LACK OF MAN (part 4)

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“I don’t think I have,” Sulli said. Hunter continued to stay quiet, wondering. Why would his dealer have one of these devices? Did he lose it? Was he going to be looking for it? Would his gang members be helping? Or had he tossed it there for someone, possibly with his own self-interest in mind. All he knew was that he had to get it out of his possession and the confusion of explaining to his friends their lives could be at risk.

“Well, we should go and see if we can sell it,” Hunter replied.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Sulli said, placing the device in the box and closing it before looking over at his friends. “You got any food…snacks?”

“Uh…” Hunter sighed, thinking of his near empty cupboards and his future hunger pains. “Check the kitchen.”

 

        They headed down the building’s five flights of stairs. Sulli had put the shoe box in a paper bag which Leerna was now carrying. Hunter was checking his phone for messages from Vanessa, slightly behind his friends. There were none. Leerna turned a bit, catching his attention. She just smiled while switching the bag to her other hand. He, of course, looked her body up and down, enjoying the sight; always remembering her swaying movements while she was on top of him, grabbing her own body. He watched her until they reached the street.

 

        Sulli was wrist deep in the bag of corn chips shoving each one into his mouth whole. Each bite creating a crunching sound, breaking the pressed and baked corn into crumbs, some falling down his chin and onto his shirt. He’d brush them away almost immediately before returning his hand to the chip bag. Sulli had been a tad more shy before that faithful scarring night. Never would he have taken out a large bag of corn chips, shoving each one into his face, not caring. Now it was like he tried to gain repulsive scowls and glances in other ways in order to take away from his gnarled face.

“Can I have one?” Leerna asked at the stopped crosswalk. Sulli looked into the bag before offering her the open end of the bag. She stuck in her hand, taking four and using her opposite hand as small plate.

 

        Hunter watched her grasp a partially broken one between her index finger and thumb. She smiled at him again then stuck out her tongue a bit to pull in the chip. Should he allow himself to be this intrigued by her?  Even with his obsession of her Martian tongue, he knew he should avoid it in his head. But the memory of it being wrapped around him kept the wonders and fantasies alive. Hunter’s eyes returned to the street as the last train car passed by. The City Officer hanging off the back was already looking at him. Hunter stared directly back, taking in the whole appearance of this man. His matte green helmet, same coloured clothes; his clean shaven face and eyes that just taunted others to try and break the laws. The look they shared wasn’t an overextended glance of recognition. It was more of a shared look of memories that neither one shared. Mostly due to each one’s appearance. The cop chasing someone down, possibly one that resembled Hunter. And Hunter himself running from the police to avoid a possible beating from resisting arrest, and then a jail sentence.

 

        Leerna gripped his hand, bringing his mind back to reality, and more wonders of an extended tongue. But now, like the officer’s stare had killed the last bit of the Goo’s buzz, Hunter just felt anxious and depressed. This wasn’t always a bad thing, when he had more. Which he did. But coming down after long periods of no sensible emotions, they come back in a hostile way. Them also scratching to get out. Let alone the strength they exhibited. Gods among entities. Leerna’s hand squeezing his arm brought his attention to Vanessa. The whole fact of her refusing to listen to him that morning, the fight during the previous night, it all made him upset, depressing him. His strength he put up as a front broke and he stopped dead on the sidewalk, looking to an empty store front’s window for a seat and a haul of vaporized nicotine. Leerna gave him a strange look as she stepped up next to him.

“You okay, babe?” she asked, glancing at Sulli who was a few feet away cramming more chips into his face.

“Just comin’ down,” Hunter replied, taking in a long breath.

“Bad one?” she asked, taking a seat next to him.

“Think it might be,” he replied, knowing it was completely. A horrid break in an addict’s reality. The exact feelings and thoughts he was attempting to escape, no matter how short the relief was.

“Why?” she asked.

“Feel like shit about Van,” he replied.

“Oh…well,” she sighed. “ That’s too bad.”

“I’m sure it won’t last much longer,” he said, wiping away a small tear before it had even appeared.

