I slowly look at her.
“Feel better now?” Mama Dae asks.
“What?”
“That you were right,” she says. “I’m sure you’ve said something to Mac. Right?”
I swallow hard.
My heart starts pounding my chest again.
“Mama Dae… I…”
“What? Just say it.”
“I… I was scared.”
“Scared?”
“I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” I whisper. “By accident, I mean. And that night I saw you on the floor, I thought-”
“This is another shut the fuck up moment,” Mama Dae says. “You’re not going to steal my moment in this, Jolie. If you do, you’re going to be reduced to the same level as your father. And let’s not forget the reason you’re sitting next to me right now is Mac. And only Mac.”
I swallow hard and put the SUV into drive.
I feel like crying again.
I want to give Mama Dae a hug.
Before she forgets who I am for good.
11
MAC
I stand in the waiting room outside of Dean Dickhead’s office.
I light a cigarette.
Because I know that’ll piss everyone off.
And it makes Dean Dickhead move fast.
The door opens before I can take my second drag.
“Put that out,” he says to me.
“Yes, sir,” I say.
I smash the cigarette to the counter and leave it as a smushed up mess.
Dean Dickhead points to his office.
I walk through the open door and when I see Rex sitting in what’s usually my chair, I freeze.
Rex looks forward.
Not even for a second at me.
The office door is shut and Dean Dickhead moves behind his desk.
“We have a problem,” he says. “A big problem.”
No, you have a problem. A big problem. I can see your fingertips twitching. You’re all out of your supply, aren’t you?
“What’s going on now?” I ask.
“There’s been a few attacks on campus,” Dean Dickhead says.
“Attacks?”
“Jared has been attacked several times,” Dean Dickhead says.
“Right,” I say. “I heard about that.” I look at Rex. “What about you, Rex?”
“I don’t know shit,” Rex says.
“See?” I ask Dean Dickhead. “Rex doesn’t know shit. Neither do I.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Dean Dickhead says. “Rex had a story or two to share.”
“Did he now?” I ask. I look at Rex again. “Share it with me, Rex.”
Rex shakes his head. “Nah. Not worth it.”
I grab the name plate off the desk that reads David Deekman.
I move fast and put the edge against Rex’s throat.
“Cormac!” Dean Dickhead yells.
Rex throws a punch to my ribs.
It gets me good but I throw an elbow and knock him and the chair over.
“I’ll call the police right now,” Dean Dickhead threatens.
I drop the name plate and step back.
I show my hands.
Rex looks up at me with a bloody nose.
“Piece of shit,” I whisper. “I hope Jared’s a good daddy to Kerri’s baby. Your dick wasn’t big enough to get her pregnant, right?”
Rex tries to move and I step on his bad leg.
He groans in pain.
“I swear on my life I will call the fucking police!” Dean Dickhead yells.
I back away again.
Then I face the desk. “I have nothing to do with Jared. Why the fuck would I beat the shit out of someone more than once? You know that Jared was fucking Rex’s girlfriend, right? And he got her pregnant. Fuck, Dickhead, you should be giving me a medal. I saved Jared’s life. Trust me. Now get this piece of shit out of here or else I leave.”
Dean Dickhead looks nervous.
If I leave, I take his goodies with me. And I won’t come back. He knows that too.
“Rex, get out of my office,” Dean Dickhead says.
“Here, I’ll help you up,” I say to Rex.
I grab for his hand and stand him up.
I pull him against me. “What the fuck were you thinking, bro?”
“Power gets the pussy,” he whispers.
He sounds drunk. Maybe high. Maybe both.
Dean Dickhead shows Rex to the door.
I grab my phone and send a quick text to Les.
Get Rex. Make his legs match. Don’t ask. Just fucking do it. Outside Dickhead’s office right now.
I slide my phone into my pocket and reach for my bag.
I get what Dean Dickhead needs and wait for him to return back behind his desk.
“What was that about?” I ask.
“Just to see where things are,” Dean Dickhead says. “I cannot have blatant attacks on my campus like that.”
“Again, it wasn’t me. I’m actually telling the truth with that one.”
“You’re involved somehow,” he says. “Even if you’re not, make it go away, Mac. You want me to make sure things are smooth here for you? Do the same for me.”
“Tell you what,” I say. I put my hand to the desk and open it. “Sit down. Take a chill pill… or ten.”
I walk to the door and stop.
When I look back, Dean Dickhead is shaking as he hurries to get one or ten of his chill pills.
Addiction is such a fucking wicked road, isn’t it?
I laugh to myself because I’m in the same boat, just different waters.
My addiction is Jolie.
And my addiction can end up costing me my life.
By the time I get outside the building, smoke a cigarette, and track down Les and Taz, I miss all the fun.
They’re not too far from the building, tucked away in some propped up bullshit garden with flowers and stone benches.
A place where great minds can go to think, right?
Imagine sitting there on a perfect day with the sun high above you, thinking about law and justice… or maybe medicine. Or, shit, maybe business. Technology. Whatever you think is going to change the world.
Truthfully, nobody sat on those stone benches. If they did, it was for a picture for a brochure or some online bullshit to get more people to come to the campus.
Today, the benches had a purpose.
When I hear the groaning, I know it’s a painful groan.
Taz looks at me. “Sorry, bro.”
“Don’t be,” I say.
“He was ready for a fight,” Les says. “Stupid prick.”
There are two stone benches facing each other.
A little bit of space in between.
Of course on the ground is Rex.
And now his other leg matches the one I broke a little while ago.
He looks at me with tears running down his cheeks.
He’s got his own sock stuffed into his mouth.
I shake my head.
I light another cigarette and sit down on one of the stone benches.
“I don’t get it, Rex,” I say. “Things were okay. I mean, I know you and Kerri have had a rough go. I can’t help but wonder what she’s made of. To make you and Jared act like this. When she comes, does she squirt whiskey?”