Page 6 of Blaze & Ajax

Fuck it. I was too restless to sit around dealing with the scrawny short-ass and his fucking attitude, so I grabbed my helmet and put it on before looking back at him and smirking. “No one wants you, little kitten, least of all me.”

Blaze growled and tried to reach for me before Cueball held him back.

Everyone just watched the scene unfold, but I knew my friends would always have my back if I needed it.

“See ya around,Kitten,” I said again, to really dig it in like a knife. I gave Blaze the bird and skated off to keep pushing myself to do better with my tricks.

“Fucker!” he yelled after me, making me laugh.

I lay in bed in my tiny studio apartment, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, counting them, and begging the sleeping gods to let me fall asleep. There were lines of light from the slats of my blinds as they streamed in from outside. I counted those, too.

My mind kept getting sidetracked with skating, and strangely enough, Blaze kept popping into my head, coming up with ways to hurt him. I shouldn’t have been so fixated on him, but his stupid face wouldn’t leave my brain.

“Fuck!” I yelled at nothing and no one.

I rolled onto my side and punched my pillow, but sleep wouldn’t come, despite taking a couple of sleeping pills. My mind wouldn’t stop the thoughts long enough for me to pass out, and I was antsy, jittery like I’d had two pots of coffee. In fact, I’d been avoiding caffeine because of that, unless it was early in the morning.

What the fuck was wrong with me? It had been three days without sleep, except for a few hours here and there, yet during the day, I was completely energized. I didn’t get it.

God, this needed to end soon.

I blinked my burning eyes open to the morning light and sat up. At least I’d finally fallen asleep. I glanced at the clock, which read six-thirty in the morning.

After my shower, I made myself a cup of coffee, but I could only drink a third of it, feeling wired already and it tasted terrible.

Despite the lack of sleep, I felt good, like I could conquer anything.

After tossing on my shoes, I put on my coat and knitted beanie and headed out on my skateboard toward my day job at the hardware store where I worked as a cashier.

I stopped by a coffee shop and grabbed a muffin to get something into my stomach, but after the first bite, it went into the garbage, tasting like cardboard.

Nothing tasted right lately.

I worked for several hours, ringing up customers and their purchases, but it was a slow day. By lunchtime, I was starving, so I headed to grab some fast food. Even eating at my favorite burger joint, the food tasted like shit, but I forced myself to eat it and washed it all down with water to avoid soda.

By eight o’clock, it was time to head into Alpha’s Rejects bar, where I worked as a bouncer.

“Yo! What’s up, Alpha?” I said as soon as I walked in.

He looked up from putting cash into the till behind the bar and smiled. His blue eyes were bright, and he’d recently had his blond hair cut, so it was neat and combed away from his face.

“Hey, Ajax. You’re in a good mood.”

“I feel good. I’m amped for tonight. Is there going to be a good band on?”

“Temperance. An alternative rock band up from DC.”

“Cool! Can’t wait.”

I met Alpha a few years ago while skating. At twenty, I’d been struggling to find work and keep up with my rent. My mom had committed suicide the year before I met him, and my older sister just took off, leaving me behind. I never saw or heard from her again. I’d struggled with abandonment and grief, but Alpha’s friendship helped, along with getting to know Stix, Nacho, and Pippin.

A year after that, Alpha opened his bar and gave us all jobs.

Not too long after came Jazz and Blondie, who were twins and runaways. We made a strange family, but we worked and supported each other through the good times and the bad.

When Stix walked in, I swooped in and tossed him over my shoulder, knowing it irritated the shit out of him.

“Fuck! Put me down, you oaf!” he yelled, making me laugh like a nut.

---