“Are you going to be okay?” I let out a stifled laugh as Darryl swatted at something invisible before closing his eyes again.
“If this shit ever wears off.”
“I’ll get ya some hair of the dog,” Roscoe said as he stepped into the house.
I ran in behind him and closed the back door. “We don’t have any gin.”
“Don’t need any for my recipe.”
I followed him into the kitchen, and he reached into the cabinet for a lowball glass before gathering a bunch of different ingredients in bottles.
“Is that the ghost pepper sauce you tricked Adam into eating?”
Roscoe didn’t say anything as he squeezed a fresh lemon into the glass before dumping in a tablespoon of the hot sauce.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Huh?” His smile seemed forced. “Nothin’s wrong.” He reached into the fridge for a couple of eggs before cracking them into the glass.
“God, Roscoe, that looks really gross.”
“Yeah, but it’ll work,” he said, scooping some horseradish sauce into the cup with finely grated ginger.
“You’re going to kill him.”
“Nah, he’ll love it.” Roscoe cracked open a can of vegetable juice and poured it in before stirring vigorously. “Now for the hair of the dog.” Roscoe pulled some loose fur from his armpit and sprinkled it on top.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“It works, I swear!” He trotted out of the kitchen and made his way down the hall, his tail wagging.
I eyed him suspiciously as he disappeared but shrugged it off and reached into the fridge for sparkling water.
“What the fuck?” Darryl shouted before gagging loudly. Coughing and choking were all I could hear for a few seconds before the spigot connected to the water hose outside the kitchen window squealed. The backdoor opened and Roscoe trotted proudly back inside holding an empty glass.
“It worked,” he said, pulling out ingredients for breakfast.
“He drank all of it?”
“Sure did. Drank it all in one gulp.” He didn’t look at me as he pulled down a mixing bowl. “Gonna make us one big-ass omelet.”
More coughing fits from outside pulled my attention before ending in a finale of retching.
“Jesus Christ,” I said, running to the door. “That sounds bad.”
Before I could grab the knob, the door flew open, and Darryl stormed inside.
“Where is that bastard!”
Rapid footsteps shook the house as the front door opened and slammed shut.
Adam burst from his bedroom and ran into the hallway, looking both ways in a panic. “What’s going on?”
“Why did you drink that shit?” I asked.
“I didn’t,” he said. “He poured it into my mouth while I was lying on my back.” His eyes went wide as he grabbed my shoulders. “I’m sorry, Cody. He had a good run, but I’m gonna have to put him down.”
Roscoe peeked in through the living room window, and Darryl snarled, about to run outside before I pulled him back.
