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“French toast and bacon.” Sarika grinned as she held out a hand. “And coffee.”
“Coffee! Yes!” Caffeine would clear all the cobwebs out of my mind and help me think clearly.
“You’re also going to need a new rug. We should really only do white wine,” Sarika declared as we hit the bottom of the steps and walked down the hall.
I stood at the bottom of the steps in a trance. My vision wavered from the hallway cast in sunlight to the one that had been shrouded in darkness the night before. A shake of my head cleared the sight away as I pressed my shaky fingers to my brow.
“Way too much wine,” I whispered as I trudged down the hall and into the kitchen.
The kitchen table set in the bay windows was covered with heads resting on arms. A chorus of moans sounded broken up by Sarika’s whistling.
“Sarika,” Vi whined. “Shut up.”
She continued to whistle despite the groans of protest.
“Rika… please… don’t torture us,” Imani groaned, her mess of curls flat on one side and sticking straight up at the back bobbing as she shook her head.
Coffee pot in hand, Sarika poured them all a coffee as she leaned back against the island and looked over the group.
We were a hot mess — myself included. I grabbed the proffered mug and settled in the free seat by the window as I looked at the aftermath of our night. Tightness held my throat in a firm grasp as I sipped my coffee and cleared it.
“Did… anything weird happen last night? After the lights went out, I mean…” I knew it was crazy to think they would tell a tale of a demon standing on a hovering book above my coffee table, but I needed someone to confirm or deny what I thought happened.
Olivia shoved up from the table. Her cheek was wrinkled with imprints of her cutlery as she dropped her chin into her hand and moaned again. “The lights went out and then I went lights out. How much wine did I drink?”
“Four glasses,” Sarika told her. “But that was after the three mini bottles of whiskey you pulled out of your purse.”
A slow nod bobbed Olivia’s head before she winced. “Right. Right.”
“I didn’t drink that much and I went lights out too,” Imani added.
A brow shot up in disbelief as Sarika looked her over. “You didn’t drink that much? I mean… I guess, when you consider how much of your drinks ended up on the rug.”
Imani groaned again. “I’ll e-transfer you some money for the rug, Ede.”
I waved the thought away. “I was due for a new one anyway.” There were bigger things on my mind than the rug. “So… you both just passed out when the lights went? I could have sworn I heard Imani and Vi arguing when I was in the closet trying to find some new fuses.”
Olivia’s eyes pinched closed as she tried to think.
“No, you’re right. They were definitely arguing,” Alicia agreed. “Sarika had to get between them when Vi started kicking.”
Imani sat up and rotated her head. “Is that why I’m so sore?”
“Drunk Olivia strikes again,” Alicia joked.
My eyes narrowed. “How about you, Sarika? You weren’t drinking, so what happened after the lights went out?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… I had to drag all of you out of the living room and into the guest room. Why did you pass out when the lights went out?” I held my breath as I waited for the answer, unsure if I wanted to hear it.
Her eyes unfocused for a moment as she thought about it. Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth as she cupped her coffee in her hands. “It’s weird. We did all that shit with the book that had Imani up in arms and then the lights went out… it felt like we were in a scary movie or something. The book…” her words tapered away.
“What?” I implored.
She shook her head, a nervous laugh bubbling up her throat as she sipped her coffee.
I turned to see Vi looking at me with wide eyes.
