Saturday, November 23rd
Matt
I woke up hearing my phone’s alert of an incoming text. Gina and I stayed at Colin’s tonight to help out. Sydney was a wreck after Anthony left and I wanted to be around in case Colin needed anything. I reached across Gina to pick up my phone.
AG: mAtt am fckd up. at urban twrS bar. dont get col she needs him
Without him even saying it, I knew he was drunk. It probably took him a long time to text that with drunk fingers. I got dressed and sent him back one.
MR: Don’t move. I’m on my way.
I told Gina that I needed to go get Anthony and went down to tell Colin. As I approached the downstairs room, I saw the lights were on and heard him on the phone. I knocked lightly and went inside. A bar manager found Anthony’s phone and found Colin’s number.
Since I had never seen Anthony drunk, I wasn’t sure what I was going to walk in on when I got to the bar. From working many nights in the ER, I had seen my fair share of alcohol related accidents and injuries. At least Anthony wasn’t behind the wheel.
My heart went out to him because I knew he was adrift in unchartered waters and just didn’t know what end was up anymore. That’s how it happened with Gina. One day, I just felt so turned around and didn’t know what had happened. I just knew that I couldn’t live without her. I think Anthony is attached to Sydney and he realized how great his attachment is with her tonight.
When I got to the valet, I saw his car sitting off in one of the front “look at me” parking spaces for residents. His sporty BMW was nestled between a Ferrari and a Mercedes sedan. I sighed and handed my key fob over to the valet.
I made my way inside and though it was going on 4 a.m., it was the Las Vegas Strip so I wasn’t surprised the lobby was bustling with people coming and going and milling about. I found the Balcony Pub, walked in and scanned the place. I found a server and described who I was looking for. She pointed over to a booth in the far corner. Damn. He looked pretty fucked up.
I wanted to help him. He was there for me rock solid when I was struggling with Gina in the beginning. Anthony was clearly upside down with feelings for Sydney and I believe that he loves her but isn’t sure where to go from here. Blake said he was confident that Anthony’s parents messed him up and as a result he’s been too afraid to allow himself to love someone or be loved for that matter. Anthony was more than a friend to Colin and I. He was like our little brother and we weren’t going to let him throw this away.
Being a Dominant, Anthony is naturally head strong but he hasn’t been able to keep Sydney from getting at his heart. He cares for her but thinks he’s no good for her. He’s so wrong but is too afraid.
I sat down across from him, set my phone on the table and looked at him. He had his elbows on the table and was holding his head in one of his hands. He looked up at me and then squinted at the light. I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt like a parent who was watching his irresponsible son learn what the repercussions of too much alcohol were. To my knowledge Anthony had never been drunk before and was turning forty-one in a few months.
“Thanks for coming for me, Matt. I don’t deserve it. You could have left me.” He sipped on some water and eyed me over his glass.
“You’re my little brother. I couldn’t leave you passed out in this nice, posh bar.”
He gave me a small smile and looked up at me through his spread out fingers that was holding his head up. I could tell that he had been beating himself up all evening for leaving Colin’s. He’s punished himself for this evening. I wasn’t going to add to it.
“How is she?”
I pushed the glass of water in front of him encouraging him to drink more water. He needed to drink more after his drinking binge and his emotional scene with Sydney tonight. I told him that Sydney was doing okay but that she’d be better if he had been there. I didn’t risk telling him how much he means to her. I couldn’t risk getting into a physical altercation with him.
“You ready to go upstairs?”
He barked out a laugh and looked up at me.
“Aren’t you going to buy me dinner first?”
Wonderful. He was a comedian drunk. I rolled my eyes and stood up pulling him with me. He was a little wobbly at first but once we started walking towards the elevators he became more stable. He kept rubbing on his head. Then I remembered that Colin mentioned the bartender said Anthony had passed out. Once we get upstairs I’ll check him out and make sure he didn’t bang his head.
While we made our way to the elevator a small group of women came sauntering over. They were probably around Gina’s age give or take a few years. All three of them had eyes on Anthony as they came over to us. Could this night get any worse? Anthony had a look about him that always drew women. He’s been like that ever since Colin and I met him at Irons in our twenties. He has that bad boy look but really was one of the nicest guys in the world.
