Drowned
Chapter 2
"We're here." Matthew killed the engine and pulled the brakes as the vehicle came to a stop. Lila was the first one to open the door, and I came out just after her at the driver's side where Matthew and I met eyes. He slammed the door behind him, and pulled a box of cigarettes from his pocket as Lila rolled her eyes over her and left.
"Do you smoke?" Matthew pulled one, and handed me the pack. "I prefer not to," I replied, gently pushing his hands to his chest which made him lean back onto the car and began lighting up the stick. He took his first puff, and when the bud left his lips, he said, "I wish she was here."
I wished...
The place was already a mess when we arrived; party lights, discoballs, plastic cups littered everywhere, bottles of liquor, buds of cigarettes, as if someone had trashed the place. "What happened?" My eyes wandered as we headed for the main door. "Yeah, shit went down." Matthew reckoned with a plain smile.
I stepped in, and was greeted with an empty house. To my complete opposite expectation, the inside of the house was clean. The table was set nicely with a white sheet, chairs were tuck below it, and scented candles were glowing from the darkened room. It felt romantic in a way.
"Where is everybody?"
"Some of the guests have already left. So, Lila and I decided to clean the house for a bit before inviting you over," Matthew replied.
"So, there's no party?" I asked in complete confusion, and was immediately answered by a voice that came down from the basement.
"Oh yeah, Gavin is here." Lila pointed, guiding me down the stairs. The steps made a creaking noise with every step we took down, and when we met at the door, Gavin poked his head from one of the rooms at the end of a narrow hall.
"You guys are back!" He said, waving at us approaching. "Meet the gang!" He followed, pointing at the room with his open palms.
Once inside, the moment I stepped into the room, three more guys greeted me with a simple wave. I know they are from school as I see them everyday, but just like everybody else, I couldn't remember their name, not like they are worth remembering anyway.
Apparently, one of the guys' names was Seo. I think he is an exchange student who takes physics and chemistry bloc's. A typical Asian guy at school, I guess. The other one was Louise, I think she is in the photography club, either way, I couldn't care less about them.
They were all sitting around a circle. Gavin pulled one chair from the stockroom across the halls, placed it beside him, and beckoned me to sit down with him. More while, others had already started drinking, when the first shot gunned to my radar, the party officially spun.
Every shot from the bottle became heavier, and as the night progressed, the liquor felt thicker like a blade chiselling down my throat.
"Ok!" Gavin clapped his hand, getting everyone's attention at the circle. "Now everybody's warmed up. Why don't we play a game?"
Everyone looked at each other, murmuring, and changing glances as Gavin layed out the rules of the game to us.
"What game?" Seo curiously asked. Which in my opinion is the worst thing he's done that night. Gavin stared at us one by one as his lips moulded into a thick smirk. "Spin the bottle, truth or dare."
It's a classic. Everybody knows the game, played it, and some even swore not to play it again, especially in this kind of scenario where everybody is shitfaced.
The rules were simple: Gavin spins the bottle, whoever gets picked first will be the one questioned, and when the second time the bottle is spun, they will be the one asking the questions to the said person.
