Page 92 of Unhinged

Chapter 17

Dear E,

Where the hell is your sage advice? I flipped through this diary, and it’s all-new age, Yanni shit with a touch of Sarah McLaughlin’s boo-hoo crap. I hope when Kenny G. gets there, he’s chained to you as a punishment for watching me in the shower. Perv.

I need my big sis, but I can’t even get a ghostly visit from you. Fuck. What the hell am I saying? I don’t need an Exorcist reboot in my bedroom. You stay on your brimstone. I’ll stay on mine.

Newsflash: I got married. I’ll wait for you to stop laughing. Still waiting. No, it’s not Hadley. I think you know that, though. Now that I’ve taken a step back from her, I see what she was talking about. Finn Wilder is her soulmate. I found… Shit. I think… I met a woman. Yes. A WOMAN, hag. I married my friend Simone, and I’m not sure how I feel about that, even if it was my idea. She’s Wilder’s little sister. Isn’t that a kick in the face? But here’s the thing. Simone twisted me into something, and I can’t tell if it’s right or wrong. I don’t know if I can trust myself with anything because I’m my own biggest disappointment.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Just maybe, for once, help me?

G

“Rodwell, how are you this afternoon?”

I re-roll chain onto its spool, contemplating how I can take out Kip Dingleberry and make it look like a work accident. “Just great, Kip. What do you want?”

He laughs, and it’s not unlike a trapped jack-in-the-box, replaying its warped tune for eternity. Like Amos’s laugh, it’s a distinct sound. “I need you to work two hours over tonight.”

“Nope.”

“It’s not an option. Thanks.”

He starts walking away. “I’m not doing it. We shouldn’t have mandatory overtime thrown at us without warning. And we never had it before you ascended to the Hardware throne.”

“Are you questioning my authority?”

I laugh. “You sound like Eric Cartman. I’m not working tonight. I have plans.” I’m off from the bar tonight but want to stop by to convince Simone to stay the night with me. I miss her pussy. And every other part of her. Fuck, I’m losing it.

“Oh. That’s right. The bar. Lofty ambitions.”

“It’s a job.”

“Unlike this one? You actually have a career path here. You can have my position someday if you play along.”

My grin returns as I put my hands on my hips. “A department head in charge of screws, and not the good kind. No, thank you.”

“Because a bartender at a family-owned dive bar is a better option.”

My grin disintegrates. “It’ll get me through…” I inhale and pray Amos doesn’t hear me. “Law school.”

“How funny! Like Tom Cruise in Cocktail, right? I get it.”

“He wasn’t a lawyer.”

“Neither are you. Don’t forget to sign the inventory sheet at the back dock after unloading.”

“Don’t forget to kiss my ass when I leave this motherfucking job.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“You’re throwing away your future here for a bar, out-of-reach goals, and drunk one-night stands? You have nothing, Rodwell. You’ve lost your mind.” I know.

“Yeah. I’m crazy as hell to have stayed here. But one-night stands? I’m married, ass fuck. You know nothing about my life.” Not that marriage stopped me from wanting to screw Hadley. I remove my apron and throw it at his chest. “Adios, Dingleberry.”

Kip’s mouth resembles one of those cheap blow-up dolls for bachelor parties.

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