I knew who was on the other side of the door, even before I saw Ray Stone through the peephole.  He wasted no time coming to see us once my brother had been drafted.  I expected nothing less because it was the same thing I would have done if I was in that position.  The money was finally available and they had been more patient than we deserved considering the way Walter had started running his business. 

Seeing Ray’s face reinforced what I was already regretting—I was going to have to ask my brother for the money, even if it was going to take every ounce of my pride to beg for a handout.  There was simply no other way to get what Monica and I needed to put the whole thing behind us.  As much as I cared about my pride to the point it was sometimes foolish, I cared about Monica more.  The woman that I thought was nothing but an awful person the day I put a ring on her finger had definitely grown on me.  I wasn’t willing to let her go or let anything come between us.  I was enjoying the life we were building, getting to know my wife, and it was already starting to feel like forever was on the horizon once we cleared her father’s debt.

“Ray...”  I opened the door and glared at him.  “Surely you don’t think the money magically appeared in my hand after my brother signed his contract.”

“Mr. Grant and I didn’t want you to forget—call it a public service.”  He met my glare with one of his own.

“I haven’t forgotten.”  I clenched my jaw, trying to remain respectful even though there was a part of me that simply wanted to punch him in the mouth.

“I’m going to give you a week.  I guess you can call that a present.”  His glare turned to a smile that lacked emotion.  “You helped Mr. Adamson escape, so this debt now falls on you.  If I don’t have our money, you get the same treatment he was going to get.”

“Noted.  You’ll get it.”  I started to push the door closed.

“You know where to find me.”  Ray put his hand on the door and locked eyes again with me one more time before finally pulling his hand away and allowing me to close the door.

“What a jackass.”  Monica walked over once the door was closed.

“He’s doing his job—even if he is an asshole.”  I sighed and shook my head.  “This will all be over soon.”

***

IT WAS TWO DAYS BEFORE Dane returned to Las Vegas.  I drove by the house every day, waiting to see signs of activity, and when I finally saw the lights on, I knew it was time to swallow my pride. 

I parked at the edge of the curb and walked up the driveway.  It felt foreign, like a memory that had been displaced.  I walked up that driveway a million times over the course of my life and it always felt like coming home, but that feeling was gone.  The house I grew up in was no longer home—it was a part of my past.  My future was with Monica and whatever future we decided to make together. 

Normally, I would have just put my key in the lock and walked inside, but I felt like a stranger instead of a member of my family.  I could hear music playing from inside, much louder than anything my mother would have ever allowed.  I lightly tapped the door several times, but there was no response.  I shifted to the side and tried to look into the window next to the door, but I couldn’t see anyone.  I lifted my hand and hit the door several more times, hard enough to rattle it against the hinges.  A few seconds later, I heard footsteps and the door swung open fast to reveal my brother Dane wearing nothing but a towel.

“Grady!”  His eyes were red and bloodshot.  I could smell liquor resonating from his breath.  “Come on inside, we’re having a party!”

“You are?”  My eyes couldn’t hide the shock of seeing my Bible thumping brother drunk as fuck.

“Yeah, come on!”  He motioned for me to follow and started walking towards the living room.  “Grab a drink, let’s catch up.”

“Sure...”  I watched him until he disappeared around the corner and then walked inside the house. 

“Liquor?  Beer?”  My brother called out loud enough for me to hear him over the music.

“Beer is fine.”  When I stepped into the living room, I saw the woman I had seen next to him on television sitting on the sofa wrapped in a sheet.

“Oh, you have to meet Allison!  This is my new girlfriend.”  He motioned to the woman who looked as drunk as he was as he handed me a beer.

“Hi.”  She raised her hand and waved with a half-smile on her face.

“Nice to meet you, Allison.  Dane, is there somewhere we can talk in private?”  I sipped my beer and looked around the living room.

“Can you give us a minute, baby?”  Dane turned to Allison.  “You can wait in the bedroom.”

“Okay.”  She shrugged and stood up, stumbling when she tried to take a step.

“It won’t take me long.”  Dane slapped her ass through the sheet and she started walking a little faster.

“Well, things have certainly changed with you.”  I took a seat as Dane turned down the music.

“I owe that to you!”  Dane shook his finger at me and grinned.  “Damn, what was I thinking?  One woman?  Marriage?  Holy shit—how is Monica anyway?”

“She’s fine.”  I took a deep breath and exhaled sharply.  “I guess I owe you an apology.  It should have come a lot sooner.”

“No—fuck that.”  Dane shook his head.  “I saw what she posted on social media.  The bitch was using me.  You didn’t have to marry her though—you could have just told me she was a whore.”

“Dane...”  My jaw clenched as he referred to my wife as a bitch and a whore, but I had to bite my tongue because attacking him wasn’t going to help my case.

