Her eyes go from open to leering. “I think it’s pretty self-explanatory as to what I’m doing here considering this is a gym.” Her hands go out and she does a circle.
“I know where we are, Allison. My question was what are you”—I point at her—“doing in here?”
Her hands go on her hips, and if she could kill me with a glare, it would be right now. “I work here, Max. I have my badge in my bag if you need clarification, so I can be here.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be in here with the guys, especially not dressed like that.” I point up and down at her outfit.
“Like what, Max, in workout stuff?” She folds her arms, pushing up her perfect tits—wait, not perfect tits, I think one is lopsided.
“You’re practically naked and the only ones who use this gym are the boys, so you can’t go prancing around naked.” I point out to her on my way to my treadmill. My hand flexes into fists and she curses at me.
“You’re such an asshole. I think the boys can contain themselves. It’s not my fault you can’t control your dick.”
“Don’t you worry about where I put my dick, sweetheart.”
“Your dick is the last thing on my mind, right after anal bleaching and genital herpes,” she huffs out and storms out of the locker room, slamming the door.
I put my music back on and pound the treadmill faster than I think I ever ran before. My temper radiates. I run for about an hour, getting off once my legs start to wobble. My shirt is drenched by the time I finish. Matthew comes in right when I am peeling my shirt off.
“What did you do to my sister?” he asks, his voice irritated.
“Me?” I point to me. “I did what you should have done. She was in here prancing around half naked.” He’s about to say something, but I continue, “The rookies train here. You think I need the bullshit of them following their dicks and not their heads? You need to talk to her and let her know the way it goes.” I shake my head. “You’re lucky it was me and not those guys.” I point to the group of rookies that just walked in, all nineteen, all ready to bang their way through the night. “Take care of your shit, Grant.” I leave before he says anything else.
I do whatever I have to do the rest of the day to avoid Matthew and his sister. I shake my head and think about how it is my fault. I’m getting ready to head home when my sister calls me.
“Hey,” I say, answering it right away.
“Hey,” she says softly, “you busy?” She sniffles.
“What happened?” I ask, stopping mid-step on my way to my car.
“I lost Cade today.” She softly cries. Cade was her seven-year-old patient. Diagnosed with brain cancer at four, he fought a tough battle, but in the end, his little body couldn’t take it.
“Denise, I’m so sorry. Where are you?” I ask, getting in the car.
“I’m at The Dive. I feel the need to drink my sorrows away,” she says and I hear ruffling in the background.
“I’ll meet you there. I can be there in twenty.” I start my car and make my way to the Bronx and the little bar called just that ‘The Dive Bar.’
It takes me about twenty-five minutes to get there and I park the car in their almost vacant parking lot. I take my cap out of my bag and put it on with the lid coming down low. It’s enough I don’t have a sweater and my ink is on display. Walking into the bar, I nod at Charlotte, the bartender, who owns this place.
“She’s in the back. She’s already knocked back a few.” She eyes me as I walk to the back and see a wobbly Denise. Which is okay. What isn’t okay is the sleezeball who has his arms around her while she holds her pool cue.
“Hey,” I say, getting close enough to her.
Her eyes light up when she sees me. “Maxie,” she says a name she calls me only when she’s blitzed.
“Sup.” I nod to the guy as I’m about to lean in and grab a hold of Denise.
“Not so fast there.” He grabs her around her waist when she tries to come to me, and it’s then I see that he’s high as fuck. His eyeballs don’t even have a different color, just pure black.
“It’s okay. He’s my brother,” Denise says, now standing straight and sobering up.
“Not so fast there, sweet cheeks, you promised me a good time,” he says as I take my cap off and then put it back on.
It’s then that Denise tries to get away from him, but he stops her, grabbing onto her wrist, and twisting it so that she yelps out in pain. I pounce on him, punching him straight in the nose, sending his head backward. His hand lets go of Denise, who falls to the floor while he holds his nose that is now spewing blood.