Ribs

Hole in the Wall

Arthur exhaled the smoke from his cigarette slowly as he stared at the revolver Randell had given him, the noise from the television completely muted to him as he turned the revolver around in his hand. He snapped it open, gazing into the fully filled chamber before snapping it back shut. He slowly stood to his feet, knees creaking as he did so. He held his arms above his head, still grasping the gun, his sickly from swaying side to side as he danced.

"Hey what's your name?" he questioned himself in an almost childish voice as he put his hands down by his hips.

"Arthur," he responded to himself, arms swaying above him.

"Wow Arthur, you're a really good dance," He laughed, arms imminently dropping to his sides.

"Yeah," he hummed, arms going back above him, "You wanna know who isn't?" he practically hissed, "Him."

Arthur tumbled over the coffee table as the shot ran out through the apartment, he shot up and stumbled over to the TV where he turned the volume all the way up. He was panting, what had he just done, what was he thinking? He rushed over to the now obvious hole in the wall from where the gun had shot, he ran his finger over the hole and winced. Hopefully, his mother wouldn't notice.

"Happy, what is that noise, are you ok?" he heard the shrill voice of his mother call.

"I'm fine mom, just watching an old war movie!"

"Turn it down!" she yelled back out to him.

Arthur put his hands to his head, pacing back and forth before whimpering out, "Sorry, mom."

He walked towards their shared room but stopped when he heard a pounding coming from the front door. He hurried over to it and opened the door to see Trina with a worried expression, her hands covering her ears as she winced due to the loud noise of the television.

Arthur had barely seen her today. After their late-night rendezvous, both he and Trina had parted ways that way his mother wouldn't question or why some random stranger was sleeping on the couch with her son. He didn't come to pick her up either, after the incident with his boss, Arthur was too infuriated to talk to Trina and didn't want his foul mood to be spread to her. Only one person should be made at a time when it came to relationships, at least that's what he believed.

"Arthur, what the hell was that noise, are you ok?" Trina practically shouted in order to be heard over the noise of the TV.

"I was watching an old war movie," he yelled back.

"Since when do you watch war movies?" She commented, "What the fuck, is that a bullet hole?" she yelled as she looked past Arthur at the wall.

She pushed him aside and walked into the living room, "What the hell is all this?" she gaped as she pointed at the revolver and ammunition that was carelessly dumbed over the coffee table. Arthur cupped his hand over his mouth as he could feel the all too familiar sense of laughter build up inside of him.

"It's a prop," was all Arthur could manage to come up with as giggle broke past his lips.

"Happy, whose there?" he heard his mother yell.

"No one mom, just go back to bed."

"Prop gun my ass, if that really is a prop then how the hell did that end up there," Trina hissed as she pointed at the hole in the wall.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly stopped by stomping on the floor above him, "Turn that shit down!" yelled the neighbor who lived directly above Arthur and his mother.

Arthur broke down into laughter, gasping and falling to his knees as he desperately tried to reach for the volume. Trina's eyes widened as Arthur gasped for air, she turned down the volume before rushing to his side.

"Happy, what's going on?" Penny questioned as she walked out of the bedroom, a look of shock crossed her face when she saw Trina, "What's that woman doing here again?"

"Mom-," he interrupted himself by more fits of laughter as the neighbor upstairs stomped on the floor again.

"Mrs. Fleck," Trina spoke as she helped Arthur to his feet, "My name's Trina, I'm a friend of Arthurs. I'm going to go take him outside for some fresh air, he'll be right back," Trina soothed before escorting Arthur to the front door.

Penny nodded in almost disbelief as she watched them leave, "A-Alright, be careful, Happy!"

Tears were rolling down Arthur's cheeks as he coughed up what was left of his laughter, he shakily pulled out a cigarette before looking back up at Trina. She looked equally worried and mad; her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall that stood across from him.

"Are you going to be alright?"

He nodded shakily as he took a drag from his cigarette, "Yeah, I think so."

She gave a nod, "Are you going to tell me about where you got the gun?"

He laughed, "One of my coworkers gave it to me, so I could protect myself."

"Is that why you shot the wall, did it come at you with a knife?"

Arthur laughed again, "No, I just," he paused, "I don't know."

Trina frowned and stood up straight, she walked over to him and brought her hand up to his face, angling it so he could look at her, "I'm worried about you, Arthur."

He smiled solemnly, "I'm fine, Trina, there's nothing to worry about."

She stared at him, studying him, trying to tell if he was lying. She soon sighed in defeat, "Alright Arthur, just don't hesitate to tell me if anything's wrong."

Arthur grasped her hand that was resting on his cheek, he smiled down at her, "What would I do without you?"

She laughed, "Die in a gutter somewhere?" he raised his brow causing her to laugh again, this time a little harder, "I'm joking Arthur, you'd be fine, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Arthur just shrugged, Trina leaned up and kissed his forehead, "Got any gids tomorrow?"

He nodded and gave a small smile, "I'm going to go entertain some kids at the Children's Hospital tomorrow."

Trina smiled back, "Well there's something to look forward to, kids love clowns!"

Arthur scoffed, "Explain that to the kid who cried at the last birthday party I went to."

"That was just some bratty kid, kids in hospitals are different, they'll love you," she hummed before taking a tight hold of his hand, "Come on, your mom's probably worried sick."

Trina took hold of Arthur's hand and led him back up to his apartment, all the while Arthur couldn't help but ponder back onto what Trina said about her not being there. She was probably right, he thought, he probably would've ended up dead in some ditch somewhere if it wasn't for her. He loved his mother, but she could only provide him so much love and support, and Trina just added on to that.

That night when Penny was fast asleep, Arthur made his way to Trina's apartment and curled up next to her sleeping form. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist all the while inhaling the soft feminine scent of her flowing blonde hair that was slightly frizzled due to sleep. He sighed; tomorrow was a new day. He hoped that the kids would love him as much as Trina assumed they would.