No More Wasting Time

Chapter 14

I waited outside the cabin for about thirty minutes. I was more than sure that they knew I was here, they had to have heard the truck driving up. But no one came out and I was scared to go in. Diego didn't seem mad when I left and Hector doesn't like to put his two cents in, he just goes along with it. Charlie's car was already parked when I pulled up and if anything, I was sure that they would be more than willing to kick me out and make me sleep in the car. I was trying to justify my actions to calm me down but that just seemed to make me more nervous.

"Come on, Caden. Stop being a little bitch and go in," I mumbled to myself and opened the truck door.

My stomach felt heavy with nerves and I had to swallow to not let anything come out. I was shaking a bit and I wasn't sure if it was due to the wind or if it was the nerves. I slowly closed the truck door and began to walk towards the door. As I got closer I could hear chatting inside but I couldn't make out any of the words they were saying. Should I knock? Should I just walk in? What the hell was I supposed to do?

"It's open Caden!" I heard Charlie yell and a moment later she opened the door with a small smile. "It's freezing outside, come on inside."

"Thanks," I mumbled yet again and walked inside, making sure to close the door behind me. 

"We were waiting for you to eat, though some of us already had some sips of the alcohol."

Everyone was sitting around the living room, the food placed on the coffee table with opened and closed beer bottles around. Diego was sitting next to Hector on the floor with their back against the couch, Rosaline was sitting on the kitchen counter with a beer bottle in her hand, and Max was laying down on the couch just staring up at the ceiling. In other words, I had no idea what was going on. I slowly made my way towards the living room, the awkward feeling taking over me still. Max didn't even glance at me but surprisingly, Diego gave me a smile. Though his eyes were half open and his cheeks looked flushed.

"I'm hungry," he slurred.

"Yeah, he said he wasn't going to drink but then he was the first one to grab a bottle," Charlie said, scratching the back of her head. "But he's having fun!"

"Hector," he whined and pouted. "Hungry!"

"Let's eat before he becomes traumatized," Rosaline said with a chuckle and passed around plates. "Here, serve him first. You might need to feed him."

Hector shrugged and prepared two plates while the others waited. Max was slowly sitting up now but he still wasn't even looking at me. I could clearly tell that he was drunk but it looked more like he was fucking high. He turned his head and blinked before his eyes widened and it seemed as if he saw a ghost. I turned to Charlie with a questioning look and she immediately looked at Rosaline who had a guilty look. There's no way, there's no fucking way.

"See, the guy I know that could get us beer also gives me special brownies. Max got to them before I could stop him and tell him."

"Jesus Christ, how many did he have?" I asked and waved a hand in front of his face to which he widened his eyes again and then smiled. "He's fucked up."

"He only had two. He just can't handle it."

"Max? You need to eat."

"Mm-mouth is dry."

"That's all he's saying," Hector said, feeding Diego another bite of food.

"This damn idiot," I muttered and grabbed his jaw, opening his mouth and pouring a bit of water down. "Drink it."

He complained for a bit before swallowing the water. I poured a bit more in his mouth and waited for him to swallow, all until he drank a full bottle. He glared at me and stuck his tongue out to which I flicked and he made an unimpressed look. The others were now deep in conversation, completely ignoring us and leaving me to deal with him. I grabbed a plate of food and slowly made him eat it, watching as he watched my every move. He released a loud sigh and motioned me to come in closer.

"Secret, I have a secret."

"What is it?"

His face was serious the entire time and I feared that he'd tell me something I wasn't supposed to hear or something I didn't want to hear. But nevertheless, I leaned down and waited for him to tell me. A slight shiver went down my spine when I felt his lips graze my earlobe, memories forming in my mind. One of his hands was clutching my shirt while the other was covering my ear from the other so he can tell me his secret.

"You a bitch."

I expected anything, everything, but that. His composure was so stiff and serious, I never thought he'd insult me and name it a secret. He insults me everyday, I was used to them. But it was somehow nice to know that even in a high state, he'd still insult me. The thought made me laugh and soon he was laughing and now we both looked high but only he was. The others were staring at us and for some reason, that made Diego laugh which made Charlie and Hector laugh. Rosaline was just staring at us like we were all idiots.

But just like that, the awkward atmosphere was gone. Everyone started drinking, including Hector and Diego grabbed more alcohol. Random music was playing in the background and Charlie was dancing with Diego for a bit, Hector standing up to catch them if they fell. Max was constantly eating and laughing and Rosaline was actually interacting with us. We played childish games like truth or dare, the punishment of drinking a shot if you didn't complete with your truth or dare. If I was being honest, I don't remember a lot of it.

I was too fucked up. But one thing I do remember, Max was constantly at my side.