Just One Night

27. Amidst Heatbreak

Daniel

After Alicia flees, my phone began to buzz like crazy. It's not just Mom, Dad and Derek but people from work. I scroll through all the missed calls for just one name to flash, my lovebug.

Why am I expecting anything? I have decided to not have hopes from anyone.

"I need to leave or they will find me. I am leaving my phone here." I tell Parker and stand up to leave.

I so so fucking drunk. I wobble but manage to walk out.

"I don't wish to deal with your brother, brother. Take this shit away." Parker says as he throws the phone to me.

It hit my back and shattered on the ground. I bend down and pick it up. It's not working.

"I think you dealt with it all too well. " I say as I strut out of the apartment. I look around for the bin when I crash into a woman.

"Watch where you are going drunk Ahole." She pushes me away. I knock down back but saved myself from falling.

"You are on your phone to bitch." I snap at her.

" Watch your tone, buddy." I look back at Parker trying to stand straight. The bitch runs to him and glares at him.

"You are drunk at this hour of the day, Parky. I am so disappointed in you." She growls at him.

The girlfriend.

"Dan, meet Sonia, my girlfriend. Sonia, this drunk A-hole is Daniel Coaster. Meet you later." Parker explains and leaves me.

Sonia watches me and Parker in surprise but follows him as he pushes her towards his apartment.

"Nice to meet you, Sonia. " I scream back.

"Same, Daniel," she yells back. I smile behind them. I throw the phone in the bin and head nowhere.

Where will I go now?

It's inevitable to avoid my family but I need space for a few hours or days to gather the energy. If they find me they will flood me through.

They drain me. Body and soul. It's hard to listen to the father go on and on about the family legacy, the responsibility and the privileges that come with it. About how fortunate I am. How they have protected me. Protected me? Who would protect me from them?

It's even hard to suffer the impenetrable gaze of Derek who confuses me. I could never decipher him now. After Roselie came into his life, she has overtaken him. All he is about is his Rose. He will pretend and then maybe I will cave in again.

But before that, I shall live this freedom well.

Where will I go? Parker has crossed out already.

I find the closest hotel and instruct the guy to not tell about me anyone. I throw a wad of cash at him. He nods at me and shows me a private booth.

"Keep the drinks coming. I don't want my glass empty." I say as I slump down on the sofa of my room. It feels nice to be without a phone and work for a while.

I will see when I last with all of my money. Until then I will lie down here in peace watching TV.

¶¶¶

Three days later

|||

I have hitchhiked to the lower side of Manhattan to a village. Later than that I have no idea where I am. I am simply moving into places and people.

And in between I drank an ample of alcohol and fucked woman of all kinds senselessly.

But when I have not been doing any of that I have speculated about Sarah and a little about my family. Did the news get by her? Of course, it did. She is a journalist. How did she feel about it? I have reckoned.

Since I looped around it to no avail, I drank enough and then fucked again. It's been great and entertaining. Yesterday I got robbed at gunpoint though. That was a tad bit sour. I lost him the watch I got from my grandfather, a family heirloom.

At that moment when the gun was pointed at me and it clicked, I thought about Sarah and her smile. Then I thought about Derek and how I always catch him staring blankly at me among the crowd. The memory of my father playing baseball with me and my mother when she was unconditionally considerate to me flickered into my mind. Funny, not a single bad thought has come up. When I opened my eyes again the guy ran away. Thanks to the jammed pistol, I will cringe when I see them later on because right now I can remember everything that they fucked up for me.

Anyways, The last of the cash that I had got stolen. Luckily, the motel's room is paid off and I am not hungry.

I lay in my dirty bed at the motel. It's rugged, wallpaper vandalised and torn up. It is dirty but peaceful. I am so fucking broke and not drunk enough to stop thinking. My freelance money got me through today.

I close my eyes and fall asleep. It's the thud in the door that wakes me up. I see a predictable figure coming near to me.

"What are you, thirteen again? Is it funny to you, Danny?" Derek growls as he approaches me.

I couldn't see his face in the dark but I can tell it would hold an awful ridge in the corner of his upper lip with burrowed eyebrows. That's his signature angry disappointed face.

"Fucking leave me alone." I hiss at him trying to sit up. I am still knocked off by the alcohol in my system. He somehow finds the switch of the light and the room flood with the white light.

He is accompanied by his driver Frank and some other guy looking like a bouncer.

"I was so worried about you, Danny." He stoops beside me and ran his hand over my hair just like he used to when we were little. I stare at him thinking how nice it felt but it is all charade. His palm grazed my cheek at this moment.

I swat his hand away and snigger. He just exhales in annoyance. His eyes bored on me.

"Yeah, boy, I should, look at you doing so well." He quips looking around. I rolled my eyes at him. " Get your ass in the car so we can eat something. You look like shit." He says

"I am in better form in all aspects right now. You all fuck my life like you haven't got a woman for good sake. Why don't you leave me alone? I don't want anything at all, Derek." I yell at him as I walked away from him. He follows me and holds me when I wobble right about the bathroom door.

"Alright, let's get you some fresh clothes for starters. Frank?" 

"On it, Mr Coaster." 

"Don't act like you care, Derek. "

He holds my arm dominantly. If it were someone else's arms holding me like that, I would have punched them in the nose. But at this moment Derek subdued me. Also, I don't have any energy. I can't him to speak his piece and leave me alone.

"I do. I know what you are trying to do, Danny. You want to believe you can live like this. I trust you on that, you can. But why would I let you do that? You are my fucking little brother. "

"Derek, enough. I am not marrying that bitch. Okay?" I hiss at him.

He stares at me for a while then says, "Is it because of that woman, Sarah Cole?"

"Fuck you,  Derek. How dare you spy on me?" I sit back on the sofa near to me.

"I had to know what you were about? " he says sitting beside me. I hate him tailing me like this. I might honour him with a punch all over again.

He sighs. "Well, I have come here to tell you that you don't have to do anything you don't want if you promise to not run away like this."

I look at him in horror and suspicion. He is dads puppet.

What's going on?

--

Really, what's going on?

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Bye, bye, babes.