Page 35 of Escape the Reaper

The sound of shuffling feet came from the hallway. Dean and I both glanced in that direction. Brenna was zombie-ing her way toward the kitchen in black cotton sleep shorts and a matching black crop top. She was rubbing her eye as she let out a big yawn. Her blonde shoulder-length hair was a mess.

Dean and I watched quietly as she grabbed a mug from a cabinet and went over to the coffee maker. After she filled her mug, she turned around and leaned back against the kitchen counter. She took a sip with her eyes closed. With a sigh, she finally looked over at us. “It’s eight in the morning. Don’t you think it’s a little early to smoke weed?”

Dean and I responded at the same time. “No.”

* * *

The weed this morning had been nice. I was feeling more relaxed than I had in a long fucking time. I should have just spent the whole day getting high. However, that first joint gave me the munchies, and those munchies took me to the kitchen where I saw the liquor cabinet. The idea of a buzz sounded too good to pass up. So I traded eating junk food for a nice finger of whiskey in a crystal tumbler. After three of those, I went from feeling relaxed to feeling weightless. All my worries, guilt, heartbreak lifted off of me. They were still floating nearby in a sense, but I wasn’t carrying them at the moment.

I actually got dressed. Since I’d been home, I’d been wearing nothing but sweats or pajamas. I put on jeans and a green T-shirt and immediately I felt somewhat human. Forgoing the glass, I began drinking the whiskey straight from the bottle. I went into the living room and connected my phone to the stereo system. As soon as the music started, I turned the volume almost all the way up.

I didn’t just want to be weightless. I wanted to feel good. I wanted to feel joy and dancing was something I’d used to enjoy. I took a swig of whiskey as I swayed and bounced a little, trying to find the rhythm.

Dean and Brenna came into the living room at the same time, both wide-eyed. Once they saw me, Dean frowned, and Brenna looked like she was trying not to laugh. I gestured for Brenna to come to me. She ventured over. Once she was close enough, I grabbed her hand and pulled on her to dance with me. I saw rather than heard her laugh because the music was so loud. She held her hand out for the whiskey bottle.

I handed it over as I mouthed, “Just a sip.”

She rolled her eyes and brought the bottle to her lips. The moment she tasted the whiskey, her nose scrunched up, making me chuckle. I grabbed the bottle back from her, took another drink, and got back to dancing. Brenna swayed with me at first until the stiffness left her and she began to dance more fluidly.

Many songs passed, a good amount of whiskey was drunk, and Brenna and I hadn’t stopped dancing. Dean hadn’t stopped or interrupted us, either. He stood in the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest as he watched us with his resting bitch face. At some point Asher had returned and joined him in the kitchen.

I bumped into Brenna a few times and actually laughed about it. That seemed to surprise her in a good way because after the shock wore off, she smiled brightly.

I was riding a good buzz, feeling tiny sparks of joy, when suddenly the music was turned off. I whirled around to see who had done it. Jamie was standing in front of the stereo.

“Oh, joy, you’re here,” I said caustically.

Jamie eyed the whiskey bottle in my hand with a tight jaw. Then he looked at Brenna and my goons. “Can you give us a moment?”

“She’s just having a little fun, Jameson,” Brenna said. “She deserves it.”

Jamie met my eyes. “You know what will happen if you mix pain meds and too much alcohol.”

I did know. That was why I hadn’t had a drink the whole time I’d been home. I hadn’t taken any pain meds today. Jamie didn’t know that, though. Given he’d ruined the slightest bit of fun I’d had in I couldn’t remember how long, I felt like being an evil bitch. “What I do is none of your business.”

“It becomes my business if you do something that will hurt yourself,” he snapped.

I gasped and I put my hand to my chest in mock disbelief. “I had no idea.” Silence filled the room, and I could feel all of their surprise. “So how do you plan to stop me?”

Anger burned in Jamie’s eyes at my challenge. When he didn’t answer, I gave him a sardonic smile before turning and leaving the living room.

I felt him behind me as I stepped into my room. He followed me in and slammed the door closed. I spun around to face him.

He held his hand out. “Give me the bottle, Maura.”

I held the bottle out of his reach. “If you want it, you’ll have to take it from me.”

I could see that he was considering it.

“There he is,” I taunted. “How are you going to force your will on me, the dumb woman, this time?”

“This is different and you know it,” he seethed.

It was, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to snap, to stop being patient, and I was curious how long I’d have to push him to see it happen.

He tried to snatch the bottle from me, and I stepped out of reach just in time. He tried again and again. I moved away from him each time. Clearly fed up, he stormed toward me, and I retreated backward until my butt ran into the dresser, then I moved to the side until I was backed up against the wall. I stared him down with a smirk as I let him take the bottle from my hands. He slammed it on top of the dresser and caged me in by putting his hands on the wall next to my shoulders.

This moment felt like a power play. I wouldn’t let him win. I slid my hands over his waist.

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