Zenon's Game Chapter 217

I guess he was tired of hearing this by now. Zenon made his points, "After you got her drunk, I took care of her. Fresh air, food-"

"Well that wasn't a good idea," Axel muttered.

Bryce hit his friend in the arm and Axel reacted back, "What? Anyone who drinks knows that."

Cynthia added her opinion, "But Zenon also took her home and she threw up on him."

"Yeah," Axel repeated his point, "Because he gave her food."

It felt weird hearing people comment about our actions last night. I felt even more embarrassed that I was in a state which required others to look after me.

Their conversation had gotten so loud that even Oma and Bianca were paying attention. I already felt like this had gotten way out of control, but that's before Bianca piped up.

"You guys need to stop fighting over her like you're macho men. Everyone makes their own decisions," Bianca said, "And everyone faces the consequences."

She stared at me from across the table. I felt her judgmental, superior-than-thou attitude seep into my soul.

And I snapped, "Admit that you got me fired, Bianca. You wanted me to face the consequences."

I hadn't forgotten about that. My job at Lola Rae meant a lot to me and she axed that.

I don't know what cloud she was flying on, but I was going to bring her down and make it rain along the way.

"The b*tch did what?" Cynthia freaked.

"You don't work at that clothing store anymore?" Zenon asked me.

I summarized the story for them. "The day you guys were at the mall with Art, I left the store to join you. She," I pointed to a stone-faced Bianca, "was in the store with her brother. My manager fired me for recklessly abandoning the store shortly after."

"You never told me that," Zenon said.

"I was embarrassed," I replied quietly so that only he would hear.

Bianca called out across the table, "What makes you think it was me? You have so much aggression against me."

"You and your brother were the only two customers in the store," I answered, making sure to articulate every word. "And the only other people who knew what I did, are the boys in this room. You telling me they did this?"

Oma shook her head at Bianca in disbelief.

No one believed that Zenon, Bryce or Axel would do that to me. So, it really didn't leave many options.

The shocked silence that followed caught Sir Chadwick Senior and his friend's attention. The stopped their conversation to observe ours. The tension had gone from low to 100% in the space of a few minutes.

Cynthia scraped her chair back and stood up to face Bianca, "I'm so sick of your evil. You try to sleep with one guy here to get with the guy who's dating my best friend. And then you try to stab my friend in the back. Don't you think trying and failing to steal her boyfriend is enough?"

"Watch your mouth," Bianca retorted, standing up, "No one even knows who you are. You were so close to not being invited, it's like you're hanging on a lifeline. You know nothing about this group or the friendships we've had that have lasted more than a decade."

Zenon interrupted, "Speaking of people close to not being invited, Bianca I asked you if you'd done anything to make Candace uncomfortable coming on this trip."

She looked back at him, her lips trembling as she tried to come up with a sympathetic response to his demanding question.

Cynthia said, "Honestly, Bianca, you make women look bad. Thankfully, we're not all like you."

Axel turned to Zenon, "I can't believe you think I intentionally got Candace wasted last night."

"Not intentionally," Zenon answered, "Nothing you do is intentional, but it always leads to a f*cking mess."

Suddenly, there was a crash of a chair against the floor as Cynthia and Bianca clashed.

Bryce slammed his hand against the beautiful dinner table, causing it to shake. "You've ruined this vacation! It's New Years' Eve tomorrow and no one here is bringing positivity to the table."

What have I started?

The arguments continued and Bryce yelled, "We ate dinner late and the soup was cold!"

At this point, he was talking to himself. We've gone mad. That's it. We've all gone completely crazy.

This was the dinner from h*e*l*l. Even the candles that lined the walls seemed more malevolent to me now, like flames from the underworld.

And for the first time this evening, Bryce's father clinked his knife against his champagne glass in the sound of a toast. He and his friend were the only two people still seated at the table and keeping some dignity.

We all fell silent to hear his words:

"This isn't the happy group I thought it was. Watching you fight this evening, has led me to one conclusion."

We waited to hear the conclusion. He raised his finger and touched his moustache. Then he continued:

"You're all spoilt. And I'm going to handle this."

We made a disaster out of dinner. Some chairs were on the floor, wine was spilt on the table and we were having so many arguments it was hard to keep track.

"Everyone, follow me," Chadwick senior ordered.

We obeyed. No one said a word as we walked through the rooms of the villa. His house, his rules.

It felt like an entourage of remorseful puppies. Well, maybe not. Zenon didn't seem remorseful at all.

And I felt sorry for Bryce's dad's friend who was awkwardly following us. He had no idea what was going on or who we were. I think he just came for a calm dinner and got a whole show instead.