Part 1
[January 1st, 2007-
10:43p.m.]
He stood looking
over the chaotic city; even though the festivities of the New Year had ended,
cars congested the highways and pedestrians resembled flecks of moving dirt
from his view. He rested his head against the glass, letting the chill of the
large picture window soothe his head.
A door opened in
the distance. His heart wanted to look but his pride refused.
“AJ?” His best
friend and band mate called to him. Slowly, he turned, letting his eyes adjust
to the golden light that created a halo over his friend’s head.
Brian was the
Christian one, he said to himself.
“What do you
want?” He asked. His words fused together with liquor. Brian made his way into
the suite, closing the door behind him then looking at the bar.
“What happened,
man? Xavier left out of here in tears.” He said.
“Man, forget her.”
He exclaimed while stumbling to the bar. “I need a drink.”
“No you don’t,”
Brian protested. “You need to tell me what happened between you and Xavier.”
“Same old, same
old,” he mumbled, reaching for a half bottle left of Grey Goose vodka. “She’s
not ready for this life. She never could handle the life we live.”
“We?” Brian
repeated. His face was twisted with disgust and confusion. “What do you mean
‘we’?” AJ struggled to steady his hand holding the frosted white glass bottle
over the small shot glass. He closed one eye, zooming in on the half dollar
sized opening; tunnel vision kicked in and he opted to raise the bottle to his
lips. Brian rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “AJ?”
The room
temperature booze stung all the way down through his sternum and into his stomach
but he didn’t stop.
No, stopping would
leave room for memories and he wanted to erase them all.
“AJ!” Brian’s
voice broke through his alcoholic trance. He gulped down the rest of the vodka
and looked at his friend. His blue eyes were heavy with questions. “What
happened with you and Xavier?”
“Well…” he trailed
off when a door to the left of them opened.
“Mmm…AJ,” a woman
purred. Brian cleared his throat again nervously, turning away from the nude
woman who seemed to care less that she and AJ were not alone in the suite. “I’m
ready for another go.”
“Give me one…
minute.” AJ replied. She flipped her bleach blonde extensions then turned on
her heels, out of the doorway. Laughter tickled his raw throat and he nudged
Brian. “See that,” he grinned. “She can’t get enough of me.”
“I’ll bet,” he
said dryly. “I think I understand why Xavier left.” He sighed then made his way
back to the door but stopped. “Oh yeah. She told me to give this back to you
too.” He set a solitaire diamond ring onto the bar’s black and white marble
counter. “I guess she was right after all. You don’t wanna change.”
***
