Status: Ladies and Gents... it is back on!
Burn You Down
Middle-Class Life
“Whoa-ho, we got an alkie on our hands,” Brian teased.
We eased up a little after that, and I had a couple more drinks. Maria and Johnny had immediately hit it off and were shamelessly flirting with one another. It was kind of making everyone sick, actually, but we were all glad that they were having a good time. Except for Zacky and Gena. They sat on the couch the whole time and glared around at everyone. Occasionally, Gena would turn and whisper things into Zacky’s ear, but he never said anything back.
“Let’s go dancing!” Maria yelled, and she, Johnny, Brian, Michelle, and Jimmy all went to the dance floor. I turned to Matt and Val and we small talked for awhile. Zacky and Gena suddenly stood up and left.
“What the fuck is that bitch’s problem?” I hissed. “I ought to rip her bob right out of her scalp. And her boyfriend doesn’t even say anything!”
Matt barked with laughter, and Val smiled.
“In his defense, Zacky is awesome without Gena. She turns him into a complete asswipe and he knows it. Gena is extremely jealous and doesn’t even trust Michelle and me. She is nuts and super psycho. We all wish he would dump her, and I’m glad that you hate her already. Maybe you can be the one to tell her what a freak she is,” Val explained.
“Why don’t you guys do it?”
“Because we love Zacky, and we don’t want him to feel torn between us and Gena. But you have an objective point of view so maybe you can punch her without remorse.”
I laughed at this and we continued drinking. After a while I noticed it was getting late, and I figured I better get Maria’s drunk-self home. She was dancing with Johnny and they seemed to be having a good time. I felt guilty about breaking them to go home.
“Why don’t you just come back to our house with us and crash. We have ample room, so don’t worry about that,” Val suggested.
“No, I couldn’t impose-“
“Oh hush, Av. It’s no bother,” Matt retorted. “I can tell you don’t want to break up the lovebirds, and we’ll continue the party at home. Don’t worry, we’ll leave soon.”
We spent some more time at the club, until about 2:30. Then the guys paid their tabs and we piled into the Escalade and Brian’s small gray coupe. We drove for about 15 minutes and I was starting to wonder where we were going when we turned onto a secluded street. A huge white house with Mediterranean accents loomed at the center of a semi-circular driveway. A smaller driveway went behind the house and had a few cars parked on the side of it. A fence outlined the perimeter and was lit by solar lights every few feet. I stared, slack-jawed at the beauty of it.
“Oh my..”
“Awesome, right?!” Jimmy bounced up and down in the SUV, ready to burst out of the car.
We parked and went into the house, leaving our shoes just inside the front door in the foyer. Vaulted ceilings soared with a beautiful art nouveau chandelier hanging in the center. to the left was a large living room with several plush beige couches and a large 70” television. Past the living room was a large kitchen decorated with black and white stone tiles. The appliances were all stainless steel with some of the smaller appliances being a bright red. To the right of the kitchen was a modern dining room in a black and beige theme with several small gold accents. To the right of the foyer was a long hallway. The first room was a large bedroom with sliding doors. It had a bathroom that came off to one side of it. Further down the hallway, was a second bedroom with another bathroom coming off of it. A large, glossy, wooden staircase led upstairs, where a long hallway branched into 3 smaller ones, all leading to bedrooms that had individual bathrooms. All in all, there were 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, enough for each guy/couple to have their own. There might have been a basement, but we weren’t shown it at the time.
“You guys all live here?” I wondered.
“Yeah,” Val said. “It’s more cost effective and since the guys are on tour a lot, Michelle and I keep each other company. And Gena, too, I guess.”
“My room’s right here!” Jimmy pointed to the bedroom with the sliding doors that first came off the foyer. “I’m loud so I have to have the bedroom furthest away from everyone.”
Suddenly, there was a scratching sound followed by panting. A large white bulldog and a medium sized mixed breed dog came bounding down the stairs.
“Icky! Bella! Oh my goodness!” Michelle cooed as the dogs ran up and licked her face. Icky, the bulldog, waddled over, sniffed my shoes and gave a short bark. I knelt down and rubbed his belly and he tried to lick my face.
“Are these your dogs, Michelle?”
“Oh no, Bella is Val and Matt’s. Icky is Zacky’s…” She answered.
“Aw, that’s a shame,” I said. “Since he’s such a dick.”
“Avinne!” Maria scolded.
“I’m not a dick to my dog,” a voice called from upstairs.
Zacky descended down the steps in long black shorts and a cut off black t-shirt. He stared directly at me the entire time he was coming down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, Zacky narrowed his eyes and turned to Matt.
“What are you guys doing?” Zacky asked.
Johnny led Maria down the hall to the back bedroom. I watched, worried she might be making a poor decision, but decided to let it go.
