“Maybe,” Sean shrugs considering, “but Idon’t think I buy that. I’ve watched you, you’ve been drinking allnight, off doing God knows what with my brother and yet here youare completely composed, not one strand of hair out of place.”
“I’m poised, what can I say? It’s the way Iwas brought up.”
“Do you want to unwind?” Sean asksrandomly.
“Unwind how?” I ask, and somehow I alreadyknow the answer is going to be with something illegal.
Sean holds his hand up and there’s a tinypill between his thumb and index finger.
“What’s that?”
“X,” he answers, and my heart pounds.Nowayam I taking that.
Sean and I stare eye to eye, him egging meon.
“What does that number mean on your neck?” Iask.
“It’s the number of days Ryan spent in jail,”Sean says without blinking, still holding the little white pill upto my face.
“Why did you let him do it?”
Sean’s eyes glaze over with a detachedglare.
“Because I’m weak,” he answers candidly, andI’m absolutely floored by his honesty.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ryan growls,causing Sean and I to both snap our heads in his direction.
“Nothing, bro. Just trying to chill your girlout,” Sean says.
“She doesn’t need to be chilled out,” Ryangrabs me and pulls me behind him. “And what are you doing with thatjunk?”
“It’s nothing,” Sean tries to play itoff.
“It’s not nothing!” Ryan yells and I flinch,I’m not used to him raising his voice. “You get popped with thatshit you go to jail. You’re on probation dickhead.”
“For your information jagoff, I was releasedlast week.”
“And you’re right back to your oldbullshit!”
“It’s one little pill, it’s harmless.”
“It’s not the one little pill I’m worriedabout, it’s the bag of little pills I’m sure you have stuffed inyour pocket,” Ryan snaps. “And keep that crap away from Alana! Whatthe fuck are you thinking?!”
He’s not.
“She wasn’t going to take it; she’s toogoodfor that.”
I’m trying to figure out if that was a dig ornot. Sean is hard to read sometimes.
“You’re goddamn right she’s too good, she’stoo good for any of this,” Ryan fumes.
“Don’t you mean she’s too good foryou,”Sean leans into Ryan’s face provokingly, “Finallyseeing the forest for the trees, brother?”
Suddenly Ryan’s fist is flying through theair. I hear thewhackas he clocks Sean right in the mouth,putting him on his ass, and then he goes after him.
Holy shit!
Sean and Ryan brawl relentlessly, throwingone vicious punch after the other; blood splattering all over theshiny square table and white leather couch and poor comatose Jill.It looks like a crime scene. Then in one great rush every guy inthe room swarms around them, eventually pulling them apart. Sean’slip is bleeding and so is Ryan’s eye.