Turning A New Leaf

Forty-Three

****

Brad took Madison to the house of one of her friends for a get-together after Lainey's funeral. Other than Jonathan, Brad was not familiar with anyone there, though they all knew Krist.

"Aye, where's Krist?" Brad was asked as he entered the living room of the house.

He shrugged, "I think he went home."

"Nobody invited Krist?" The same guy asked the group of people gathered in the living room.

"Fuck Crackhead Krist," someone shouted. Crackhead Krist was apparently what his brother was known as in the circle he'd run with, which said a lot given that those individuals were all crackheads themselves.

"Donny, shut the fuck up. You're still salty he fucked with your nasty ass baby momma," Jonathan laughed, "Shit, we all fucked that rotten twat bitch. I know I did."

A couple of guys howled with laughter, "Bitch could suck a golf ball through a damn hose," someone called out.

"Where's that dusty bitch, anyway?" Jonathan asked of Donny's wife, cackling.

"At home...with the kids," Donny replied sourly.

A raucous roar of laughter spread across the room. "Man, you're still fuckin' with Shania?" someone asked.

"Dude, shut the fuck up before I stomp your ass out," Donny warned, his face turning red.

Jonathan handed Brad a beer, "Bro, his broad legit had that foulest smelling shit I ever seen," he told him in a hushed voice.

Madison and Brad exchanged disgusted looks, "That's gross," Madison frowned.

"Shit, you're telling me. We all ended up catching fuckin' Chlamydia from that bitch, too," Jonathan shook his head.

"Yeah, because she got it from Krist," Donny muttered.

"Bitch probably don't know where she got it," Jonathan laughed, chugging a beer.

"I want to go home," Madison whispered to Brad a few minutes later, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't like any of these people, and Lainey didn't either."

****

Madison was unusually silent on the car ride, though she'd been quiet since Lainey passed. Brad reached over and squeezed her hand, "Let's get some food, and then we can hit up Fernando, ok?"

She nodded, staring out the window.

He took her to IHOP since it was open late. He'd ordered himself an omelet with a side of extra crispy bacon. She'd just wanted a strawberry shake.

"You should eat something. You're gonna feel rundown if you don't eat," Brad lectured, shoving his plate toward her.

Madison was sitting with her arms wrapped around herself, staring off into space, "I'm not hungry," she mumbled.

"I don't care. You need to force yourself to eat something."

She sighed, taking a few small bites of egg and bacon before shoving the plate back to him, "There."

Brad frowned, "Are you taking vitamins at the very least?" Madison shook her head, and he sighed. "Let's stop at Walmart, and I'll buy you some, I can buy you some of those meal replacement shakes, too. So that you're getting something in you."

Madison sipped her milkshake, "Can we skip calling Fernando and hit him up tomorrow? I want to sleep tonight. I don't want to be up."

"We can do that. I need to see my P.O. on Monday, so why don't we get that after I check in?" Brad suggested.