Somewhere Behind

Angelica Part V

Hunter pulled up riding shotgun in a Sedan with Zach in the driver seat. He got down from the car and came over to the curb where I was standing. "Hey, Angelica." He said. "C'mon in. It's warm in here," he said as he opened the rear door and crawled in

I hesitated but finally decided to go.

I got in and tried to close the door, but before I could do so, Zach stepped down on the accelerator, and the door slammed closed behind me. I fell forward onto Hunter, who laughed. I screamed as we shot down the street and turned the corner so sharply the wheels squealed.

Hunter reached over to put his arm around me and pull me closer.

"The way Zach drives, I better hold onto you," he said.

Zach looked back and flashed a smile at me. His eyes were lit with excitement. He continued to accelerate even more when he turned onto the main highway. I could see we were going close to 90 miles an hour. I had never gone this fast in an automobile. My heart was pounding.

"Slow down," Hunter told Zach after he looked back at us again. "You've got the poor girl terrified. Don't worry," he told me. "Zach is used to driving fast."

"Stop looking so worried, Angelica," Zach told me, glancing at me from the rearview mirror.

"Give her something to calm down," Hunter told Zach, and jerked his head in my direction.

"Oh sure," he said leaning down to pick up a bag with an open bottle in it, beneath the passenger seat.

"Here," he said handing me the bag while expertly handling the steering wheel with one hand.

"What is it?" I asked, without taking it.

"Just some good vodka. It'll warm you up and make you feel good."

"I don't drink," I said.

"Nobody drinks," Hunter said, "but once in a while, it helps. No big deal. Go on, take a swig," he urged.

"You're not afraid of some vodka are you, are you?" Zach taunted.

"No," I said. "I'm just not used to drinking."

Hunter took hold of the bag and held it out to me smiling. "Get used to it," he suggested.

Both of them were watching to see what I would do, and I realized I had to take it or I wouldn't hear the end of it. One sip can't hurt I thought. I closed my hands around the bottle and brought the neck of it to my lips to take a very quick taste. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything delicious to me, either.

"That's not a drink. Take a real drink," Hunter said, putting his hand on the bottom of the bottle and lifting it so I would bring it to my lips again.

I did, and he held it there while I swallowed and swallowed until I started to gag.

"Great!" Zach cried.

Hunter smiled and took a long drink from the bottle himself. "Good stuff. Where's it from, your Daddy's private stash, Zach?"

"Matter of fact, it is," he said. "I poured it into that and poured some water into his. He mixes it anyway so he won't know the difference," David said.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked as we continued down the highway passing the mall.

"I got a nice surprise for us," replied Zach.

"Oh great, I love surprises, don't you, Angelica?" Hunter asked turning to me.

I shrugged. He handed me the bottle.

"Your turn again," he said.

"I don't want anymore," I told him.

"Sure, you do. It will help you relax." He squeezed my shoulders, drawing me against him. "I can feel how uptight you are. You have to loosen up to get with it," he said. "Join the party."

"That's the surprise!" Zach cried. "We're having a party."

Hunter brought the bottle to my mouth. "Hey, you hear that? That's great. Open now," he said, laughing.

"Go on, take a little more," Zach said. "You'll love how you feel."

I let Hunter put the bottle's neck to my lips again and swallowed as he held up. It was like a mother feeding her child or something. It made me feel foolish, so I took the bottle out of his hands.

"I can do it myself," I snapped at him.

"That's the spirit, Angelica," Zach said. "Don't let him push you around."

I did take another long sip and then handed the bottle back to Hunter, who immediately downed the contents.

I thought to myself since they were all doing it, it can't be that bad. I could feel it traveling quickly to my head, and either because they told me it would happen or I wanted it to happen, I felt myself loosen and relax.

Zach pulled off at the next exit and sped around the curve. I didn't know where we were. He made another turn and another, each one sharply, causing me to scream. As silly as it sounds, I started to enjoy the wild driving.

"Where the hell did you get your license?" Hunter cried.

"License? What's a license?" Zach replied laughing.

He wove through some side streets and a little while later we came to a gated community. He slowed down and turned into the driveway of a tired-looking two-story house. There was a small patch of green, neglected lawn on each side of the driveway.

Zach stopped before the open garage. The house was dark, the windows looking stained and grimy.

"Where are we?" I asked.