Hearing his front door open, Cole glanced in back of himself from his spot on the stone steps. He found Able, looking more zombie than human. He was shielding his eyes with one hand while carrying his boots in the other. His belt buckle still set un-clipped, and his shirt, sat crooked on his shoulders, the buttons still completely undone. By all accounts, he looked pretty fucking rough.
The two men’s eyes locked for a moment, neither saying a word, before Able finally stepped off the stairs, headed for the road where a yellow cab was pulling up.
“Your nose is bleeding.” Able informed, never looking back Cole’s way.
“Ya, you’ll have that.” Cole shrugged, wiping at the dried blood on his chest. "Dude, your bikes in my garage.” Cole reminded, eyeing the cab waiting at the end of the drive.
“I’m still way too drunk, to drive.” Able called back, stumbling a bit, as he tried to hop on one leg while slipping on his boots.
“Stay strong, brother!"
“If I don’t die from this hangover, I’ll hit you up later. I’m too fucking old for your shit, Conners!” Able announced, sliding into the backseat of the taxi.
“Too old my ass, we’re fuckin’ immortal, man!” Cole yelled out with the flip of his middle finger, just as the cab was pulling away. He managed a smirk when he saw Able’s hand, pop out the window, tossing him a bird right back.
Damn, did he ever feel like an asshole.
After pushing his way, off the front steps with a pained hiss, Cole walked back inside to find his house absolutely devastated. Last night, hadn’t just done he and Able in, it had done his whole damn house in, as well. Foursomes, where fucking messy. Not only did he not want to deal with the run down state of his house, but he also didn’t wanna deal with the two naked chicks, currently passed out on his bearskin rug.
Dropping into his, overstuffed leather recliner. Cole felt weighted. He looked around at the mess, at the bitches, and at the overpriced, everything, that filled his house. He felt disgusted with it all.
This was no kind of life to be living. Not at his age, hell, ever for that matter. The truth of it was, drinking too much and banging random chicks, just wasn’t doing it for him, anymore. An even bigger truth, it hadn’t been in years.
The world, only saw what they were shown, so they believed him to be a party boy and ladies’ man. Sure, he showed up at all the right parties, he talked to the right people, and got his pictures in the right papers and even some of the wrong ones, just for good measure, but it was all a show. It was just a ruse, to keep up his image. He would pop in, get the meet and greets done, and then dip right back out. Yes, usually he did dip out with the hottest girl in the room, and of course, the press and fans assumed that meant that he was bedding the bombshells, but nine times out of ten, that just wasn’t the case.
It’s a known fact, hot chicks, get bored as fuck at parties, and fast. They were just happy to get a ride out, on the arm of an A-lister, so that they could then go home and wash off all that sticky makeup and throw some sweats on. The women he was supposedly ‘hooking up with’, were just like him. They didn’t want to be at the after, Oscars party, and neither did he, they just had to be. So, he would drop them at their place and usually head straight for Penny’s. She, was the only hot chick, that he wanted to spend his nights with.
What Cole really wanted, was the real life, she could give him. If she would just be willing to, that is. He wanted to be able to lay his head down at night, and pick it back up the next morning with the same girl, lying by his side. He didn’t just want a house, he wanted a home. He wanted responsibilities and people to take care of. He wanted a family. He wanted Penny and T.J., and right now, that just didn’t look like it was ever gonna happen.
Chapter 18
T he jets in the tub, at Able’s hotel, were doing wonders for his hungover muscles, as he sat chest deep in bubbles. What they weren't doing, however, was helping him to feel any cleaner. He felt disgusting after what went down last night. The drinking, the women, all of it. He couldn't remember that much, honestly. But, what he could, he didn't want to. He hadn't wanted that, hadn't needed it, either. All he had wanted was to get drunk and forget all about Penny, but that didn’t happen.
Cole, had his own ideas, his own fixes for heartbreak. Able wasn't Cole, though. Sex, with hot strangers, didn’t fix all his problems. Not to mention, those chicks weren’t even that hot.
