A Harrington Halloween

The Aftermath

After the dance, Steve had picked Dustin and me up. We dropped Dustin at home and then drove to our house. He stopped the car, and we both stared at the garage door. Our mother was standing there, holding a brown grocery bag.

"You have to be kidding me. It can't be tonight,"

"Steve... does that mean it's Bets night?"

"Yep. Brown paper bag at 9:00 pm, and a drunk mother,"

I slowly got out of the car and shut my door. Caytlinn did the same and we walked up to the front door.

"Do we have to?"

"She saw us,"

"Steve I don't want to drink tonight,"

"It's either that or you know what,"

"But..."

"It's fine. I'll be right there with you. We don't really have a choice,"

Steve interlaced his fingers in mine and pushed the door open. Loud music came flooding into my ears and I bit the inside of my lip.

"Hey kiddos, want to play Bets?" my drunk mother asked, holding up a case of beer.

"Sure. May I change?" I asked, knowing the answer would be no.

"No. You're fine just come sit with us already,"

I looked up at Steve, and he nodded. This best night turned into the worst night ever. Steve and I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table. My dad sat down across from us and threw a deck of cards on the table.

Whenever Steve and I played, we either bet on candy or chores, but when we play with our parents it's always betting on the amount of beer we can intake. It was the worst game ever. Steve always tried to cheer me up afterward, but it never worked.

"So. How much are you two betting tonight?" my mother asked.

I looked at Steve and he looked back at me. I didn't want to bet too much, but I knew if I bet too little, my parents would double it.

"Three and a half," I muttered.

"Oh come on. You can do more than that!"

"Six,"

"Eight and a double," Steve muttered.

"Perfect. Let's start,"

Steve's POV

Three hours later and with several cans of beer, I had to carry Caytlinn upstairs. I opened my door and set her on my bed. She groaned and curled into a ball. She never could handle her alcohol because she was young. I never understood why our parents made her drink, but they did. I pulled the covers over her and she mumbled something.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get you some water. And some bread. Okay?"

I didn't understand what Caytlinn mumbled, but I understood the groan. I had several of those groans before. I headed back downstairs and grabbed a glass of water. I ran back upstairs and set the glass on my bedside table.

"Steve... Snowball... Dustin..."

"Hey. Drink this okay? It's gonna make your headache go away. Please, for me?" I asked, holding the glass in front of her face and I knelt down.

Caytlinn groaned and reached for the glass of water. Her fingers fumbled for it, and she finally grabbed it. She took a long gulp before handing me the glass back. She curled tighter into a ball, and a few seconds later I heard snoring coming from Caytlinn.

"STEVE! Come down here please!" my dad shouted.

I didn't want to leave Caytlinn, but I had to. I shut my bedroom door, and slowly made my way downstairs. My dad practically jumped on me, drunk out of his mind.

"So. Stevie, want to go another round?" he slurred.