Page 82 of Possession

“And who got it?” demands one of the boys.

“Andrew managed to steal some from the botanist,” Simon adds with a roll of his eyes.

“You’re welcome,” says Andrew. He doesn’t speak loudly, but he can easily be heard over the music, which seems like it’s shaking the walls. It has to be at full blast, but my ears don’t hurt at all.

Another spell?

“When Simon said you were coming, I knew I had to amp it up a bit,” Andrew continues. His eyes are on me, and I meet his stare. There’s something strange in them, something I can’t put my finger on. And his voice. I know I’ve heard it before.

With a jolt, I recall his lips twisted in a sneer, shouting untrue things. Andrew watches me recognize him, his gaze careful and assessing.

“You want a drink?” Simon asks, interrupting our moment.

I glance at the boy beside me and fumble for words. “Uh…”

“Don’t worry. It’s just alcohol. No eye of newt or anything like that,” says Simon. When I don’t respond, he shrugs and reaches for an opened bottle of rum, pouring some in a plastic cup he tops with soda.

I just watch him. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to be here. They’re all younger than me, except for maybe Andrew, and there are probably rules here about drinking and whatever it is they’re smoking.

“Looks like she could use a drink,” the boy sitting next to Andrew says.

Simon glances at me, a brow raised. His face is open, as it was before, and I find myself nodding for some reason.

He makes me something almost identical to his own and goes to hand it to me, but I shake my head. “You drink first,” I say.

Simon’s brows raise again, and he meets my eyes and drinks without argument. “That enough?” he asks after swallowing.

I hesitate for a moment. “Yeah,” I murmur before accepting the cup from him. Now I’m embarrassed.

“I’m guessing you’ve been to some crazy parties,” Simon says with a grin.

“Just one.” I take a cautious sip. It tastes fine to me, but I don’t know what to look for. I hold the cup tightly in my hands and take another drink. It would be nice to have some courage, and alcohol gives that.

The boys start coughing in the background, laughing and talking over one another, and Simon grins at me. “I’m going to get some root. I’ll be right back,” he says.

I go to protest, but he’s gone before I can make a sound, climbing on the bed and elbowing into a turn with the pipe. I take another drink, suddenly awkward, and my eyes thoughtlessly go back to Andrew. Like he can feel my gaze, he glances back while his friend talks to him.

He was not one of the worst, but he was mean, and that was enough. I remember his words.

I hear Andrew say something about being back soon before he starts walking over. There’s no time to consider, much less decide what to do; I’m frozen, and in just a few seconds he’s in Simon’s old seat, right next to me.

“So, I guess you recognize me,” he says. Andrew begins to fix himself a drink. Not looking at me.

“Yes,” I say eventually.

“I’m a little older than these guys. Just a year, but I had guard duty.” He pours some liquor into a cup. Again, I hear the trickle, though there’s music blasting.

He sets the bottle down and finally looks at me. “You know, I’m sorry about all that,” he says, scratching the back of his head. “But if you knew half of what we were told… I mean, if you knew half of what he did to people…”

“I get it.”

He grins, instantly relieved. “Bygones, right?”

“Right,” I say.

Andrew takes a drink and makes a face. “This stuff is strong,” he tells me, shaking his head. I guess his apology is over.

Before I can say anything, Simon comes over coughing and declaring that we’re going to watch a movie. Andrew agrees.

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