Radio Romance

Chapter 19: Babysitters Club

I walked downstairs into the lobby, massaging my wrist, half wincing. Husker looked up from the bar which he was in the process of restocking. He furrowed his brow.

"You good, kid?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah I think so. I just finished helping Charlie haul a shit ton of heavy junk upstairs for her to pack for her trip to heaven today." I explained. Husk rolled his eyes.

"She can never do anything simple or small can she?" He asked. I smiled, chuckling as I shook my head.

"No, I guess she can't. That's just how she is. All or nothing, go big or go home. But, she always wants to do her absolute best with every task she gets. So it's pretty admirable, even if it can end up being an inconvenience sometimes." I shrugged. Husk nodded in agreement.

"Guess you're right. Wanna come on back here and help me restock?" He asked.

"Sure." I agreed, making my way over to where he was behind the bar. Husk scooted half of the full liquor bottles over to the counter in front of me.

"Alright, you know where these all go?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yep! The liquors go under the bar here. Whiskey goes upfront, then vodka, then tequila, then rum, then cognac, then scotch. Flavored stuff like schnapps goes on the bottom shelf. Wines and champagnes go in the mini cellar behind us." I answered. Husk raised an eyebrow at me.

"And what about these?" He asked me pointedly, tapping his claw against a beer back and a seltzer pack. I didn't hesitate.

"Beer and seltzers, we unbox those and put in the fridge, along with the club sodas, mikes hard lemonades and the more fermented stuff." I answered. Husk stared at me practically teary eyes as I finished answering.

"I'm so proud I could cry. I've taught you so well." He says. I smiled and shrugged.

"I did learn from the best." I added before I turned back to the booze and started organizing them and putting them away accordingly. Husk did the same with his half.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, there's a few more bottles in the kitchen I need to grab." Husk informed me before getting up and heading for the kitchen. After I was about halfway done, the door swung open and hit the wall with a thump, which was followed by an exasperated groan.

"Oh fuck." We heard. I poked my head up over the tops of the bottles to see Angel hunched over in the doorway. He'd been gone for quite a while, I hadn't seen him since he helped me plan my date which happened yesterday. I was excited to tell him all the juicy details, but from the looks of it, he was in no condition to receive that info just yet. Niffty popped out of the potted plant with her feather duster in hand, startling Angel.

"Hehe you look messy! What happened to you?" She asked.

"It's who happened to me and the answer, is everyone...twice." Angel replied. Angel started making his way to the couch as he continued.

"Val had me working 16 hours straight on a fucking whim! The absolute dickbag..." he added as he stretched and cracked his back, which Niffty went ahead and dusted off with her feather duster afterwards. I winced as I pictured how painful some of Angels body must feel right now. I walked out to him from behind the bar Angel plopped himself down onto the couch. Husk leaned against the wall drinking a fresh bottle of cheap booze as Charlie entered the room. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly

*KABOOM*

An explosion went off behind me sending me flying off my feet and then hitting the ground hard. I coughed as a plume of red smoke filled the room.