Love and Monsters by Max Walker

Author:Max Walker [Walker, Max]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walking Press
Published: 2022-10-26T18:30:00+00:00

17

NOAH BARNES

Blake’s was a two-story bar filled with rainbow lights and TV screens playing pop divas on a loop. The first floor had a large bar at the center that served as a great place to post up and chat while sipping on a vodka tonic, with small bar-height tables pushed up against the surrounding walls where more groups of friends gathered. There were two competing kickball teams wearing their blue and green shirts, mingling around the tables next to the wide-open window that faced out to the street.

It was a cool spot and one of Tristan’s favorite Sunday hangouts. He greeted us with a wide smile and a warm hug, introducing Jake to his little brother, Malik. He was visiting from Tampa after a brutal breakup, which explained the three empty cups that surrounded his half-full cup of rum and Coke.

“Thanks for the invite,” I said to Tristan as I settled in, holding my drink with two hands. “It’s been a day.”

“Has it?” he asked. “What happened?”

That opened up the floodgates. Jake and I took turns telling the story, starting after we were woken up by the alarm (and hooked up multiple times). Tristan’s and Malik’s faces both dropped in shock once we got to the physical fighting part of the story.

“Damn, man.” Tristan shook his head and lifted his drink. “Cheers to fucking that guy up and hopefully stopping this crazy stalker shit.”

“Cheers to that,” I said enthusiastically, raising my cup and tapping it against the others.

“And you’re sure it was him?” Malik asked. He looked just like his older brother, all shiny white teeth and honey-brown eyes, with short dark hair that was usually kept buzzed down. He had a golden dangling earring and a thin gold necklace that popped against his dark skin. A tattoo of an octopus wrapped around his forearm, appearing to dance along with him as he moved.

Both Jake and I slightly deflated at his question. “No, we’re not,” I answered.

“But he’s our most likely lead,” Jake said, speaking like a detective. “We’ve got his car on camera, twice now, around the same time as when the incidents happened. Plus, Noah and Franky have history, which could lead to a motive. Maybe he’s upset at the feelings Noah made him confront, and repressing them for these past few years maybe twisted him up.”

That got the group nodding their heads in unison. “It does make sense,” Tristan said.

I waved my hands over the table as if I were telling people to stop their bets at a roulette table. “Enough of this spooky shit. Let’s try and have some fun today. Malik, how long are you in town for?”

“Just until tomorrow. I needed to get out of my apartment. Too much shit happened there.”

“Boy troubles?” I asked.

“Major. I found Peter cheating on me. In our own bed, after he told me he was visiting his sick sister. He thought I was out of town and, and—” Malik choked back tears. Tristan put an arm around his brother’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.