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Isaac seems pleased with himself. ‘Mate, I didn’t even finish. It went on for so long she just turned round and told me she was tired and wasn’t feeling it anymore.’
Sean and Archer laugh.
‘Should’ve popped some E’s, mate,’ Archer chimes in, clicking his controller and blowing up Sean’s car again. ‘That would’ve sorted you out.’
‘Nah,’ says Isaac. ‘Mandy would've convinced me I’m in love with the chick.’
‘Fucking on mandy is the best,’ Archer says.
Unbidden in my mind I hear Chase’s voice telling me Archer doesn’t touch ecstasy due to a bad experience. He doesn’t know I’m aware of that. But why is he bigging himself up in front of his mates?
I take a long, long swig, but I can’t tell if it’s the alcohol making my heart thunder or if it’s rage. ‘Why don’t we play something else?’ I cut in, just as Olly opens his stupid mouth.
Arch quirks a brow. ‘I wasn’t aware you were playing at all.’
‘Well, I don’t just want to sit here and do nothing.’
‘Go to bed, then.’
Sean snickers, but Isaac says, ‘Have anything in mind?’
‘MarioKart?’ I hedge.
Olly, Sean, and Archer groan. ‘On what?’ Isaac asks.
‘Nintendo Switch,’ I answer.
Isaac grimaces. ‘Sorry, princess. You don’t get my vote on this occasion.’ He looks at Archer. ‘Fancy a game ofFifa?’
‘Sure, man.’ Archer gestures to Sean, snagging his attention. I watch as he touches his nose, an unspoken question. Sean nods, and the game pauses, and then Sean and Archer walk from the room. I hear the bathroom door shut a moment later.
I know what they’re doing. Archer must think I’m an idiot. That even though they’re not racking up lines on a plate and passing it around all night and sniffing off keys, that I won’t catch the gist. He knows where I stand with drugs: I don’t want him doing them, at all. Because I’ve heard so many freak stories about accidental overdoses.
I don’t want him doing drugs, but especially not tonight. On Demi’s birthday.
The duo returns, Archer rubbing his nose and sniffling. He doesn’t meet my gaze as he takes his seat on the arm of the sofa, and I make a vow not to look at him for the rest of the night.
If he wants to play this game, fine.
It’s the same for a few hours: rounds and rounds and rounds ofFifamatches, trips to the fridge for more beer, more wine, talks of porn, but also deep, endless discussions about electric cars and how they’re not much better than combustion engines because to make engines for electric cars, you need lithium, and lithium mining threatens fauna and flora, like buckwheat. Or something like that. And then they talk about global warming—which I’m thrilled about—but Olly strongly disagrees with most of my opinions, even though my facts are objective. And Arch makes a snide comment about my flexitarianism, and I explain through my teeth that if the entire world went vegetarian, then equal strain would be put on the planet, so the only option is to have a balance of both plant and animal product.
But Arch and Sean and Olly snicker amongst themselves, and I keep quiet, not trusting myself to speak.
It’s this attitude that’s destroying the world. Not methane or pollution or fish farms or deforestation, but human ignorance to those things.
They don’t even bother going to the bathroom anymore; Archer drags the plate over to him and sniffs a line. There’s been talks of picking up from a guy called Rocket, but he’s not answering, apparently.
‘How’s the sex life, Franny?’ Sean asks suddenly.
I jerk awake, not even remembering passing out, the bottle between my legs teetering dangerously close to my lap. I straighten and blink at him. ‘Whadyoumean?’ I mumble.
‘Arch said something about you being—what was it?’
‘Tight as fuck,’ Arch finishes, not even looking at me.
I can’t believe Archer told him that. That my boyfriend told his mates about our sex life.
‘Do you make her squirt and that, yeah?’ Olly asks Archer, like I’m not even here.
