Craaven

Chapter 17: Mortemville, Montana 1980 August 7th

It's my birthday today but, like all the rest of the birthdays I've had, I didn't feel a need to celebrate it. Especially now because the goddamn kid shares my birthday... Just my luck. So, not only was I practically ignored throughout the entire pregnancy but now, until the day I die, I'll be overlooked on every single birthday. God, I hate birthdays...

Still, I wanted to somewhat feel better about today, so I decided to hang out at the park to see if my friends would show up. To my relief, all three showed up a few hours after I did and we sat by a cluster of trees to talk and joke around. I kept the subject of my birthday out of the picture and thankfully, it left my mind completely after a while.

It was nearing afternoon when Steven stated that the park was starting to get busy and we should go somewhere else. We thought for a while about what to do before Sarah stated we should all go to Steven's house. Everyone agreed on that idea pretty quickly and we began the rather lengthy walk to Steven's place, talking and laughing the whole way.

I had never been to Steven's house, so I was pretty nervous but excited. It felt as if I was being welcomed into a secret club and I was afraid I would do something wrong to upset them and kick me out of the club. Still, I kept my cool the entire time to make it seem as if I weren't desperate for affirmation.

"Well, here we are!" Steven announced after a while and unlocked the front door for us. We all stepped inside, with me coming in last. His house was decently disorganised, with a few messes here and there, but it wasn't absolutely horrid. It was a comfortable mess that made the home well lived in and I didn't feel scared that I would upset anyone for making a mess accidentally.

The only thing that seemed distractingly obvious, was an odd smell that lingered in the air. It was pungent and earthy and made my eyes water slightly but didn't seem to bother Sarah or Michael.

We walked through the house to a living room, where two other grown men sat on a couch with pipes in their hands. That's when it finally hit me what I was smelling and I grew uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Sarah and Michael greeted the two men, who waved back with stupid smiles on their faces. Sarah introduced them to me and I learned their names were Brian and Sam. They seemed fun enough, so I didn't become too uncomfortable around them and I allowed myself to sit in the lounge chair across from the couch. Sarah sat in front of me while Michael sat on the couch. Steven had disappeared into the kitchen and I assumed it was for food.

Sure enough, he came back and handed us all plates of food (except Brian and Sam) and sat down on the arm of the couch. The five of them talked about all sorts of things while I remained relatively quiet. I didn't have much to say and I was afraid I would say something odd so I mostly just kept my mouth shut.

That is until one of Steven's roommates asked me a question.

"Hey, Ed, have you ever smoked?" Brian wondered and all eyes suddenly went on me. I suddenly felt as if I had been put on the spot so, shifting uncomfortably in my seat but still trying to seem calm, I responded casually, "Yeah, I've smoked a few times."

I guess my lie was a little too believable because after I had said that, Brian offered his pipe to me.

"Oh-" I chuckled sheepishly, "No thanks, I'm not really in the mood to go home high," I waved Brian off.

"Come on! You're not gonna go home high, we'll make sure of it!" Brian urged with a smile. Everyone in the room agreed with him and Sarah even nudged my knee playfully to tell me it was not a big deal. I still didn't want to but I had already said I smoked so it would seem odd that I'm refusing to now.

So, suddenly very nervous, I sighed and said, "Alright but if I get in trouble, I'm blaming you guys," the two men agreed and Brian passed the pipe to Steven, who then passed it to Sarah, who held it up for me. The pipe was, thankfully, already lit for me so I didn't have to worry about embarrassing myself by asking what I do. I just had to let out a deep breath before inhaling again from the pipe.