A Silence Full of Sound

Chapter 7

Getting that drink had turned out to be harder than we thought. It seemed as if the amount of people dancing in the living room had doubled whilst Hunter and I had been talking.

We struggled to push our way through all the bodies. The room stank of alcohol and sweat. People were smiling whilst dancing. They were having fun.

Hunter walked in front of me, trying to clear a path for me behind so that I didn't have to keep tapping people to try and ask them to move without speaking.

When we finally reached the kitchen, I was grateful that the crowd in there had drifted away. There were only a few people left scattered around.

Hunter walked over to the counter by the window and started pulling out bottles of drinks.

I walked up next to him, watching as he poured a clear liquid into a red cup.

He turned to me and offered the spirit bottle. I shook my head and grabbed the nearest bottle of soda around.

He chuckled, placing the alcohol back down and taking the soda from me.

"Not a fan of alcohol, eh?" He said pouring the remainder of the soda into another red cup and passing the cup to me.

I shook my head, accepting the cup gratefully and taking a swig.

He watched me as he took a swig of his drink. His green eyes staring straight through me. Casually, he leaned back against the counter behind him.

"People confuse me." He said, looking through the doorway at a couple dancing in the living room.

I gave him a confused face. Why?

But before he could answer Sammy came bounding over to the two of us.

"Hey, Ri! What's going on here then?" He said as he clapped me on the shoulder, looking between me and the red cup in my hand.

His breath stank of alcohol and I managed to grab him and hold him up before he could fall.

His eyes flickered quickly between staring at Hunter opposite me and trying to send me a mental message.

"Everything okay?" He said waiting for me to answer. His hand was placed firmly on my arm, ready to ward off anyone that could cause harm. Although, I wasn't sure how much help he would be in this state. He probably couldn't hit a boat with a bottle at this point.

I nodded my head and smiled, he smiled back, accepting that I was okay. I looked back over at Hunter, who was looking Sammy up and down.

"Ah. The brother." He said. Sammy turned to look at him.

"Hey, I'm Sam" Sammy said, outstretching his hand for Hunter to shake. He wobbled a bit on his feet, but managed to regain his balance. His hand weaves left to right as Sammy tried desperately to hold it still.

Hunter looked down at it and took a swig of his drink. He placed the empty red cup on the counter and said "Cool." Not accepting Sammy's invitation.

He turned back to me and gave me a small smile. "I'll see you around Riley." He said before walking away, back into the living room. I watched him walk away, my eyes never leaving his shaggy hair.

"What was that about?" Sammy asked, moving so he was standing in front of me.

I shrugged. What was that about?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I woke up the next day, a little tired, but all in all okay. Which was more than what could be said for Sammy. The boy had clearly had too much to drink.