“Can I be honest?” she asked, feeling a burning in her stomach ignite.

“I’ll be right back, “Sulli said loudly, crumpling the empty bag up before passing through the crosswalk.

“Sure,” Hunter replied, looking at Leerna. She had a hint of something in her eyes. Something he had seen before, but only once or twice. She took a long inhale through pursed lips.

“I don’t like her. And I’m not just saying that because we’ve never gotten along,” she said. “I don’t like her with you…how she treats you.”

“How she treats me?” he asked, furrowing his brow at her.

“Yeah…she’s always snippy with you and if she’s going to complain about you doing Goo just because she quit, well that’s even worse,” she replied.

“I just really care for her,” he said, rubbing his hands together as if it helped aid in the partial lie he was telling himself and Leerna. He had been noticing a slight decline in his feelings towards her but it wasn’t anything he should panic about.

“I know you do,” she replied. “But I care for and about you.”

“I know you do,” he smiled, holding onto the eye contact they were now sharing.

“HEY,” they both heard yelled. “GET BACK HERE.” Sulli was running down the street, bracing some cans in his arms. The Martian shop keeper's voice was breaking through the air, screaming for a cop. Hunter knew this Martian, Francois. He bought his nicotine oil from him. So much that he had developed a rapport with the Martian, being able to simply ask for some oil and be given the exact flavor and strength he desired. They had also came to a game of insulting each other’s names.

“What kind of Martian is called, Francois?” Hunter would ask with a smirk.

“Vhat kinda ewman call ‘imself, Unter, vhen he nevah kill a thing?” Francois would reply. At this moment the Martian shopkeeper was yelling and stomping his feet at the lack of City Officers, his bug eyes so large both Hunter and Leerna could see the anger in them as they watched Francois spit on the ground off his extended tongue.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked, turning back to Hunter.

“No?” he replied, confused. “About what?”

“What I just told you,” she said.

“Everyone has their own opinions,” he replied.

“I know,” she said, picking at her fingers. One thing Hunter knew she did when she was anxious or worried. “I just couldn’t hold it in any longer.”

“I know,” he smiled, gripping her hand to stop her obsessive scratching. “You have one of the only opinions that I’d actually listen to.” She returned Hunter’s smile, but then turned back towards the end of the street they were on.

“We’d better go find Sulli,” she sighed with a small giggle.

“Sure,” Hunter said, standing up.

“He’s so dumb sometimes,” she replied. “What do you think he got?”

“Not sure,” he said, beginning to walk. “Food probably.”

“Well…I’ve still got the syringe, so I’m sure he’s not far,” she replied, checking the entrance of an alley. They decided to go to the pawn shop figuring he’d make his way there. He wasn’t in sight upon arrival.

“Let’s just go in?”

“And what?” he laughed. “We’ll have a gun in our faces without anything to sell.”

“We have this,” she said, holding up the bag.

“I’m not sellin’ that thing without Sulli,” he replied, taking a long haul on his vaporizer.

“What should we do then?” she asked, peering into the window protecting the valuables in sight. “Where do you think he’d go?” Hunter stared down the street. Sulli was either at his own apartment, climbing the fire escape to Hunter’s, or hiding in the backroom of Collar’s, their usual bar.

“What time is it?” he asked. Leerna checked her wrist, spreading her fingers out so the digital numbers would appear over the skin on her wrist.

“Just after three,” she replied, smirking at him, waiting for his usual comments.

“Still can’t believe you have one of those,” he sighed, slightly shaking his head.

“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed, but differently. “I’m sure, Thell would have taken it back if he could have.”

 

        Hunter remembered Thell. He hated Thell, the womanizing, drunk, half-Martian snob with rich parents. Never worked a day in his life, expected everything for nothing, and one of the only guys to have gotten an upper hand on Hunter and beat him up. His punches were laughable to Hunter, remembering some blood, but little to no pain. And to Hunter, that was in the past, along with Thell’s sister’s blow job.

“Don’t remind me,” Hunter sighed, but, again, differently.

