“Nick-“
“Don’t talk to me A.J.”
“Nick-“
Turning I poked my finger into his chest. “Don’t look at me don’t talk to me just leave me the hell alone.
“Fine.” Readjusting the backpack on his shoulder A.J. followed close on my heels as we wound our way back through the now familiar German streets to our hotel.
As we walked I kept going over and over the words A.J. had said to me in my head.
“….before you fuck things up for the guy you claim is your best friend.”
I had always considered Brian to be my best friend. Even in the beginning when he had considered me to be an annoying pest I still thought of him as my best friend.
“I think we should be best friends.” It was two weeks after we first met that Brian and I sat opposite each other on the bottom bunks of the beds in our room at Lou’s house discussing our friendship.
“But I don’t really need a best friend Nick.”
“Everybody needs a best friend.” I said lying back on the bed my hands clasped behind my head.
“Why? I mean why can’t a person just have lots of friends?” His southern drawl made me smile.
“A person can have lots of friends but then you also gotta have a best friend to fall back on when your other friends are driving you crazy.” Nodding I was proud of the adult like conversation we were having.
“Yeah I guess that sort of makes sense?” He shrugged with a sideways smile.
“So then can I be your best friend?” I asked the question again still wishing I had the top bunk instead of A.J. whom had won the prized possession after beating me at an unfair game of 21.
“Yeah okay Nick, I guess we can be best friends.” Pushing himself up off of the bed Brian stuck out a hand to me. “So you wanna shake on it?” He grinned as I slapped my hand into his pumping it up and down.
“Best friends.” I smiled back.
Turning Brian started to walk to the bedroom door and then stopped.
“This doesn’t mean you’re going to make us wear those dorky necklaces or something that say ‘best friends’ or anything stupid like that?”
“Nah.” I waved a hand at him. “I’ll come up with something way better then that.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” He laughed walking out and closing the door behind him.
I knew Brian better then I knew myself. I trusted him with all of my secrets and admired him more then my own Dad. On bad days he could make me laugh and on good days I felt like he could read my mind…..and in less then forty-eight hours it was like we had become nothing more then complete strangers.
* * *
Once back to the hotel we made our way around back to the fire escape. I didn’t even bother to ask who was going first as I grabbed on and pulled myself up, slowly inching my way along one rung at a time just to piss A.J. off.
Making it to the top I easily swung my leg over but I could tell that A.J. was struggling slightly to make it over the balcony railing. “Shrimp” I muttered under my breath sliding open the glass doors and walking through the curtains, making sure to let the heavy damask drape drop behind me as I stepped into the room.
“You know you could have held that for me dimwit.” A.J. barked pushing at the drapes as he stumbled forward into the room.
“Shut up A.J.”
“Stop telling me to shut up.”
“Shut up.”
“What did I just tell you-“
“Both of you shut the hell up, you’re giving me a headache.” We both stopped and turned at the sound of Brian’s voice.
* * *
“So did you two get the bags?” He was lying in bed, my puppy curled up asleep in his lap, the stiff white hotel sheet pulled up to his chin.
“Did you two get the bags.” I mocked in a snotty voice taking long strides across the room as I hurled the backpack at him, making sure to hit him in his sore arm. “Yeah we got the fucking bags you sneaky little liar.”
“Shit!” Grabbing at his arm Brian pushed the backpack to the floor. “What the hell was that for?”
“That was for lying to me.” Glaring at A.J. Brian sat up, his eyes glassy from the pain in his arm.
“What did I lie about?”
“You made it seem like this was all A.J.’s idea. You made it seem like you had no say in whether or not I tagged along.”
“No I didn’t.” Sighing Brian looked down at his arm, wincing as he fiddled with the tight off white stitches.
“I’m your best friend, you should have told me what you were doing.” Balling my fists at my side I tried not to yell.
His mouth twitched slightly as he tried not to laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Do you have any idea how damn funny you look in that wig?”
“I should have been the one you cut in on the deal, not A.J.” I continued on refusing to let him waver off topic.
“Look, I told you that you shouldn’t be in such a hurry to grow up Nick.”
“Oh like he’s so much older and more mature then I am?” I said pointing a finger at A.J. as he made his way around the side of Brian’s bed backpack in hand.
“I have an older soul.” A.J. smiled pulling off his wig and dropping it to the bed.
