Page 77 of Chaotic Anger

“Hey, Sage. Come find us if you need us.”

He nods without looking up.

“I’ll be back to check on her shortly.” He looks up, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets as he appraises me.

“Wipe your drool, Sage. She’s taken.” She laughs at him.

He wipes his mouth, turning so he faces the door. “My bad.” He lifts his beer, guzzling the remainder of it in obvious shock.

Violet pulls me down the hallway towards the stairs. The heavy metal is exactly as I expected, blasting through the speakers at max volume. I haven’t listened to any type of music besides Hispanic music in the last five years, so I’m not even sure what’s popular anymore.

Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, my eyes widen at the amount of people that have filled the clubhouse. Bodies fill the bar area all the way to the couches with the TV, and every space in between.

The door to the outside is propped open, and people flow in and out seamlessly with drinks and food that Haley has been preparing throughout the day.

Heads turn our way as we walk through the main area. I stick close to Violet, and she nods and says hello to pretty much every person in the room.

We make it to the bar, and I watch as Haley takes care of everyone effortlessly. The amount of people asking for her attention would drive me insane, but she does so without batting an eye. She does make a smart comment or call someone out every once and a while, but otherwise manages the bar as if she’s done this a million times.

The scent of marijuana and alcohol permeates the air. It smells like must and smoke and bad behavior in here, mixed with barbeque and women’s perfume.

“Do you want to drink?” Violet asks.

I shrug. I don’t know. I don’t drink often, save for the occasional glass of champagne Santiago would let me drink.

“Are you allowed to drink? You’re only sixteen.” I ask her.

She rolls her eyes. “I’ll drink whether or not they allow it anyway. They try and cut me off after a couple, but…” She shrugs. “No taming this Little Red Riding Hood.”

I smile at her. “I’ll take whatever you’re having.”

“Haley! Two Jack and Coke!”

Haley raises her eyes at us, shaking her head as she whips together two drinks for us. “Don’t make me regret serving you tonight, Vi.”

Violet raises her drink. “No promises.”

I lift the murky colored drink in front of me and take a drink, instantly wincing at the overwhelming taste of whiskey hitting my tongue.

“Not a big drinker?” Violet smiles at me.

“Not so much.” I clear my throat and set the drink down. “I wonder where Aziel is?”

She looks over her shoulder at the crowd behind us. “The guys are always pulled somewhere during these parties. They’re always busy, you know? This is a time where they finally don’t deal with business and can let loose a bit.”

I see Cassius sitting on a chair with a playboy bunny sitting on his lap. He plays with her bunny ears as she flaunts her oversized cleavage in his face. “Letting loose for sure.”

Violet stands up, straightening her red dress and fixing her curls. “We need to do something. We can’t just sit at the bar all night.”

“We just sat down.” I lift my eyebrows at her.

“I know, but it’s the Halloween party. Look at how creepy it is in here. It’s fucking awesome. I want to get tipsy and have some fun.”

I look around, seeing the orange string lights hanging from the ceilings and creepy skeletons. There’s a smoke machine creating a fog in the room, and a Freddy Krueger walks through it with a slutty nurse on his arm.

“It’s pretty badass. You did a good job.”

“Look! There’s West. Let’s go bug him.” She grabs her drink off the bar and pulls on my arm. I glance at my drink and decide to leave it there. I’m probably not going to touch much of it anyway.

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