“Hi, fellas.”
“You guys want to get a drink or go do something fun?”
I looked over at them and smiled, then told them no thanks. Anthony was looking down at the floor as we walked. I don’t even think he heard them until one started tugging on his arm.
“Come on, one drink,” the third girl said while I poked the elevator keypad designated for penthouse residents.
“He’s had plenty already.” I told them while I cursed the elevator for taking so damn long. Why he had to be on the top floor in the first place was beyond me.
“Drinks or fun?” One asked in a seductive tone.
“You’re cute, you shouldn’t let that guy tell you that you can’t come with us and have fun.”
Anthony yanked his arm out of the girl’s hand and stumbled into me. I helped steady him and was punching on the elevator keypad now.
“Don’t touch me, please,” Anthony said to the girl and tugged on his shirt while still looking down. I put my hand on his back so he wouldn’t fall and grabbed hold of his shirt. Unfortunately, these girls were not going away. They were starting to get bitchy though when they realized Anthony wasn’t interested.
“You stupid guys can’t get up on those floors anyhow. They’re only for residents,” one of the girls said to us.
“He lives here,” I told them under my breath as they were walking away. Why the fuck wasn’t the elevator arriving?
Anthony did some maneuver where he turned and smacked his butt against the keypad. The elevator chimed and opened. I glared at him.
“Are you kidding me, Anth?”
“Forgot you didn’t have the key card.”
I shoved him in the elevator and the doors closed as the girls were scurrying towards the doors saying, “see they were rich!”
Fuck, what a place. The lobby is full of people trying to make it into some bachelor or bachelorette’s pad. What a lonely life. I don’t know how Anthony didn’t get trashed every night surrounded by this crap.
In the elevator Anthony keyed in his code and then a female’s automated voice announced “destination penthouse.”
Colin and I have only been to Anthony’s place a handful times. He never played with subs outside of Irons and he and Colin rarely ever entertained their clients at Anthony’s place. Anthony secluded himself from the world here and I knew this place cost him an arm and leg. Anthony made a pretty penny working with Colin, but Colin and I knew that Anthony already had money before he started working with Everett Gaming. He didn’t afford this place on the salary Colin is paying him. He made a lot of money with Colin, but not this kind of money. A large condo in the sky at one of the nicest high-rises on the Strip could cost an unfathomable amount of money. Anthony paid cash for this place and didn’t have to finance it; in fact he didn’t have anything financed.
The three of us were best friends but there was a large part of Anthony’s past that neither Colin or I knew much about. He wanted it hidden. He wasn’t a closed off person, but there was something bad in his past that he never brought out. Colin and I were pretty sure it was his upbringing.
Anthony has always been very calm and controlled but Sydney has turned him inside out. He’s confused and struggling but Colin and I will help him. Anthony has been there for us one hundred and ten percent and now we can support him. Night or day, he was there for me.
“What?” He suddenly asked me. I just shook my head. I wasn’t going to dare try to pry into his past now. But even intoxicated, he knew what I was thinking.
“You passed out. Did you hit your head?” I asked him and reached to feel the back of his head. I knew he had been rubbing his head and thought it might just be a headache from the alcohol, but maybe he actually hit it. Without him resisting, I was able to feel his head and didn’t feel a knot or bump that had formed yet. His shoulders and neck felt tight though which I attributed to being stressed.
“I’m fine. And just so you know, I wouldn’t have gone with those women even if you weren’t right next to me.” He looked over at me. “It would hurt Sydney. I don’t want to hurt her anymore.”
Anthony was back to sounding depressed and looking lost and unsure of everything. My mom calls Anthony her “lost boy.” She loves him like her own and my dad says all the pieces fit for him to have endured some type of violence. Anthony doesn’t talk about it and while Colin and I try to get info from time to time we’re never successful.
Finally, the fiftieth floor.
“Arriving on the fiftieth floor. Good evening, Mr. Graves,” the automated voice said as the door opened.
“Do you pay extra for that?”
He didn’t respond to my joke and pulled his wallet out. He dropped it on the floor and stumbled while trying to pick it up.