He didn’t accomplish anything last night, in fact, he had woken up feeling even worse about the situation, somehow.
Penny had lied, she wasn't the girl he thought, she was. He had lied as well, so, he wasn’t shit, either. It was a stupid fuckin’ mess, on both sides.
“Please, no, no, no!” Penny shrieked, as her only child made his way across the room.
"This thing, you're doing…, is creepy. Sitting around in the dark, listening to, ‘make you cry’ songs, is strange. Please, stop, being a weirdo, Mom!" T.J. pleaded, making his way over to the windows before opening the curtains, nice and wide, flooding the room in, a blinding yellow light.
Penny quickly shielded her eyes, her face twisted up, as if she had eaten, something sour.
“It's, way too early, for your shit, kid," Penny mumbled, curling even more into the couch.
T.J. could tell that she hadn’t been to bed, yet.
“Rough night, pretty girl?” He questioned, picking up one empty wine bottle while eyeing another that set on the other end of the coffee table.
“You have no idea, dude.” She sighed, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arm around her neck. "Yeah, I feel ya. I’ve had a few of those myself. Ya know,
back in my younger, days."
Penny scoffed as a smile ripped across her face. He was too charming for his own good, that one. He always knew, just what to say, when she was down. He had a much older soul than hers. He had always been the one to take care of her. He was more of a parent than she was, most of the time. So level headed, so easy going and caring.
“So, who's ass do I gotta kick, cuz I'll do it," he offered,
like it, wasn’t no, thang.
If Penny wasn’t mistaken, she was pretty sure he was trying to do his best Joe Pesci, era, Casino. Damn Cole, that meant, he had been working on his Di Niro. Which, in turn, meant that they had been watching violent mob flicks, lately. She wanted to yell at him but she just didn’t have the umph.
"Watch your mouth and no one’s…well, everyone's.., hell, I don’t even know anymore.”
Penny gave a pathetic shrug as she sucked up her snot. She’d been crying on and off, ever since she had returned from Coles. The booze, and the broken heart songs, were definitely, not, helping that was for sure. Thanks, for nothing, Adel!
"So, I take it that, Holden guy, turned out to be a big jerkface and then Cole, prolly somehow made it even worse, like he always does?” T.J. summarized, an old pro at knowing how this always went down.
His Mom would meet someone, and then Cole would crush the dude like a bug. After that, his mom would spend the next few days bumming around the house and refusing to talk to Cole. Usually, it wasn’t long, though before Cole talked himself right back inside the house and her heart. Then, for a while, they would act like none of that ever happened and just be sorta happy around one another, almost normal, even. That’s just how they were. That’s how they’d always been,
"Yeah, actually, that pretty much sums it right up! Only, I'm
kinda of a jerk this time, too." Penny admitted, nibbling her lip.
"Yeah, but you're my jerk, so, it’s okay." T.J. Smirked, squeezing her arm.
"And, you're, mine," she returned, lifting her head to place a kiss on his cheek.
"See, you and me, we’re all good. I got you, and you got me. We don’t need anyone else… okay? I got ya, Mom."
His choice of words hit Penny in the face. ‘I got ya’, Cole’s words from so long ago. She had never wanted to hear them again, but this time, they made her smile. She kn
ew she could trust in them. T.J., did, have her. He would never let her down. He just wasn’t capable of it.
"I love you, baby boy."
"Don’t cry Mom! How about I make us some breakfast, sound good?" He offered, already pushing off the couch, to do just that. Cole had taught him well. Women could forget, just about anything, if you put something good enough, in front of them to eat. You can’t stay mad on a full stomach.
Able had no idea, why in the hell he was here. He had been sitting on his bike, for over an hour, now. Telling himself, what a terrible idea this was. He was leaving tomorrow, so, why pour salt in the wound? He should just go back to his hotel, maybe call Cole, hang out with him, anything but this.