“That is the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever heard!” Pulling off my own wig I walked to the balcony door and threw back the curtains.
“Don’t you dare throw that wig over the balcony Nick, we only have four of them we can’t afford to lose any.” A.J. made his way around the bed as I walked out onto the balcony tossing the wig over the side before slapping my hands together on my way back inside.
“There.” I said passing A.J. as he walked out onto the balcony.
“Seriously you two have to stop this.” Brian mumbled throwing back the covers and attempting to stand up. “All we’re doing is going around and around in circles.”
“The little prick threw the wig over the side.” Walking back into the room A.J. slammed a fist onto the small table beside him.
“Nick go and get the wig.” Brian spoke calmly.
“What if I don’t want to?”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
“Fine.” Standing up I walked back towards the balcony. “But for the record I hate you both, you know.”
“Yeah we know.” A.J. answered. “And believe me we’re heartbroken.”
* * *
Retrieving the wig like I had been instructed to do I returned to the room where the two of them sat calmly on Brian’s bed dividing up the night’s take onto square black velvet boards.
One board held two handfuls of scattered jewels, one held what looked to be antique timepieces and the third board was covered with gold coins in all different shapes and sizes.
“Where’s Eva?” I asked pulling off the black t-shirt wadding it up in a ball and tossing it to the floor along with my shoes.
“Duh Nick, you just noticed she was gone?” A.J. laughed.
“What did I tell you about talking to me?” I spat climbing into the other bed where my puppy now lay, still fast asleep.
“She made sure I was okay and then she had to go.” Brian answered, not looking up as he sectioned off the jewels into piles according to size and color.
“She didn’t even say goodbye.” Dragging the puppy over to me I tucked his soft head beneath my chin and sighed.
“Yeah well she left this for you.” Stretching out to the nightstand Brian grabbed a folded up square of paper and shot it in my direction.
Grabbing for it I missed as the paper turned in midair bouncing off of the headboard and landing on the pillow beside me.
Carefully unfolding it I first glanced at the hotel insignia at the top of the page before reading her words, written in loose flowing swirls that reminded me of clouds.
When you left tonight
I missed you before you were even gone.
~E
Smiling I tucked the note in the palm of my hand, rolled over and went to sleep.
* * *
“VAN LEAVES IN FIVE MINUTES!” The yelling was accompanied by loud banging on the hotel door, shaking me out of a strange and restless sleep.
Sitting up I pushed the covers off rubbing my eyes, wincing at the stinging pain as I was quickly reminded of my black eye from the night before.
“Jay, you awake?” I mumbled dropping my legs over the side of the bed.
“Oh my god what time is it?” A.J. groaned from somewhere beneath the covers in the bed across from me.
“I have no idea.” Dropping back onto the bed I closed my eyes as the puppy sniffed playfully around my face, his cold wet nose giving me shivers.
“Kevin needs a fucking life.” A.J. groaned again as the pounding on the door started up once more.
“FOUR MINUTES, FOUR MINUTES.”
Crawling out from beneath the mound of covers A.J. reached for a pair of sunglasses on the nightstand and dropped them over his eyes.
“If anybody asks, tell them I died.” Turning around he crawled back beneath the covers dragging a pillow over his head.
“Me too.” I yawned just as the door to the room burst open.
“GET UP, GET UP, GET UP.” Kevin rushed around the room like a little old lady, picking up our piles of clothes and pulling open the drapes to let in the pale morning light.
“You two are the laziest sons of bitches I have ever known.” Coming around to my side of the bed he grabbed my arms and dragged me to a wobbly standing position.
“Looking good Nicky.” He laughed pressing lightly on my black eye as he shook his head. “What the fuck did you three do last night, go on an all night drinking binge?’ I just went to wake up Brian and he looks worse then you two.”
Turning Kevin yanked A.J.’s covers to the floor and then proceeded to drag him off of the bed and to the floor in one swift motion.
“Fuck!” A.J.’s head thumped off of the floor.
“ONE MINUTE, ONE MINUTE.” Kevin yelled, right in my face before turning to leave.
“Did he say one minute?” A.J. asked sarcastically rolling onto his stomach and crawling for the door.
“Yup, I think he might have mentioned something about it.” Stumbling forward I grabbed the black t-shirt off of the bed where Kevin had placed it and followed A.J. out the door.