"we should go back though" i said, scraping my credit card on the table to try and collect the remaining coke dust particles into a doable line. i inhaled the remainder in through the rolled up bill, then looking over to gus. "ready when you are" he said. most of gus' songs had hit well over a million streams, the parties were getting bigger and bigger and sometimes we just wanted to be alone for a bit. no matter what we did or where we were there was always someone that needed something, or had something to do with him.
i followed behind him on the stairs, trying not to stumble too much in front of everyone. i kind of hung off gus, sick of him constantly getting pulled away from me. if they wanted him they could deal with me too. he just came back and repeated their conversations to me anyways. "this your girl?" someone asked him, i didn't recognize him. "oh hey man, what's up and yeah she is" gus asked, dapping him up. "oh just living the dream. she's bad, you're a lucky man" the guy said.
"yeah she is" gus said, pulling me a little closer to him in a protective manner. "anyways, isla this is charlie. charlie, isla" gus said introducing us. "he's done some production for me before but we don't see each other often" he said. "we gotta make another hit soon man", this charlie guy said. "absolutely, just shoot me a text soon. take care man" gus said, as we walked away and continued to mingle through the crowd.
gus and i had actually moved out of his apartment last month, and started renting a house with tracy so there was more space. when it was just the three of us it was fine but when people came to party it packed in pretty quickly. a house was definitely more doable than an apartment, especially with all of gus' accumulating music shit plus all the noise from it wasn't quite a joy to our old neighbours.
hellboy had done great things for gus, myself and everyone featured on it. there was very little negative feedback on it. "oh god, i'm way too high" i told gus. the room span around me a little, the lights felt too bright and i had absolutely no depth or speed perception left. "me too. ima do another line though" he said. "not me" i said, opting to just stand next to him.
"there you guys are" tracy said, walking up to us. "oh god, isla are you even alive?" tracy asked, shaking me around a little. "i'm so gone" i told him. "jesus what's peep you you onto now?" he asked. "coke, good shit" i said. it'd definitely turned into my drug of choice the last few weeks. tracy shook his head at us. "well anyways, i just thought i should let both of you guys know that layla is here. last i saw her she was with a dude but just thought you guys should be aware so consider this your warning" tracy gave us a heads up.
"jesus christ i know. she's commenting on gus' shit but i haven't actually seen her yet. if i do i won't hesitate to knock her out cold" i told tracy. "wow ol isla getting feisty" tracy commented. "like is she actually stupid? like does her brain work? how many more times do i have to publicly scream at her?" i asked to both gus and tracy. "well apparently at least once more. maybe this will be your lucky night to get your point across" tracy said. "better fucking be. i don't think i can handle breathing the same air as her much longer" i complained.
"chill out a little hun. you need a drink?" gus asked. "no i can hardly fucking see straight" i reminded him. "right" he said. "anyways, it'll be just fine my love" he said, rubbing his hand up and down my back a couple of times. i tried to chill out but i had a feeling the night was gonna end in bloody noses, and not from the coke. i appreciated how calm gus could remain but unfortunately i didn't possess that skill.
"how can you call the cops on a bitch without actually involving the police?" i asked. "unfortunately there is no way. i'm not saying beat her ass but like, it may be a good deterrent" gus responded. "so you think it's a good idea to fuck her up? i've got your permission?" i asked. "well like, i don't condone hurting people but like. i ain't see shit if she's on the floor" he shrugged.
"i love you" i said. "you're crazy" he told me. "i know" i shrugged, i couldn't deny it. "but i love you" he said. "gus!" a voice caught our attention, we both turned our heads to spot adam. "oh hey it's just you. what's going on?" gus asked him. "honestly nothing. that's why i'm here, i should really get out more" he said to gus. "and hey isla. long time no see" he said to me. "yeah, nice to see you again" i said. "i've actually been out in pennsylvania the last month or so but i've been talking to tracy and he said this is what it's like all the time in la now, so thought i'd come down for a bit" adam explained to gus.
"pennsylvania? that's dope though. stay a while, we've got a couch and you're always welcome here" gus told him. i know they were actually good friends but gus' heart really was too big for his body. "i'm just gonna go to the bathroom, i'll be right back" i told gus. "okay. don't kill anyone on the way there. or back" he told me and i laughed. "should i be worried?" adam asked. "no. a crazy bitch is just driving both of us up the fucking wall. wont leave me alone" gus told him. "no promises" i winked and walked away.
