Page 23 of Deck of Scarlets

Heather tapped her fingers on her knee, looking over her hand as she said, “What’s your class schedule like this semester?”

I realized that as roommates, the one thing we had never discussed was our semester schedule. Shifting the cards around in my hands, I reorganized the order, trying to judge from the half-decent hand if anything was worth salvaging. “A lot of intro classes. I’m dreading the math portion.”

Heather tossed a couple more yellow chips in the center. “Did you score low on the placement exam?”

I matched her chips in the middle. “I scored well enough to get into a normal math class. That’s the problem.” Jeremy was the sole reason I passed any math classes in high school. Now who was I going to cheat off of?

Heather flipped over the second card. An ace of spades. “Math isn’t all that bad.”

I knew my hand was shit from the beginning. “Easier for you to say. That’s your major.”

She laughed and then shoved all her remaining chips in the middle. “I’m feeling risky tonight.”

I followed suit because the probability of me actually winning any games tonight was nonexistent, so I truly had nothing to lose.

The card lineup was a king of spades and an ace of spades. If she flipped another over of the same suit, I was royally fucked, because knowing Heather, she had an unbeatable hand.

Heather massaged the card on top of the deck, prolonging the inevitable, because I knew deep in my bones this bitch was going to win.

She flipped, revealing a fucking jack of spades.

“Holy shit! A royal flush! My first one!” She revealed her hand, the other two spades, a ten, and a queen.

What the actual fuck. I knew the probability of someone getting a royal flush in a poker game was a slight chance, but of course she got it as we played for fun. “You’re impossible to beat,” I sighed, throwing my cards on top of the mound of chips.

“I’m not that good,” she commented.

I shook my head in disbelief. “Girl, you’re freakishly good at this game. Either you can read my mind, or you have a horseshoe up your ass.”

Heather grinned as she began to collect the poker chips in the drawstring bag. “My dad taught me when I was seven. That’s how I was able to swindle the crap out of my two older brothers.” She then gathered the cards, only she flipped the ace of spades in her hand. “I always seem to get this card, no matter who deals. I call that a sign of good luck.”

Aces were known to be the highest-ranking cards in a standard deck, a sign of strength and authority. I’d barely had any in the hands she dealt me.

“Anyways, that was fun. Let me know if you want to play again sometime.” Kicking the boxed deck and bag back under her bed, Heather got herself comfortable under the giant flower quilt.

Crawling back under my own covers, I tried to stifle a loud yawn and failed miserably.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up so late,” Heather expressed with regret.

“It’s okay. Today was a lot to process.”

She started to pick at the details in her quilt, biting her lip as if she were debating her next words.

“What is it?” I asked.

Heather’s striking green eyes flashed an uneasy look. “Are we okay?”

Ah, shit. A clear path was laid out in front of me to ask, yet I couldn’t form the words on my tongue. Did I want to go there with Heather? Would she react the same as Josh did when I asked about the Order of the Scarlet Quill? Now I was having second thoughts. Our poker night had solidified a possible friendship, and it was the first time an honest one came from nothing but sharing a single room.

I chose the latter. “Yeah, I’m fine. The adjustment is a little tough.”

Her reply was simply turning off the light, and for once, I appreciated the silent goodnight.

I waited until her soft breathing filled the silence and slipped my hand under my pillow, feeling the cool metal flask in my hands. The first sip gave me relief, the second gave me peace, and the third threatened a path I wasn’t sure I could come back from.

But the numbness that followed helped me sleep a little easier that night.

Chapter Ten

---