𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 ⚔︎

2

and so, in the early afternoon of july 12th, mick and the fever arrived back in new york. the bus almost took up the whole of broadway with how huge it was, nearly occupying a lane and a half. it looked absolutely ridiculous amongst the other traffic along the bustling street. cars and taxi cabs all sat stagnant at the stoplight due to a crash.

after twenty minutes of waiting for a traffic warden to wave them through, mick lifted his head from the wheel and sighed. "that's it. i've had enough."

the guys, who were all sat just behind him in the tiny living room space, perked up and glanced out of the big front window. eric popped his head through the gap between the seats. "what?"

"tell jesse to get out here!" mick yelled. "it'll take me all fuckin' day to get to queens!"

in the middle of eating an apple, jesse heard his cry and quickly came from the kitchen, slinging his two huge and heavy rucksacks over his shoulders. he winced at the weight of them and threw the apple core away. it landed somewhere on the floor with a light thud.

jesse nodded at each of his friends. upon mick's opening of the bus doors, the guys all stood up and briefly hugged him, giving him pats on the back and on the sides of his face.

"well gentlemen, it's been a pleasure," jesse said, smiling. as he got to the bottom step, he turned around and looked at them one more time, shooting a smirk. "call me when you have your next show."

"oh, we will, jess. we will!" tommy cried, his voice strained with bitter-sweetness.

jesse laughed and hopped off, landing in the middle of the hectic street. the empire state building loomed above like an outer space giant. he waded swiftly through the traffic and earned many angry beeps, the drivers honking their horns at him. just milliseconds before he reached the other side, the traffic warden blew his whistle and began to let the vehicles come through. he walked briskly to the subway station.

when he found his way back to queens, he took a bus from the plaza and up to the last stop on middle neck road. he walked the last stretch for an excruciatingly sweaty hour. the hot sun beat down on him without mercy as he dragged his feet to gatsby lane, his rucksacks leaving him bent double.

eventually, he reached the house, the back of his neck awfully damp and his shirt soaked with sweat. like a zombie, he trudged past his father's brand new silver maserati in the driveway beside the fountain and managed to get himself through the front door, dropping his luggage down in the foyer.

after searching the kitchen, both of the living rooms and the office for his father, he wandered out to the back garden. he looked out onto the vast lawn beyond the pool and the patio, shielding his eyes from the garish sun. it was there where he saw his father and his sister, sitting on white cushioned loungers — he dressed in a lightweight shirt with the buttons open, navy blue shorts and rayban sunglasses over his eyes, she dressed in a polka-dot chanel bikini. in the distance, the waves of the long island sound sparkled and danced in the golden sunlight.

jesse walked down the grand stone steps that lead to the lawn and took off his damp t-shirt, slinging it over one shoulder to reveal a freckled back and a reddened chest. he put a finger in his mouth and whistled to catch their attention.

at the sound, they both sat up and turned their heads. chantelle let out a laugh of delight, one hand covering her eyes from the sun and the other waving him over. he did a short jog to catch up and immediately collapsed, facedown, in a comedic display on the grass. he looked up and saw the dogs, charles and dion, laying underneath the loungers. they raised their heads at jesse's sudden arrival and started wagging their tails. for a moment in the shadow, he noticed their brown muzzles flecking grey with age. their eyes had also become a little more droopier.