=One hour after Venom 6, O’Rourke’s apartment=
“OW! Watch it, you bloody arsehole!”
“Now that’s the Eoin I know. And I’m sorry bro! I know your jaw hurts but-“
“Just stop! Putting vaseline on me will not help me! The bitch gotta good shot on me that’s all. It’s a bloody dislocation! An’ that shit doesn’t HELP!“
-I pushed Eric’s hand away from my face which caught him off guard. I shuffled through a medical kit and found a bandage wrap. I tossed it away.-
“Fuck this.”
-I then grabbed my head and jaw. I then moved my jaw back in place, with a audible cracking noise-
“YIKES! Holy cow! Are you alright?!”
“NO! That hurt like a sonofabitch! But it was quicker than you putting useless shit on my neck!”
-I tossed the med kit away and its contents fell out on the floor with a glass item also breaking. I couldn’t care, I stood up and walked into my bedroom-
“Hey wait, aren’t you going to clean this up?”
“No.”
“What? Well, what are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I’m just going to forget that you exist and go to bed.”
“I… Dude, what the hell? You’re usually ready to beat the crap out of anyone after what they did to you. Gung-ho, planning on how you’re gonna get back at em, what happened?”
“I’m stuck with you, that’s what happened.”
“What? I didn’t do anything-“
“Just go away Eric. Leave me alone.”
-I slammed the door in my bedroom that was mostly empty, safe for a King sized mattress that was undone, a window that let the city lights into the bedroom, a closet for mine and some of Liz’s clothes, and an end table that I never use. The room was vacant, as it had been for awhile. Liz and I have only been close together when it comes to Venom shows. Aside from that, she hasn’t been in my room recently. We’ve become more and more distant and I’ve been feeling empty, losing purpose, losing heart. All of it is culminating in something in me, something that I’ve ignored, put off for as long as I could. I am feeling… depressed-
=The next morning=
-The room’s bell went off. I was still sleeping and I didn’t want to hear any loud noises, or anything of the sort. I twisted and tumbled to ensure I wouldn’t have to.-
Eric: “Yes?… For him?… Alright, I’ll make sure he gets it. Thank you.”
-I barely heard the conversation, all I heard was Eric’s voice. Then the door close. After a moment of silence, I heard knocking on my door-
“Hey bro… Eoin, you there?”
-I wouldn’t not respond to him, but he opened the bedroom door anyway-
“Bro?”
“Eric.”
-Eric jumped as he heard me speak and calmed down after he noticed where my voice was coming from.-
“Oh my god, dude you gave me a heart at-“
“What did I say about ‘go away an’ leave me alone’ last night?”
“Wha? Dude, I have no where else to go, did you want me to leave like… Leave leave? I don’t think Lizzy-girl would be-“
-I sat up, with my hair messed up and anger in my eyes-
“What I said last night Eric, was for you to not disturb me! When I say things like that, I mean just leave me in peace. When I’m ready to see you, I will see you!”
“But… This is important…”
“What could be more important than getting away from your nonsense?!”
“Um… Your job?”
-Eric waved the letter in his hand, scared. I got up, still dressed from the night before, and marched over to Eric taking the letting out of his hand. I opened it, and I sighed heavily. It was my match card for the next show.-
“Eric, get dressed. We’re going to get some alcohol.”
“But, dude it’s like noon.”
-I turned to him with a scowl on my face and he then nodded-
“Alright. I’ll get dressed.”
-The match card showed me facing the bitch who dislocated my jaw. This new lass. I know nothing about her, aside from who she’s staying with. I tore up the letter, dropping it on the floor. I didn’t want to even acknowledge it. I dressed myself properly for a trip down in the New York commute. A t-shirt, some slacks, and my flat cap. As soon as I was ready, I didn’t see Eric.-
“Eric? Come on, let’s go!”
