Band Aid Only Covers the Bullet Hole

The moment Frank had given Juliette the drugs and told her to leave, he turned back to me. He was half smirking as he lit up another cigarette, and I didn’t trust that expression; I began to doubt whether he even had anything else for me to do. Frank had started acting funny with me ever since I’d kissed him, but to be honest, I didn’t even like him much. I’d been stoned out of my fucking mind when that had happened, and just didn’t feel about Frank in that way, I suppose. And I’m not saying that he liked me, but sometimes I wondered whether Frank did; every now and then he’d dropped hints, or made certain movements that seemed to suggest it. But then, at the same time, he’d occasionally said or done things that made me think he hated me nearly as much as he hated Juliette.

Frank was still looking at me weird though, and I tried to shrug it off by asking “So, what do you want me to deliver?”

“Nothing.” Frank replied simply, shooting me a sideways smirk. “Just wanted to get Juliette out of my way for a while.”

“What, and not get me to go with her?” I replied with raised eyebrows; I didn’t trust him with things like this. Frank wasn’t a normal guy, as you know, and there were some things he said which just didn’t fit. “You got rid of Juliette, but not me?”

“Pretty much,” he nodded slowly, frowning slightly as he contemplated something for a moment. We were currently standing just outside of the motel bar, and other than a couple of people sitting in one of the old booths in there, the area around us was completely deserted. Frank thought for a minute longer, and then wordlessly held out his cigarette pack to me. My immediate reaction told me to screw my face up and refuse his offer, but then I hesitated; Frank was offering something to me? In a completely selfless way?

No, that couldn’t be right.

“I’m not paying for a single cigarette, that’s retarded.” I snapped, stepping back from him in disgust. Frank looked confused for a moment, but then his hazel eyes widened slightly – almost apologetically.

“No, I thought you might genuinely want one… I wouldn’t make you pay for it, sugar – that’s cheap.”

Yeah, just like you.

Although, I was surprised; I’d never seen or known Frank to deliberately make the effort to help another human being – unless he knew it’d gain him something for himself. I was so taken aback that I nodded, accepting the cigarette and lighter from Frank, and lit the stick of tobacco up swiftly.

Frank tilted his head to the side, watching me closely. I scowled at him out of the corner of my eyes, scuffing my shoes onto the worn out carpet as we stood there in awkward silence.

That was, until Frank spoke up again. “You not gonna say thanks, sugar?”

I rolled my eyes; what an arrogant jerk. “Thank you, sir.”

I expected Frank to glare at me, maybe even yell. But apparently I was predicting the reaction he’d give Juliette for that; Frank let out a small laugh, which I didn’t understand but dismissed fairly easily, watching as his hand moved back into one of the pockets inside his beaten leather jacket. He pulled out a small pack that I instantly recognised as coke, and even just as Frank held it in his hand, I wanted it.

Frank’s expression changed into one of amusement when he caught the glint of desperation in my eye, and nodded his head in the direction of the hall, saying “If you want it, come back to my room with me.”

Mesmerised by the white powder hanging before my eyes, I nodded, and followed the way Frank led me down the hall and into his room. I knew which room it was, having met him outside the door on several occasions, but I’d never actually been inside up until that point. I was kinda interested to see what a drug dealer kept, possessions wise, and didn’t even give the circumstances another thought as I willingly stepped after Frank through the cracked wooden door, and into a dimly lit room that smelt strongly of pot.

I scrunched up my nose and gave Frank a disapproving glance. “How much shit do you smoke in here?”

He shrugged, taking off his jacket and throwing it into the corner. I stood awkwardly by the door as Frank went and lay down on his bed, lifting his head slightly to smirk back over at me. “You can come and sit down, you know.”

I rolled my eyes at him, and took a few more steps into the dingy room until I got to the mattress, and sank down on the edge of it. Looking over my shoulder at Frank, he sat up upon realising I wasn’t going to lie down, and wordlessly began to divide the coke he’d shown me earlier into two equal lengths. He snorted the drug first, before handing it over to me. I imitated his actions almost exactly, feeling a near instant high and my heart begin to race as the drug did exactly what it was meant to.

Frank smirked across at me, once again. “See, you want it now, don’t you?”

“Fuck that, I need it,” I told him, shooting Frank a half grin in return. If I hadn’t been so fucked up right at that moment, I probably would have been surprised when Frank slid a hand onto and up my thigh, but I barely registered it. I was concentrating more on his tattoos again, admiring the way that the drawings seemed to come to life and decorate him in a cartoon like style. Reaching up and gently touching the scorpion his neck, I told Frank “You’re kinda like a walking sketch book, you know that?”

He gave a high pitched laugh. “Not until just now…”

“Hmm… it looks pretty,” I purred in a strange tone that I swear I had never used up until that point. “I like it.”

“You’re fucking stoned,” Frank told me, arching a single eyebrow in my direction. “You haven’t done this shit enough to be used to it yet.”

“Smart one, aren’t you?” I half smiled, watching the shadows across Frank’s face flicker slightly with each movement he made. Dilated pupils staring into dilated pupils, I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was Frank that leant in to kiss me, or me that leant in to kiss him – but the point is, it happened: we kissed. Again; and I didn’t even really like this guy.

Don’t try this at home.