Page 91 of Bazooka
Another crying fit stopped me from elaborating further.
“Don’t you think you two should give each other a chance to explain?” Tye asked me. “It seems to me that a lot was left unsaid between you. How about we talk to Bazooka and see what he has to say?”
I swiftly straightened up, and the cucumber slices fell from my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“We can visit him. Hear his side of the story.”
“Really?” I muttered, wiping away my tears. “Will you tell me what he said?”
Tye shook his head. “I won’t betray his trust, Luz, but I’ll do all I can to help.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that works. Jordie…”
“What do you need?”
“Where’s my face powder?” I asked him, trying to think of everything. “And a concealer. These dark circles under my eyes need to disappear. If Bazooka drops by, I don’t want to look like a ghost from a Japanese horror schlock. Also, did I bring my butt plug with me?”
Jordan groaned and headed to the kitchen to get himself a beer or a dozen. Tye and Carter laughed, kissed, and fucked off. And I remained where I was, with my hope hanging by a thread, but it was the only thing that kept my heart beating.
Bazooka
Some kind of infernal noise woke me up. I raised my head, groaning when the sharp pain made me feel as if my head had been sliced in half. Then the noise repeated itself, making my head hurt more, but now at least I recognized the noise as my doorbell. I lowered my feet to the floor, knocking down a dozen beer bottles. I stepped on one of them and almost tripped over a rug. When the doorbell rang for the third time, I cursed under my breath.
“I’m coming!” I bellowed. “Stop ringing, asshole!”
I opened the door, only to see Tye and Carter standing in the doorway.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” I grumbled. “Haven’t you heard of the thing called announcing your visit?”
“It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing,” Tye said dryly. “Can we come in?”
“Do I have a choice?” I said, stepping to the side to let them pass.
Once I closed the door behind them, I headed to the kitchen and took a bottle of tequila out of the fridge.
“It stinks in here,” Tye said. “You should let some air in.”
“Hence the announced visit,” I countered, filling my glass to the brim.
A glance around the room told me I wasn’t exactly ready to entertain guests. The floor was littered with bags of chips and other shit that I ate. Bottles and beer cans lay scattered all around the place. The stench coming from the bathroom told me I’d vomited once or twice in the not-so-distant past.
I raised the bottle in an unspoken question, but they both shook their heads. It made me realize they looked good. Happy. It was one sight I couldn’t stand lately. Happy people.
“Why are you drinking?” Tye asked me, raising the shutters and opening the window.
When a ray of sunlight almost blinded me, I groaned in pain. I headed to the darkest corner of the room and sat down on the floor, placing a bottle of tequila between my legs.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, gentlemen?” I said, drinking up and ignoring his question.
“We wanted to check up on you and see how you’re doing,” Carter replied, sitting down on the sofa.
“If we knew you’re drinking yourself into oblivion and wallowing in self-pity, we would have come sooner,” Tye added.
“Oh, fuck off,” I snapped. “I have a day off. I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
“We saw Luz earlier today,” Carter said.
