Deadlocked 7 by A.R. Wise Page A

retiring type.”
    Hero chuckled and then glanced around the room. “It’s weird in here, man.”
    “What?” asked Billy.
    “Look at the pictures and shit. This used to be someone’s home, you know? Some family lived here. Kind of gives me the creeps.”
    “Seem like good people,” said Billy as he looked around at the pictures of the family. “Loved their kids and all that. Kind of reminds me of my place, before my parents got divorced.”
    “How was that?” asked Hero. “Was it tough for you when they split up?”
    “Not really,” said Billy. “They were polar opposites. Honestly, when they split it was sort of a relief. I stayed with my mom, but my dad lived across the bay. Still saw him all the time though.”
    “Wish I could’ve met your dad,” said Hero. “From what you’ve told me, he seems like a good guy.”
    “He was,” said Billy. “How about you? What was your dad like?”
    Hero shrugged and looked away, reluctant to answer. “Didn’t know him.”
    “Oh really?” asked Billy. “Did your mom say anything about him?”
    “No,” said Hero. “She just told me he was a junkie asshole. I actually met him once, and he was pretty much what I expected.”
    “That sucks,” said Billy. “Sorry to hear that.”
    “I’ll never forget it, man,” said Hero. “I was out playing ball with Mark – this was before he got shot - and I lost a game, which meant I had to be the one to go home and get money for drinks. We always tried to stay away from home as much as possible, so we’d play to see who had to go home for shit that we needed. Neither of us ever wanted to deal with our mom. We were pretty much on our own, but she never wasted a chance to tell us that we lived in her house, or tell us to go buy her something to eat. Anyhow, I got home and saw a dude sitting on our couch. A fucking junkie if ever there was one, thin as a rail and no shirt on, fro sticking up in ten directions, hands shaking and big black bags under his eyes. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and when he talked it just hung there, like it was glued to his lip or something. He had ashy elbows, and sores around his mouth, and stank like fucking mustard. Swear to God, man, I never smelled nothing like it on a dude before, but that mother fucker smelled just like yellow mustard.”
    Hero laughed and shook his head as he nervously played with his fingernails. “He saw me and started to laugh, real low and slow like; weird as hell. His eyes were slits, bloodshot and nasty. And he had this grey crust on his right eye, like he never bothered to clean the sleep out of it, and it just turned black and gross and shit. He looked at me with a smirk, like he was judging me. He just said my name three times, real slow as he nodded. Levon. Levon. Levon. Then he shook his head, closed his eyes, and sat back in his seat.  I got the money and got the fuck out of there, thinking the guy was just another one of my mom’s shitty junkie friends. That night she told me he was my dad.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “That’s the only time I ever met him.”
    “Damn, man,” said Billy. “ Fuck him. You were better off without him.”
    Reagan leaned forward and set his hand on Levon’s knee. He gripped it and shook his leg. “I think the first thing a man should aspire to be is a better father than the one he had. And I know you’d be a damn good father.”
    “Provided some girl was dumb enough to fuck you,” said Billy.
    Hero laughed and then swatted at his friend. “Listen to this virgin cracker.”
    “Virgin?” Billy laughed as he avoided Hero’s swipe. “I might’ve only had enough to count on my fingers, but I had some fine ones in my day.”
    “Shit,” said Hero. “I can count all the girls I’ve been with on my fingers too.” He started flipping his fingers rapidly, one by one counting to ten and then starting over. “It’d just take me a long damn time.”
    “You two are hopeless,” said Reagan as