CHAPTER 2
"93.1 Jack.fm radio, playing rock twenty four seven, prepare yourselves, this ride’s about to get bumpy..."
"Yeah, yeah, give me the music..." The window beside me was wide open, letting the wind throw my chestnut bangs in my face. I tucked a stray of hair behind my ear. Darn traffic lights on every corner. I could’ve swore only an hour passed with me sitting in the traffic jams. My hand lied on the speed shifter, jerking it on it’s sides eagerly. I gave the rearview mirror a second of my gray eyes, seeing the cars tailing up beside my Mustang. Once the radio guy stopped talking about some marketing stuff, a sound of strings filled my car. Moments later guitars blended in with them.
"... I don't belong here, we gotta move on, dear, escape from this afterlife..." Escape from the afterlife. I smiled on the thought. Green light. My foot hit the clutch, changing the gear and stepping on gas just to make the car move by an inch before a black escalade showed out of nowhere, making the cars behind me be just inches from kiss my ass.
"Oh c’mon!" I cried out, driving beside the asshole who had just confirmed my hatred towards people.
Red light.
Aviators covered his eyes as he turned to face me with a dimpled smile, letting his hand run over his freshly shaved head. A guy with handcuffs tattooed on his neck sat beside him. Odd looking people. They were talking and the driver pointed to me. I rolled my eyes, taking a deep breath and turning the radio just a tad louder.
Green.
Before the driver managed to get his grinning face away from me and see that he was allowed to actually move, I already was long lost gone, leaving a smoking track behind me.
My phone vibrated somewhere in the passenger seat, probably underneath the black leather bag, or it could’ve fallen to the ground when I took the ‘safe’ maneuver with the escalade.
I reached out, shoving the bag on the floor, never taking my eyes off the road. After all I wasn’t suicidal.
It kept vibrating, annoying me. Another red light. Good. I stopped the car and looked over the seat, seeing the phone was vibrating just an inch from where my fingers were looking for it. I pressed the connection button, seeing the green light again.
"Hey, you mind grabbing some beer?" Before answering my lazy-ass apartment mate, I took a turn left.
"You’re actually asking me this?" I could already see the apartment house, there was no reasonable explanation why I should turn around and go buy him a beer.
"I don’t see the problem... I could share." I could hear a smirk in his voice. The guy was mocking me. Seriously?
"I don’t drink." My finger pressed the ‘disconnect’ button. Out of all people, I had to choose him as my savior. People told me I was insane, but now I was somehow starting to realize it. I parked on the street, right next to Duke’s black BMW. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I saw the escalade turning in. My eyes narrowed when the car stopped behind my mustang. I kept standing there, not even being able to shut the door, hanging on them just not to explode in rage, I knew where they were heading.
Towards my apartment. And I had to bear with them. For rest of the evening.
I raised my head towards the cloudless sky. Morrison – don’t you even think of it. If he’s there, you surely aren’t on his favorite people list.
I sighed and lowered my gaze.
The driver raised his aviators slightly and winked towards me. Creep. I snorted.
I went around the car, rolling my eyes, until I got to the trunk. I lifted out a black briefcase, locking the car and later squeezing through the driver and his companion. Before I even had managed to step up the porch, the door opened and a smiling Duke was in my face.
I sighed heavily before walking around him.
"Duke, what’s up with your lady?" One of them laughed out as I kicked the door shut. Lady. Yes, that made me burst into loud inner laugh. I walked over the couch and placed the keys on the wooden coffee table. My eyes were caught on a notebook. It wasn’t there before I left. I looked around the twilight filled room just to make sure he was having his hourly smoke. Muffled sentences came to my notice. I had a couple of minutes before they were going to come in.
I turned over the pages never really picking up the notebook itself. Some sort of lines and ... numbers... and words? I wrinkled my eyebrows. I shut the notebook at the same time when the door opened. His companions were telling him something, it didn’t seem like he was even listening. His brown eyes looked at me and later focused on the briefcase I was holding.
"I hope my beer is in there..." He pointed out, making me look at him in great disbelief.
"Are you... joking?" My voice sounded a little too sweet than it was supposed to. I walked around the coffee table, just to see his friends taking their places on my couch, eating my peanuts.
"Nah... I don’t think so." He landed himself in the armchair, placing his feet on my coffee table. I was two seconds away from slicing his limbs off. He arched his eyebrow towards me. I bit on my lower lip, not ever looking away from him. I did that an awful lot when somebody pissed me off.
"Stop you two. Chris’ already on the way with beer..." The driver person spoke. Great, yet another one of his baboons. I walked my way to the door which was right next to the tv and right in front of the armchair in which Duke was sitting.
"So… you’re gonna be here…? The whole night…" What was with him and trying to get me out of my apartment?
"You have a problem with that?" My voice was cold. I was looking over my shoulder, seeing him take his fedora off and shake his head to my question. I laid my arm on the door knob, but his words stopped me, yet again.
"We might get a little loud." For a moment I stood there, inspecting the texture of the wooden door. The paint was starting to peel. I thought about what he said. Getting a little loud. Maybe this was a good night after all… I could get some work done. King Douche would be drinking and thinking I was in my room. He would grant me my alibi.
Without a word I opened the door and walked in.