“We’re letting them stay here for the night, since it’s so late,” Matt replied.
“You’re going to let some random people just fucking crash at our house?” Zacky snapped, looking at me with a strange expression.
“Dude, they’re not rand-“
“What the fuck is your problem with me?” I yelled. “I’ve been nothing but kind to you and your friends, and everyone else seems fine with me. Is it that your cunt of a girlfriend is so jealous of other women that she’s turned you into a petty, little bitch?” At this, Zacky quickly advanced over to me. Matt made a move to push Zacky back, but I stepped forward to meet him.
“I’m not a freak Zacky.”
“Yeah?! Well I don’t like you coming in here, acting like you know shit. Like you know what the fucking deal is around here. You don’t know shit. You’re just a fucking nurse that’s Jimmy’s new toy to play with. When he gets bored with you, he’ll fucking drop you, and you’ll go back to your mundane goddamn life.” He backed up, eyes burning with anger, nostrils flared.
“Wait, Avinne, that’s not true at all!” Jimmy nervously looked at everyone.
The tension in the room was unbearable. Zacky and I stood there, staring at one another. I couldn’t even make myself move, I was so angry. Very calmly, and quietly I tried to maintain my cool as I said:
“Remember that, the next time you go to the hospital. The next time you need help or services from anyone who leads a middle class life. That you were so fucking snobby, that you just degraded one of the most honor-filled, rewarding, Good Samaritan jobs that there is. You are the lowest person I have ever met, and I hope that, aside from these people, no one ever counts you among their friends. Because I know that, no matter what, I never will. I’ll call a cab; call me if you need me to come get Maria. I only live about 15 minutes from here, so I can get here quickly.” I handed wrote down my phone number and handed it to Val. Michelle and Jimmy tried to protest, but I was already out the door.
“Let me at least drive you home, Avinne!” Jimmy yelled, but I was already halfway down the driveway. I called a cab and they quoted me a 10 minute wait. I sat down at the end of the driveway and waited. I could see everyone standing on the porch, waiting for me to get picked up. Eventually, the cab pulled into the driveway and drove me back to the apartment Maria and I shared. I noticed I had received a text from Val on the way home.
Avinne, we are so sorry
It’s alright Val, call me tomorrow?
Sure thing, girlie
I changed into my pajamas and hopped into bed, thinking not about how much I wanted to hurt Zacky, but how about how much I wanted to hurt his girlfriend.
We eased up a little after that, and I had a couple more drinks. Maria and Johnny had immediately hit it off and were shamelessly flirting with one another. It was kind of making everyone sick, actually, but we were all glad that they were having a good time. Except for Zacky and Gena. They sat on the couch the whole time and glared around at everyone. Occasionally, Gena would turn and whisper things into Zacky’s ear, but he never said anything back.
“Let’s go dancing!” Maria yelled, and she, Johnny, Brian, Michelle, and Jimmy all went to the dance floor. I turned to Matt and Val and we small talked for awhile. Zacky and Gena suddenly stood up and left.
“What the fuck is that bitch’s problem?” I hissed. “I ought to rip her bob right out of her scalp. And her boyfriend doesn’t even say anything!”
Matt barked with laughter, and Val smiled.
“In his defense, Zacky is awesome without Gena. She turns him into a complete asswipe and he knows it. Gena is extremely jealous and doesn’t even trust Michelle and me. She is nuts and super psycho. We all wish he would dump her, and I’m glad that you hate her already. Maybe you can be the one to tell her what a freak she is,” Val explained.
“Why don’t you guys do it?”
“Because we love Zacky, and we don’t want him to feel torn between us and Gena. But you have an objective point of view so maybe you can punch her without remorse.”
I laughed at this and we continued drinking. After a while I noticed it was getting late, and I figured I better get Maria’s drunk-self home. She was dancing with Johnny and they seemed to be having a good time. I felt guilty about breaking them to go home.
“Why don’t you just come back to our house with us and crash. We have ample room, so don’t worry about that,” Val suggested.
“No, I couldn’t impose-“
“Oh hush, Av. It’s no bother,” Matt retorted. “I can tell you don’t want to break up the lovebirds, and we’ll continue the party at home. Don’t worry, we’ll leave soon.”
We spent some more time at the club, until about 2:30. Then the guys paid their tabs and we piled into the Escalade and Brian’s small gray coupe. We drove for about 15 minutes and I was starting to wonder where we were going when we turned onto a secluded street. A huge white house with Mediterranean accents loomed at the center of a semi-circular driveway. A smaller driveway went behind the house and had a few cars parked on the side of it. A fence outlined the perimeter and was lit by solar lights every few feet. I stared, slack-jawed at the beauty of it.
