughing.
“Are you?” Parker asks, looking back at me.
“Fuck off,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.
He turns back to the front and talks to Finn. “Maybe she’s not into guys. You ever seen her with one?”
“Nope. And when I touched her, she about lost her shit.”
Briggs leans forward to Finn. “When was this?”
“Remember when I had to get stitches? It was because of her. She fucking bit my lip when I tried to touch her.”
“You said that happened because you got in a fight,” Briggs says, and I swear I hear a hint of anger in his voice. Is it because Finn lied to him or because he touched me?
“It was because of me,” I say. “I told him to stop and he wouldn’t listen so I bit him.”
“You should’ve let me,” Finn says. “Might’ve been the only time a guy touched you.”
Briggs leans back in his seat, his jaw working side-to-side. He seems angry, but why? Why would he care that Finn touched me? Briggs has touched me plenty of times, and somehow he thinks that’s okay, but gets angry if Finn does the same thing?
“You ever been on a date?” Parker asks, seeming way too interested in this. Why does he care?
“Yes, I’ve been on dates,” I snap. “I just choose not to date any of the assholes at school.”
“So have you had sex or not?” he asks.
“Of course I’ve had sex,” I say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Can you just shut up until we get there?” Briggs says to Parker.
“Why? I want to know what she’s done.” He looks back at me. “You ever been drunk?”
“Yes. More than once.” It’s a lie. I’ve had alcohol, but I’ve never been drunk.
I’ve seen too many people get sick from drinking, including Charlotte.
One night, she insisted on sneaking stuff out of her dad’s liquor cabinet and trying it all.
She had way more than I did and puked the whole next day.
That was enough to convince me not to get drunk. I hate throwing up.
“I can’t see you getting drunk,” Parker says. “You don’t seem like someone who would even drink. What about drugs? Yes or no?”
“Just leave her alone,” Briggs says. “She’s not going to tell you the truth. I bet everything she told us is a lie.”
Does he really think that, or is he just saying it to see if I’ll try to convince him otherwise?
Out of the three of them, I find Briggs the hardest to figure out.
Charlotte made that comment about him having another side, a side that wasn’t pure evil, and I know what she means.
Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him being halfway human, but it’s rare and doesn’t last long, so I’m not sure if it’s real or some kind of act.
Finn picks up his water bottle and finishes it off, then tosses the bottle in the back seat, almost hitting me in the face.
“Watch it!” I yell.
He ignores me and messes with his phone. The car swerves, and I slam into Briggs.
“I told you I’m not interested,” he says.
“I wasn’t trying to get near you.” I move back to the side. “Your friend needs to learn how to drive.” I pick up the plastic bottle Finn threw at me and am about to toss it behind me, but catch a whiff of something that doesn’t smell like water. I bring the bottle to my nose. “What was in here?”
“Is Karena going to be there tonight?” Parker says to Briggs.
“I don’t know. Why?”
Parker shrugs. “I just wondered.”
“He’s dumping Scarlett,” Finn says.
“No shit?” Briggs says, leaning forward. “You didn’t tell me you were doing that.”
“Because I haven’t decided.”
Briggs points to Finn. “You told this idiot and not me?”
“I didn’t tell him,” Parker says. “He guessed.”
“See?” Finn says. “I’m not as dumb as you think.”
I sniff the bottle again. “This wasn’t filled with water.”
Briggs looks over at me. “What?”
“This didn’t have water in it. It was filled with alcohol.” I lean up to Finn. “Are you drunk?”
“No,” he says with a hiccup and a laugh.
“Oh my God, you are! Stop the car!”
“She needs to relax,” Finn says to Parker. “She’s too fucking uptight.”
I turn to Briggs. “Make him stop. It’s not safe. We could get in an accident.”
Briggs leans up to Finn. “You been drinking?”
“Maybe,” he says with a laugh. “But I don’t even feel it.”
“Fuck,” Briggs mutters.
“Relax,” Parker says. “He’s fine. He drives better drunk than when he’s sober.”
“Are you serious?” I ask, horrified that Parker actually believes that. “Finn, you need to pull over.”
“No fucking way. I told you nobody drives this thing but me.”
I look up at the road and see a sharp curve just up ahead. “Finn, I’m begging you, pull over!”
Briggs nudges Finn’s shoulder. “Slow down. The road gets windy through here and it’s hard to see.”
“What the fuck’s your problem? I don’t need to slow down. I’ve been on this road a million times.”
I turn to Briggs, gripping his arm and lowering my voice. “Please. Make him stop. He’s drunk. He shouldn’t be driving.”
Briggs glances at me and nods. “Finn, she’s gotta pee. Just pull over.”
“She’ll have to wait. I’m not going to be late to this party.”
We’re almost at the curve now, and Finn speeds up. If he misses the curve, we’ll flip over the edge. It’s not a long way down, but it’s long enough that we could all die. I brace myself and close my eyes, not wanting to see this.
I’m not prepared to die tonight. Why did I go with them? I would’ve been better off with the coyotes and bears.
There’s a loud thud.
“What the fuck was that?” Finn yells as the SUV comes to a screeching halt.
“I think you hit something,” Parker says.
I open my eyes and see Parker and Briggs looking back at the road. We’re past the curve, so at least we made it, but that loud thud didn’t sound good.
“It was probably a deer,” Parker says, turning back to Finn. “You think it damaged the car?”
“Go out and look,” he tells him.
“ You do it. You’re the one who hit it.”
“Just get out and fucking check,” Briggs says.
“And be late to the party?” Finn says. “Fuck that. If it did damage, I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“At least pull up more so we can see what we ran over,” Briggs says.
Finn pulls forward a few feet and stops.
I look back and see something on the road. “I don’t think it’s a deer.”
Briggs turns to look. “Shit.”
“What?” Finn asks. “What is it? A coyote?”
Briggs takes off his seatbelt and turns around to get a better look. “Shit. We’re fucked.”
“What do you mean?” I yank my seatbelt off and turn around, looking out the back window. I gasp when I see it. “Oh my God.”
“What?” Parker says. “What do you see?”
“It’s a guy,” Briggs says, staring out the window. “I think he’s dead.”