Page 75 of Shadowman
I lost all of my friends. O’Malley, Dash, Luthor, Ren, Joy… They’re either dead, gone, orpreoccupied. And it’s all thanks to that prissy little shithead Felix Darcey.
Soexcuse the hell out of mefor not wanting to chill with the guy. He fucked up everything.
I’m seething while simultaneously cowering inside. And no one cares… Not a single person in this room full of people is worrying aboutme, wondering ifI’mokay.
“Hey, you want the rest of my juice?” Luthor’s voice cuts into my deep wallowing, and I glance up to find him smiling at me.
I release the tiniest bit of hostility and stop feeling sorry for myself for just long enough to shake my head. His smile slips off, and he nods. But becauseheis a good guy, he doesn’t stop there.
“You still got that deck of cards?”
I clear my throat, working up the energy to converse with him. He’s trying, and I shouldn’t blame him for the way I feel. Yes, I’m annoyed with him for siding with Darcey, and I’m disappointed in him for climbing right back up Ren’s ass like he has amnesia or something. But he’s still my friend, and I should at least try giving him the benefit of the doubt.
“Uh, yea…” I mutter, sounding every bit as unenthused as I am.
“Cool,” he chirps. “You should bring it tomorrow. We can play Texas Hold ’Em.”
“That game sucks,” Ren groans, resting his head on Luthor’s shoulder. “Let’s play strip poker!”
“Babe… shut up,” Luthor grumbles.
I almost crack a smile. But then I remember I’m pissed and force it away.
Resting bitch face: activate.
“What about Blackjack?” Luthor asks me specifically, eagerness on his face.
Now I feel like a child of divorce whose dad is dating someone new and is trying to make up for missing my last however many baseball games by being extra present.
It’s the pity, man. I can’t stand it.
I don’t need anyone’s fucking charity.
“It’s not fun with only two people,” I grunt. “One of us has to be the dealer.”
“Well, we could invite someone else to play,” he suggests with hopefulness in his green eyes.
“Like who?” I squint at him. He shifts and parts his lips, but I cut him off. “Don’t you dare say Darcey.”
“I wasn’t going to say Darcey…” He frowns. But I can tell he was thinking it. “What about… Simmons?”
“Man, I hate that guy,” Ren gripes. “What’s up with his laugh?? He sounds like a creepy clown in a haunted maze…”
“Why are you such a downer?” Luthor snaps at him.
But Ren just grins and pinches his cheeks. “We can’t all be beautiful, glowing rays of sunshine like you, baby boy.”
Luthor’s face visibly flushes, and he bites his lip to cover that enamored former-virgin smile he’s been rocking lately. My jaw clamps, and I canfeelthe hatred I’m about to spew everywhere. Before it happens, I stand up and grab my tray, unable to help the scoff that flees my lips.
Dumping the rest of my food into the trash, I linger by the doorway, wondering if anyone would even notice if I just walked out…
Glancing left, then right, I inch toward the door.
“Where you think you’re going?” Joy scolds, though her lips are slanted into a small smirk.
I sigh. “Nowhere. Are we done in here yet?”
Her brows zip. “You got someplace to be?”