“Oh my..”
“Awesome, right?!” Jimmy bounced up and down in the SUV, ready to burst out of the car.
We parked and went into the house, leaving our shoes just inside the front door in the foyer. Vaulted ceilings soared with a beautiful art nouveau chandelier hanging in the center. to the left was a large living room with several plush beige couches and a large 70” television. Past the living room was a large kitchen decorated with black and white stone tiles. The appliances were all stainless steel with some of the smaller appliances being a bright red. To the right of the kitchen was a modern dining room in a black and beige theme with several small gold accents. To the right of the foyer was a long hallway. The first room was a large bedroom with sliding doors. It had a bathroom that came off to one side of it. Further down the hallway, was a second bedroom with another bathroom coming off of it. A large, glossy, wooden staircase led upstairs, where a long hallway branched into 3 smaller ones, all leading to bedrooms that had individual bathrooms. All in all, there were 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, enough for each guy/couple to have their own. There might have been a basement, but we weren’t shown it at the time.
“You guys all live here?” I wondered.
“Yeah,” Val said. “It’s more cost effective and since the guys are on tour a lot, Michelle and I keep each other company. And Gena, too, I guess.”
“My room’s right here!” Jimmy pointed to the bedroom with the sliding doors that first came off the foyer. “I’m loud so I have to have the bedroom furthest away from everyone.”
Suddenly, there was a scratching sound followed by panting. A large white bulldog and a medium sized mixed breed dog came bounding down the stairs.
“Icky! Bella! Oh my goodness!” Michelle cooed as the dogs ran up and licked her face. Icky, the bulldog, waddled over, sniffed my shoes and gave a short bark. I knelt down and rubbed his belly and he tried to lick my face.
“Are these your dogs, Michelle?”
“Oh no, Bella is Val and Matt’s. Icky is Zacky’s…” She answered.
“Aw, that’s a shame,” I said. “Since he’s such a dick.”
“Avinne!” Maria scolded.
“I’m not a dick to my dog,” a voice called from upstairs.
Zacky descended down the steps in long black shorts and a cut off black t-shirt. He stared directly at me the entire time he was coming down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, Zacky narrowed his eyes and turned to Matt.
“What are you guys doing?” Zacky asked.
Johnny led Maria down the hall to the back bedroom. I watched, worried she might be making a poor decision, but decided to let it go.
“We’re letting them stay here for the night, since it’s so late,” Matt replied.
“You’re going to let some random people just fucking crash at our house?” Zacky snapped, looking at me with a strange expression.
“Dude, they’re not rand-“
“What the fuck is your problem with me?” I yelled. “I’ve been nothing but kind to you and your friends, and everyone else seems fine with me. Is it that your cunt of a girlfriend is so jealous of other women that she’s turned you into a petty, little bitch?” At this, Zacky quickly advanced over to me. Matt made a move to push Zacky back, but I stepped forward to meet him.
“I’m not a freak Zacky.”
“Yeah?! Well I don’t like you coming in here, acting like you know shit. Like you know what the fucking deal is around here. You don’t know shit. You’re just a fucking nurse that’s Jimmy’s new toy to play with. When he gets bored with you, he’ll fucking drop you, and you’ll go back to your mundane goddamn life.” He backed up, eyes burning with anger, nostrils flared.
“Wait, Avinne, that’s not true at all!” Jimmy nervously looked at everyone.
The tension in the room was unbearable. Zacky and I stood there, staring at one another. I couldn’t even make myself move, I was so angry. Very calmly, and quietly I tried to maintain my cool as I said:
“Remember that, the next time you go to the hospital. The next time you need help or services from anyone who leads a middle class life. That you were so fucking snobby, that you just degraded one of the most honor-filled, rewarding, Good Samaritan jobs that there is. You are the lowest person I have ever met, and I hope that, aside from these people, no one ever counts you among their friends. Because I know that, no matter what, I never will. I’ll call a cab; call me if you need me to come get Maria. I only live about 15 minutes from here, so I can get here quickly.” I handed wrote down my phone number and handed it to Val. Michelle and Jimmy tried to protest, but I was already out the door.
“Let me at least drive you home, Avinne!” Jimmy yelled, but I was already halfway down the driveway. I called a cab and they quoted me a 10 minute wait. I sat down at the end of the driveway and waited. I could see everyone standing on the porch, waiting for me to get picked up. Eventually, the cab pulled into the driveway and drove me back to the apartment Maria and I shared. I noticed I had received a text from Val on the way home.
Avinne, we are so sorry
It’s alright Val, call me tomorrow?
Sure thing, girlie
I changed into my pajamas and hopped into bed, thinking not about how much I wanted to hurt Zacky, but how about how much I wanted to hurt his girlfriend.