He had his phone in his hand, tapping the side with his fingertip. He had tried to text, but nothing came out right, and send was never hit.
In one message, he was yelling at Livi for lying, while in the next, he was apologizing for doing the exact same thing. Back and forth his mind bounced.
Now, here he was, standing outside her door. He had tried to knock, three, separate, times, but his knuckles hadn’t hit the wood, just yet. He had walked away twice, but here he was again, staring at the grain of the wood. It had been painted one too many times and now, it was hard to really tell what it was made out of, for all he knew, it could be metal.
He was chewing his thumbnail, thinking back, on everything Cole had warned him about. The man had never steered him wrong, before. He should just listen to him, now. Cole was right, he usually was. Whatever, had, been going on between him and Penny, just wasn't gonna work, it couldn't, not now, that was for sure. You can't start out something real on a lie, it just wouldn't work.
Just then, Penny’s door opened with a jerk and Able, found himself doubled over in pain. He had just been punched in the solar plex, and fucking hard, too.
“Da Fuck, kid?!” Able finally managed to cough out, as T.J. closed the door behind himself, coming to stand in the hall next to him.
Able should have known to take a step back, but the lack of oxygen, had his head spinning. He should have, at least,
tried to stand up, but no. Instead, he stayed hunched over. Which was the perfect position for him to be in, if he wanted a knee to the face, which is exactly what he got. He didn’t even have time to react. The kid was half spider monkey, he was sure of it. He had to be, with the way he fluttered onto Able’s back before wrapping his small, yet somehow, toned arms, around his neck.
“Choke holds, are illegal!” was all that Able, managed to get out, before everything went black, and he dropped to the floor. Lights out.
He came to with a sharp slap to his face. Opening his eyes, he found T.J., leaning over him. The boy's face, just inches away from his own. So close he could smell the Red Bull on the his breath, the Red bull, Able knew, he wasn’t supposed to be having. "You made my mom cry, asshole!"
T.J. spat the words as Able reached up to run his fingertip across his busted up lip. Upon further examination, he found that his nose wasn’t feeling too straight, either.
"Yep… I deserved that." Able nodded wiping at his lip with a hiss.
"Damn right, you did!" T.J. tossed the words at him, as he stood, to collect his backpack, off the floor.
“Oh, and just so you know,” T.J. started up again, giving Able a pointed glare. “I know all about you. I know about everything, everything! I don’t know what kind of, messed up game, you people are playing, but it better stop! My mom deserves better!”
“Noted, and agreed.” Able offered from his place on the floor. The miniature Chuck Norris, graced him with one last dirty look before making his way down the hall, headed towards the stars.
"Fuck, my life," Able sighed, rubbing the bridge of his, probably broken, nose, as he looked up at the ceiling above his head. Still fearing that the kid might come back at any second and finish him off. So much so, that he found himself, jerking in his skin, as his phone vibrated to life, inside the pocket of his jeans.
"Dude…," Able sighed into the phone, still laid out in the middle of the hallway.
"You sound fucked up. Are you still fucked up, buddy?" Cole
questioned, hoping his friend wasn’t starting in on the bender to end all benders.
"No… kinda, I don’t really know.”
“Talk to me, what’s going on?” Cole pried, he didn’t like how out of it Able sounded.
“I just got my ass handed to me, by a midget, that was all jacked up on Red Bull. I think that little asshole broke my nose." Able noted, wincing as he ran his fingertips over the bump on his nose. “Nope, not broken, just dented… I think.”
"Listen, I told you the last time, stop picking fights with dudes just because they’re shorter than you. I hope you don’t expect me to spend another night in jail, like I did in Reno, after I beat down that dwarf who jacked you up, out in back of the casino. You remember that shit?”
“How could I forget, you punted that little bastard a good ten feet.”
“Ya, and all because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants.” Cole reminded.
“How was I supposed to know, she was his wife?”
“I don’t know, maybe because she was the only other midget in the entire building?”
