Chapter 8

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Kholas Barnes

Robbie stared at the little flip phone on the table,  uncertain about what he should do

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Robbie stared at the little flip phone on the table, uncertain about what he should do. He rested his chin on the back of his hand, a soft music playing in the background, the woods in the fireplace crackled. A bottle of whiskey and stressful thoughts had kept him awake. He sat on the comfortable black leather chair for hours trying to make a decision that might change everything. Part of him was glad to find out that his friend was still alive, the other part was angry because that friend was trying to fight against him. Nevertheless, he was going to have to do something. A negotiation perhaps. Knowing Castle, it was along shot but he didn't want violence.

Castle was a stubborn guy and Robbie was well aware of it. All those promises they made to each other, only to be broken by greed, Robbie felt a little guilty about what happened. He knew it wasn't his fault yet he still felt responsible, he thought he could've tried harder to convince Castle to stay with him and that thought stuck with him after all those years. Every time he looked out at the city, he was reminded of that day. The day he last saw his friend. The day he watched Castle die. Or so he thought.

He chewed on the string on his hoodie, lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps outside in the hallway. He snapped out when someone knocked on the door. He got up from his chair and went to open the door.

Billy, Sheena and Saiko were standing in the hallway. Billy in his usual uniform, hands in his pockets. Sheena and Saiko in matching black T shirts, holding hands. A little smile curved on Robbie's lips. He thought the matching outfit was cute.

Then, his eyes drifted to the window in the hallway. It was nice and bright outside, the sun told him that it was midday. The realization hit him: Shit, I'm late. He looked back down at the kids.

"We couldn't find you at your office," Billy said, "so, we came here." He stared strangely at Robbie and so did the other two. He looked like he just got out of bed which is very unusual but his hair still was as neat as ever. Billy couldn't see past Robbie's shoulders for the man was literally a tower compared to him. So, he looked past the side of his body instead and saw a table in the middle of the room. On the table sat a glass of whiskey. "Drinking at 1 in the afternoon?" he questioned.

Robbie glanced over his shoulder at the table, "uh...no. That's um-that's from last night," he replied, telling half the truth as he opened the door wider so the kids could get in. "Come in." He moved out of the doorway and stood on the side while they walked in, their heads turning in every direction examining the room.

"Last night? Have you even slept?" Sheena asked. Robbie shut the door and walked back over to the table and grabbed the flip phone. "No, not really" he answered.

"Should we be worried?" Billy stood in front the fireplace. He felt the heat on his back and he took a few steps away from it.

Robbie put the phone in his pocket and picked up the glass of whiskey, "what...no! No. Everything's fine." he said, chugging the last bit of whiskey in the glass.

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