The Troll Whisperer by Sera Trevor

Once
he stopped coughing, he called her back. “What do you want?”
     
    “What do you think I want?” Alex sounded
apoplectic. “I have been trying to get a hold of you for the last
week, and you keep brushing me off! Are you coming to dinner next
Saturday or not?”
     
    “Is it that important?”
     
    “Considering that you have yet to meet the
man I’m going to marry, and we’re only going to be here for the
weekend before we head back to Massachusetts, which makes this your
last chance to meet him before the wedding, I’d say, yes, it is
pretty goddamn important! Besides, do you remember the last time
you went to see Mom? Or Sophia, or Stephanie, or Nikki?” When Oscar
didn’t give her an answer, she supplied it for him. “Christmas.
That’s when. They miss you.”
     
    “How about Dad?” Oscar sneered. “Does he miss
me, too?”
     
    There was a very brief pause. “Yes, of course
he does,” Alex said. Her tone softened. “Come on, Oscar. I miss
you, too. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen you, and I don’t
know when I’ll get the chance to come home again.”
     
    Oscar heaved a great sigh. “Yeah. Sure.
Whatever.”
     
    He heard Alex sighing, too. “Not exactly the
enthusiasm I had hoped for, but I’ll take it. Dinner’s next
Saturday at six. Don’t be late.”
     
    “Cool,” Oscar said, although it definitely
wasn’t. “See you then.”
     
    They hung up. Oscar took another hit on his
bong, then wandered into the kitchen for a beer. He had no plans to
face this night sober.
     

CHAPTER FIVE

    Oscar ducked out of his usual Tuesday date
with Noah. He said he had plans with Jeremy. That was a lie, but
then he decided that it would be an even better cover story if he
actually did have plans with Jeremy. He should have contacted
Jeremy earlier, but he didn’t know what to say. Jeremy had switched
shifts to graveyard, so he didn’t see him at work anymore. They
were close, but the kind of close where you didn’t talk about your
feelings. Ever. Was he going into rehab? What would that mean for
their friendship? They spent almost all of their time together at
that stupid bar. Would Jeremy getting sober mean he’d lose him?
     
    Jeremy responded immediately after Oscar
texted him. He suggested they meet at the Downspout Diner; they
often met there for hangover food. When he entered the restaurant,
he really shouldn’t have been surprised to see Crystal there, yet
he was. They waved him over to the booth where they’d already been
seated. A basket of onion rings was on the table. Jeremy had a
soda, and Crystal had a cup of coffee.
     
    “Hey, Oscar,” Jeremy said with a weak
smile.
     
    Crystal smiled and gave a little wave. “Good
to see you again.”
     
    Oscar eyed her suspiciously as he sat down
across from them; he still didn’t know how he felt about her.
     
    Nobody said anything for a few minutes. The
waitress came by and offered to bring Oscar a drink. When she left,
Jeremy reached into his pocket and placed a silver coin in the
middle of the table. “It’s my first sobriety chip.”
     
    Oscar waited for Crystal to say something,
like how Oscar should be proud of him or some such shit, but she
said nothing. She sipped her coffee, managing to somehow not be
involved. She didn’t have that nervousness a third party usually
had when in the middle of a private conversation. She was just…
there.
     
    “Great,” Oscar said. “That’s… really great.”
He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the salt and pepper shakers. “So,
uh, how many days have you been… you know?”
     
    “Ten.” Jeremy laughed a little. “God, that
sounds pathetic. It’s just been ten days, and I’m already falling
apart.”
     
    Oscar forced himself to look at Jeremy. “You
don’t look like you’re falling apart.” Which was true, sort of.
Jeremy always looked kind of busted, but he didn’t look any worse
than usual.
     
    Jeremy laughed a little. “Yeah, well, I am.
Have been for a