Jefferson Lake (MBBF Spin-Off)

Chap. 19

Warren didn't wake up until mid-afternoon the next day.

I left him to go and get breakfast, but I didn't leave to go and get lunch.

Because I knew Warren all too well.

I knew that as soon as he woke up he'd disappear.

And he wasn't going to pull that. Not this time.

"Fuck," Warren muttered, covering his eyes. "Can you turn off the lights?"

"That's the first thing you want to say to me?" I demanded.

"And possibly not talk so loudly?"

I wanted to strangle him.

But I did flip off the lights. Because I also wanted to have a conversation with him.

Warren was silent for a few moments, rubbing his temples.

"I could murder you," I informed him.

"What happened?"

"That's probably the saddest part, that I have to fill you in."

"Get off your high-horse for five seconds," Warren snapped.

I'll let that slide because he doesn't know the hell that I went through yet.

But as soon as he does he'll need to take that back. And possibly buy me my own Starbucks chain or something.

"You ended up at Andrew's."

Warren squeezed his eyes shut.

"The fuck are doing at Andrew's?" I demanded.

"He needed someone to fill in the morning shift," Warren recited. "His guy bailed and he had someone for the afternoon, but he needed someone to cover the morning."

"So tell him to go screw himself."

Warren didn't say anything, because he knew he couldn't do it.

"Somehow you ended up passed on his back couch," I informed him. "And I had to come pick you up at 2 AM, because he was threatening to call the police."

Warren let out a long sigh, shaking his head.

"Which leads me back to the whole screw himself thing, but I managed to get you back to the dorm, with minor complications, you're welcome."

"I'm sorry."

"I expect a lot more than that."

Warren didn't say anything for a few moments as he massaged his temples, shaking his head.

"Warren, I'm not doing this anymore."

"I know."

"No, there's no more of that. I'm serious."

We've been around this circle before. I claim I'm not going to do this anymore. Warren promises that it's over. And then we end right back up here again.

Because Warren had a drug problem.

He's had one since long before I met him. That's why his parents shipped him off to boarding school. And when Warren manages to get himself into deep enough shit at his current boarding school, his wonderful parents pack him up and ship him off to a different one, as though that's going to solve his problem.

"You need help," I stated.

"I don't need help," Warren declined. "It was just a slip-up."

The cyclic circle. This conversation was never-ending.