“I’m not sure why, but I think it’s racist that you assume they only date other small people.”
“That’s not racist, trust me. At this point, I’m not even sure that you know what that word means. On a side note, what the fuck where you even gonna do with a dwarf if you got her in bed? I’ve seen your dick, dude. That shit was never gonna happen.”
“That’s not creepy,”
“Oh, fuck you; we’ve had like a million threesomes. No way in hell, is that creepy and no way in holy hell, was that horse cock of yours, ever gonna fit in that tiny ass chick.”
“Ya well, see, that’s how you know I’m a glass half-full kinda guy and you’re not.”
“I’m just saying, with a cock like yours, I’d be doing porn.” Cole informed.
“Awe, that’s kinda sweet of you to say. Don’t worry Cole, I think you have an awesome cock, too.”
“You’re so gay, sometimes.”
“Why is it gay for me to compliment your cock, but not gay for you to talk about mine?”
“Simple, I was saying, your cock, belongs in porn, which means, I would watch it fuck some hot chick on the hood of a car. You, on the other hand, just said I had an awesome cock. Which is true, but sounds pretty gay coming from a man who keeps trying to, claim, that he’s straight.”
“Is this why you called?” Able questioned, with the roll of his eyes.
“Why, to tell you that your gay?”
“Ya,”
“Always, but I had other reason this time.”
“And, they would be?”
“I wanna see you before you leave out. There’s something I gotta talk to ya about." Cole informed, in a tone that sounded off.
"Well, I'm kinda busy at the moment.” Able hissed out, trying and failing at moving off the floor.
“Ya, you’re super busy, picking fights with midgets, huh?”
“Ha ha, ya very funny. Listen, I'll swing by your place later tonight, I can't stay long, though, I leave out for home, first thing in the morning."
"That’s fine, just make sure you show up. It's important." Cole’s voice had that life or death ring to it again. He seemed to be talking like that a lot lately. Able didn’t like hearing his friend, so on edge. He almost sounded freaked out even, which just couldn’t be. Superman never freaked out.
"I'll be there, brother, I promise." Able confirmed just as Penny’s door swung open. She was holding a large bag of trash in her hand, and as she spotted Able, her eyes went wide then her brows furrowed. "I gotta go!" Able announced, ending the call quick, fast, and in a hurry.
Tossing his phone on the couch beside him, Cole let out a heavy sigh. He was stressed, right the fuck out, and feeling guilty as hell. He was still running on no sleep and a hango
ver, not to mention, a broken heart. His head felt like it was holding bricks, his body eaten alive with betrayal.
He should have just told Able the truth, right from the start. He should have never gone about it the way that he had, it was stupid. Panic, had made him go with the first thing that popped into his head, and that, had proved to be the wrong thing.
As soon as he saw the picture of them together on Able’s phone, he should have just come clean, right then and there. He should have just told Able, that Livi, was actually Penny. Able would have understood. He would have let Penny down easy and then everything would have been okay.
If he would have just given Able the chance to do right, he would have done it, in a heartbeat. That’s just the kind of friend that he was, the kind of man that he was.
Cole knew he had fucked up, on all accounts, but he couldn’t take it back. He had been an asshole, about the entire situation. At the time, he hadn't seen any other options. He had been blinded by the fear of losing Penny. Now, that it was all said and done, and the threat had been taken off the table, he realized how simple it all should have been.
He couldn't go back and change it, but he could, come clean to Able. He had to. He needed them to be back on level ground again. He had to fix the friendship before it was too late. Able, was too good of a friend, to loose.
"Are you drunk?" Penny questioned, finally breaking the awkward silence.
"Surprisingly, no," Able scoffed, rolling over on his side before pushing off the floor with a pained grunt.
"Alright, well, glad we got that cleared up, now, if you'll excuse me?" She said in a flat tone as she pushed by him, heading down the hall, a large bag of trash in hand.
Able took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. She wasn't gonna make this easy but then again, neither was he.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Page 30