“What the fuck do you mean,goodmorning? Don’t you know what is going on?” I am clueless, honestly. I just woke up. I don’t even know what time it is. I haven’t even stretched yet.
“No, I’ve been asleep.”
“Apparently… listen. The Rose is closed until further notice.”
“What the fuck?Why?”
“Maybe if you had gotten your ass up and answered me earlier, you would know.” He pauses. “The cops found some guy dead in the alley between The Rose and the little shop next to it. Janice said they told her that his fingers and his eyes were missing. Some fucked up shit.”
“Do they know who it was?” I sit straight up in my full-size bed, no longer resting against the headboard.
“They said they can’t release any names yet. Not until the family is notified or some shit like that.”
“Well, damn. Who do you think killed him, or who do you think was killed?” I ask.
“Bitch, I don’t know?! Maybe a couple of those homeless guys who usually sit by the front of the bar. They probably went off on each other over beer or drugs. That’s what usually happens outside of places like bars.”Jace’s assumption just doesn’t make sense. Something about the way he died doesn't add up.
"Poor guy probably doesn’t have a family. That’s usually the type they go after…”
“Whogoes after?”
“Or…you know…maybe it was a murderer.”
“Whothe fuck said it was a homicide?!”
“It just doesn’t make sense. If he’s missing body parts, it just doesn’t sound like it would be two homeless guys fighting over beer and drugs. The guy had to have some kind of hate towards this person. Something must have pissed him off.”
“Bitch, don’t use your true crime shit on me. Just stay the fuck home. Hell, I’ll come over and make sure you don’t leave if you need me to.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad. We could order in. Maybe watch something on Netflix…”
“Yeah, whatever.” He laughs. “I’ll be over in a few hours.”
Jace shows up a few hours later just as he planned, with plastic grocery bags full of random snacks and a bottle of Tequila. The bright red words “THANK YOU” on the bag are bent, covering what it contains. This night is going to be my kind of night.
“Move, bitch.” He laughs, pushing past me through the door. “Okay, I brought the essentials. All the fucking chips they have at that little convenience store just past your apartment. I also got some sour candy, that Bunch a’ Crunch candy you like,andof course, my Nerd Clusters.” He sets the grocery bag on the counter in my small kitchen.
“I see you brought drinks.” He places the large bottle next to the bag of snacks.
“Fuck yeah, I did.” He searches my cabinet and pulls out two black coffee mugs. He twists off the silver cap and pours theTequila, filling the mugs halfway. “You got any Sprite or juice?” He opens my partially full fridge. “Hell yes, there it is.” He shimmies out of the way of the door and tops our drinks off with a remaining bottle of Starry I had sitting on the bottom shelf.
“I just ordered Chinese from that place you like. It should be here any minute.”
“See this, this is why I love you.” He takes each of the packages out of the plastic bag and sets them next to our drinks. The takeout is at the apartment within minutes.
The two of us sit on the couch and search through my Netflix horror choices. Some are classic slasher films from the 1980s, but most are current movie choices that haven't received many positive reviews. With the amount of talking and drinking we are going to be doing tonight, the options could go either way. Jace’s idea of small talk, however, turns into more of a game of twenty questions that he asks while using my remote to scroll through the many choices.
“What do you mean, he fucked you on his kitchen counter?!” Jace asks, shoving noodles in his mouth. His question is muffled with lo mein.
“Exactly what I said…” I pick up the steamed broccoli with the flimsy wooden chopsticks provided by the restaurant. Thinking about the night still sends goosebumps down my arms. The night ended just right. Waking up in his bed the next morning was the icing on the cake. However, the money on the end table next to me and a missing Lee weren’t the morning greeting I expected.
“Okay bitch,details. I need fucking details. You left with him from the bar, then went back to his place, which you say is huge. You asked for water and then… you fucked in the kitchen?!”
“Yeah, that sums it up,” I answer by taking a bite of the broccoli I have been struggling with.
“I don’t fucking believe it. That shit only happens in books.”
“Then I must be living in one fucked up book, my friend.” The smile on my face widens as my chopsticks grab a piece of the spicy chicken.
