Page 5 of The Keeper
“And then I told him to fuck off,” he says, taking a swig of his beer. “I almost socked that faggot in the mouth.”
“Hey!” I bark at him, making both him and Charlie jump a little bit. “If I have to sit here and listen to your pigheaded ass for one more minute, I swear to God thatyouwill be the only one getting socked in the mouth.” I stand, ignoring his shocked expression that’s quickly morphing into a scowl, and pull Charlie up with me. “I need a drink Charlie. Come with me.”
With that, I grab Charlie’s hand and pull her off the couch and towards the kitchen, away from the idiot. Half way through the mob of people between us and the fridge, I feel Charlie jerk her grasp away from me.
“RJ, stop!” she shouts.
I turn to face her and I’m genuinely surprised at the nasty face she’s giving me.
“What?” I ask, because I really don’t know what.
“What the hell is your problem?!” she shouts. I’m not sure how to respond, so I just stand there, mute. “I was having fun with that guy, and you get all high and mighty with your bullshit and ruineverything!”
I raise my eyebrows.
“You were having fun? Listening to that asswipe throw around the word ‘faggot’?” Charlie doesn’t respond and just glares at me. “Charlie, your brother is gay. How was that okay with you?” Still she stares, fists clenched, as people talk and dance and move around us.
I take a step towards her, my voice lowering a fraction to give the illusion of privacy.
“Look, I know you’re upset about Jeremy, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to that guy’s shit just for attention. You can do so much better.” I look around quickly. “Come outside and we can talk about this, it’s too loud in here.”
“You think you know everything, but you know nothing!” she shouts. “Feel free to leave if you don’t want to be at this party, RJ. I’ll figure out my own way home.” She turns around to storm away from me, but wobbles slightly on her heels. And that’s when I realize that Charlie is more than giggly. The girl is tanked. Once she regains her balance, she storms away from me, knocking people out of her way as she goes.
I stand frozen for a minute, unsure how the situation escalated that quickly. As Charlie disappears in the crowd, I groan in frustration and turn towards the balcony. Hopefully fresh air will clear my head and provide me with a much needed reprieve.
Thankfully, it’s quiet and deserted. I plop down on a lounger, and stare up at the night sky, wishing I could see the stars. The bright lights of downtown and the disgusting bubble of LA smog get in the way, so I just look up into the yellow-tinted haze.
Charlie has always been difficult when it comes to men, especially where Jeremy is concerned, but tonight was different. We’ve gotten into fights before when she’s used guys to make herself feel better, but she practically detonated in there. Normally, I make some crack about the guy and she laughs. I’m not sure exactly what happened to her in the past, but I feel like Charlie lets herself get way too wrapped up in getting male attention. She doesn’t stop long enough to remember that she has more to offer a guy than a vagina. And as close as we are, she hates talking about her past, so I know little to nothing about what her life was like growing up.
Well, I guess we are a suitable pair, then, because I never talk about my childhood either.
Frustrated and unsure how to deal with my emotions, I let a growl out into the night sky.
“Feel better?”
I jump a little and look to the corner where the voice came from, shocked that someone else is on the balcony with me. And when I see who it is, I’m sure my face flushes bright red.
Mack.
How did I not notice him when I came out?
“I’m sorry,” I say, sitting up in my seat. “I thought I was alone.”
“I can tell,” he says with a chuckle. “But really, feel any better?”
I give a small smile and nod.
“Actually, yes. Sometimes when I’m really angry, it helps to just scream it out, you know? Get all the pent up frustration together and just hurl it into the sky?”
“So you do this often?”
“Mmmm, not that often. I don’t havethatmany rage issues.” I smile and he lets out another small laugh. “But normally I head to the field and actually shout or scream. I figured doing that on a balcony in downtown LA might freak a few people out.”
He smiles.
“Yeah, I can see how a woman screaming bloody murder might cause a concern.” He stands and walks towards me, then grabs my hands and pulls me off of the lounger. “However, there is a statute in LA county law dictating thattwopeople screaming bloody murder is just a case of young people antics.” He leads me over to the railing at the edge of the balcony, then turns to stand next to me as we look out over Los Angeles.
“I’m confused.”
