Chapter 4 Seven Minutes In Heaven

• Tatiana
• If there was anything in Emily’s gaze that hinted that she knows what transpired between Hasan and me, she didn’t show it. Or, she was just good at hiding it and was just waiting for the perfect moment to use it against me. For some reason, I couldn’t speak. Not when my thoughts were all over the place. I couldn’t risk blurting out what is meant to be a dirty little secret between Hasan and me. All I could do was stare at my best friend with suspicion that left her confused.
• Emily directs me to my bed and helps me on the bed. She disappears for a second and appears with a bottle of water. I take it and gulp it down, thankful for the freshness of the whey and the way it soothes my dry throat.
• “Can you talk now?” Emily’s face is too close to mine.
• I blink, processing what she’d just said. Emily looks at me knowingly, her eyes widening. “Yes! Yes!” I say loudly in a tone that says I was anything but okay. I stand and move away from Emily, afraid to taint her with my immorality.
• “Taty, what is up with you? You’ve been out of it. Did Hasan do something—
• I don’t let Emily finish her sentence before I cut her off. “Did Hasan what? Why would you think Hasan would do anything to me?” I stutter anxiously, my cheeks suddenly burning red as I recall how he touched me.
• Emily chuckles nervously, though she tries to hide her confusion. “Calm down, Taty. I didn’t say Hasan didn’t do anything to you. It’s just…. I saw him leave your room, and you have been out since then.” She explains, and I realize my bashfulness almost ruins my cover.
• “Oh… oh... yeah, yeah … I’m okay. Totally fine. I’ll, um…” I scratch the back of my head, trying to find something to say to convince Emily she has no reason to worry. “I’m okay. Yeah, I’ll be down in a bit. Go have some fun in the meantime.” Emily nods and exits my room.
• Fuck! That was close.
• I sighed out heavily, throwing my body on my bed. I need to get my emotions in check, and I also need to kill Hasan.
• *****
• Hasan’s party went through a complete 360 from when I walked in earlier. Music blasted loudly. The party was being held in our basement, which had soundproof walls, but somehow, I swear the neighbors could hear.
• I spot Emily in a full-blown makeout session with Hasan. He was the first to see me, and although his lips were locked on hers, he managed to give me his signature annoying and provocative smile. My stomach ties in a knot with jealousy. How could he tease me one minute and make out with my best friend the next?
• A hand wraps around my waist. It probably was one of Hasan’s friends wanting to dance with me, but I was too angry at Hasan to entertain anyone. First, he throws a party knowing full well it will get us in trouble. Then he corners me in my bathroom, and now he’s kissing my best friend? He is such an ass.
• The kitchen is full of horny teenagers. On the counter, there’s a bowl of punch, and I know very well not to drink it. They probably spiked it with whatever drug they could find. I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water.
• Before I could uncap the bottle, a boy I recognize from my calculus class takes out a transparent plastic from the back pocket of his jeans and shows it up to his friends, who yell out in excitement.
• “Hey! No drugs!” I yell out, but my voice could not be heard over the music roaring through the walls. Before I could storm toward them, Emily steps in front of me, squishing and giggling like a twelve-year-old who just had her first kiss.
• “Come with me.” She doesn’t wait for my response before she drags me to the patio. Outside, it's Hasan, his team members, and some girls on the cheer team. Emily lets go of my hands and hurriedly takes her place next to Hasan. Hasan, on the other hand, smiles at me knowingly. I return his smile with a threatening glare.
• I proceed to sit between Hasan’s best friend, who is also co-captain of the football team, and the co-captain of the cheer team. We sit in a circle, and there’s a bottle in the middle.
• Dave, Hasan’s best friend, stands up and clears his throat. “We are playing seven minutes in heaven.” He states, and everyone goes haywire, a common reaction for those who don’t have the balls to do what they want to do and rely on a bottle to give them seven minutes with the one they admire. Pathetic if you ask me.
• “The rules of the game are quite simple. You spin the bottle, and whoever the top lands on, you get to spend seven minutes in heaven with them. Why don’t we give the honors to our host?” Dave turns to Hasan. His friends howl playfully, messing up his perfectly styled hair.
• He empties his cup before scooting to the middle. He takes hold of the bottle and winks at me before spinning it. They wail together, drumming their hands in synchronization, chanting, and eyes glued expectantly to the bottle as it spins.
• Suddenly, ten pairs of eyes are on me. I look around nervously, wondering why at first, until my gaze meets Hasan's before shifting to the bottle pointed in my direction.
• Oh, fuck me.
• “No. I am not spending a second with that asshole in heaven.” I am already on my feet walking back to the basement.
• “Don’t be such a prude, Taty. It’s just a game. Rules are rules.” Dave says. I stop in my steps, slowly turning on my heels.
• “It’s just a game, but that’s my stepbrother. How perverted can you be?” I snap. Dave shrugs as though my line of thought was absurd.
• “What do you think you’d be doing with him?”
• Fucking asshole. He was trying to play the you-are-the-perverted-one card. “Don’t know. Don’t care. I’m out.”
• Dave stops me again. “Okay. Okay. In exchange for backing out of the game, why don’t you answer this question?”
• I didn’t have to answer any questions. The option to walk away was there. But I didn’t want everyone thinking I was such a prude. Besides, what question can Dave ask that would be more than me to answer? Nothing.
• “Do you think Hasan is hot?”
• _____