Insomnia

Killer // Twenty-Four

Cade and James had their arms slung around each other's shoulders, both of them fighting to stay upright. Cade could barely see out of one eye as he jammed the key into the lock and they stumbled into the apartment.

James promptly collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily, and Cade gave in, falling next to him.

"Cade!" Evie cried, jumping up off the couch.

Cade heard someone else simply scream, "You BITCH!" and assumed it was Juliette. In floating, scrambled memories, he vaguely remembered that she had said it was her favorite English word. Cade turned his head, watching Juliette smack James hard on the chest. The man groaned. "Fuck, Jules..."

"You went after Demon! Without me?!" She wailed. Cade could've sworn she started crying.

He directed his attention back to his angel, who closed the apartment door and knelt carefully by his waist, tucking her hair behind her ear. The light on the ceilings had very distracting rainbow auras that he kind of wanted to hold and grab. Dear god, he was so high.

Evie was talking, panicking, trying to assess his injuries but-

"Most of its not my blood." He said with a mild slur.

She held his face, still talking. God, women talk so much. Evie was asking questions, and he couldn't answer. One of the halos encircled around her head, making her blonde hair glow and glimmer, and he fought hard not to hallucinate wings sprouting from her back.

It seemed the girls gave up on getting coherent answers from them, as it was not going to happen. Cade vaguely realized he was being dragged across the floor, and did absolutely nothing to stop it.

Somehow, Juliette and Evie managed to coerce him upright, as neither of them could lift a two-hundred and thirty pound man, and Cade landed face first on the bed, blacking out.

*

Cade was awakened to James shaking him. "Where's... Women?" He asked, clutching his head. He had a blanket around his shoulders. His face was bruised and cut.

Cade swallowed to wet his dry throat and mouth. He feared shaking his head. "Dunno."

He eased upright, hurting everywhere, his head spinning.

"Fucking crossfaded? God, what a sick son of a gun." James sat on Cade's bed.

Demon, one of the most horrible human beings on this planet, ran a type of fighting ring. A ring where one could fight anything. Cockfights, people, dogs, pigs. He loved to import crazy exotic animals and put them against one another.

Last nights main event?

Caden Jack Harmon and James Alexander Rene, both drunk and high, against one of Demon's bait-men and his best dog. Dante used to be one, Demon calls them his bait bitches. It took a lot of work for Angela and Christian to get him out of the contract, and not before the poor guy was basically fucked for life. PTSD, night terrors, addiction, the whole nine yards.

Cade's fists were still wrapped up from the fight. Where were the girls? He saw them last night, he knew.

"Demon's gonna be piiiissed..." James mumbled.

Cade grit his teeth and stood. "Yeah, be fully prepared for payback. Call Juliette, I'll call Eve." Cade pulled his phone out of his pocket, wincing at the newly shattered screen.

Evie's phone rang, went to voicemail.

"You don't think they went after Demon, do you?" James asks, rooting through the couch for his cellphone.