The lights were dimmed but my eyesight adjusted fairly quickly. A lot of things were better since my death. The Tooth Fairy had once described mortality as being covered in bubble wrap, everything around you muffled slightly.
It seemed plausible, since as time slowly crept by, my eyes became sharper, my hearing more acute and my limbs more nimble. The only thing that hadn't changed was my sense of taste. That was pretty much same ole'.
I took in my surroundings with my new and improved senses as I followed Cutty. An old Pac-Man video game was standing in the corner, with Donkey Kong right beside it. We skirted around an air hockey table.
I used to be great at air hockey. It was all about the angles. Just when your opponent got into a habit of blocking the sides, you shot the puck straight down the center, lightning fast.
“Hey, Cutty,” it was the first words either of us had uttered. “How about we settle this like civilized people, with an air hockey duel?” I wanted to add, because I'm going to kick your ass, but it was best to leave the trash talking off until he accepted.
Even in life, I'd loved a good trash talking. It was truly part of any healthy competition, if you thought about it. Well, maybe not, but it was a ton of fun if you were good at it.
He stopped and turned to look at me. “You really are one strange girl,” he said, then kept walking.
I took that for a no.
I followed him away from the table. It was probably for the best anyway. Those games were part of a past I didn't like to think about.
The smaller front room opened up into a larger back area that had been used for laser tag. I’d guess it was probably a transition from the arcade to something fresher, when the trend turned toward home units. Didn't look like it had turned out so well.
An empty chair sat in the center of the abandoned room with chipping paint and missing carpet. A light hung overhead, creating harsh shadows in the corners of the room, where I could see the barest outline of the others.
Now I really knew Fate wasn't here. He wasn't this dramatic; not on purpose, anyway. His was more of a natural gift, effortlessly stealing the show.
“Oooh, so spooky,” I mocked, and wasn't surprised when I was the only one laughing. These guys had no sense of humor. “Should I presume this is my seat?” I didn't wait for an answer but sat down.
“It's time for answers. Are you with us or not?” Cutty leaned over me, placing a hand on the back of my chair. “Think before you speak.”
These guys weren't a laughing matter; I knew this. And yet, I couldn't seem to work up any respectable level of anxiety for the situation. I didn't know what exactly Fate and I were to each other, but somehow I knew he wouldn't hurt me. And because of him, neither would his guys.
Maybe, like so many things in life, it's a matter of perspective. I'd recently gained some, by the name of Malokin. Him, I was worried about, and I had a really bad feeling he wasn't going away.
These guys might be bad news, but they weren't on the same scale. They'd threaten and scream but wouldn't actually do anything to me.
Malokin was different. If Paddy was nervous about him, he was bad. He wouldn't scream or threaten; he'd just kill me.
But threat or not, I really couldn’t afford to piss more people off. Perhaps I should try and pretend I was scared, to plump up their egos.
“Did you hear me?” Cutty screamed.
Oh no. I’d been so focused on my concern over Malokin I’d already blown the whole fear charade. I'd been drifting off as Cutty had been mid-scream. Now they certainly weren’t going to want to be friends with me.
“No, I'm sorry. I didn't.” It was a tad ridiculous to admit I’d been distracted when he'd been bellowing an inch from my face.
“Give me the duct tape,” Cutty yelled to one of the other guys.
“Are you going to tape me to the chair?” I asked, still not overly concerned.
“Yes. You going to listen now?” he asked mistaking the reason for my squirming.
“Actually, I need to use the rest room first, if this is going to be a while.” That Maker’s Mark was flying through my system at an alarming rate.
“Tape her up,” Cutty said.
“But she's got to pee?” Bic said. “If she pees in the chair, I'm not cleaning it.”
“If she pees in the chair, she sits in it,” Cutty replied.
“Do you know what that'll smell like? She smells pretty now. I don't want her to be smelly,” Bic said.
“I don't want to be smelly either,” I added to the argument.
“Give me the goddamn tape!” Cutty ripped the roll from Bic’s hand.
A noise drew our attention to the door where Lars stepped into the room. His hair was flowing free around his shoulders as he came to stop a few feet from me
“You’re late,” Cutty said.
Lars didn’t argue, but instead motioned for Cutty to go over to the side with him and then walked away.
“Don't. Move,” Cutty said before following Lars.
“Okie dokie, smokie.” I crossed my legs, trying to buy my bladder another few minutes and dug the nail file out of my purse. I'd chipped a nail earlier today and it was driving me absolutely crazy.
Cutty threw me his best evil eye and then walked over to Lars. They must have underestimated my senses, me being a transfer and all, since I could hear everything they said.
“I'm not sure that’s a good idea,” Lars said.
“Why? We can't kill her or beat her, but he said nothing about scaring her. The tape is all we’ve got left.”
I glanced up quick enough to see Lars make a face.
“He never said anything about scaring, and this needs to be done. She's either with us or against us,” Cutty continued.
“He's going to care,” Lars shot back. “Just don’t do the tape thing, and maybe we should let her use the bathroom, too.”
“Why are you acting like such a wuss? It’s not like she’s his. They aren't together.”
“Not technically, no. But if you saw the way he looks at her...” Lars eyes widened a bit. “I’ve been with them. There’s something there.”
The way he looked at me? I'd never noticed Fate looking at me weird. Intense maybe but that was just how Fate was normally. What was Lars talking about? He was making it sound like I was dating the guy!
“If he wanted her, he’d be with her. He’s not,” Cutty replied.
“I’m not sure what they are.”
Cutty took a moment to ponder it over before he replied. “He slept with her?” Cutty’s tone had quickly switched gears from arguing to gossipy.
“I’ve got reason to believe so. Plus, I’ve heard some things.” Lars was nodding like, can you believe they’re doing it?
Keeping my face as neutral as possible, I forced myself to sit there. Bic and Angus had taken a few steps away from me, and closer to them, clearly enjoying the gossip as well.
Lars looked over at me and I tried to pretend I couldn’t hear every word he said. I couldn’t decide if it was better to stop the gossip or pretend I didn’t know. Either way was equally humiliating, so it was a tough call.
“The story is they slept together and then he dissed her,” Lars said. The other three all made gasping noises at this new tidbit.
Holy shit, this could not be happening. The second I left here, I was going to track Luck down and beat her with every last ounce of energy I had.
“So he dissed her?” Cutty asked, completely engrossed in the intimate details of my life.
Lars shot another look my way and then lowered his voice a notch before continuing. “From what my source said, it wasn't an I'm not interested in you rejection as much as it's better for you if we're apart type.”
“What did she do?” Bic asked, he and Angus pretty much right on top of them now.
They were seriously going to stand there and gossip about me now? This just crossed every line I had, lines I didn’t even know existed until now.
“From what I've heard, she was pretty upset but pretended she didn't care. Then he was all I don't care either but he definitely does. I’ve seen them,” Lars added.
Cutty started nodding his head. “So what do you think is going to happen?”