“Jesus, Anth. Give it here.” I held my hand out for him to give me the key card and I held him by the arm until I got the door opened. It was like getting into Fort Knox.
I didn’t touch anything but lights started coming on. Anthony and his technology. I remember him setting his place up on home automation a few months back. I will admit that it was convenient that the lights just started popping on. I took him by the arm over to the couch and made sure he sat down while I went in search of ibuprofen.
The place was just as stark as I remember. The floors were of gray hardwood and his kitchen was decked out in the finest Viking appliances and cobalt blue sleek lacquered cabinets. His great room had a dark gray leather modern couch and two matching leather chairs to the side. He had a dark solid wood kitchen table, matching chairs and had two blue barstools that matched his cabinets. All I saw in here were dollar signs.
Once I figured out how to open the cabinets, I found some ibuprofen and took them and a bottle of water over to him. He was quiet now and had his hand on his chest and head leaned back on the cushions with his eyes closed. I nudged him on the leg and he opened his eyes.
“Take this.”
I sat down on the chair and noticed he was sitting on something yellow. It caught my eye because it was some of the only color in here. It was a stuffed animal or something. I sat forward trying to figure out what it was and grew more curious.
“What’s with the stuffed animal, Anth?”
“What are you talking about?”
I pulled it out from under him and dropped it on his chest. He looked down, laughed and held it to his chest.
“I got it for her.” He tilted his head back on the cushion and shut his eyes. “She hurt. She was recovering and you gave her that blanket in the emergency room so she’d have something to hold. You and Colin talked about how important it would be for her to have something to hold. When I went shopping I saw this and thought of her. It’s yellow and bright. I thought it’d make her smile and would help her.”
“Why is it here and not with her?”
He opened his eyes and rolled his head to the side to look at me.
“Because, that night in the hospital she held onto me for comfort and then again the next few nights. I was selfish and liked it. No bottom or submissive has ever held onto me like that. I didn’t want the monkey to take my place.”
Wow, I really wasn’t expecting that. Just like me with Gina, Sydney has been under his skin from the beginning. I remember back to the night Anthony brought her to Colin’s party. He kept his eye on her the whole night and made her feel better.
I thought he was asleep but then he mumbled, “I want her.”
“Come on. Lets get you to bed, man.”
I pulled him up and walked him down the hall to his immaculate room. There was a large king size bed with a gray headboard and matching gray nightstands. In the corner there was a trendy, modern chair and a gray dresser. The only color in the bedroom was the blue blanket that was on top of the white sheets.
Before I drifted off to sleep, I first wanted to make certain that he was clear of anything that might point towards a concussion. After all, he passed out tonight and no one was sure if he had or hadn’t hit his head. His eyes looked clear and though he was a little wobbly, I was pretty sure that was from being drunk.
He flopped down on the bed and made a feeble attempt to unbutton his shirt. Out of frustration he just started pulling at the shirt. He was a mess. I moved his hands out of the way and finished unbuttoning his shirt and watched him maneuver out of it and his jeans. He dropped back down sideways on the bed. I wasn’t going to bug him anymore. He needed sleep. I looked down and saw that scar he’s carried on his side for as long as I’ve known him. I was tempted to ask him about it now, but that wouldn’t be right and I’d be taking advantage of him and the situation.
I picked up his jeans and shirt from the floor and set them on the chair. His wallet, phone and a few napkins fell out of the pocket. I picked everything up and when I set it on his dresser, the napkins caught my eye. While he was in the bar tonight, we was doodling about Sydney. The napkins said Balcony Pub in the corners and he had drawn his name in block letters and then doodled Sydney’s name inside of his. On another napkin he started a note to her about being sorry and that he didn’t want to hurt her. And on a third he drew a cartoon sun with the word “mine” under it. Jesus, Anthony can be a deep, intense guy.
I went back out to his great room, got the yellow monkey and took it back to him. I set it on his side over his scar and he dropped his hand to hold it against him. I went to lie down on the couch and I sent Colin a text.
MR: I got Anth and he’s asleep now in his bed.
CE: Is he ok?
MR: Yeah, bruised pride and has been beating himself up. He’s kind of a funny drunk. I’m going to sleep on the couch.
CE: I will be over in the morning with coffee and breakfast.