AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Heaving himself out of the tub was a feat, made difficult by the fact that his stomach roiled like it wanted to expel all its contents in Jackson Pollock-like fashion against the wall. His foot landed on something squishy, and he grimaced, cringing, and hopping about as he tried to see what was clinging to it, all while the building sounded like Godzilla was shaking the very foundation.
“Ow, fuck, god damnit!” Zakk bellowed, hopping on the other foot now while waiting for the throbbing pain of his stubbed toe to go away.
“I know you fuckin hear me, ‘cause I can sure as fuck can hear you!”
Okay, that furious voice explained the source of the banging. It was a wonder it hadn’t woken Dez, or at least, he was almost certain the blanket mound on the couch was comprised of a mix of Dez, pillows and whatever bits of cloth Dez had been able to wrap around himself. Exhaustion must have finally claimed him then.
His drunken staggering, stumbling, wavering shamble across the living room floor was fraught with danger as he dodged two-liter bottles, a container of spilled pens, a bag of gummi worms and the electric kettle. How that hadn’t gotten tipped over in the night was mind boggling.
The last step was nearly his undoing, the rug having gotten bunched up somehow, causing him to stumble and crash into the door. All that did was prompt banging from the other side, right where his head was, like Riley was trying to pound a nail through his brain with all that noise.
“Will you please, for the love of god, stop beating my fucking door in, ya fuckin mreet!” Zakk snarled as he disengaged the locks and yanked open his door to see Riley standing rumpled and frantic on the other side.
“Is Dez here?” Riley asked as he squirmed through the opening, nearly trampling Zakk in the process.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Morning?” Riley squawked, in that outraged way of his that clearly conveyed what an idiotic statement he felt that was. “It’s four in the afternoon and Dez never came home. He hasn’t been answering his phone. I tried going by his uncle’s place and blowing up his cousin’s phone and they haven’t seen him either. So, is he here?”
“Shocked this wasn’t the first door you came beating on.”
“It was, four hours ago, but no one answered.”
“Maybe because we were sleeping!”
“So, he is here.”
“Yeah, I think, check the lump on the couch.”
In his haste, Riley’s shoulder slammed against his, half spinning Zakk around as he rushed to unwrap the layers to reveal a blissfully unaware Dez, crashed out on the couch cushions.
“He looks exhausted,” Riley murmured, kneeling beside Dez and stroking his cheek.
“Because he is,” Zakk groused, closing the door and relocking it. “He hasn’t been sleeping for shit and we were up all night and most of the morning working on a song.”
“Wasn’t the only thing you were working on if the bottles are any indication,” Riley remarked, tucking the blankets back around Dez.
“Yeah well, we had plenty of provocation.”
Riley’s face fell at that, which made Zakk wonder why he kept stirring up a hornet’s nest when Dez did come home. It was clearly not doing either of them any favors.
“I know.”
“Then when the fuck are you gonna stop and see what an amazing guy you have absolutely enamored of you?” Zakk asked wearily.
“I’m trying, okay.”
“Try harder, ‘cause right now your efforts suck.”
“I know!” Riley snapped, a growl creeping into his voice as he began to pace. His hands were trembling, and it didn’t look like he’d gotten any sleep either.
Maybe the best thing they could do was crash and order in some food, see if they could sort shit out once they weren’t looking and feeling like death.
“I fucked up so bad, again,” Riley said. “I don’t know how to stop. The moment we’re all good I turn around and toss gasoline on the embers of whatever argument we’re supposed to be over, and he takes off, again. Scared that one of these times it’ll be for good.”
“Then maybe you should take a step back and think about what you’re risking, whatweare all risking if that were to happen,” Zakk said. “If we lose him, that’s the end of the band, you know that.”
“I hear you, okay, and I’m trying, I swear to fuck, I’m really, really trying.”
