Page 5 of The Loathing

“Are you okay?” Kaleb asks and I half shrug and nod as I fist my hands into my jean front pockets.

“What a stupid fucking question,” Keaton snorts and shakes his head as he moves towards the kitchen, “anyone want a beer?”

“Please,” he shouts out and I ignore it. I move forward, slumping down on the sofa over the other side of the lounge. “Keep positive man,” Kaleb says softly as he kisses the top of my now motherless daughter’s head.

I nod.

“But until then, we will be here for you and Arizona, every step of the way,”

Keaton re-appears with three bottles of beer, passing one to me that I take with disgust apparent on my face, and Kaleb takes one happily.

“Positive,” Kaleb reminds me, and I just nod. I can’t physically force the words out because any ounce of positivity is slowly seeping out of me as the second’s pass.

CHAPTER THREE

TITUS

Walking back into the room, relief sweeps over me that my bed is now empty. I don’t do one night hook ups; I don’t do one-night stands. I used to, two years after I accepted that Sharon was never coming back. It took me a long time to actually accept it, and now here we are, twenty-one years later and I’ve had my first one-night stand in what feels like a lifetime ago.

I went through a man-whore stage at the two-year mark, but after a few months, I wasn’t interested in it anymore. I needed to focus on the most important thing in my life which was Arizona. I felt dirty after this morning and I may have scrubbed my skin a little harder than I should have because it now feels tender.

My phone beeps and I pat around for it on my quilt cover until I find it, my brows pinch when I see Kaleb’s name.

I sigh, clicking the green button and lifting it to my ear.

“Yup,” I grit, not that I have a problem with Kaleb, I am just a bear with a sore head and it’s my own fault.

“Good morning sunshine,” Kaleb chirps down the phone, “you sound rough,” he chuckles, and I roll my eyes.

“Well, I had to drink myself into a coma because the sickly love declaration that I was behold to.”

“You’re such a grouch, that’s what we should call you from now on, Oscar the Grouch.”

“And we should call you pussy whipped but hey, who am I to give you a new nickname?”

“Ouch,” I hear his chuckle grow and Connie laughing in the background, and a smile pulls at my lips.

“What do I owe the pleasure?” I huff as I sit on the edge of the bed and rummage through my underwear drawer, letting out a heavier sigh as I notice my briefs drawer is running dangerously low.

“Just wanted to see how you were, you were in a pretty low place last night,” I hear the ruffle off bed sheets and know he is getting out of bed to begin pacing.

“I’m fine, just over this Xavier shit now if I’m honest. Sounds like the dude doesn’t know what he’s doing. One minute she is about to get on the plane, then it’s pushed back a few days. I told him he has a week. If she isn’t on the plane in one week then I am done.” I flop down on the bed. “I am exhausted with it all.”

“I get it mate, just give him the week… if he is still fucking about then just leave it. It’s not worth the stress.”

I nod in agreement as if he can see me.

“Me and Connie are going to grab some lunch, you up for meeting us?” Kaleb asks as I hear him shuffling about.

“Oh yeah, like a third wheel kind of thing?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” I quip, sitting back up slowly, “what time are you going?”

“About one? Does that work?”

I pull my phone from my ear, it’s just turned seven.

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