Page 102 of Dark Room Junkie

“Yes, I promise!” he replied, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “What are you guys worrying about so much? He won’t just jump into the river right away. And as long as he doesn’t find the gun ...”

“What?” Tom bristled.

“It was a joke! For God’s sake! Calm down!”

“Why would you say that?” I asked, pained. “That’s not funny.”

Juri rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance. With black eyeliner on, he had an edgy look to him. “He’s been through much worse. Give him some time, he’ll come around. You know how he is,” he said to Tom. “As long as he’s not completely down, there’s no helping him.”

“It doesn’t have to come to that,” Tom replied.

“It won’t,” I said, pulling out my phone and looking at Juri. “What’s your number?”

30

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Alex

I barely closed my eyes and tossed and turned all night. Not knowing where Noé was after being so close to him tore me apart. I kept checking my phone repeatedly and cursed at Juri. He was probably partying carefree all night, not giving a second thought to Noé. If Tom hadn’t told me that the concert ultimately happened thanks to him, I would have probably spent the whole night wandering around looking for Noé.

On Sunday, I stood by the window, already drinking my third coffee, watching thick flakes fall from the sky. The roofs were white, and the sky was slate gray. It was the perfect day to stay in bed and binge-watch Netflix all day, but I was so wired up that I could probably have run a marathon.

When my phone vibrated, I nearly dropped the cup. I rushed to the dining table and checked my messages.

“Has he contacted you yet?”Tom asked.

“No.”

“He will.”

Unless Noé talks him out of it, I thought worriedly.

I went to the living room and plopped onto the sofa. It was almost noon, and even though I knew I was overreacting, I toyed with the idea of calling Juri. But I didn’t want to be a nuisance either, so I just looked at his profile picture. In the photo, Juri’s pale face was mostly covered by a hoodie, and the only thing visible in the dark photo was the silver lip piercing. In white font were the words: “orders please.”

With Noé’s profile, there was more to see, namely himself. His photo was mesmerizing because the longer I looked at it, the more it revealed a side of him that I had hardly seen before. The side he so often masked with his charm and his captivating smile.

I wonder who took the picture?

As I went back to the chat history, I noticed that the two ticks were still not turning blue.

And it was me who showed him that damn privacy setting.

Did he even read my message?

My phone suddenly vibrated, and a message from Juri came in.

“He’s here. You can come by. But you don’t need to hurry. He’ll probably sleep for a while longer. Call me when you’re downstairs at the entrance.”

I jumped up immediately, grabbed my jacket, wallet, and car keys, and ran out of the apartment. There was no way I was going to wait any longer.

With hardly any traffic, it didn’t take me ten minutes to get there. And luckily, I found a parking spot right in front of the address Juri gave me. I was still sitting in the car when an older man came out of the house, supported by three Latinas in skimpy miniskirts. The man said goodbye to the ladies and staggered away. Uncertain if I was in front of the right house, I leaned forward and scrutinized the building.

Erotic World.

What the ...?

I reached for my phone and dialed Juri’s number.

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