Page 173 of Ready to Cash Out

“I’m scared that’s what is going to happen to me.” Trev leaned over to put his head on Juicy’s shoulder. “I was so sure I could play this out in some way that would get me what I wanted, and now… Now we’re fucking trapped here and there’s no goddamn way out. I never got to tell Jupiter how much… I…” He growled angrily. “Fuck, now I just sound like a fucking cliché.”

“Never got to tell him what?” Juicy smiled warmly. “You can tell me if you want.”

“That I was falling for him,” Trev said with a sigh. “That I could see a future for us, a real happily ever after. Get married, adopt dogs, all that shit.”

“Aw, you like dogs?”

Trev laughed sadly. “No, I’m a fish person.”

“Oh well. Everybody makes mistakes, I suppose.” Juicy’s eyes gleamed. “I had a sweetheart once. A long time ago.”

“Yeah?” Trev smirked. “What was her name?”

“Melba.” Juicy’s eyes glimmered. “She was perfect. The best smile, an incredible laugh, bright feathers…”

“Feathers?”

“Yes! She loved feathers.” Juicy chuckled. “She always wove them into her hair with these little braids. It was beautiful.”

“What happened?”

“I… I had to work.” Juicy’s smile dipped down into a deep crease. “I was a doctor then. I had to make rounds, see patients, I… I was gone for too long. When I finally decided to stop being a doctor, she was already gone.”

Trev frowned. “Gone? Like… what? She died?”

“No, you dummy,” Juicy scolded. “She married someone else.”

“Oh.”

“You know I wasn’t really a doctor, right?”

“No, yeah, I had my suspicions.” Trev bumped their shoulders together.

“I’ve been so many things. So many lies. So many stories and lives that were all my own for a short while and then faded away so I could take on the next job.” Juicy sighed. “And the only thing I regret… is that I didn’t get to be Melba’s husband. And that’s what I wanted to be the most.”

“I’m sorry, Juicy.”

“Me too, Trev.” Juicy nudged Trev. “Maybe you’ll still have the chance to be who you want to be.”

“Gonna be kinda hard if I’m dead.” Trev shook his head, his shoulders sagging. “Maybe in the next life.”

“Oh.” Juicy blinked slowly and his eyes became strikingly clear. He frowned, reaching out his hand to Trev. “Please. Give me the knife.”

“Sure. Wanna stab me in the throat with it? Put me out of my misery?”

“I need you to call for them.” Juicy looked over the knife and squeezed the handle tight.

“Call for who?” Trev rolled his eyes.

“The men guarding us. Tell them you’re having chest pain.”

“Wow, speaking of shit from the movies.” Trev rolled his eyes even harder. “Do I look old enough to have a heart attack?”

“Fine. Tell them I’m having chest pain,” Juicy said firmly. He was oddly focused, his expression stern. “Go ahead.”

Trev frowned. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Getting us out of here so you can be what you want to be in this life.”

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