Changing Seasons

Sixty-One

****

Krist lay in bed, unable to stop his tears. That shit hurt terribly, like when she'd been taken from him by her bitch ass mother. Only this time, it had been entirely his fault, or maybe both times it had been?

He'd texted his mom to ask if she was cool keeping Rocco another night, briefly explaining that he and Atira had gotten into a huge fight and he needed to process everything that happened. She'd called him immediately, but Krist had sent her to voicemail.

Kristi regretted kicking it with Fernando. He didn't blame Fernando for his actions. He just should have known better than to put himself in a situation where he would have been tempted to use.

And how the fuck was he going to tell Rocco that Atira more than likely would not be coming back. He was such a fucking idiot. Krist had sworn that Rocco would not meet any romantic partners until the relationship was several months in. Would it have mattered, though? If Krist hadn't fucked shit up when he did, he would have fucked it up later. He'd been a fool to believe he had a future with someone like Atira.

As much as it had felt like he had his life together, he realized he was still a mess. Brad had been spot on when he told him he was a loser who'd never had a real job and nothing to show for himself. Reflecting on the prior night, he saw himself as the same impulsive, reckless douchebag he'd been years before, albeit a slightly more self-aware douchebag.

****

"Oh, Hon, come in," Cami ushered Atira inside her cozy living room.

Atira hadn't wanted to go home to Seattle and needed to talk to someone who would be direct with her, not sugarcoat things or immediately tell her that Krist was garbage. The two women sat together on the sofa. Atira looked at her, face blotchy and eyes red.

Cami felt terrible to see her in such a state. She liked Atira a lot as a person and even more so as a girlfriend for Krist. She hadn't even heard the details that led up to this split but already knew enough to know Krist was no doubt at fault.

"Did you know he was doing coke last night?" Atira wanted to know.

Cami's jaw tightened, "I definitely did not know that. Did you find it in his house? Or how did that even come about?"

"He told me this morning. He said that he did something stupid, and he had to do it because he was too drunk," Atira informed her.

"That fucking asshole. Did he say who he got it from? Stupid question, he got it from Fernando, didn't he?" Cami muttered.

Atira nodded, "He sure did."

Cami stood up, "Hold up for one second. Jeordie!" She shouted, her voice shrill. "Come here now!"

Obediently, Jeordie appeared, his face flashing from irritated to concerned when he saw Atira. Anxiously, she picked at her sweater. She hadn't wanted to cause any issues between the other couple.

"What happened?" He wanted to know, his mind jumping to the worst conclusions possible.

"Did you know Krist was doing coke with Fernando over her?" Cami demanded.

Jeordie's face flashed with confusion, "No," he replied, dragging the word out, "Krist knows better than to bring that shit here."

Cami stared at him long and hard, "You promise you didn't see him?"

"If they did it, they sure the fuck didn't do it in front of me," his voice sounded angry. "I woulda kicked their asses out."

"I figured that much," Cami told him coolly.