Zedric's Hotel

dinner with the devil

I lay my head down on my pillow. It's only 2:00 PM, but I need this nap. I'm slowly drifting off when I hear a voice behind me. "Zedric!" I sit straight up. "Christ, did you even bother to knock on my door?" I tell Vaggie. "Downstairs. Phone for you," she says, ignoring my question. I groan at the fact that there's only one person who would bother to call me. "Tell them I'll take a message." I say, turning around and getting comfortable again. "No, Zedric, she's already on the phone waiting for you." Vaggie says. I groan louder and get up and follow Vaggie down the stairs. Charlie has the phone and she hands it to me. "Hello?" I ask.

"Ah, Zedric! It's always so nice to hear the voice of my least favorite child."

"Nice to hear your voice too, Mom," I say, before sticking my finger in my throat and making a gagging face. "Zedric, I'm your mother, and I know you're making a sarcastic face on the other end of this phone." She says. "Yeah, I am." I reply. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you were okay with having spaghetti tonight." She says. "Why?" I ask, confused. "Did you not get the news? Mairrick is here, in Hell! He's on his way, so we're gonna have dinner with him." That news hit me like a fucking truck. "Actually, Mom, I can't, I gotta thing with my dealer that I've got to work out, and I have my job, you know, the only reason you have to call me all the time." I say, and even though I'm trying to sweet-talk my way out of this, but I can feel my mom's anger through the phone. "Come on, Zedric! Can't you reschedule? You know this dinner is important to Mairrick and you know if you don't show up I'll come and drag you out of that Hotel." My mom says. "Mom," I try to reply, but she's still going. "And if not for Mairrick, can you at least do it for your poor mother? I loved your father, but maybe I should have swallowed-"

"Okay, okay, too much fucking information, Mom! Fine, jeez, I'll be there soon." I say, attempting to quickly defuse this. "Thanks, honey! So, spaghetti?" Mom says, and at this point I'm sick of arguing about food. "Yeah, spaghetti." I say, and hang up the phone. I look over to see Charlie and Vaggie who have been standing there the entire time. "What?" I ask. "What was that about?" Vaggie asks. Normally I'd say something smart-ass like, like 'nunya' or something, but I hate everything too much right now to spin a white lie, so I tell her the truth.

"My brother, Mairrick, just died and is in Hell now, so my mom wants me to go over there and have dinner with him."

"Oh, that's great, Zedric!" The princess says, unaware of exactly who my brother is. Look I know she's the princess and her job is to not know anything then get thrown into the arms of some guy and rule a world but she needs at least a little bit of decent education.

"Great? Listen, princess, you haven't met my brother. Mairrick is the bane of my existence, and everyone else's, for that matter. I can't tell you how many fights we got into because of his... ugh... goddammit, Mom, what are you making me do?" I trail so far off that now they got a sinner like me praying for help here. It's made worse when Vaggie tries to insert herself into the conversation. "Who is your dealer, Zedric?" She asks. "'Nunya." I reply as I head back to my room and plop on the bed. I groan into my pillow and go to sleep.

When my alarm goes off, I shoot up out of the bed and quickly get dressed. I reach for my buds and quickly head out. Charlie sees me heading for the door and follows me. "Goodbye, Zedric! Tell me all about your family!" She shouts to me. "I can tell you that right now. My mother is worse than your dad, and Mairrick is worse than you." I reply without turning around. "Have fun!" Charlie shouts after me. "That is a scientific impossibility," I reply as the door closes behind me. I pass by Husk whose having a drink outside. "Where are you going?" He asks me. "Dinner with the devil," I reply. It's a long walk because I'm trying to get to my destination and watching my back. I wasn't lying when I said I owed my dealer. His suppliers are this hellhound gang nearby and if they don't get a cut of the goods he sells, the gang goes batshit crazy. They know I'm a popular buyer, and they will come for me. One of the benefits of being a patron at the Hotel is that you're supposed to be protected from the threats of the streets, but I'm just saying, that doesn't make me any less paranoid. Down here in Hell, you have to watch your back and your front and your sides as well because even if you think you're invisible, there's a target on your back. And one last thing. You can't trust anybody, or you will wind up dead. That's another reason I avoided the streets, having nowhere to go would have caused me to become desperate and trust someone who helped me and then that'll be the last mistake I ever make.