Page 15 of Bad Like Me

13

Ray

My head wasdizzy from all the alcohol I’d consumed last night. I was compensating in liquor for what my body was screaming in nervousness. Once I hit my limit and I knew it, Ghoul still kept insisting we take another shot. I really liked that guy; he was an Ohio Randall if I ever met one. I could easily see him being someone I worked alongside.

My stomach churned, and I regretted drinking as much as I did last night, but at the same time, I didn’t. It was the first time since Dad passed that I’d actually let loose. I yawned and stretched, opening my eyes, expecting to find Logan beside me. Instead, a white piece of paper on the nightstand greeted me.

Beautiful Nurse,

Here’s a couple Tylenol, you’ll probably need them. I had to run to the clubhouse, but I’ll be back before you know it. Make yourself at home. There’s eggs in the fridge and frozen biscuits in the deep freeze, just pop them in the oven at 375 for about fifteen minutes and they’ll be done.

XO,

Logan

I smiled, thinking of all the years that brought us to this point. It was almost as if we had to lose one another to find each other again. This time would be different, I would be honest and upfront and demand the same from him. If our feelings were hurt by it, so be it. At least we would understand where we stood at the end of it.

I was afraid to say I had a new outlook today because anytime someone said that, something tragic happened. I wouldn’t say I was hopeful because I didn’t want to do that to us. We deserved a fighting chance. I flipped the white pills into my mouth and washed it down with the water Logan left for me, praying they kicked in quick. I hadn’t had a hangover in some time, and this was a fucking powerful one.

Footsteps approached, and my body stilled in a half-awake, partially asleep stupor. The only other person who would be here would be Logan, so there was no need for alarm.

“Logan?” I called out through the house, just to settle my nerves a little, but there was no answer. I gathered the comforter around my body and made my way through his house to find him. “Don’t be a shit. Answer me.” Still no reply. I made it to the living room before I said anything again. “You’re starting to freak me out! Answer me, Logan!” I insisted, my hands shaking with fear against my body.

“Your fuck boy isn’t here, bitch,” a man wearing a black ski mask said with delight, licking his lips and smacked a wooden baseball bat against his palm.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, clutching the blanket against my raging heart. All of a sudden, I came to an abrupt halt, and my feet flew out from under me. “I said stay put, bitch!” another voice violently shouted from behind me, and he yanked the blanket from my grasp. “Someone has to pay for the sins of the Bastards, and that someone is you.”

Excruciating pain jolted from the back of my head to the front, and warm liquid trickled down my face, and I fought the urge to vomit where I laid. I’d never been in such horrific agony in my life, and I couldn’t fight the heat filling my body as I slowly blinked my eyes. I tried to stay awake, I needed to. I was a fighter. I refused to give up.

I propped my hands under my body and pushed up from the ground, but it was useless. I didn’t have the strength to support my body. A sharp kick landed in the middle of my back, and a shrill scream pierced my ears. Everything was moving slowly and then speeding up. I didn’t have any concept of time. My face smacked against the hardwood, and the pain was too much. I couldn’t fight it anymore.

Everything faded to black.

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