“Coming- *cough cough*“
-His coughing was the result of him taking a hit or so of his weed. I rolled my eyes as he made his entire room a hotbox. I could never understand why my own bloodline had to be a raving pothead. He opened his door with him in sandals, shorts and a “Fight Now NYC Rocks My World” t-shirt. Eric doesn’t have any money and these shirts aren’t out yet, so he had to have stolen this one.-
“Eric, how did you come about that laddie?”
“What? This?”
“Yes your shirt, how did you get that?”
“They came from the mail guy. Said that they are for branding purposes, and promotional material. They came a few weeks ago, and you were out training when they came.”
“I… Oh forget it. Let’s get some booze.”
-I opened the door and waited for Eric to leave the apartment before shutting the door. Once we entered the elevator, I hit the ground level button-
“Hey, what was in that letter for you bro? Was it… A bad letter?”
“What? You mean like a release?”
“Yeah one of those… Things. Was it?”
“No, it was nothing like that. It was a match card, an’ I’m booked for next week.”
“Oh yeah? They have you going back to back dude. Against who this week man?”
-The elevator stopped and I sighed after eyeing Eric for a moment then exited the elevator and walked through the lobby with Eric in tow-
“Her name’s Betsy Granger. Lass’s new to Fight but not new to wrestlin’, or fightin’. She’s the one who dislocated my jaw. I underestimated her which caught me off guard.”
“Jeez lou-weeze. So what’s your plan?”
“Keep my guard up. Remain vigilant. And worry about her friends.”
“Why? What kind of friends?”
-I opened the door to the streets of Manhattan, seeing the sidewalk with not as many people as it was before the world went to hell, but still sizable. The streets were another story. Bumper to bumper. We went Westward to find a liquor store-
“Some upper class, scumbags. Who look, act, an’ behave like their better. They ain’t any better than you as far as I’m concerned. They wanna act bigger and badder than the rest of us, but I’ll gladly put them in their place.”
“Are they with that Montuori family? Dynasty or something?”
“Down here Eric. Surprisingly, no. They’re different, an’ so is she. It’s worrying to me. I honestly was fooled by their act, but at the same time, I’m impressed. They are cerebral. I can’t say I hate it, but I respect it.”
“What’s there to respect bro? You barely even know them. Or her.”
“Because they pulled the same thing we in the Cure would do.”
-We entered the 58 Street Wine & Liquor store-
“Gentlemen! What can I do for you today?”
“Who’s he talking about?”
“Shut up Eric. We’re here for some of your finest spirits sir.”
“Of course son, we have plenty to choose from!”
-I walked around for about a minute before finding something that caught my eye. A whole one liter Irish Whiskey-
“I want five of these mate.”
“Alright, I’ll get the others in the back for you, one moment.”
“Awesome. Ready Eric? Eric?”
-Eric wasn’t near me, but he was down an aisle staring at jugs of moonshine. He pulled one down, barely carrying it but he had it-
“Coming bro!”
“What the fuck is this shite? When did you start drinkin’ this?”
“When I was sixteen.”
“What? What kind even is that?”
“Apple pie. My favorite.”
-The clerk came back holding more whiskey for me and began pricing them and the moonshine. The total was around $200 dollars for all of it. After we left the store, a familiar van was sitting across the street from us. I simply gave them my “fuck you” finger at them and walked back to the tower with Eric.-
“Who was that bro?”
“A loose end we need to tie up. Never you mind it though, let’s get home an’ forget about it. Forget and remember things.”
-After another short walk, me and Eric returned to the Fight Tower and got off the elevator. I used my keycard to open the door-
“Here we are, home sweet-“
-I stepped on a folded paper. I put the bag of liquor down and unfolded the paper. It read: “Hey kiddo, I’m in town again. Meet me next week at the Starbucks, we have some things to talk about. Love C.” C? Was it Craig again? Right now, I didn’t care. I just threw the paper on the side and pulled out a bottle of whiskey-
“What was that bro?”
“Something to forget about Eric, lets have a nice drink.”