Ecstasy, Misery

34 | untraceable

whatever tomorrow brings

i'll be there, i'll be there

drive - incubus (1999)

June 29th, 1998

HARRY'S POV

Monday.

My one day off and I have to spend it on this fucking idiot.

I tried to track him down yesterday, but the little bitch can disappear off the face of the Earth when he wants to and clearly there's a reason he's avoiding me.

But I know where he is every week day from 10 AM to 8 PM and he can't hide away like a pussy forever.

I needed to come to the mall anyway today to stop at Verizon and buy a pair of Nokia's; one for me and one for Nova. I've only ever used my pager all this time and swore off ever getting a dumbass mobile phone once they started to get popular, because why would I ever want to make it easier for people to reach me?

I guess she's the only exception. With all this crazy shit going on, it freaks me out that I'm away so much. I spend most of my week and weekends at Buzzkill, always booked full with tattoo appointments and dealing our assigned branch of drugs. I guess I should be grateful that the drug shit is more organized now than it used to be before we almost got shut down; before, I'd have to be ready to meet up with anybody at anytime to keep the customer's happy, but that's tightened up and now they book appointments for pick-up with the same professionalism that someone would book a tattoo.

But still, I'm gone a lot. The girls are pretty much always home and I know they wouldn't let anything happen to her, but now with this camcorder tape shit and knowing about those weird fuckin' polaroids someone was taking of her back before she moved in, I get paranoid about those things being connected to whatever psycho is on the loose. Nessa's attack has hit way too close to home and I'm done letting Nova just waltz around without a phone.

It'll just be her number in mine and mine in hers; I'll have to make that clear. I don't want her using her phone to make late night phone calls to Keegan's house, because I swear she'd do that. I'll just tell her that I don't want anyone to know I got her one because they'll get greedy and want one too; that should be enough for her to keep it a secret as best she can.

So with the Verizon bag at my side, the two new Nokia's pattering around inside it, I walk up to The Wall to have a little talk with bitch boy.

"Hey." I say in a low, nonchalant tone as I walk through the front entrance, his back turned behind the counter and I do a swift sweep of the shop to see if we have any eavesdroppers, but as it's 10 AM on a Monday, it's completely dead.

Bitch boy straightens up at the sound of my voice with icy eyes, but I can promise they aren't icier than mine.

I stroll right up to the front counter opposite him and plaster a small, curious smile on my face, enjoying the way that his body has stiffened in my presence. "Hey, buddy. How was your weekend?"

He gives me a blank stare, but his jaw tightens up a bit no matter how unbothered he tries to pretend he is. Bitch boy.

"Right, right." I continue the conversation casually. "Probably not as great as mine since you weren't chosen for a lap dance. Sorry about that."