Page 54 of Camera Stays On

My words seemed to finally get through his whiskey fog. “You’re right, come on, let’s go back. We can do another kids’ game. Seven minutes in heaven or something. Where’s Purdy?”

“Oh, please. Just one round?” Lux begged.

“I don’t think one game would be bad,” Juliet said, shooting a dirty look my way. Why was she giving me dirty looks? I wasn’t her competition.

“Then you’ll all go back to the living room?” I pushed.

Sawyer frowned, then nodded. “Yes, and I’ll be the seeker. That way if someone is somewhere they shouldn’t be, I’ll know.”

Despite him being just as drunk as everyone else, I felt more comfortable with Sawyer taking charge. I leaned over and patted his shoulder. “I’m trusting you. Don’t make a mess. This is your movie set,” I reminded him.

“Right. You trust me.” His face grew serious, but it only lasted a beat before he began laughing again with the others. He turned away and put his hands up, cupping them around his mouth. “Okay, I’m countin’!” he shouted, and everyone fled the scene, giggling as they ran. Sighing deeply, I turned and went back upstairs. Pausing in the hall, I stared at Andi’s door. Did we dare risk another round tonight?

As I considered it, I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the hall. I turned to see Sawyer, of all people.

“What are you doing up here? You’re supposed to be searching for people.”

“Fuck ’em,” he muttered. “They’ll get bored and come out.”

He went over to Andi’s door and grabbed the knob. His cheeks were flushed, and he could barely contain his laughter. His eyes drooped, and mine narrowed. Had he been this drunk downstairs? No, surely he hadn’t. It’d only been a few minutes.

“Did you drink more?”

“Maybe. I needed a little liquid courage. She’s a tiger.” He winked, and my stomach soured.

“What are you doing, Sawyer? Go back down and play the game.”

He turned her doorknob and opened it an inch. It was dark inside Andi’s room. “I’ll find ’em in a bit. I’m looking for something else right now.”

Sirens were going off in my head, and I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Sawyer wasn’t a predator. He wouldn’t rape someone, let alone Andi. Would he?

The fact that I couldn’t answer with certainty was alarming.

He put his pointer finger to his lips and shushed me.

“I’ll be back.” Without another word, he slid inside, closing the door behind him. I stepped forward, intending to interrupt whatever he had planned, when more footsteps came from behind me.

“What’s going on?” Andi said.

“Thank fuck.” I turned with relief, sagged against the door and breathed out. “Sawyer just went into your room.”

“Sawyer? Did he say why he was going in there?”

“What do you think, Andi?” I rolled my eyes.

“Right. Well... I guess I’ll have to ask him to leave.” She pursed her lips, stepping forward and opening the door slowly. “Sawyer?”

She flicked the light on and opened the door wider. A small gasp left her lips, followed by a deep groan. “Oh God.”

“What?” I peered inside and choked back a laugh. Sawyer had managed to get all of his clothes off, but then he’d fallen asleep on the carpet. He moved fast.

“What do we do?” Andi asked.

“We can move him to the bed, I guess.” I stepped into the room and went over to him. Even now, knowing he’d come in to try to fuck my girl, I was still taking care of him. This shit got old.

“Hey, dumb fuck, get up!” I called, but Sawyer was out cold. I nodded and looked at Andi. “Yeah, this is his room tonight. Let’s get him onto the bed, and you can sleep in my room.”

Not bothering to be gentle, I crouched and lifted him. I dropped him onto the bed and tossed his shirt over his groin. Andi quickly turned away, her cheeks flamed.