Chapter Seven

The road kept gliding past them as the car flew down it. Moving forward at fifty-five miles an hour. Houses blended together into a splash of mixed pastel colors and wooden fences that seemed to break apart as musical notes would on a sheet of lined paper. Everything felt and looked fake and unreal, near artificial. Nate pictured that his life was a movie, and that he was watching it on the outside, barely able to change the outcome of what was inevitable and quickly coming his way. He felt powerless to rewind and change things. That in some dire sense, it was already too late to change the channel to something more light-hearted than what was coming soon. So far…

“So far, she’s been doing good,” John was busy explaining. He was in the driver seat. From his hand movements it appeared that he was used to having a cigarette between his fingers as he talked, a prop of sorts as it were. Now though, he made due with only a small pen that he clicked, tapping it against the wheel whenever the car slowed down. It appeared that he was drumming along to the story as he talked. “She’s sent in applications to a few companies. Not a lot of takers just yet, but it’s hard not to be proud of her, all the same. She was telling me the other day that…”, his words faded in and out between the sounds of the car, the road, and the ‘classic rock music’ that blurted itself out of the radio. All of the local stations had folded themselves into talk radio over the last few years.

It was an odd world, Nate realized, and it was only going to keep going for as long as he let it push him along. “She doesn’t know what she’s going to shoot for next though.” John continued. His pen drumming to the beat. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out though. She always does. You alright over there? Not lulling you to sleep, am I? I get that this is both a lot to take in and a little boring to hear.”

“Not at all. Just daydreaming a little.”

“I see. So, what’s the deal with you and Julie? She seems nice and fun. Not to mention just outside of your league to make you into a better person. Always a plus in my book.”

Nate stretched out and yawned, “Not sure if that was a compliment or not. I’m already pretty great as it is.”

“Live in fear, my friend,” John teased. “Live in fear.”, he drummed the pen against the wheel just out of time with the music lofting out of the speakers. Nate forgot that John had no rhythm outside of pool.

“To answer your question though, I don’t know. Just want to get through the next few weeks and then worry about things like that. Talking and spending time with her seems to help everything, though.”

“Fair enough. I’m here if you need to talk. Don’t forget that, man,” John said, slowing the car through a roundabout without stopping at the yield line. No one was coming from either of the circle’s openings. And he was more than aware of his surroundings.

“I appreciate that,” Nate told him from within another yawn. “Sorry. Cripes I really need to sleep more. All of this yawning is exhausting.”

“That you do buddy. That you do.” The car eased past the post office. “Not joking here. Was there always a post office there? I don’t remember one there at all.”

“I think so. There used to be a K-Mart around the corner, remember?”

John shook his head, “Honestly don’t remember that.”

“Can’t blame you. It closed down like fifteen to twenty years ago. It held on with a death grip that didn’t do much for business. Pretty sure the post office was over by it. Looks like they moved further along down the street though. Not sure when that happened.” Nate watched the building in question pass by as easily as anything else did. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what now?” John slowed the vehicle’s speed, drifting the car behind where Nate expected it to have been racing to, and allowing someone to zip past them. “Freakin’ idiot. We’ll catch him at the next redlight anyways. Oh, I’m in such a rush to catch the next red light! Moron.”

Nate smiled. Letting the question slip out of the car unnoticed. He didn’t feel like explaining his thanks anyways. John would understand it either way. He was good for that.

The apartment complex lifted itself up with a guarded pride. Protected on most of its sides by a series of concrete fences with more than several of which holding proudly the name of the complex written on them. Neither Nate nor John saw the names, nor did they attempt to remember the name of the apartment complex. Places like this one tended to change hands every few years anyways. Each new owner or company that purchased it changed the outside colors, renamed the place, and bottlenecked local traffic for little to no good discernable reason other than to make the place their own. Then the process would repeat once again after the new owners got tired of not fixing anything. They’d go out and find someone to sell it all off to and so on and so forth.

“Nice place.” Nate said as John parked in a shaded spot. “Swanky too. Love that they decided to go with such a vibrant color. Really brings out the property’s potential.”

John smirked at the observation. “I honestly hate the puke green colors too. But we’re not here for that. We’re here for a party. Now help me carry the drinks and chips out of the back.”

“They, uh, don’t live on the third floor or anything, do they?” Nate looked around. All of the buildings looked the same, just the numbers seemed to be the only difference between them. “I don’t see any elevators. Just the stairs over there.”

“Not a problem.” John handed Nate a twelve pack of cheap name brand beer. “They live on the first floor. Room 201. Just knock, Ashley will let you in.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” John asked, he loaded up a stack of misshaped boxes into a small, though manageable pile. “I’ll be right behind you in a second, damn. Needy, whinny, mother-”, he grumbled the last sentence as Nate grabbed some of the boxes from him. “What are you- okay, fine. Help me, see what I care. Not like I’ll hold a grudge against you, taking my independence as a man…”

John was right, Ashley answered the door right away and let them in after they had knocked, before they had even finished knocking the door was opened. Ashley was tall, taller than Nate would have guessed she’d be. Granted he had only seen her for a moment before at the bar. “Morning, boys!” she said, a soft twang escaping from her voice. “How’s everyone doing today?”

“Doing better now that you’re finally here.” John told her. Ashley rolled her eyes and smiled, letting them pass by her and into the living room. The apartment was nice and organized, everything in its rightful place with the exception of the mess strewn about on the living room floor. Several boxes were filled with supplies, most looked relatively empty, needing only to be broken down and put away. Two or three boxes had rolls of streamers in them. “Where do you want these ones?” John asked, trying not to step on anything.