“Anyway.”  He shrugged.  “She’s your problem now—unless you’ve already dumped her to the curb.  I sure as fuck would have.”

“We’re still together.”  I sipped my beer again.  “I have to admit, I never expected any of this from you.”  I motioned to the living room.  “Drinking—a girlfriend that you’re obviously fucking.”

“Like I said, I owe all that to you!  I was devastated after Monica left.  I tried reading the Bible, consulting with the church elders, and even praying about it.  You know what worked though?”  He reached over and picked up a bottle of liquor, tapping it before taking a drink.  “Well, this and finally getting my cherry popped.”

“I’m glad you’re in a better place now.”  It didn’t seem like a better place, but he was sure as fuck happy, so I just went with it.

“Yeah, man.  I’m over the fucking moon.  Who knew life could be so much fun?”  He laughed and took another drink.  “Anyway, I need to get back to Allison so if you just came here to apologize, I accept it.  I’m not mad.  Mom might still be pissed.  She’s still in denial about Monica—she loved that girl more than I did.”

“Where is Mom anyway?”  I knew she wasn’t home just by the condition of the house.

“I gave her a million dollars and told her to stay in New York for a while.  You know how she always talked about Broadway and seeing all that shit.  I wanted to get back home, but she’s there for another week.”  He shrugged and sipped his liquor again.

“Good for her.”  I couldn’t help but smile imagining my mother with an unlimited bank account and trying to navigate New York City. “Well look, an apology isn’t the only reason I’m here.”

“Lay it on me, bro.  What’s up?”  He put the bottle on the table and smiled.

“I need some money.”  I sighed and looked at the floor.  “A lot of money, actually.”

“Aw yeah.”  He started laughing.  “See, I knew you’d realize there was no reason to keep hustling when your brother was a wealthy man.  How much you need?  You said a lot?  Like a million?”

“A million?”  I blinked in surprise and quickly shook my head.  “No, man.  I just need fifty grand.”

“Fifty grand?”  He laughed again. “I wipe my ass with fifty grand.  You can probably find that in the floorboard of my car.”

“If that is where you want me to look.”  I sighed and stared at the floor.  “It isn’t easy for me to come asking for a handout, but Monica and I are in a tight spot.”

“Monica?  Is this about her father’s gambling debt?  No man, fuck that.  That’s why she was using me in the first place.  I’m not giving that bitch a dime.”  Dane shook his head angrily.

“I’m the one asking, not her.”  I looked up at him.  “This is important.”

“Sorry, bro.  It ain’t happening.  You get rid of her and I’ll give you all the money you want.”  He reached for his bottle of liquor again.

“Dane, seriously.”  I sighed and felt my anger rising.  “I need it.”

“Not for her.” He stood up and put his hand on his towel.  “Stay here and drink all you want.  I got a bitch in the other room that needs to be fucked.”

There was a part of me that wanted to snap my brother’s multi-million dollar arm in half after the way he disrespected me and my wife, but I deserved it.  Sadly, so did she.  We both deserved every bit of his hate and spite.  Even though he knew I did what I did out of a place of love for him, it was still betrayal.  Monica’s betrayal was much worse. 

I finished the beer in my hand and instead of grabbing another one, I went straight for an unopened bottle of whiskey.  The sounds coming from the bedroom were louder than the music, so I decided to leave.  I checked the floorboard of his car just in case, but there was no sign of money. 

I walked down to the street and slammed the door hard once I was in the car.  My anger finally started to explode and I drove my hand into the steering wheel repeatedly until it was almost bent from my fury.  I unscrewed the top on the whiskey and started drinking it, finally feeling some calmness when I felt it coursing through my veins.

I can’t go back to Monica empty handed.  Fuck you, Dane!  Fuck!

The bottle was halfway gone before I finally cranked up the car and started driving.  I kept drinking as I approached my apartment.  I just couldn’t go back to Monica’s house and admit my failure, plus I wasn’t sure I could actually make it all the way across town because the liquor was taking hold of me fast. 

I stumbled into the lobby with the bottle still dangling from my fingertips and punched the elevator button until the doors opened.  I took one step forward and then stumbled until the back of the elevator caught me and broke my fall.  The buttons were blurry and it looked like there were two or three for the fourth floor, but hitting one lit them all up. My vision was getting blurrier by the second. 

The elevator arrived at what I hoped was my floor and I let the wall carry me down the hallway until I was at my door.  My jammed my key into the door several times and carved out sections of paint before I finally got it in the lock.  It was a short trip to my bedroom, but I didn’t make it without falling once against the kitchen counter.  My eyes came into focus on my wedding band, which was still in the bowl where I left it the day after we were married.  I put the bottle on the counter, slid the wedding band on my finger, and then staggered to my bedroom and passed out across the bed.  The only thing that greeted me was darkness as I passed out.