HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE (LGBTQ+)

29

Max was asleep in his bed with a one night stand when his phone rang.

He sat up, blinking furiously as she groaned and rolled over. His phone was on settings that only allowed his most important contacts to reach him, so he reached over to the nightstand, grabbing his phone, hoping that it was Izzy who was calling him.

Asa.

It was a new number, since Izzy had apparently trashed Asa's old phone.

He answered, holding the phone up to his ear.

"One of your men shot my brother," she said, her voice monotone.

Straight to the point, as always.

"And?" Max asked tiredly, putting his feet over the side of the bed, planting them on the ground.

"I beat him half to death."

Max sighed. "Fine, but your brother. Is he alive?"

"He lost a lot of blood, but he'll live."

Max stood up from the bed, walking out the door and easing it shut behind him, trying his best not to wake his lover up. He was silent for almost a full minute, quietly thinking. "Why was one of my men at your house?"

"He made a detour of his own accord. The one who's hated me since I joined the organization, remember?"

Max chuckled slightly. "I remember. Tell me, why did he shoot your brother?"

"I was pissed since he broke into my house and was searching it. I tried to fight him, but he pulled a gun out and threatened us. My brother tried to grab the gun from him, and was shot."

Max furrowed his brow in confusion, rubbing his hand over his mouth. That didn't sound like something one of his men would do...it didn't sound right...

Lies.

She's lying.

"Alright. Don't touch him anymore. I'll send a man to pick him up."

The line went dead.

Max stared at the ground, feeling his stomach twist. Something's not right here...

Asa had been under his wing for years. She was like a family member to him, although he knew that she didn't feel the same way about him. She had always been crass, yet intelligent. She had the personality of a gangster, but hadn't liked being a part of it.

And Izzy. Izzy had fallen for Asa, hard. Too hard, in Max's opinion. And he'd threatened Asa's safety, which was definitely the reason she'd gone to the extreme of asking her to run away with her.

But now, Izzy was gone.

Where...where the hell did you go, Izzy?

Why did you leave?

Max curled his hand into a fist, pressing on his phone, then held it up to his ear. "Jasper, hey. Tomorrow evening, you and I are going on a trip. To Asa's house, yeah."

He wanted to see Asa, talk to her face to face.

Maybe there were some clues around.

All he knew was what his gut was telling him.

Something's not right here.

-

Back inside the house, Joe was asleep on the couch, his shoulder stitched and bandaged completely, and put in a sling. Star was packing up her medical supplies, and Cleo was still sitting on the couch, silently watching.