Page 94 of Dark Room Junkie

“You think you can scam me here!” the guy shouted, then swung and landed a right hook on me.

Shit!My head snapped to the side and I collapsed. When no more blows came, I cautiously looked up. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see Juri beating the guy up. He had never shied away from a fight.

“Are you okay?” Pascal asked, helping me up.

I nodded and touched my split lip. But I was too far gone to feel any pain. Staggering, I leaned back against the wall and tucked the loose strands behind my ear.

“You should get some sleep,” Pascal said kindly.

I wanted to ask, “Where?” but lacked the strength to say it out loud.

At least my silence made Juri alert. He kicked the attacker in the stomach one more time and left him lying. “I’ll take care of Noé,” he said to Pascal. “Can you bring me his backpack?”

“Sure.”

As soon as Pascal disappeared inside, Juri approached. “I told you, hit me up if you need anything. Seems like you have amnesia.”

“You said you were with Romero.”

“So what? It’s better than what you’ve got.”

“What about your guy?” I slurred, knowing his companion had overheard everything and stood there with a questioning look the whole time.

“Sorry, but I have to take him home,” Juri said to the blond guy.

“You’re just leaving me here? We had ...” The poor guy was completely taken aback.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

Pascal returned with my backpack, which Juri immediately took. I didn’t pay attention anymore, just raised my hand in a greeting and started walking. Unfortunately, I almost tripped over my own feet, so Juri took my arm over his shoulder and made sure I didn’t fall.

“I don’t want to go to Romero’s,” I murmured close to his neck. “He was my mother’s dealer.”

“Where then? Home?”

I almost collapsed again.

“Come on, Stoney,” he said, guiding me into an alley. “I just want to help you. And as messed up as you look, you could use all the help you can get.”

As much as I tried to focus on something else, on Juri’s scent or the soft fabric of his knee-length coat, a heavy sadness overwhelmed me. “My mother is dead,” I whispered.

Juri stopped and searched my gaze. “I know, Bro. I’m sorry.” Then he hugged me, put his hand on my head, and held me for a while. I leaned on his shoulder and wondered why I still hadn’t cried since that night when they carried the body out of the apartment. There was a tight knot in my chest, but even now, completely wasted, the tears didn’t come.

Eventually, we arrived at Romero’s Erotic World. After spending so many hours there as a kid, it hadn’t been my intention to ever step foot in this house again. With Juri’s help, I struggled up the stairs to the fourth floor. When we finally arrived, Romero was already waiting for us, holding the key in his hand. He also lived here, and the way he stood indicated he had heard us and was waiting for us.

“What’s going on here?” he asked suspiciously as Juri leaned me against the wall next to the door and pulled out the key.

“Hey, Romero,” I slurred.

“He’s completely wasted,” Romero said, coming closer and lifting my chin. “What have you done to him?”

“Nothing,” Juri replied calmly.

“Did you beat up Guapo?”

“No.”

“And what’s he doing here?”

---