Page 82 of From the Ashes
It took everything I had to pick up my fork and begin to eat.
Game night had officially become apulverize Tony in a game of Monopolyopportunity.
It would have to be enough.
CHAPTER 34
Charlie
“Will you accept a trade?” Tony pleaded, holding up one of the dark blue properties he’d been hoarding the entire game so no one else could have it. “And we can forget about the debt?”
“Oh no,” I grinned, taking far too much pleasure in bringing this man down a peg or three. Even if it was only in Monopoly. “You’re going to sell and mortgage until you have enough money to pay me.”
“Damn you’re a hardass, Chuck.”
I flinched at the nickname. Of course, Tony had noticed by now that it bothered me, so he used it as often as possible. Considering he wouldn’t let up on it, I didn’t think I owed him any mercy.
“I didn’t know you were so good at this game, Charlie,” Patrick said, nudging me in the shoulder. “You’ve got a great mind for business.”
“It’s an easy game to win,” I said, shooting a glare at Tony. “If you’rereasonablyintelligent, anyway.”
“I don’t know,” Tyler added, looking down at his three properties that were fully developed. It was all he had left. “If there’s a strategy to this, I definitelydon’tknow it.”
“Give me everything you can for these,” Tony said, turning to Nix who was playing the banker. He pushed all his properties and houses toward him. “I need to somehow find six thousand dollars.”
Nix took one glance at everything he had and shook his head. “You ain’t gonna find it there.”
Tony huffed, turning back to me. “Are you sure you won’t accept a trade?”
I shook my head.
“Well. I’m out then,” he said, throwing his arms in the air. “I lose.”
“If I land on anything of yours Charlie, I’ll be dead meat too,” Patrick nodded, leaning back in his chair.
Both Nix and Tyler agreed.
“So, you’re all just gonna give up?” I asked, smiling wide. They all nodded in turn. “I guess I win then,” I laughed, wiggling in happiness. “I guess Tony should’ve picked a game he was good at.”
Nix shot me a look that saidstop being a dickhead, but I didn’t care.
“Well, I know a game that Ican’t lose, Chuckles.”
I rolled my eyes. “And what’s that?”
“It’s called‘let’s go get ice cream’.”
There was a round of approval from everyone in the group. I couldn’t blame them either. It had been hot as hell for weeks now. Even though the sun was setting, and the air conditioning was on, everyone was decked out in shorts and still sweating. Of course, the pizza, beer, and laughter probably hadn’t helped us stay cool. But itwas hard not to have a good time when everyone was over. Despite my best efforts, I was even enjoying Tony’s company. The dude was a dick, but he was funny, I had to give him that.
The night had gone a lot smoother than I expected, actually. When Nix first invited everyone over, I wasnotlooking forward to it. I had it in my head that the moment everyone showed up I’d go into meltdown mode and everything would fall apart. There’d be a lot of apologies and disappointed faces as I forced everyone to go home early because I was too broken and anxious to even play a simple game with a few friends.
But that’s not what happened at all. With Nix there, I felt grounded. And when Patrick showed up, I didn’t feel my anxiety rise. Meeting Tyler was actually enjoyable. He was a nice guy, a bit quieter and smaller than Patrick, and more reserved. He reminded me of myself actually in more ways than one and we hit it off pretty easily. Tony was, by far, the most obnoxious of the group. He liked to be the center of attention and the more beer he consumed, the more that Jersey accent came out. But, like I said, he was funny and even though I took great pleasure in making him suffer, I found him almost tolerable by the end of the night.
“I could go for ice cream,” I said at last, joining in with the rest. “It’s only a couple miles away, so it’ll be a quick walk.”
“Walk?!” Tony scoffed. “It’s like ninety degrees outside!”
“The sun’s about to go down. It’ll cool down fast.”