Vodka and Lemonade

“Hey, Z, before we get to your house, she’s gotta meet the guys!” Jimmy exclaimed from behind me. “Danni, I know you’ll love them…and they’ll love you!” he giggled.

I swear the pot gives him the exact opposite effect that it’s supposed to. “Jimmy, what the fuck? I know that pot I gave you wasn’t laced. What’s your deal?” I asked, turning around in the seat so that I could like at him.

“Dude! You’re finally here! And you’re gonna live with us! How can I not be excited?” he asked, seizing me into a hug. “I can’t wait to show you around.”

Zacky pulled up in front of a medium house. “This is Matt’s house. I promise we’ll only be here for a few moments.” He told me.

I nodded my head and got out of the car. Jimmy ran ahead of us and burst through the door, shouting : “Hello, Fuckers! We have arrived!”

Jimmy was immediately hit with a pillow, which he caught and threw back at whoever. The pillow hit the other guy square in the face. I could see a little bit of the house and the people in it, but Jimmy’s huge ass took up most of the doorway.

“Nice to fucking see you, too, Wendt,” Jimmy said. Even though I was standing right behind him, I could tell that Jimmy was smiling. I don’t know if there’s ever a time when he’s not smiling.

“What the hell took you fuckers so long?” Another guy asked. He had a chick with brunette hair snuggle further into his side.

Zacky and Jimmy both beamed. “We were on a secret mission.” Zacky said, pushing me aside.

“And that would be?” Another guy prodded.

“Can’t tell! It’s a secret!” Jimmy grinned. “BUT! We have brought you a little surprise!” he reached out and yanked me in front of him. “Guys, this is Danni. She’s going to be staying with Zacky and I for awhile. Danni, that’s Matt Sanders, Val and Michelle- they’re twins- Brian, Matt Berry, Jason Berry, C. Beckham, and Matt Wendt.” He added, pointing everyone out. He should know that I’m horrible with memorizing faces and names.

I looked around, the names finally clicking in my head. I stood up straighter and yanked my arms out of his hold. “What the fuck, Rain Man? Is every other fucking male in this shitty town named Matt?” I asked. “Well?” I emphasized, looking around the room.

Jimmy quickly counted the guys up. “You know, I never actually thought of that…but it’s true! Well, at least in this room-”

I hit him hard on the back of the head. “It was a rhetorical question, dumbass.”

“Oh, I like her. She’s a keeper.” The guy who threw the pillow first said, sending me a wink. I was repulsed by him.

“I applaud you on your use of rhetorical,” Zacky said at the same time.

I smirked at Zacky before shooting a death glare at the other guy. He quickly cowered back into the seat. Satisfied, she smirked again and looked around. My stomach churned from lack of nutrients. “Where the hell do you keep the booze in this bitch?” I asked, looking around and expected a cooler.

“In the kitchen. The cabinet above the sink, help yourself” One of the other guys said. I assumed that he was the actual owner of the house. Everything about him screamed douche…but that could be because I have a prejudice against guys with dimples- they’re just…way too charismatic, ya know?

I could still hear them as I made my way into the kitchen and found the booze. I was so excited to see a bottle of Jack. Feeling accomplished, I leaned against the wall and eavesdropped on their conversation. Something about me being an easy whore that should be in a nut house…yupp, sounds about right.

“She’s a fucking psycho bitch!” one of the girls screamed.

I decided that was my cue to enter. “Ahem,” I cleared my throat loudly. “Bitch? Yes. Psycho?” I looked up slightly in thought and waved my hand. “Maybe a little. But together? Never.” I smirked, as I strutted over to my boys and sat on Jimmy’s lap. Zacky immediately made a grab for my bottle. Seeing this, I made a low growl. “Baker, if you fucking touch this bottle, I’ll make sure you never live to see tomorrow. You know I will.”

He quickly retracted his hand.

I looked around the room again and laughed at their priceless faces. “What? You’re not scared are you?” she asked with a smirk.

“So, guys, what’s up?” Zacky asked, trying to break the awkward silence that my question left.

The owner of the house unwrapped his arm from around his girlfriend and leaned forward. “So, Danni, is it?”

I nodded as I took another swig. “It is. And chances are that your name is Matt?”

“Right…anyways, what brings you here to Huntington?”

“I killed a man and I have to hide out from the cops. The IRS as well as the FBI are also after me.” I said with a straight face. No point in lying to them. They would find out eventually. “These two owe me a few favors and here I am,” I said in between swigs of whiskey.

The room went dead silent for two long seconds before Zacky and Jimmy cracked up laughing. “That was a good one, D! You crack me up!” Jimmy roared, squeezing my hip. “God, I love you!” He said after he buried his head into the crook of my neck. I could feel his laughs racking through his frame.

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Zacky. “Speaking of last night,” I said, patting his thigh. “You promised me a shower and a bed and I haven’t seen either of them! Let’s go, Fatty, before I have to go on a killing spree.” I said as I got up, pulling Zacky with me. “Nice…meeting you guys, I guess,” I addressed to the room.

“Oh! You’ll get to meet my brother and sister!” Zacky exclaimed behind me as I made my way to the door. Seriously? What is up with me picking hyper people for my safe house? This is getting a little ridiculous.

I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess, your brother’s name is Matt?”

“How did you know?!”

“I told you she’s fucking psychic!” Jimmy yelled. There was something else said, but I couldn’t quite hear it. “Wait the fuck up, guys! I’m coming!” Jimmy yelled again, scrambling to the car.

