joey
i huffed as i stepped foot in the hotel room. i was covered in trash and my clothes smelled terrible. i had also gotten into a fight with a rat and well let's just say it won.
when i opened the door, everyone's eyes landed on me. dev and tayler immediately bursted out into laughter while june just walked up to me with a worried expression on her face.
"what the hell happen to you?" she asked me with her cute soft voice.
"yeah dude, it looks like you got into a fight with a homeless man and he won." dev snickered while tayler nodded in agreement. i rolled my eyes and closed the door behind me.
"i was being chased by two detectives." they both stopped laughing.
"are you serious?!" dev raised his voice.
i nodded and slipped off my shirt as i made my way over to the mirror. i turned to my side and stared at the huge bruise that laid on my rib cage. i didn't know i had gotten it until now. i must've gotten it while i was on acid.
"how's your sister?" dev asked me. i slipped my shirt back on and sat down on the edge of the bed. i took my shoes off before answering his question.
"she's good." i say vaguely. i stood up again and undid my belt. i was about to take my pants off, but then i realized june was in here so i made my way into the bathroom and turned the shower on.
i stripped myself naked before hopping in. the hot water hitting my skin made me let out a deep sigh. i closed my eyes and relaxed my muscles. i loved taking hot showers and showers in general. when i was younger i'd at least take two to three showers a day which was super unhealthy if you ask me.
"just good?" dev's voice interrupted my thoughts. i opened my eyes. did this kid seriously follow me into the bathroom to ask about my sister. i peeked my head out of the shower curtain and looked at him.
i nodded. "turns out i have a new little brother too." i grab the shampoo bottle and start washing my hair.
"seriously?" i heard dev say. "man that's dope!"
"only if i could see him everyday." i muttered under my breath and rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. "too bad i only saw him for a bit until those detectives had to burst in and chase me down the street." i shook my head.
"i'm sorry man." he says.
"not your fault." i wash my hair with conditioner then continued to wash my body. dev said he was gonna go out with tayler to get some food and look for bryce since he hadn't been back. after about ten minutes later i turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around my waist.
i walk out of the bathroom and make my way over to the nightstand that was in the middle of the two beds. i grabbed my pants i was wearing earlier and pulled out a small baggy that had my weed in there. i pulled out my packet of rolling paper too before getting up and making my way back to my bed. i sit on the edge and roll myself a joint.
after doing so i put the joint between my lips and light the end up, taking a hit from it. a couple of seconds later i heard someone clear their throat. i look over my shoulder and see june sitting there with her arms crossed.
"how rude of me." i take the joint out of my lips and hand it out to her. she giggled and took a hit from it. i get up from the bed and decide to put some clothes on. i put on some black pants and a long sleeve graphic shirt.
i lay down on the empty spot next to her. i look over at her and see her staring at the ceiling as she took a hit from the joint before handing it back to me. i take a hit from it, but still kept my eyes on her. "why are you really here?" i asked her.
she looked at me. "i told you, because i care about you."
"you care about a criminal?" i raised my brow at her. i put the joint in between my lips again. i exhale deeply before taking the joint out.
"you're more than just a criminal to me, joey." she whispered. i blow all the smoke out. i kept my gaze on her. i kept my joint between my fingers. i scooted closer to her. i cupped her cheek and placed a small kiss on her lips. i felt her kiss me back almost immediately. our lips moved in sync. i tilted my head the opposite way she had tilted hers, i deepened the kiss.
the door swung open making both of us pull away quickly. i put the joint in between my lips again and acted like nothing happened while june just cleared her throat and stared up at the ceiling. i look over st the door and see dev and tayler standing there confused. tayler shook it off and walked up to us.
"bryce is dead."
i sat up and look at him confused. "what do you mean bryce is dead?"
"we found his body in an empty street. he's in the car right now." dev looked down as tayler spoke. he started pacing back and forth before grabbing the lamp from the nightstand and throwing it out the window.
tayler tried calming dev down while i stepped out the hotel room. i walked over to the car and opened the door to the back seat. i froze when i saw bryce's lifeless body sitting there. his head was facing the other way, but i can tell his eyes were open. his buttons on his shirt were undone and there rested at least three bullet holes. i reaches over to the side of his face and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"what are you guys gonna do with the body?" i turn around and see june standing there. i look back at bryce and shrug. "no idea."
we couldn't have a funeral for him. he had no family except us. he was all alone just like me. he was the first one i had met at school. he allowed me to be in his group and after that we never left each other's side. he was probably one of the people i never thought i'd lose, especially since we've been through a lot together.
i didn't realize i was crying until i saw a tear drop fall on his arm. i quickly wiped my eyes away and looked over at june. my eyes were probably poofy and all red, but i didn't care.
she frowned and pulled me into a hug. i rested my head on her shoulder as more tears poured out of my eyes. "i'm sorry joey." she rubbed her back softly. "he's in a better place now, i promise." i nod slowly and pull away.
"come with me." i tell her.
she kept her hands on my shoulders and looked at me. "to where? vegas?" i nod and took her hands into mine.
"i know it's too soon, but i want you to come with me. we can go to your house and get your stuff and-" she interrupted me with her lips on mine. she pulls away and nods.
"okay, i'll go with you."