Page 65 of Giving In

“Here,” he hands it to me. “You’re gonna need it.”

I reluctantly take the drink and he puts a hand at the back of my neck, guiding me around and out of the kitchen. I let him, still wondering at what point am I going to be able to stop this? At what point is he going to get bored?

The music is much louder in the hallway. We cross a good chunk of the house until we make our way down twisted wooden stairs leading to a basement. It’s a space with bean bags spread everywhere, big enough to host a few friends in a quieter, more private area of the house.

A giant flat screen hangs on the wall and too many consoles to count rest under it. The lights are dimmed, the mood intimate.

When Jake and I get downstairs, Chris, Camila, Rachel, Beth, and Jason are already sitting on bean bags spread around a round marble coffee table that probably costs more than the quarterly rent for my house. I spot a couple making out on a bean bag in the corner of the room. According to the light blond hair, I’d say it’s Luke, but he’s on top of a girl and this part of the room is way too dark to make out who the other person is.

Camila’s eyes dart to Jake’s hand on my neck and I feel so uneasy I twist to try and push him away. He tightens his grip and gives me a look so dark it freezes me on the spot. Does he not see she’s right here? Does he not understand that this is wrong on so many levels even if shewasn’there?

When he starts walking again, I’m forced to follow until Camila scoots over, inviting Jake to sit between her and Rachel. He stops a few steps away from the table. I can sense him hesitate for a beat and I don’t know what to do with myself.

Thankfully someone else is walking downstairs and what seems like a split second later, a hand lays on the small of my back. Before I have time to look, I hear Rose’s raspy voice. She’s speaking low enough that only Jake and I can hear her.

“Any explanation as to why you’re dressing your new toy with my shit, Jake? Are we back in kindergarten?”

Jake lets out a low chuckle and his grip lessens, allowing me to let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. My brain is screaming at me to run away as quickly as I can while simultaneously sending images of my mom being arrested for stealing from the coffee shop’s till.

“I don’t know, are you going to steal my toy?” Jake asks.

She laughs before pulling her hand away and putting it in the pocket of her chinos. “Nah, you can keep that one.”

“Then no, we’re not back to kindergarten.”

“Glad to hear. F. Y. I, that’s your girlfriend over there. Might want to keep your hands to yourself, I don’t want no murder tonight even though she’d be well in her right to kill you.”She doesn’t wait for a reply and goes to sit between Camila and Rachel. She smiles at Camila’s frown.

“What? You didn’t keep that seat for me?” she asks innocently as she puts an arm around Rachel’s shoulders.

Camila makes space again and Jake walks over still holding me. He sits on Camila’s left and pushes me down to his left so I’m sitting between him and Rose.

When Camila gives him a dangerous look followed by a head gesture toward me, he smiles back at her. “What? I can’t sit next to my sister for this game. Would be awkward.”

I still have no idea what game they’re talking about, but Camila seems stuck and she can’t say anything but mutter a ‘right’.

Everything Jake and Rose do always looks planned even if they never have to talk to each other about it.

Chris is sitting right across from me and I do my best to avoid his stares. I put my cup on the table next to Jake’s and wait while Beth shuffles a pack of big black cards with the words ‘Do or Drink’ written in white on the back.

Jake takes his phone out and leans toward my side to whisper in my ear, “Do you want to see how I make Chris do what I want? It’s fun, you’ll see.”

I frown in confusion as I turn my face to him but understand when I see the text he’s typed.

Jake: I’ll go easy on her if you come sit next to her.

When I look up from the phone Chris and Jake are in a staring contest. Jake has a smug smile on his face and Chris’s jaw is tightening by the second, muscles ticking below his ears.

“What are you playing at?” I whisper angrily at him. “Haven’t you done enough tonight?”

“What? Aren’t you in love with him or something?”

“I’m not–”

“Whatever, he makes you wet, Angel, and so do I. I want you between him and I. So, you keep your pretty mouth shut and let me do what I want.”

Rage is boiling inside me and I put my hands on the table to push myself up. I can’t do this. I can’t do everything Jake says. I never could, it’s just not in my nature to bend to someone else’s will. I don’t understand how Camila can stay with him. Maybe she likes it, but I don’t. I can’t. I start pushing myself up but a hand on my shoulder pushes me back down and when I look up, Chris is sitting down next to me, forcing me to stay down with him.

“Come on, Angel, you were doing so good tonight.” Jake puts his hand on my other shoulder and I’ve never felt so trapped in my life.

---