Page 35 of Chaos

25

Eris

Night 40

WatchingDrex with Henry and his twin gave insight into his life. The parts that didn’t include me. Until now, that was. I can’t lie, I’d often wondered what Drex did in the times we were apart. Him being a veterinarian wasn’t a thought that ever crossed my mind. At first, I was upset, but realized it wasn’t fair for me to be. He knew as little about me as I did him. If anything, I actually knew more about him than he did of my life. I’d met his sister and Henry.

If I talked about the past, I’d consider telling Drex of mine. However, that wasn’t something I did. Taking about it would mean accepting it, and I knew that to be something I didn’t wish to do. I went to great lengths to conceal every aspect of my past that was possible to do so. Every morning after waking up and showering, I covered the tattoo replica of Noah’s birthmark on my forehead with makeup. That was only the beginning of my cloak I wore to separate the past and present.

To me, Drex was a house of cards; every new piece of his life added a new layer onto the foundation. The more time I spent with him and Courtney, the clearer it became she was the truss to his entire structure. She pushed him, but it was in her second-guessed movements I noticed she handled him with care, as if she was afraid to push him too far, which wasn’t a concern of his in regards to her.

“Three eights.” Drex smirked and then licked his lips as they twitched, trying to hold back a full on smile. He deliberately tried to make us all believe he was bluffing when he told the truth. This time it was in the smirk that gave him away; the last, he “nervously” shook his legs. Neither of which were odd behaviors for most, but for Drex, they were somewhat out of character. When he was around people he considered family, he seemed to relax. This side of Drex was refreshing and almost playful…as playful as Drex was capable of being, I think.

“Bullshit!” Courtney yelled, nodding her head toward the cards her brother had just set onto the pile. Slowly, I shook my head, wondering if they were the worst set of twins in the history of twins or she really couldn’t read Drex at all. The three of them seemed to be competitive with one another, or I would swear she was intentionally letting him win. In fact, Courtney seemed to be the most competitive. She and Henry crammed so much pizza into their mouths earlier I knew one of them was going to choke, but they didn’t. Thinking of the amount of pizza she shoved into her mouth in an attempt to outdo Henry, I was almost certain she wouldn’t let Drex win without a fight.

“Pick ’em up, Lex.” He swiftly flipped the cards face up with the corner of another card and handed her a shot of whiskey.

“Again?” she rhetorically questioned, pressing the glass to her lips, and slung back the whiskey, sticking out her tongue in disgust afterward. She picked up the pile of cards on the table and tucked them among the cards she already had. Perhaps she was just awful at cards. She couldn’t form a bridge when it was her turn to deal. Instead, she gave them to Drex and had him shuffle them for her, and then she dealt them out to everyone.

“We should have made them drink wine,” she was quick to complain, while lightly jabbing me in the side with her elbow.

“I prefer whiskey,” I said, snagging the bottle from Drex and gently sliding it across the table, my eyes never leaving his. His pupils grew as his eyes moved up from my fingers and traveled my arm. Heat stretched over my face and then sank to the far points of my body as his attention zeroed in on my eyes.

Knowing his focus was on my every move both excited and made me uneasy. It was typical for him to confuse every clear course of my body, though. It was rare I only felt one emotion when near him.

The people who made you question things were the ones worth having in your life. Otherwise, how were you to know you were alive and not dead? Being around Drex, I knew without a doubt that I was alive. His presence raged through my fast heartbeat as my mind clashed against my stupid heart’s decision to let him into its walls.

“Your turn, Eris.” Henry cleared his throat after speaking my name.

If I was the type of person who let people know when I was mortified, now would be the instance they would know, but I’m not. I could feel my cheeks flush, but I denied my feet the urge to run as they begged to jet out of the door. I may have had to cross my legs beneath my body to do so, but I still stayed in the room nonetheless.

After taking a large swig of whiskey, I laid two cards down, claiming they were two kings. Honestly, I had no clue what they were, but pulled them from the far right side of the cards in my hand to appear convincing.

Lexie played one ace, in which I knew was a lie, but wasn’t going to call her bluff. All four aces were tucked safely in my hand, but figured she needed a break from the whiskey, especially considering she was the one who had driven us to Henry’s. A fact I hadn’t even considered until now.

“Courtney?” I turned my face to the side as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Hmm. Just call me Lexie. I’m too drunk to answer to both.” She giggled, biting her bottom lip, and pulled the aces from my hand, calling her own bullshit.

“Who is driving us home?” I asked, trying to stifle the pounding concern growing in the pit of my stomach. My only real worry was drinking and driving. I didn’t care if people drank until the point they couldn’t stand. I’d certainly had more than my share of those moments, but I hated those who were selfish enough to get behind the wheel afterward. I really didn’t want to hate her.

“I haven’t drunk,” Drex politely pointed out, running his fingers along the corners of the cards in his opposite hand.

“You,” I began to argue, but then I thought about it and hadn’t actually seen him pour anything into his glass other than cola. A point he reinforced by picking his empty can up and shaking it.

“Nope.” He shook his head and smiled. “I knew Lex would end up trying to outdrink Henry, so I appointed myself as DD.”

Henry informed me that we were welcome to stay at his house, so no one had to drive. Relief inched through my body with the invitation and I hoped Drex would agree. Being alone tonight was a very bad idea. Even if I didn’t want to acknowledge my coping mechanisms of denial weren’t the best, I knew when to walk away.

Dreaming of Noah’s birth had shaken me more than I expected it to. I’d fought to appear as if I was okay on the outside, but internally I was dying. I didn’t want to be at a social event where people were happy, but it was better than being alone.

Normally, when I dreamed of Noah, it was a nightmare. The outcome was always the same, even if the steps were numbered differently. He was gone. Oddly enough, I’d grown to expect the nightmares, and although they did upset me every time I had them, they paled in comparison to the happy memories. At least with nightmares there was no false hope. When you dreamed of death, everything else about the day seemed bearable. Yet on the very rare occasion I dreamed of something happy, it was as if I was losing him all over again.

“Ms. Greyson?” a gruff voice carried through my house, waking me from napping on the couch.

“Are you home?”

Of course, I was home or at least I hoped for his sake I was. Otherwise, he was wasting his time yelling into an empty house. I rolled my eyes and almost smiled, until I turned the corner and the trooper’s eyes connected with my own.

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