HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE (LGBTQ+)

31

This had to be a joke.

Some kind of twisted, fucked up, disgusting joke.

    How the hell had he gotten into this mess?!

    Percy stared down at his bandaged leg, his eyes stuck to the stained parts where blood had seeped through. Star only had a small medical kit, so she had done her best to stitch him up. But the only drugs she'd had in the bag, she'd given to Joe.

    Percy honestly felt bad for him. He'd obviously been dragged into the shithole that was Asa's life. Everyone around her seemed to get their asses handed to them.

    The basement door opened, flooding the stairwell in light. Percy watched with a dry throat as feet descended, then pattered over to him.

A lamp was lit, revealing Star.

    She knelt next to him, scooting in close enough that he could see the perspiration on her forehead. "Percy," she said quietly, almost in a whisper. "I brought you a pain killer." She held up a bottle of whiskey.

    Percy took it from her. "Does Asa know you're down here?"

    Star shook her head. "I picked the lock. She's outside, talking to some guys that just arrived." She sat back on her heels, her eyes wide. A bead of sweat trickled down her neck, soaking into her collar.

    "Hey," Percy said. "Are you-"

    "I know she's fucked up, Percy," Star said, her eyes cutting toward him. "I know this is wrong. But I want to go along with it, for now. I don't know where she put my phone and keys, but once I find out, I'll try to find an opening for us."

    Percy stared at her in surprise, his eyebrows rising up to his hairline. "What? Don't you...aren't you, like unhealthily obsessed with her?"

    Star brushed the slight insult off. "I love her. I want to protect her. But, I'm afraid of her too." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I know...I know she's done something bad. Really bad. I don't want anything to happen to you. I just want to get you out of here, and then I'll try my best to help her too."

    "Star," Percy said, as gently as he could. "Asa's keeping us prisoners here. She's protecting a child who fucking stabbed me, someone she knows shot her brother, and she beat him to death. You can't do this anymore." Percy's throat swelled as emotions unfurled in his gut, and he gritted his teeth as his eyes started to cloud with tears. "Please."

    Star grabbed his hand, sitting with him in silence for a few seconds, but didn't respond. "I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

    Percy nodded in defeat, wiping at his eyes, his manacled hand clanking. "Be careful," he whispered, his voice shaking.

    Star left, disappearing up the stairwell, the light disappearing with her as she closed the door as quietly as she could.

    Percy unscrewed the cap to the bottle, sniffing it. Rum. He leaned his head back, gulping it down until his throat burned and his head felt fuzzy. Then he put it to the side and closed his eyes as the pain in his legs began to fade and the thoughts suffocating him began to melt away.

    Sleep...please take me...

-

"She hated working for you, you know."

    Max glared at the coffee table, then nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I'm aware."

    I was also aware of the two men working outside, hauling the corpse of the man who shot my brother into a body bag. I watched them for a few seconds, then looked back at Max, who was already watching my face.