Page 31 of Trick or Treat
I see Melanie batting her fake lashes in a blatantly flirtatious manner as her inebriated eyes flick at each of us. A timid smile appears on my little sinner's pink lips as she alternately casts her curious gaze between Saint and me.It's working.
"What about you, ladies? Do you want toplay?" Melanie squeals before Scarlett can respond, sounding like a pig being gutted, and it makes me want to slit her fucking throat right now. But it's not her turn just yet.
"No, I think we'll just watch you guys. At leastI'mgoing to watch you. I don't know what Scarlett's doing."
I turn to face her and smile while feigning ignorance of who she is. Saint swims up beside me, lowering himself so that only his eyes are visible above the surface of the water as he looks at her. The moonlight falls on us, bouncing off the surface of the water and giving it a sinister glow. As I bore my eyes into her, the darkness whirled in them as I watched to see if she saw a similarity between Saint and me.
"Scarlett, huh? Such a pretty name." My voice is raspy, which causes her to shiver as she smiles at the compliment.
"Than…" She pauses, and as I follow her gaze, I grin, realizing she’s looking right into Saint's eyes, which I know she recognizes. She attempts to shake herself out of the trance he has trapped her in by clearing her throat and shrugging her shoulders. "Thank you." Her voice is shaky as she finally speaks.
She jumps as Saint rises for air, which causes her to heave a small gasp. As she struggles to remember where she has previously seen those eyes, she blinks and tries to suppress a nervous smile.
"This is Blade, and I'mSaint." He shakes his head and hurls water at us while grinning devilishly.
Without warning, he spins around and tosses the ball to River. I catch a glimpse of my little sinner looking directly at me out of the corner of my eye.
Scarlett
They seem to have a certain familiarity about them that I can’t quite place. When they look at me, a chill spreads through my bones, as though I have seen those eyes before.But where?
We emerge from the water and sprawl out on the grass, gazing out at the lake while still drinking and hanging out with them. River laughs, seemingly at ease—the happiest I have seen him in a long time. Riley caresses Melanie's bare thigh and whispers into her ear as she relaxes on his lap, despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend. She devours his words, which is truly sickening. But who am I to say anything? Being out here in the night like this reminds me of my time spent in the cemeteryboth times. And I sort of like it.
I’m left seated here with my feet in the water, sandwiched between the two brothers of the group, while Riley and Melanie flirt and Nixon and River chat.
"I haven't seen you guys around here before. Is this your first time? Melanie asks inquisitively while popping her gum between her teeth.
"We come all the time, but we prefer to come at night." Keeping his gaze fixed on mine, Blade tells her.
"Oh, we usuallycome during the day. That's probably why we've never seen you before." One of them lights a blunt, and the smell of Marijuana permeates the air, tingling my nostrils as it wafts up deliciously.
"Do you guys want to hit this?" Saint asks with a soothing, hypnotic voice. With her eyes glazed over from the alcohol, Melanie reaches for it as she leans over my lap and smiles cunningly.
"Yes, please!" She laughs and takes a huge rip off the blunt.
The guys all look at us with interest, including River, who is taken aback by her actions. She is usually much more cautious.
"It's not laced or anything, if that's what you're worried about." In keeping with the seductive tone of his voice, Blade continues with a sexy smirk on his lips.
"Nah, we brought shrooms with us, though. We don't lace our weed." Now the three of us are looking at each other, remembering what happened the last time we all tripped in the woods. We tripped in the graveyard the last time, but it was acid and ecstasy.
"Did you guys want to have a little fun?" Saint asks, his brows raised, and as he licks his lips, I start to perspire.
My stomach flutters with nervousness from their intense gaze, but when I notice River's unperturbed expression, it seems to calm me down.
"By fun, you mean?" I ask, wanting to know what we are getting ourselves into.
"Well, we can smoke, eat some mushrooms, and play a game of manhunt—theadult version,"Blade responds, moving in closer, his hand brushing against my thigh.
His smile soothes me, and his crystal blue eyes make me melt against him, assuring me that everything will be fine. As the alcohol flows through me, it warms me up, lowers my guard, and unknowingly makes me stupid. I take the blunt out of Melanie's hand, inhale the flavor-infused smoke, and let it fill my lungs. Blade takes the blunt from me and puffs on it before grabbing the back of my neck and pulling my mouth to his. Insteadof pulling away when he grabs my lips, I allow them to part and fuse together as he blows smoke into my mouth, giving me a shotgun.
I can feel the blush on my cheeks as I pull away, but the darkness around us prevents the others from seeing it.Thank God.Along with the alcohol, the blunt is passed around, and before I know it, the baggie of mushrooms has been opened, and Nixon is handing us the foul-smelling dried stems and caps.
We eat them, chewing without breathing and trying not to taste what we're swallowing as they slide down our throats. I gag and try to ignore the taste of the rotten mushrooms as I sip the beer Melanie gives me. In an instant, Nixon and River are standing and laughing together as if they have known each other for years.
"We'll be right back, we're going to grab some wood to start a fire." River winks at me, and I return the gesture, grinning that he’s finally enjoying himself following the Shawn incident.
I’m left sitting with Saint and Blade, who haven’t left my side, as Melanie and Riley are still deeply absorbed in each other. And, strangely, it’s oddly comforting out here in the woods to know that I’m not alone with those sadistic masked men still on the loose.