Page 8 of Hellraiser

He didn’t object. Instead, he fell into a relaxed silence as I watched the smoke from the blunt curl into the darkness. I felt a sense of peace I hadn’t expected to find in such a high-stakes situation.

After our conversation and smoking the blunt down until it burned our fingertips, Dre and I headed back inside the clubhouse. My limbs felt heavy as I slid the jacket off my shoulders and lazily returned it to him. The warmth of the space made me feel tired, but suddenly, I realized how hungry I was. My stomach growled audibly, which caused me to giggle.

“I’m pretty sure I havethe munchies real bad,” I confessed.

Dre grinned, understanding the feeling. “Come on. We’ve got some leftover chili and cornbread one of the prospects made. It’s pretty good.”

He led me into the kitchen, and I hopped onto the counter, watching Dre move around to fix me a bowl. He pulled a pot from the fridge and started heating the leftover chili on the stove.

I noticed a bag of unopened Doritos on the counter as I waited. Unable to resist, I snatched it, tore it open, and munched away. The comforting, salty snack relieved my urgent hunger pains. After hearing the loud crunch of the chips between my teeth, Dre looked over his shoulder and caught me in mid-bite.

“Your hungry asscouldn't wait, huh?” he teased.

I grinned, unable to respond with a mouthful of Cool Ranch chips.

I swung my head in a no before covering my mouth before I spoke. “Nope. Too hungry.”

Dre laughed, shaking his head as he stirred the chili.

“I guess I can’t blame you. Those Cool Ranch chips do hit when you high.”

I nodded in agreement. “Oh my God, right!”

“This chili’s gonna taste even better now. Watch.”

Soon, the scent of the well-seasoned chili wafted past my nose, causing my stomach to growl even louder. I continued snacking on the chips, enjoying the moment of lightheartedness between us.

After a few minutes, Dre scooped the steaming chili into a bowl and handed it to me with warmed square of cornbread and a spoon on the side.

“Here you go. Be careful, though. It’s hot.”

Eager to taste it, I took a spoonful, blowing on it to cool it down before putting it in my mouth. My tastebuds rejoiced at the flavors, and I nodded eagerly.

“Wow!This isreallygood.”

“Worth the wait, right?”

“Oh, for sure.”

Dre smiled, pleased to see me enjoying the food. “Glad you like it. A few of the Savages are talented cooks.”

“Kudos to whoever made this, for real. It’s amazing.”

I savored the chili, feeling a bit more human with each spoonful. Sharing a blunt and a meal with Dre made me feel thankful for the small slice of normalcy amid the madness.

I woke up the following day to the bright sunlight filtering through the open gray curtains. The room was quiet, and for a second, I’d forgotten where I was and how much shit I was in. As I shifted and stretched under the sheets, I rolled over to see Dre sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless and staring at me. The unexpected sight of him made me squeeze my thighs together. It was the first time he’d gotten that close since he brought methere, having avoided the bed altogether and barely spending any time in the room with me as if I had a contractible disease.

He grunted. “Good afternoon.”

I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before reaching for my phone. “Afternoon? What time is it?”

“Almost two-thirty. You were tired, so I let you sleep.”

The first thing I did was check my email. There was one from my boss. My heart somersaulted when I read the subject line,URGENT: New Deadline. I opened the email, quickly scanning its contents. My frustration grew with each word. Mr. Charles worded his email to make sure I felt the pressure.

“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath.

“You good? You look upset.”

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