Quixotic (2)

9

It was almost two o'clock in the morning and all the lights were off at the apartment, but Brian banged his fist against the door in a hurry, "What the hell, man?" Murr exclaimed as he yanked the door open, his eyes wide with concern as he quickly pulled a robe from behind the door and tossed it over his shoulders, "You almost gave me a heart attack!" He growled as he tied the strap around his waist.

Wiping his tired eyes, he looked at his friend's exhausted features and knew he hadn't had a wink of sleep. He stepped further into his house and held the door open, asking with a calmer voice, "Q, what's wrong?" The strong scent of alcohol traveled with him as he walked and Murr stepped back, asking with a crinkled nose, "Have you been drinking?"

There was a long silence as Q stood paused in the open doorway, his eyes locked on the ground, "I know you're desperate if you're coming to me for help, so --." His friend sighed, a nervous frown on his lips as Brian inched into his apartment, "What's up, man?" Murr asked him quietly as he shut the door, "How was your night with, uh, Aria, was it?"

He didn't respond, moving slowly to take a seat on the black leather couch across the room, "Give me a minute." Murr hummed, moving through the kitchen to find his cell phone. With his tired eyes locked on the man sitting at his couch, he called Joe and Sal. Answering the door minutes later to allow them into his apartment, they both shared the same exasperated look across their features. 

"What's the rush, man?" Joe asked with a yawn behind his voice as he and Sal rushed into the apartment, "It's almost two in the morning!" He wrapped his arms around his body to warm himself, and the air fell silent around them as he turned to find Q sitting silently in the room, "What's this about?" He asked with a joking laugh as he stepped closer to his friend, asking jokingly, "Is he still breathing?"

Brian's heart dropped in his chest and he forced his eyes to look up, "What is this?" He asked roughly, his eyes glaring at Murr for a moment before looking to the other two men, growling, "Murr, I needed advice, not a fucking intervention!"

"You look rough, man." Sal hummed a moment later, shrugging as he asked, "I thought you went on a date."

"Yeah, I did." He spat at his friend and pushed himself to his feet, adding with wild eyes, "She left."

"I don't understand --." Joe hummed as he glanced at Murr, sighing, "Why are we here?"

"I don't know!" Brian exclaimed, his fingers forming fists at his side as he looked to his friend, asking, "Murr, why are they here?"

"Q, you were sitting on my couch in complete silence for almost fifteen minutes!" His friend spat back at him, shrugging his shoulders as he slightly took a step back, "I didn't know what else to do!" There was a slight pause before he spoke again, asking his friend, "Why did you come here? Is this about Aria, because --."

"No, this isn't about Aria!" Brian was quick to shout at his friend, shaking his head as he spun on his toes to face away from them. He pulled the hat from his head and forcefully threw it against the back of the couch before falling to sit down, "I made a fucking promise that I can't keep!" He exclaimed with a cracking voice, adding in a panic, "She was supposed to be in California!"

"This is about Eliza?" Joe asked hesitantly as the three men hovered around the room, "Brian, you could have let us talk to her. I mean, she mentioned Sal --."

He motioned to his friend, but Brian immediately began to shake his head, demanding, "No!" His body shook, and he bounced back to his feet, pacing in front of the couch as his friends spread out to sit around the room. Brian nervously ran his hand through his hair, avoiding all eye contact for a moment before facing the ground.