Anchor

Part 16 - Big d***s and big secrets

    The rules of the game were pretty simple. You had to tell two truths and one lie and the others had to guess which were which. Only with this game if you guessed the other persons lie but were wrong then you would take a shot. Any excuse to drink with these people, I swear. The game started smoothly much to Stellan's sudden change of attitude. The drinks had clouded my judgement so I still wasn't entirely sure what changed his mood but again, I was too engulfed in the game to pry. 

    "I had a one night stand with Celine Dion. I have a huge d**k. I assassinated JFK." His poker face might have been great but Gavin was definitely cheating, one of them had to be a lie, not all three. 

    "Hang on a minute, you remember the rules right?" Maybe the alcohol made him forget.

    "Indeed I do. Are you having doubts about my huge d**k?" His laughter made my cheeks heat up.

    "I'm having doubts about all of them. You couldn't have had s*x with Celine Dion, obviously. And when JFK was assassinated you wouldn't have been born yet," I scoffed. "Now as for your d**k size, maybe. But I doubt it." I raised my eyebrow. I'm not saying I wanted him to whip it out, but I needed proof...

    "Why do you think Celine was down to f**k? She saw what I was packing." Gavin leaned back in his chair, a smug smile overtaking his face. "And for you information, I was in my forties when he was assassinated but I'll take it as a compliment you think I look young." I assumed the alcohol we had been throwing back had caused me to mishear him. 

    "Funny. I think I need to stop drinking. In my head, it sounded like you said you were in your forties back in the sixties." I laughed uncomfortably when no one stepped in to confirm I did mishear. That would mean he was in his nineties... Suddenly the room became all too small and I gripped on to the table in front of me. Many questions bombarded my thoughts but none could find their way to my lips. Thankfully Stellan's hand rushed to my back and began rubbing it soothingly. 

    "Kitty, how old did you think I was?" Gavin asked with a hint of worry in his voice. 

    "I don't know... definitely not that old. I was thinking somewhere in your late twenties to early thirties."

    "Oh s**t, sorry, Kitty. I just assumed."

    "How? How does that make sense? You... you look so young. I don't see a wrinkle in sight." It felt like someone had sucked all the oxygen from the room. Stellan pulled me towards him and his scent enveloped me. I knew the others were staring at me like I was a wild animal at this point. But I managed to keep myself in check so far, no running tonight, even if I wanted to. 

    "Vampires don't tend to age ungracefully. I look the same as I did the day I turned. Same goes for Ben, Saph and Otto." The tone of his voice was serious but there was an undertone of appreciation for his friends and their ageless ways. 

    "You're all vampires?" I needed to clarify. 

    "Not all of us. Like I said to you earlier, Stellan has to deal with his whole empath s**t because that's what he is. An empath Demon. And Jule is your run of the mill necromancer, although we don't speak of that." It seemed like one thing after another. Vampires I had heard of in films and books but the others were new territory to me. Not to say that I was scared though, because I wasn't. They were good people. At least to me. 

    I grabbed the bottle and waited for the warm feeling to hit my stomach. "OK." That was all I had to say. Nothing more, nothing less. I would find the time to process this and then come back with more questions. 

    "OK?" Gavin and Ben shared a look before raising their eyebrows at me. "Yep. OK." I overly pronounced my words. They nodded and continued the game.

     It had been a while since anyone had seen Jodie and Stellan had put on his best effort to try act normal but it was understandable he wanted to check on his sister. He shifted in his seat before finally standing and giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. I looked up and met his eyes. "I'll be back." I smiled at him and slumped into my chair. 

    "Back to the game then. You're up, dickhead." Ben smirked at Gavin who was poking him in the chest. As if he already had what he would say planned, he turned to me and out fell the words I wished he hadn't said.

    "I've killed more beings than I can count. I have a Jules' name tattoo'd on my inner thigh... And, I fingered Kitty under the table this morning." 

    My mouth opened wide enough to fit a tennis ball. Ben again felt the need to show his true colours and no amount of alcohol could hide the embarrassment plastered on my face. The heat burned my cheeks as the crimson colour spread and the glass I had been drinking from all night had shattered into pieces on the table. So much for keeping my cool. 

    "f**k sake, mate. At the table, really?" Gavin punched Ben's arm, more in a playful way than anything aggressive. Jule was silent as always, and I pretended he didn't hear what was just said. 

    "You!" I spat, rising from my chair as it fell behind me with a loud crash. "What's wrong with you? The whole night you've been acting like a prick. I'm done. Maybe it isn't the best idea staying here." I stormed off into the hall, tears stinging my eyes. With the alcohol thrumming through system I had to slide my hands across the wall as I walked. I heard him call out for me but I ignored it. Why couldn't there be an off switch for him and his big mouth? 

    My feet came to a stop at the front door. The doorknob in my hands and the sweet view of the outside paused the spinning around me. The tears had fled my eyes and left a trail down my cheeks. At times like these I was glad I hadn't make up plastered on my face.