“Hey…” she said, pointing her finger at him. “Who got Mel to suck your dick?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he smirked, but towards the street, taking note of the alley. Her tongue wasn’t as good as Leerna’s. Not enough control? Technique? He didn’t care. Vanessa was still polluting his memories and mind. He knew he had to see her, up to and including wishing for her presence.

“He wasn't that bad,” she said, feeling as if her topic wasn’t completed. Knowing she was shamelessly using things she knew bothered Hunter to get him closer to her.

“Worse,” he replied loudly, but for no reason to his own knowledge, a reflex to him. “He’d call hangin’ out with us slummin’.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, sliding her fingers over her forearm, the implanted digital renderers lighting up, expecting use. “He was nice until he cheated.”

“Mmhmm,” he replied, remembering the short fight.

“Sorry,” she said, apologizing for the thousandth time, wrapping her arms around him. He, without a thought, took in her warmth and wrapped his own arms around her. Vanessa didn’t need to be seated comfortably in his head. She was getting out of her sister’s car, glaring at him and Leerna, particularly their closeness.

“What the hell is this?” she yelled, storming towards them. Leerna jumped back at the sound of her voice, spinning to face her.

“It’s not what you think,” Hunter said, his heart sinking at the prospect of a brand new fight. It wasn’t something he really wanted.

“Bullshit,” she snapped.

“Really, it’s not,” Leerna said, her heart pounding. Vanessa’s sister, Clara, who Hunter was about to talk to before Vanessa walked into Collar’s all that time ago, was now being a good sibling and ready to weigh in. She wasn’t as pretty as Vanessa, aside from her dark-chestnut brown hair, just right for Hunter.

“Don’t even talk to me,” Vanessa sneered.

“Really, babe,” Hunter said, seeing there may not be a way out of this one. “I’m not high and I was gonna call you.”

“I don’t believe you,” she replied, squinting her glares at him.

“I’m not going to steal your boyfriend,” Leerna sighed, smirking a bit.

“Piss off, freak,” Vanessa snapped.

“HEY,” Hunter yelled, his mind breaking under this portion of his girlfriend’s personality. “Don’t fuckin’ talk to her like that.”

“Excuse me?” Vanessa said, her eyes turning to daggers aimed at his heart. “You’re taking her side?”

“There’s no sides here,” he replied. “But you can’t talk to my friends that way.”

“I’ll talk to…that anyway I want,” she sneered. Hunter could hear the disgust in her breathing. He knew she was like that. He hated it, but ignored it to the best of his ability. Yet another fault or problem with falling in love. This was the last bit he could take of it all though.

“No you won’t,” Hunter snapped. “And that does it.”

“What?” Vanessa asked, her squinting eyes opening to a sudden reality.

“We’re done,” he replied, forcing the words that couldn’t not be uttered out.

“Wipe that smirk off your face,” she yelled at Leerna. Her eyes began to grow sad and welled up a bit.

“It’s over, Van,” he said. “I’m done listening to your ignorance and dealing with your attitude." His words were only forced at this point. Nothing that was happening could ever be called desirable to anyone.

“So, what?” Vanessa snapped, her mind turning over to angry. “You’re just going to fuck this whore-freak?”

“You’re a bitch,” Leerna snapped back. “He’s better off without someone like you.”

“Go to hell,” Vanessa yelled, turning to storm off.

“Bye, Clara,” Hunter called which was replied with two middle fingers, one for each of them.

“I was not expecting that,” Leerna kind of laughed.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Outta left field.”

“You okay?” she asked, but didn’t touch him. Vanessa went by in the car, both glaring and crying at once.

“Think so,” he replied, watching the back of Clara’s car until it was out of sight, the brake lights flaring before turning the corner with the rest of the car.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Not yer fault,” he replied. “I can’t stand that side of her.”

“Well…she was definitely being a bitch,” she said, still resisting her needs to touch him. Hunter nodded, wishing he had of brought his Goo with him. A drink would have to do.

“She was,” he sighed, taking a puff of nicotine. “Let’s go to Collar’s. Sulli might be there.”

“Oh, duh,” she giggled. “Should have thought of that.”

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To be continued…..