Nik
lay face down on the mattress. Water blasted from the bathroom sink. When Josh
saw his friend, relief turned to anger.
“Where
the hell have you been?” Josh said.
Nikko
didn’t stir. Josh shook him. Nik moaned.
“Jesus,
Nik, wake up! We missed singing tonight.”
“Tired.”
Nik rolled on his side, back to Josh.
Josh
stood up. The red light on the phone blinked.
“Someone
stole the guitar,” Josh said. “And the desk wants us to pay up. They’re gonna evict
us.”
“No
money.”
“No
money?” Josh asked. “We should have a thousand dollars left.”
“Gone.”
Nik’s hand flopped over the side of the bed.
Ice
burned in Josh’s gut. He grabbed Nik by the shoulder and rolled him over. And
that was when he saw the red lines streaking down his inner arm, streaks red as
the popsicles they ate last summer, red as the color of blood.
***
Here, the 14th installment of THE RUNAWAY, a story in THE MINISTER'S WIFE, a novel under construction. Will this baby ever end? Still a ways to go... but it is going to get gritty and real, real fast.
To read the previous installment, go HERE. As always, thank you dear readers for taking time to linger here. Peace...
Posts
Those are some dire straits they're stuck in!
ReplyDeleteOh dear. My fears for Nick seem to have been realised. And the pain I felt for Josh who has been betrayed by a friend are also realised. Till this time next week then...
ReplyDeleteGreat writing. Last paragraph in particular I found very moving and descriptive! Will tune in again next week! :)
ReplyDeleteYikes! I'm so worried now, I want to rush and get cloths and water and slap Nik awake.
ReplyDeleteJai
Yes, this is almost rock-bottom. A bump in the slide. Dire Straights. I love that band ;^)
ReplyDeleteThanks all for reading--I'll be popping around the blogosphere later today. Peace...