on in the shower, I know I’ve got at least an hour on my own before she even thinks about coming out. Letting out a slight sigh, I raise the bottle and look at the final two shots of clear liquid still resting at its base.
“Fuck it,” I whisper into the empty room as I remove the cap and toss the last of it down my throat, welcoming the sting.
Sliding the window open, I carefully move to sit on the eave beside it and savor in the familiar feel of the scratchy shingles rubbing against my bare feet.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a cigarette and light it up. Addie hates that I started smoking, so I hardly ever do it around her. Truth be told, I barely smoke at all, but when stress hits me, I give into the urge. Right now, between the alcohol and everything she’d just told me, I’m stressing like a motherfucker.
I let my eyes close lightly and as I feel the burn of the smoke in my lungs, my thoughts begin to wander. The warm breeze sweeping over my face doesn’t have the sobering effect I hoped it would. If it’s possible, it’s made me begin to feel it more.
I’m debating going back into her room when I hear the sound of steps below me making their way towards the front door. Looking up, I don’t see anyone parked in the driveway, but down the block I can see a conspicuous looking dark van sitting against the curb.
Holding my breath, I listen as a set of sharp raps sounds against the wooden door accompanied by the sound of a phlegmy cough and hushed profanity. When no one answers a second time, I listen carefully as he shuffles his way to the end of the porch, leaning against the wooden pillar as he lights his own cigarette. As I watch him pull a cell phone from his pocket, I’m grateful that I’m sitting in front of her window instead of our usual spot on the roof. Not only would it be harder to hear what he’s doing, the creepy vibe this guy is giving me makes me happy I’m between him and my girl.
“Yeah,” he says into the phone. “The girl ain’t answering the door… You hear from Greyson? No? Well, I’m not leaving here without some kind of payment…”
What the hell is going on? It sounds like he’s looking for Addie, but nothing he’s said makes any sense. Payment for what?
“You call him back and see where that bastard is… Nah, my kid goes to school with her. She’s pure for sure. You know I don’t fuck with ‘em otherwise.”
What the fuck?
“Yeah, man. I heard her talking about it to one of her little friends a couple weeks ago, I told you that… Yeah, Greyson confirmed it on the phone, said she was a good girl…” he continues, the way he’s talking about Addie making my stomach churn. “Well, yeah, he asked me not to touch her, but he said he’d fuckin’ be there and the bastard didn’t show… Well, I don’t give a fuck how much he begged you, I told him what would happen if he didn’t pay me this time…I don’t know, the lights are on upstairs and I think I hear the shower running so I’m gonna wait here… Oh he’s callin’ you now? Okay, I’ll wait.”
Doing my best to stay quiet and out of sight, I move to the edge of the roof and try to get a better look at him. It’s dark out and at this angle, it’s almost impossible to make anything out. Seeing little more than the dark sleeve of his shirt and a pair of shitty construction boots, I turn to look inside Addie’s window. I can hear the water still running, so I know she’s safe in the shower. I’m trying to think of anything I can use as a weapon in her house when I hear him shift his weight. Glancing back down, I see him taking a step into the yard and taking a piss into the long dried up flowerbed. With the moonlight being bright and his back to me, my blood runs cold when I see the outline of a gun in the waist of his jeans.
“Yeah I’m here,” he starts, walking back toward the porch. “He’s all paid up, then? Alright, cool…
“Fuck it,” I whisper into the empty room as I remove the cap and toss the last of it down my throat, welcoming the sting.
Sliding the window open, I carefully move to sit on the eave beside it and savor in the familiar feel of the scratchy shingles rubbing against my bare feet.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a cigarette and light it up. Addie hates that I started smoking, so I hardly ever do it around her. Truth be told, I barely smoke at all, but when stress hits me, I give into the urge. Right now, between the alcohol and everything she’d just told me, I’m stressing like a motherfucker.
I let my eyes close lightly and as I feel the burn of the smoke in my lungs, my thoughts begin to wander. The warm breeze sweeping over my face doesn’t have the sobering effect I hoped it would. If it’s possible, it’s made me begin to feel it more.
I’m debating going back into her room when I hear the sound of steps below me making their way towards the front door. Looking up, I don’t see anyone parked in the driveway, but down the block I can see a conspicuous looking dark van sitting against the curb.
Holding my breath, I listen as a set of sharp raps sounds against the wooden door accompanied by the sound of a phlegmy cough and hushed profanity. When no one answers a second time, I listen carefully as he shuffles his way to the end of the porch, leaning against the wooden pillar as he lights his own cigarette. As I watch him pull a cell phone from his pocket, I’m grateful that I’m sitting in front of her window instead of our usual spot on the roof. Not only would it be harder to hear what he’s doing, the creepy vibe this guy is giving me makes me happy I’m between him and my girl.
“Yeah,” he says into the phone. “The girl ain’t answering the door… You hear from Greyson? No? Well, I’m not leaving here without some kind of payment…”
What the hell is going on? It sounds like he’s looking for Addie, but nothing he’s said makes any sense. Payment for what?
“You call him back and see where that bastard is… Nah, my kid goes to school with her. She’s pure for sure. You know I don’t fuck with ‘em otherwise.”
What the fuck?
“Yeah, man. I heard her talking about it to one of her little friends a couple weeks ago, I told you that… Yeah, Greyson confirmed it on the phone, said she was a good girl…” he continues, the way he’s talking about Addie making my stomach churn. “Well, yeah, he asked me not to touch her, but he said he’d fuckin’ be there and the bastard didn’t show… Well, I don’t give a fuck how much he begged you, I told him what would happen if he didn’t pay me this time…I don’t know, the lights are on upstairs and I think I hear the shower running so I’m gonna wait here… Oh he’s callin’ you now? Okay, I’ll wait.”
Doing my best to stay quiet and out of sight, I move to the edge of the roof and try to get a better look at him. It’s dark out and at this angle, it’s almost impossible to make anything out. Seeing little more than the dark sleeve of his shirt and a pair of shitty construction boots, I turn to look inside Addie’s window. I can hear the water still running, so I know she’s safe in the shower. I’m trying to think of anything I can use as a weapon in her house when I hear him shift his weight. Glancing back down, I see him taking a step into the yard and taking a piss into the long dried up flowerbed. With the moonlight being bright and his back to me, my blood runs cold when I see the outline of a gun in the waist of his jeans.
“Yeah I’m here,” he starts, walking back toward the porch. “He’s all paid up, then? Alright, cool…
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