Anthony

"Okay. If you want me to stay, I will." The cool, dark look on his face stirs a memory. I can't quite bring it to the surface, but I can feel the water stir. Either way, I put my arms around him, squeezing him tightly as I feel a well of tears break on my waterline. Who even knows why I'm crying. It's just pain, this panging in my chest that makes me feel like this is the end.

"Come on, up to bed." Sean pushes me to the stairs, following me. 

"A distraction?" There's an unintentional lift in my voice, a sad hope that this is the case.

"No, you need to sleep. Come on." I mope my way up the stairs, tears still falling along my cheeks. When we make it to my room, Sean pulls my shirt off, wrapping me in my blanket before he sits down. "I know you're still upset about what happened. It's natural. You are in love. But drinking it all away only hides it, it doesn't get rid of it."

"I'm not in love. If I were in love, it'd be with you. Don't patronize me. I'm not a child." I roll over in a huff, desperate not to laugh despite the remaining tears rolling over my nose. Sean doesn't react well to people saying they love him. I can almost feel his frown, but instead I feel the movement of the bed and his arm around my side.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't love me, Anthony. Go to sleep." And like that, I did. I don't even remember closing my eyes. 

Kadence

"Get up!" Even as I pull the blankets back, neither of them flinch. They're limbs are scattered around the bed and over each other, a shock that either of them can sleep. I smack my hand on Anthony's leg, shaking him. "Breakfast is downstairs." At the sound of breakfast, both of them roll over each other to get out of the room.

I've hardly made it down the stairs before Anthony is storming out of the kitchen. "Where is it?! Where did you put it?!" All of the cabinets in the kitchen are swinging open as a stunned Sean sits at the bar, eyes wide. "WHERE IS MY BOOZE?!" The door to the coat closet slams as he brushes by me into the kitchen.

"I thought you were going to sober up. Get clean?" His eyes burn through me like he'll pull the answer from my mind. 

"Gradually, wean me off. I'm not going cold turkey." When he reaches over to the counter Sean snatches his keys and tucks them into his lap. "Fine, I will walk." Anthony whips his jacket off of the hook and skips through the doorway with Sean close behind him.

"Anthony, come on. You know it has to be cold turkey. You know it does. You can't stop and you told me that yourself. Do you think he's going to want you to slowly kill yourself? Do you think he's happy watching you break yourself down to nothing?" Sean grabs his hand, yanking it back and stopping him in his tracks.

"WHY DOES NO ONE WANT TO ACCEPT THAT HE'S DEAD?! Dante is gone! He doesn't see anything! He can't want anything! He doesn't care! HE IS GONE!" Silence stretches along the clearing as Anthony's fuming rage slowly smolders. Before long, Sean has him back in the house, eating breakfast with juice instead. 

"Anthony, you're a great person. You'll be able to overcome this and you can find someone to help you be happy for the rest of your life." Sean drops his spoon on the plate, eyeing me from the side as if I could add anything to help his cause. "What about Kadie over here?" I don't know which of us choked on our food first, but Anthony is the first to recover.

"What if it's you?" Anthony's face is serious, staring down Sean, "It would never be him, but it could be you. I can love you." Sean's face lights up under his dark complexion, embarrassment practically pouring off of his shoulders.

"It won't be me. We had this conversation last night. You can't love me."

"What makes you so unlovable? Why can't I love you, baby?"

"Anthony. Could you be serious for just one moment? We're here to work out your problems, not mine.

"I am serious. Dead serious." Anthony busts out laughing, snorting and slamming his fists down as he loses control of himself. "You don't have to get so red, Sean. You are lovable. You can be loved. You're adorable."

"I'm not your rebound, Anthony. And I'm not a toy." Sean grabs his bag by the door and walks out. "I'm going to the store. When I get back, I want you to be serious about this. Stop making morbid jokes. You have to face this now. I want you to be better. You haven't even tried to accept it. How can you say you can love me when you are desperately in love someone else? How can you be so cruel to me?" With that, he steps out.

"What about you, Kadence? Can I love you?" Anthony slouches in his chair, taking a drink of his juice as his free had grabs his crotch beneath the table.

"No, you can't love me. I'd cut your throat, you insolent swine. Disgusting." I scoff, smacking him in the back of his head as I take up Sean's plate. "You used to be a good person. You infuriated me, but you weren't such trash." 

A knock echoes through the foyer. I glance at Anthony, obviously against moving. "No, don't rush. I'll get it." He winks at me, licking his lip. I can't even stop myself from rolling my eyes. Was he always this vulgar?

The door creaks as it opens and a young woman is on the porch, long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she flashes a bright smile. "Hello, I was wondering if Anthony is here? May I speak to him?"

There's a hard feeling in my gut again, like lava searing my intestines. "He's here, I will ask him. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"I didn't give it to you." Her smile radiates a dangerously hot warning. 

"Babyyy!" Anthony comes flying across the foyer, sliding on his socks as he skids to a stop next to me. "Move, buttercup. I need to see my girl!" She beams in his sight, being pulled into a hug and glaring at me over his shoulder. I smirk, flipping my knife open and cleaning under my nails with the blade.

"I'd be your girl if only you would let me, dear. You know I adore you." Her eyes level with mine, challenging me. Who the hell is this demon?

"You can be my love, but I don't know how monogamous I can be." A kiss to her cheek, how . . . familiar.

I spent the next two hours pacing the kitchen, cleaning. She didn't bring him alcohol so I'm not worried so much, but she's a problem. She's bold. She's unflinching, which means she is foolish, gutsy, or she knows someone. She must have big friends. When they come out of the living room, she holds out her hand and shakes mine. "A . . . pleasure, meeting you. How quaint a friend you are. I look forward to getting to know you." Her grip is tighter than necessary, but I remain unflinching. 

"Likewise." After her car disappears, I turn to Anthony, "Who WAS that?"

He shrugs, "Just a friend." He saunters away, quiet and somber for once. 

"What is her name, Anthony? Her name." He peeks behind him, his eyes shifting from me to the floor.

"She's . . . " He pauses, running his hand through his hair, "she's the end."

Anthony crashes on the couch, vomiting into his trash as the sun sets. And so it begins. 

After an hour, Sean comes in with an armful of bags and some very fragrant air fresheners. When he sees my nose wrinkle, he laughs, "Trust me. We will need it." I take some of the bags, leaving Anthony on the couch asleep as I help him put up the groceries.

"Someone came by earlier. A woman with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She seemed to know Anthony well. She was so pleasant with her words, but she was really cruel in her persona." Sean looks at me for a moment, glancing around.

"Where was she? Where did she go?" I raise my finger to the living room, surprised when he scrambles into the room, searching under tabletops and in drawers, running his fingers along the mantle of the fireplace and shaking the loose dirt in the plants. He pulls Anthony forward, shoving his hands into the couch before finally giving up and shoving him back. He doesn't stir as Sean turns back and pushes me out of the room, shutting the doors quietly. He motions towards the kitchen. "Did she go anywhere else? Did she bring anyone else with her? What did she say to you?"

"Uh, nothing and no one else?" He paces back and forth, whispering to himself.

"How long was she here?"

"An hour and a half, maybe two?" His face seems to relax.

"She'll be back. She has business." His cryptic response doesn't go any farther as he slumps on a stool, putting his head in his hands. "Congratulations, you just survived your first encounter with Mamba."

"Mamba? What kind of name is Mamba?"

"Would you keep your voice down? Her name isn't Mamba. No one knows her name. But she's dangerous."

"Where is she from?"

He shrugs, dropping his head on the table. "All I know is her name and her reputation."