He pushed the cold bottle to his lips. The fizziness of the clear liquid poured into his mouth and burned the back of his throat. He hoped the burn would replace the sting of memories that haunted him.
After he placed his bottle of Zima back on the bar he wiped his mouth with a forceful swipe of the back of his hand.
“What you don’t understand, is what it’s like to lose someone!” Joey glared at Fahl. The tension around them was thicker than a porn star’s mustache. Fahl leaned toward Joey and as their eyes connected he suddenly smiled, “You are absolutely right!” Fahl chirped. “So, get your fucking big boy panties on, get the fuck out of this dive bar and LETS FUCKING DO THIS SHIT!” He cocked his gun, held it above his head and fired a round into the false ceiling above them.
Bits of dust and ceiling particles covered Joey, He didn’t look pleased as he turned back to his Zima. Fahl holstered his gun and sat down next to Joey, he picked up a coaster and began to spin it on its side. He sighed, “I guess they meant a lot to you, huh?” The desperation in his voice revealed a yearning to be Joey’s friend, confidant, partner.
“Tell me about this someone.” He nudged Joey a little. He hoped that by encouraging him to talk about it that they could finally bond. Joey knew exactly what Fahl was up to but, decided it was now or never to deal with his emotions.
He took another sharp swig from his bottle of Zima slamming the clear empty bottle back on the surface of the bar. The bartender looked up, clearly annoyed with both Joey and Fahl’s presence as he swept up chunks of ceiling and dust. He rolled his eyes toward Joey and with a voice that lacked concern he joked, “Oh sonny! You better slow down.”
Fahl’s gun was in the bartender’s startled face before anyone could blink. in his other hand he held his badge confidently in the air. “CAN IT GOD DAMN IT, THIS IS OFFICIAL BUDDY COP BUSINESS! CANT YOU SEE THIS MAN IS HURTING?!”
The bartender looked down over the barrel of the gun at Fahl. He rolled his eyes again and continued to sweep in a different direction. Holstering his gun, Fahl looked back to Joey ready to listen. “Let it out man, this floor is your bitch now.”
Joey sighed and with a far away look in his eyes he took the plunge. “Loyal..if you wanted loyalty that’s who you could count on. and those eyes, so deep that you’d wanna dive right in… but, you don’t because you’d be too afraid you’d get lost. We had been together for so long we knew each other’s every movement, could finish each other’s sentences.” Fahl listened intently, “Go on, man.”
Joey began to dig for his wallet and with a lump in his throat he was able to let out a soft chuckle, “I cant believe I even still have this picture. I’ve carried it as a reminder. Anytime I want to see that face I just look in here. It was just us against the world, till that one day…that fucking car…he was running so fast!” Joey’s eyes began to water, “I yelled for him! I told him not to pursue!! but he was too far and then WHAM!! that god damn car!” Joey began to fall apart. Fahl put his hand on his shoulder and began to comfort him, “It’s ok man, let it out! Let it go! Fahl’s here now.”
“SOOOOOOT…Oh my God Soot! why?! your little tiny body couldn’t handle the impact!” Joey continued to sob as Fahl looked to the wallet Joey was holding in confusion. He slowly pulled it from Joey’s hand and opened it. a picture fell out onto the bar. It was a picture of Joey during his academy days holding a tiny black kitten in his arms. Fahl couldn’t help but be frustrated for a moment. Joey had been quite an ass during their assignment together as new partners. It was a long road of him being very hard to get along with leading up to this point.
Fahl found that he had two options; Get far the fuck away from there, or stay and see Joey through.
He placed his hand back on Joey’s shoulder and ever so lightly asked, “Joey, is Soot a person…of the people variety?” Joey leaned back and with a sharp exhale he wiped his eyes, “Soot was my cat.” he shuttered.
Fahl finally had confirmation of the picture on the bar. This had been about pussy all along, just not in the sense that he was expecting. He motioned toward Joey for a hug. Joey collided into Fahl’s chest and began to sob even louder than before. “Bartender? Two bottles of the hard stuff. I think this is the start of a beautiful partnership.” Fahl patted Joey’s back with a few hard thuds.
The bartender pulled out two Zimas from the ice chest and as he uncapped them he gave Fahl a half hearted smile, “How about an apology?”
“HOW ABOUT YOU GET FUCKED!” Fahl reached for his gun again.
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