Take a Hit

The bar was rowdy and the people were clumsy so we found ourselves sitting outside on the sidewalk.

“So, your life in New York?” Halvo asked before tilting his beer bottle up.

“I decided to not accept my scholarship and go to Boston University. I wanted to stay closer to my dad and ended up going to University at Albany. I know it wasn’t as great of a school, but-”

“Hey, there’s no need to explain. I dropped out of college,” He threw his arms up.

“I was promoted to a news editor position for Time Magazine three years ago,” I stared up at the sky as the blue receded and welcomed the reds and oranges, “It was a freelance writing position, so I actually got to write a few articles.”

“Damn,”

“It was good pay and the people were great,” I ran my finger down the beer bottle, through the condensation, “But, I quit.”

“Why did you?”

“It was my dream job, but I thought it was time to come home.”

“Well, you’re timing is incredible,” Halvo took a swig of his beer, “Tim and Ashley are getting married in a few weeks. You’ll be here for the rehearsals and everything.”

“What?!” I exclaimed, “I think you failed to mention that in your emails.”

“I guess it never crossed my mind!” He laughed before nudging me, “What about you? Got yourself a boyfriend with a heavy New York accent?”

There was a pang in my chest, but I laughed it off, “Nope, not at the moment,”

Halvo glanced at his phone, “You know, it’s getting late and you’re probably exhausted from the trip. Let’s get you settled in my place.” He brought out the car keys and I froze at the sight of them, “Is something wrong?”

“No... it’s just- is it... safe to be driving right now?”

He stopped rustling the keys, “I’ve had only half a beer and my place is just a few blocks down, but...”

“Um... I- I guess it’ll be okay...” I stuttered.

“Are you sure?”

It was seven years ago. But, I could still hear the glass shatter and the metal crunch. Nothing could lessen the recollections. No medication or therapy. The scenes of blood and lights reoccurred more often after lowering down Liam’s body into the ground.

But, I just bit back the memories and slowly nodded.

“Um...” He looked down at his car keys, “Okay, let’s get going.”

He cautiously opened the back door of his car and I could feel his eyes on me. I buckled myself in and took a deep breath.

The drive wasn’t awful, although I was practically holding back tears by the time we reached his place, which turned out to be a small house in a quiet neighborhood. I tried to chuckle while quickly wiping the tears away,

“Never thought ‘Party Hard’ Halvorsen would end up in a suburban home.”

“Yeah, well, settling down is inevitable,” He shut off the engine of the beast, “I used to share this with a couple of the guys, but they moved to California... and I’ve been thinking about going with them.”

“When?” I unbuckled my seatbelt.

“I don’t know,” Halvo sighed, “Truthfully, I have no idea what I’m going to do now that the band’s broken up.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to figure that out together, huh, roomie?”

He chuckled, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Thanks for letting stay with you by the way. I appreciate it,” I gave him a small smile and he returned the gesture.

The house, to my delight, was clean. Although, Halvo admitted that it’d probably change after a few more weeks. He lead me up the stairs to a guest bedroom where a dog laid across the bedsheets.

“Shit, I’m sorry about Ruby. She really likes this bed,” Halvo turned to the dog, “Off, now.”

The dog just looked up at us.

Halvo let out an annoyed sigh and tried shooing her off. Doing everything from bribing her with a treat and physically trying to push her off. I almost didn’t want to stop him; his failed attempts of getting Ruby off the bed were getting funnier as the minutes passed. Finally, I said,

“It’s fine; she can sleep with me.” He looked at me unsure, so I continued, “I’ve had a long day and just need some rest before work tomorrow.”

“Alright- well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight,”

I set my bags down by the bed and to my surprise, he came over and gave me a hug, whispering, “I’m glad you’re home.”

He let go of me and just nodded before closing the door behind him.

I collapsed onto the bed next to Ruby and pulled the shoebox I carried on the flight closer to my chest, not bothering to change or take a shower. The trip was exhausting, but not as exhausting as the next few weeks were going to be. I knew it. I let myself drift into slumber with words I knew too well echo through my head,

“Is there something about me that makes me impossible to love?”