Page 6 of Dirty Roulette
They met at a party Charlie and I crashed. Brody showed up, and he claimed her the second he set eyes on her. The hourglass figure, her dark long hair, her smooth skin. PlusThe virgin label. It’s all he’s ever wanted.
The night of our graduation we found out he slept with Brittni, who happened to have been her brother’s girlfriend at the time. That was a dumpster fire within itself. The dude is a leach who throws more red flags than a referee, and Charlie’s oblivious to every one of them.
Unplanned sleepovers, a twenty-dollar bill, and a spontaneous trip to the mall where we would take millions of pictures while modeling ridiculously overpriced clothes used to be our routine. We were attached at the hip in a way I never was with anyone else. Charlie and I spent over a decade together – inseparable during elementary, middle, and high school. We were always together chilling, watching horror movies, and binge-eating pizzas. Recently, all that had been changing though.
Charlie’s parents weren’t on the best of terms and I spent nights in her room listening to their arguments, and hearing the violence that accompanied it. We’d both lay in silence in her bed, staring up intospace as her mom’s sobs could be heard in every corner of the house. When summer hit, her dad left.
Coping included partying, smoking pot twenty-four-seven, and thenBrody. Those choices didn’t sit well with Charlie’s mom. They were always at each other’s throats, either about our late-night drinking binges or about Brody being toxic as hell.
Other nights, Charlie argued with Brody. He had the habit of attending frat parties, and would ghost her for hours without a word. Cleat Chasers were always drooling over him and Charlie doesn’t handle jealousy well.
Brody complained nonstop about her stupid rule of waiting a year before sleeping together. Then he saidIwas the problem. He wanted her to choose between us, which led me and Charlie to fight, slam doors, and ignore each other for days on end. If she keeps falling back into his arms, I’m afraid I’ll watch my best friend walk out of my life for good.
I clear my throat, swallowing the urge to cuss Charlie out, because I watched her click the block button once again. Now I’m staring at his profile picture, and it burns a hole in my chest because at some point today the temptation to unblock him won.
Charlie opens her inbox, and his picture flashes at the top with numerous unread messages. He wrote to her less than an hour ago. She scrolls through them with kisses and hearts. She responds fast before I can read anything else.
Charlie pulls down the sun visor and gushes at her reflection in the mirror. “Are you ready to get trashed tonight?” She asks.
I roll my eyes and stare out into orange streetlights with bugs buzzing about. She knows damn well I eyeballed her phone, but she casually pretends nothing happened.
“I’m excited for Brittni and her cheerleading gang to die from alcohol poisoning. Goodbye bitches, I’ll remember y'all in therapy.” The words slip off my tongue like a venomous snake.
Charlie laughs and says, “They aren’t that bad... well, scratch that. Brittni can choke.”
“You’re lucky. They actually want to be friends with you.”
“Brittni only had a problem with you because you hover over Ryder.” Charlie takes in a drag of her cigarette. “And if you lighten up and quit the emo façade, they might actually take a liking to you.”
“I don’t hover over your brother.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t lie.” Charlie hangs her arm out the window and smoke spirals from the cigarette. “But Brittni and him aren’t together, and we haven’t seen her all summer. So let’s cross our fingers that she’s over him and she’s not a cunt anymore.”
“Are you over her sleeping with Brody?” I throw my two cents in and watch her curl her bottom lip between her front teeth. She flicks the cigarette ash and takes in another drag.
“Yeah... sure. I’m over it.” She lifts both eyebrows and puckers her lips. “Once they get their bottle of vodka, we’re in.”
“See, you aren’t over it. She’s a bitch. They’re using us. At some point, they will use the theft as leverage and get us to do other shit for them.”
“Chill with your conspiracies.” She dabs the cigarette bud on the side of the Jeep before flicking it to the street.
“Brittni’s not a good person or friend.”
“Stop reminding me she slept with him.” Charlie huffs. “I just wanna have fun tonight.” She reaches for the purse and paws the alcohol out, not wasting a second to twist off the cap. Dipping her head back, she downs a swig, and scrunches up her nose. “Holy mother ofgod, that’s nasty.” The vodka sloshes, and she hands it to me by the neck.
With two fingers, I plug my nose and take a shot. I gag at its horrific taste burning down my throat. My phone buzzes, and my heart skips a beat when a little red crab pops up in a notification on the screen. I swipe open to see I have an unread message and I type up a quick reply.
Crab:Hey cutie, do you steal jeeps often?
Payton:Not my fault you weren’t looking.
Crab:Where the hell are you two?
Payton:The usual, robbing banks and other shenanigans.
Crab:Real funny.
Payton:Trouvez-Moi