“Well, that was interesting,” Zacky laughed as he pulled out of the drive.

“Yea, I think you scared them, D,” Jimmy replied. “So, what actually happened?”

By this time, we had pulled up to a house only a block away. I got out of the car. “I already told you. Now can I please get a shower and sleep?” I half-whined. I was so fucking tired. I was surprised I stayed up this long.

Zacky nodded his head. “You can sleep in my room for now. I don’t know if the guest room is made up or not. I’ll have to ask my mom.” He said, leading me through the house. “This is it,” he said, revealing a dark blue room. “Do you have any other clothes?” he asked, looking me up and down.

I shook my head.

He pursed his lips and crossed to the dresser. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of boxers. “For now, wear these. I’ll see if Zina, my older sister, left any clothes. She’s bigger than you, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a belt.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice coming out very weak.

He smiled and hugged me. “No problem. Like they say: my home is your home. The bathroom’s down the hall. Jimmy and I will be downstairs if you need anything,” he said before kissing my forehead.

I nodded my head and pushed him down on the bed. I immediately knealed down and started working on his pants.

“Wh-what are you doing, D?”

“Repaying you,” I replied bluntly, undoing his button and zipper.

His hand instantly stopped me. “You know you don’t have to do that.”

I looked up at him, confused. “I don’t have any money.”

“I know that.”

I rocked back on the balls of my feet. “Let me rephrase, this is the only way I can repay you.”

Zacky pulled me up into his lap. “You don’t have to repay me.”

“But-”

“None of that, now. Go and get a shower.”

I nodded my head again. “Can you just do me one more favor?”

“Anything.”

“If Lou’s people call, tell them I’m not here- that you haven’t seen me in months. Can you and Jimmy do that?”

Zacky was silent. “Exactly how much trouble are you in?”

“Remember what I said before at the other house? It was the truth.”

“Fuck, Danni, I’m sorry. I’ll pass down the message. If anyone asks, you’re my distant cousin, okay?” he said, wrapping me in another hug. “Now go, take off your tension. Take as long as you need.”

I followed his directions into the bathroom. The warm water instantly soothed my tired skin. I was grateful for the steady, even pressure of the water. Back at the club, we were lucky if the water didn’t immediately cut out in the middle of a shower. I don’t know how long I stood there, just letting the water run freely down me and occasionally massaging shampoo into my tangled mess of hair.

A soft knock on the door woke me from my trance. “Hold on!” I yelled, quickly turning off the faucet and wrapping a towel around my bony frame. I opened the door to find a middle-aged woman staring back at me. “Oh, um…hello?” I was never good with these kinds of situations.

She just smiled at me. “I’m Zacky’s mom, and you must be Danni.”

“I am.” This was way too awkward.

She pursed her lips into a thin line. “Well, you’re definitely smaller than I thought you were, but any friend of Zacky’s is welcome here. Dinner is at six. The guest room is ready or you. I put some of my daughter’s clothes on the bed. They’ll be a little big, but it will have to do until I wash your clothes. Can I have them?”

Timidly, I handed her the pathetic pile.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, these won’t do. How long are you staying?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

She nodded in understanding. “If you’re still here by the weekend, then we’ll go and buy you some clothes. My treat.”

“You don’t-”

“Honey, don’t try. I like helping people who need help. And, no offense, but you really need it.”

I nodded. “Thank you. You have a really nice house.”

She laughed. “You can call me Maria. I’ll see you around,” she said before leaving. Sighing, I looked at the mirror. Curiosity taking over, I wiped some of the fog off the mirror and looked at my reflection.

The girl staring back at me wasn’t me. She was skinny and white as hell. Her pasty skin was melted to her bones. Her bones, themselves, jutted out at odd angles all over her back. Her black hair hung in her face, more like yarn than hair. Two lightless blue orbs (you could hardly call them eyes) were surrounded by large black circles. Her lips were thin and chapped- more blue than pink. It was a wonder that she wasn’t dead. She looked it. Half the time, she felt it.

I dropped the towel from around me and looked down at my slightly swollen stomach, once hidden beneath the towel, and touched it. It was so odd, knowing that something was growing inside of me. It was a little creepy to be honest.

I wasn’t fit for a miracle. There was no way I could house it until term. I was a druggie and a whore. And I knew I couldn’t kick all my bad habits. Withdrawals right now were just too bad. They were unbearable. I couldn’t subject someone to that: to my lifestyle. I could barely live, how could I expect a helpless child to survive?

“Tomorrow,” I told the bump while softly rubbing it. “Tomorrow you will be just another mistake. Until then, rest easy knowing that I’m freeing you from a horrible lifestyle. You won’t know pain or heartache. You won’t see this cold world. Trust me, you’re better off this way.”

I walked back to Zacky’s room and changed clothes (they completely engulfed me) before slipping between the sheets and closing my eyes. Jimmy crept in a few minutes later.

“Hey,” he whispered, sitting on the bed next to me. “Do you want dinner?”

I shook my head. “I just want to sleep.”

He nodded his head and slipped in behind me. “Then we’ll sleep.”

I nodded my head and closed my eyes.

“Relax, Danni. No one’s going to hurt you- I won’t let them,” he said soothingly as he placed his hands on my shoulders and massaged me to sleep. “Sleep. You’re safe now…”

Don’t you know? We're all in danger.