Desirable

~54. Cheater

Louis stares blankly at the plain wall in front of him. His lifeless dreads hung over his face - he hadn't bothered to fix them anymore. His eyes were dark and sleep-deprived. He was slouched in the couch in the quiet living room, with his best friend sat next to him. 

It's been one week since he last saw Clementine.

Six sleepless nights, seven isolated days without her.

The secret had slipped to the group about her pregnancy, which elevated everyone's worry for her. Louis had tried to go to school for a few days, but then gave up. He couldn't pay attention in classes, he didn't want to talk to anyone. When people asked about his girlfriend, he wanted to punch them. 

Marlon had come over by himself to be with him, he knew that his best friend needed some company. 

"She's not coming back," Louis whispers, his weak arms crossed and his head now hung back against the couch. 

"She's pregnant Louis, with your kid. She'll come back, she has to." he shrugs, trying to lift the sorrowful atmosphere in the apartment. 

Marlon had watched his best friend deteriorate over the last week. It was as though he had lost his purpose, the one thing in his life that made him keep going. He completely shut off everyone. He hadn't smiled since the night of the party. 

"We don't know that. She might not even be carrying my baby anymore, we don't fucking know."

"Don't think like that, man. You won't make yourself feel any better that way." the blond boy sighs. 

Louis turns his head and looks at him.

"The only way I'll feel better is if she comes back."

He hangs his head back again and stares at the high ceiling. 

~~~

A loud knock echos throughout the abandoned building. The location is a secret, only a few people know about it. The splintered door looked as though it had survived a war with a knife. 

The area around the building practically deserted, hardly anyone came through the road. The only people that did were fellow dealers who needed someplace quiet to do their business, whatever that business included. The floorboards in the building were cracked and the windows were smashed in - the only viable place was the basement, where he was.

"Come in." 

The tall man barges through the door, shutting it behind him. 

The basement looked like an old bar mixed with an office, it had all the necessities like a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. Next to the bar was a pool table, which was being used as a surface for packages, pouches and needles. The wallpaper was peeling off and a few old posters and paintings hung around the room. The atmosphere in the basement was dim and smoky, the smoke coming from a lit cigarette. There was a desk and a black leather chair on one side of it, another on the other side. 

That's where Mason was sat.

"Sander, I haven't seen you in a while." he gently blows smoke into the thick air. 

Sander chuckles and sits down opposite him at the desk. 

"You disappeared and went into hiding."

"I know," he peers down at his arm, where his radial artery was once damaged. "I'm fine now, though." 

Sander leans back in the leather chair and fetches a cigarette from a pack that was in his pocket. Mason offers him a lighter, which he accepts. He balances the roll between his lips and flickers the lighter.