Face Down In The Dirt

Chapter 9 - This Ain't a Love Song

**I'm curious to see your reactions here. Lemme have 'em....

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Nikki woke up from his nap at his new, temporary digs. He shook himself out of his sleepy mood, and braced himself to accept this new state of affairs as he took in his lonely surroundings. Nikki stretched, and looked down at the pillow that he laid his head upon, as he remembered the last thing that Mick said before leaving. The pillow was already stained with god-knows-what from Nikki’s messy, swollen face. Whoops, Mick should understand, he resolved, as he flipped it over, then stood up with another stretch.

The thirty-two year old father-to-be walked into the living room, the view of the ocean was beckoning him. Nikki slid the door open, and stepped out onto the balcony; the salty ocean breeze rustled through his hair and the warm late-afternoon sun tickled his senses. Nikki sat in a chair, and stared at the green-tinted ocean waves rolling in. The sea birds cawed and swirled around in search of a tasty morsel. Life was continuing onwards without a care of the turmoil that had taken residence in Nikki’s soul. 

A scene like this was picture perfect to sit with your lover, hand in hand, marveling at the beauty of the things before you, and by your side. And a scene like this was also a reminder that breezes chill your core, sunlight burns you up, waves violently toss you around leaving you choking for air, and birds shit on you when you’re least expecting it. They don’t care about your troubles. Life moves fast. And every minute that ticked by was a minute further away from the point Nikki was last in Tommy’s arms. Time will just keep rolling on, lengthening the distance between the two; hopelessness began filling in the ever-widening gap.

Nikki decided to return to his house for another load of stuff. Whatever was left would be for tomorrow. For now, it was a distraction.

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It was the next morning. Tommy felt utter fatigue plaguing his body after a restless night, alone. Last night he went back down to the casino. He gambled (and lost) some more. He drank, and he found a young lady to share a fancy dinner with. Finishing off the evening with a quick, feverish fuck. But once it was over, he told the girl to leave. He preferred to be alone; not in the mood for shallow companionship. 

Last night, Tommy called Nikki again, around eleven pm. There was still no answer, and it made him worry. He knew Nikki sometimes victimized himself with destructive behavior. Or maybe he was out having fun with someone? What were they talking about? No, Tommy resolved, Nikki was home sulking, as he had been. But why wasn’t he answering the phone? Did something happen? 

Tommy called Mick to allay his fears. The call went exactly like this.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mick.”

“Fuck you.” Followed by a slam, then the dial tone.

OK, then…. That went nowhere. Tommy called Vince out of sheer desperation. Not that he would have ever shared with him anything about what had been going on. That friend-ship sailed a while ago, but he figured if something happened to Nikki, Vince would have known.

“Hello?”

“Hey Vin. It’s Tom.”

“It’s fucking late. What’s up?”

“Um, I’m actually away for a day, I just want to know if you heard from Nikki recently. I can’t seem to reach him.”

“Nope. Haven’t heard from him. Just a call that our studio time for the rest of the week has been cancelled.”