Phoenix

 

I yawn as Jake and I walk into the warehouse. It’s been a hell of a week, but I still can’t shake the look on his face after what he did to Jessica. I knew he was on something, but I never thought he would take things to that extent. I’ve wanted to talk to him about it, but it never seemed like the right time. Now seems like as good a time as any.

“Want to talk about what happened the other day?” I ask as we head into the back storeroom. Jake doesn’t say a fucking word, which in a way annoys me. Then again, if he treads wrong, I may lose it myself and let my monster out to play.

“Not really. It wasn’t shit. She’s been a pain in the ass lately, and I’m sick of it. She likes to run her mouth too damn much.” Jake grabs the clipboard off the top of one of the bundles and starts reading over it.

“What were you on?” I ask, knowing damn good and well he was on something. He cocks his head to the side and watches me a minute. I can see the rage bubbling up inside of him. This is how he and I became friends. We both had anger issues, and neither one of us knew how to handle it. Shit, I still lose control at times.

“What the fuck is it with you? Huh? Are you turning into my dad, always in my business?” There it is. I knew David had been trying to control Jake for a long time, but I hadn’t seen it lately. I thought he was slowly backing off, but I guess I was wrong.

“No, I’m not. You love Jess. I know you do and that’s what concerned me. You hurt her, Jake.” I keep my tone steady, even if deep inside I want to snap his fucking neck. I don’t like seeing him handle her like that. It sets my nerves on edge, and I’m already having enough trouble keeping myself under control.

“I know I did. I didn’t mean to. I was amped on coke. I had a shit day, and I just wanted to blow off some steam. Closing down Friction really fucked me over. I didn’t mean to take it out on her.” He says that, but his eyes tell me another story. I can see the fucking lie but what’s he lying to me about? I nod my head and start to unwrap the plastic off each bundle from our shipment. We have to get it counted and parted out before tomorrow.

“Dad said there have been a lot of drugs running through the club, and the girls are getting hooked. He was pissed. That’s why he shut it down. He wants to know who it is that’s supplying it to them.” As I count off the number of boxes we have, I holler the amount over to Jake. He then writes it on the clipboard.

“He thinks it’s someone inside?” Jake asks, his voice a little broken. Something is going on with him, and I’m not sure what the hell it is.

“Didn’t say. I’m not sure. He won’t discuss it much with me, but he isn’t concerned about the money coming in from the club.” I shrug and move to the next pallet. As I unravel the plastic that holds the boxes together, I glance over at him. His eyes are a little distant even again today. Whatever the fuck he’s gotten into can’t be good.

“You heard anything?” I take the chance to ask him and risk pissing him off further, but at the end of the day, I don’t give a shit if he’s mad at me.

“Not a fucking thing. I just know I have no one to take my aggression out on,” he grumbles. Friction used to be my dad's pride and joy. He converted it from a BDSM club into more of a nightclub. The BDSM part of it stuck around for the most part. There are separate wings that you can go into for whatever pleasure you wish. Jake and I found ourselves with the slaves more than anything. We could unleash and be who we truly were with them although I think Jake takes it too far at times. I’ve seen some of it and even helped him out a few times. There have been rumors about him that circulated early on, but I always blew them off. After seeing the way he was with Jess the other day though, I have to wonder if it was all true. We finish counting and separating after four hours in the storeroom. Heading back out front, his high seems to be calming.

“You ever want to get the fuck away from here?” He looks over and asks. I shrug my shoulders and pull a cigarette out and light it up.

“And go where? Do what?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere no one knows you. Somewhere you can start over and be something a little more normal.” I can sense the edge in his voice. Jake’s never acted like this before. Something has him spooked, and I need to know what the hell it is.

“Talk to me, Jake. We’re best friends. We’re damn near brothers, man. What’s going on?” I motion for him to follow me. We step out into the night, and that’s when it hits me. The dark is where I belong. It’s where I thrive, and I fit in. Blowing out a ring of smoke, we walk closer to the water. Leaning against an old shipping crate, I look over at the worried look in Jake’s eyes. I hate it. I don’t want him to stress about anything but seeing him like this kills me.

“Come on, Jake.”

“Dad’s just been riding my ass lately. Jessica has been on my nerves. Hell, even Abby has been pissing me off, and we barely see her ass,” he finally snaps.

“What’s with your dad?” I ask, taking another puff.

“He wants shit his way or no way. He’s tired of me using and going to the club. He keeps telling me I need to get a handle on Jess because Abby doesn’t.  He said someone sent him pictures of me when I was at Friction and threatened him. They said they’d plaster it all over the news.” Fuck, fuck, fuck! This was not good. We need David on our side. Of course, we could always find a new attorney that’s twisted as fuck, but we have an ongoing relationship with David and starting over is just too much.

“So, we find out who the hell it was and take them out. Problem solved.” I shrug. Jake laughs and turns his head to look at me.

“Just like that, huh?”

“Hell yeah, just like that. We’re boys, Jake. This is what we do,” I remind him. He nods his head, his hand coming to scratch at the stubble on his chin.

“What if I told you I thought it was Jessica doing it?” he says. I immediately laugh. There’s no way in hell she would do that to him. She loves him. They are brother and sister for fuck's sake.

“No way, man. Jess isn’t like that,” I say through the laughter. When I glance back at Jake, he isn’t laughing with me. My smile slowly fades until I stare at him in shock.

“You really think it could have been her? Why?” Shaking my head, to me it just doesn’t make sense. They are brother and fucking sister! Sure, they aren’t blood-related, but that doesn’t mean anything. They have always had a good relationship as far as I know. I run my hand through my short hair and think about it a minute.

“Ok. If she knows why would she turn you in? What is she getting out of it?”

“I don’t know.” His eyes. Those goddamn lying eyes. He knows alright; he just isn’t willing to tell me.

“What do you want to do? We can’t take out your sister. Want me to follow her? Get someone on her?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I can see the anger building inside of him. I need to find out what the hell is going on between the two of them.

“No. I got her. Maybe it’s not even her; maybe I’m just being paranoid.” I flick my cigarette to the ground and grind it out with the toe of my boot.

“You sure?” No, something’s off. I can feel it in my bones. He’s lying to me… but about what? And why?

“Yeah, man. Just fuck it. I’ll talk to Jess later. You’re right; she loves me. She wouldn’t turn on me,” he says. I nod my head but the more I think about it, the more it doesn’t add up. Why even think it could be her in the first place?

“If you’re sure. Want to head over to the bar for a while?” Jake nods his head and smiles over at me.

“Might as well drink it all away, right?”