Secret Desires

14: Complicated Circumstances

        Dallas laid down his hand, spreading the cards on the floor for us all to see.

        "Straight," he proudly exclaimed. He reached for the pile of candy but Layla smacked his hands with her own cards. He pulled back with an expectant grin.

        "Full house." She chortled as she placed her cards down atop Dallas's. He put his hands on his hips as he shook his head at the cards. He was clearly disappointed. Layla didn't reach for the pile of candy. She instead eyeballed Drew and me. Layla gestured toward the cards in our hands. Drew looked pleased. I had no idea what I had. I thought we were playing something else entirely. I didn't realize we were playing poker.

        Drew gracefully revealed her cards. Layla made a tsking sound. Dallas threw his head back in laughter. Drew's hand consisted of five cards that were in numerical order. They were all diamonds.

        "Straight flush," she boasted. I looked down at my hand and felt my face get heated. I sighed as I tossed my cards down. I wasn't going to announce what I had because I had no idea how to play. They all leaned toward me to see my cards strewn about. Dallas coughed to hide a laugh. It earned him a dirty look from me.

        "Pair," Layla pointed out grinning. She gave me an encouraging smile that made me roll my eyes. There was a forced enthusiasm to her words that made me think my hand was the worse one. Drew hummed cheerfully as she pulled the pile of candy toward her.

        "Wanna play again?" Dallas asked. We all looked at each other, but I wanted to do something else to pass the time. Before anyone could answer him, a muffled voice could be heard right outside the front door. We all kept quiet as we listened closely. I couldn't make out anything. Could they?

        "... please. I miss... " Three words. That's all I could make out. We've been sitting on the living room floor for about twenty minutes now. We were playing UNO but stopped after Dallas and Layla kept arguing over house rules. That's when Drew pulled out a bag of old Halloween candy and a deck of cards.

        "... this before. We're not... " David sounded frustrated. Every now and then we caught snippets of their conversation. It wasn't enough to put together what they were talking about. No one addressed it either. We just went on like nothing was happening right outside the front door. There were about a million questions I wanted to ask, but I didn't think anyone would answer them. David was the one my questions were meant for, but he was still talking to her.

        Vanessa.

        "... you and me. Just... " You and me. Layla made a noise of disgust. She heard what I heard. She was really his ex then. Vanessa was David's ex. Not just his, but Jake's ex as well.

        "... never going to work... " David's voice was the last voice to be heard. We waited to hear what she would say. There was nothing but silence. Layla quietly started to crawl toward the door. Drew tried to grab her ankle but Layla moved quickly.

        "Nosy," Dallas hissed at her. She shushed him as she pushed her hair back. She was inches away from the door, positioning her ear and cupping it. Her face was scrunched as she focused on listening.

        "Is she still here?" I asked, my voice lower than a whisper. She'd heard me though. 

        "I think she's crying again," she whispered back. "Wait, he just told her- "

        Our breathing stopped when we heard a smack. We all looked at one another, confused at first; unsure. Drew's hand was covering her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the door. Dallas's mouth was gaping open as he looked between all of us. I had no idea what I looked like.