“Oh those? Let’s see here…these can go-”, she explained all of this while Nate walked off to check his phone for new messages. He had felt it go off when they walked in. It was only a notification for apps that needed updates, nothing important. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all that mattered.

“You alright?” Someone asked him.

Without turning around he said, “What? Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Oh-”, Julie was staring at him, she had a funny look in her deep blue eyes. “I’m alright. Just checking for updates on my aunt is all.”

“Any news?” she asked.

He shook his head, “No. Nothing new just yet. Just more of the same waiting for bad news.”

“I’m sorry. I’m still hoping that she gets better.”

“Me too.” Nate answered, then repeating, barely above a whisper. “Me too.”

“Hey you two. Enough flirting.” John pointing an accusatory finger at them. “Nate, give me a hand over here. Stand on that chair and twist the streamer when I hand it to you. Make sure its taut first before you start twisting it. Got it?”

“Got it.”

The party was lively. People started showing up around thirty minutes after everything had been finished with setting up the decorations. A cooler was in the kitchen, filled up with ice and cans of various beers and sodas. Another cooler was set up out back on the patio area. Music pumped through the rooms, not quite at a loud volume, yet loud enough where everyone could hear it and each other. Soft rock mixed in with a playlist of nineties country music. Nate didn’t recognize the song, but he liked the idea of love being deeper than whatever a ‘holler’ was.

“This turned out great!” Julie said to Nate. They were both sitting outside at one of the picnic tables, there were a handful of them sitting around the area, most were barren of people. The two of them sat watching the party from the outskirts, where it was safe. “You guys did a good job on those streamers. I like how you twisted the different colors together so they would all mix and ended up looking like that. The colors look so- okay, look.” Her shift in voice and tone yanked Nate out of his lingering thoughts. “What is up with you? You’ve been daydreaming about something this whole time. Looking off into nowhere and some such nonsense. Now, what is it sourpuss? Tell me. Please.”

“Nothing,” Nate shook his head and looked at the people inside the party. Everyone was dancing, smiling, having a good time. “Just, a lot on my mind. That’s all.” Julie watched him. Her eyes made Nate feel his skin crawl, she seemed to have the ability to look right through him, like she knew him through and through.

He didn’t realize it until then, and he had noticed it before but he didn’t fully grasp it, but he had known her for years at the store. Funny how that works, he thought. One second you think you know something, the next, you realize you are an idiot and years have passed since the last time you thought you had known everything. Why did it take someone getting sick for them to hang out together. To spend anytime in the company of one another, without business and work being between them. To kiss?

“My aunt-,” he blurted out. He had tried to keep the thought to himself, to no avail. The problem would throw itself out there and into the open, all he had to do was open his mouth, one word at a time. “She uh- her insurance, that is- it’s, running out. The hospital, they’re, anyways, she won’t be able to breathe on her own for long now, once she’s unplugged. From the machines. She lost her upper brain functions. All that’s left anyway, is just her body’s autopiloting stuff. Breathing,” he explained all of this best that he could from what he understood. And he was realizing that he didn’t understand much of anything. Simply, the horrid truth of what was coming, and coming soon. “She won’t last much longer once they have to do that.” Julie just watched him. Not saying anything. Her light brown-blonde hair whipped around her face; her eyes began to look watery and full of well meaning concern. “Sorry. For venting, like this.” Nate wiped at his face, then dried his hand on the front of his shirt. “Like I said. Just, lot on my mind. That’s all. I’ll be alright. I promise. I’ll be-”

Julie hugged him. He hadn’t even noticed that she had gotten up. “It’s going to be okay,” she told him through her mess of hair. The smell of strawberries and cheap beer mixed in with the air around them, lingering even after when she had pulled away to look at him again. He didn’t know if she was telling him that it would be okay, any more so than she was telling herself that it would be. Not that it matter to him which is which.

“Thank you.” He had mumbled, barely above a whimper. Breaking off the hug and wiping at his face again. “I’m okay. Really. Promise.”

“I know you will be. You have people that care how you feel after all. And people that love you too. Now then! What do you want to drink? I need another beer to cry into. Wait right here, I’ll be right back.”

Nate watched her stumble up the slight hill to the back door of the apartment, and disappear into the small dance party that continued to remain thriving inside the relatively small apartment. Nate smiled, Julie had that effect on him. Then he turned towards the manmade lake that rested behind the apartment complex and all of the disgustingly painted buildings. Each of the buildings were structured around and built to hide the lake from the outside of the community. That way you couldn’t rightfully see it or anyone from outside the residential areas. Nate could think of a few reasons, the easiest answer would be that it makes the whole place feel isolated, almost safe from the rest of the outside world. Making it into a place where you feel at ease, and at home. To feel safe was something that Nate liked to look at lately.

His phone buzzed to itself in his pocket.

“Has anyone seen Nate?”

Several people shook their heads before returning back to their muted conversations, instantly forgetting the question and the name that they obviously did not know. No one had seen him in a while. Julie had talked to John about what Nate had told her. When they went outside, then they saw he was gone. She was only away two minutes, perhaps three, and he was just gone. John, Julie, and a few others looked around the area for him with no luck. John went to his car and found him leaning against the trunk, with a lit cigarette in his mouth. “Hey there, buddy. Everything alright? You look like shit again. Bad news?”

Nate nodded. Saying nothing else.

“Christ. Alright. I’ll let Ash and Julie know then we can go. You going to stay here for a second? Good. I’ll be right back, then we can go. If you aren’t here, I’m going to be so pissed at you.”

Nate nodded, and he meant it. He wouldn’t move an inch, not just yet.

Chapter Seven

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