Breathe Me

12. Demise of a Tree

Charlie's P.O.V. 

Wow does not getting the chance to redeem himself really bother Ace. The helpless look on his face is priceless and to make it even better, his friends are dying laughing about it. Isn't it great outsmarting someone who's never outsmarted? That's one of the best feelings to me. 

We'd been playing for about two hours before we finally quit, which is why it's a surprise to see Liam walk in. It's like he's appeared out of thin air. I don't mean he walked in through the front door, I mean he came walking down the stairs from the hallway. 

 "Come out from the rabbit hole already?" Jack chuckles as the guys turn to look at Liam. Now that I'm paying more attention, I can see that Liam has a black eye and looks groggy, as if he's seeing everything in slow motion. 

"Leave me and my hangover in peace." He says with a sigh and saunters on into the kitchen. 

Jack, Carter, and Ace all look like they know what's going on but Aiden has a look of confusion as he speaks, "Where was he and when did he even get here?" At the same time Aiden looks both confused and amused by Liam's current state and out of the blue appearance in his living room. 

"We drug him along and left him in an empty bedroom before you came down from your room." Carter shrugs. 

How did Liam get that black eye? Why is no one else asking this question? Am I the only one seeing this? 

"Cool, I guess." Blue Eyes no longer looks interested in the subject. 

Ace removes his attention from the spaced off looking Liam and turns it to me, "Come on, just one more game, I will not let a girl beat me at Poker."

I give him a 'really?' kind of look, "You already did and I don't give second chances."

"Not even for adorable guys?" He does his best puppy dog eyes towards me. His chocolate brown eyes are cute, but not cute enough.

"Nope. Not even for adorable guys." I smile. "Better luck next time- oh wait, there won't be a next time." 

"Ughhhhhhhhh," he groans. I turn away from them and grab the tv remote that I see lying on the coffee table.

 I hit the on button and the tv flicks to life. What I saw next was not appropriate for my innocent eyes. What I heard, even worse. 

"FUCK NO!" I shield my eyes. The channel, porn... "NO NO NO NO NO NO WHAT THE FUCK NO!" Aiden practically dives for the tv remote and turns the tv off. "WHY WAS THAT ON YOUR TV?!" I yell a him. I'm scarred for life! I NEVER wanted to see that. Nope. Didn't enjoy that. Was that a cherry? Never mind, still don't wanna know. 

"Uh, yeah, some girls like that while we're-" he begins, looking a little proud, but I cut him off.

"DON'T WANT TO KNOW." I yell. I'm sure I look like a cherry. I just picture him with a girl, watching that on this couch and doing- wait, this couch.... 

I flop off the couch in less than a heartbeats time, "Ew ew ew ew ew ew pleaseeeee tell me you weren't on that couch..." I point to the poor faux leather couch who's seen more action than everyone in school has combined. 

"It cleans up easier there." He shrugs, looking like this is totally fine as his friends consider his words and seem to find them logical and normal. 

"And I sat there... EWWWWW!" I can't imagine him and some faceless girl sitting there as he seduces her. I can't fathom the idea of him ripping off her clothes hungrily and her unbuttoning his flannel shirt to shown his amazingly toned abs. I can't imagine being that poor girl laying under him, staring up at his god-like body. She must've wished for mercy as he took her and- stop thinking about that. Not gonna think about that.