Page 41 of Run
A knock at the door has us shrieking and grabbing ahold of each other’s sticky shoulders. “Are you expecting someone?” Sophie asks me.
“Yes, Fonz.”
Another knock at the door causes us to jump, again. “Gah!” we both scream.
“Ari? Sophie? Is that you?” We hear a familiar voice from the other side of the door.
“Uh, Yes?” Sophie responds. “Who are you?”
“The fucking Boogieman!” the voice replies. “It’s Fonz. Who the hell else would it be? Will you let me in before someone steals me out here? It’s not exactly Sesame Street on this side of the city.”
I pull the door open before he even finishes, grab his arm, and drag him inside before I slam the door, press the lock button on the doorknob, click the deadbolt, and slide the chain over.
“Holy shit, it’s hotter than the reptile building at the zoo in here.” He practically gags as he pulls his shirt away from his body dramatically. “It’s like I instantly started sweating the second I stepped inside. How is that possible?”
“Fonz!” Sophie throws her arms up in greeting.
“Soph!” He gathers her up in his lanky arms that barely fit around her round body. “Gah! It’s way too hot for hugs.”
When they release each other, Fonz comes to stand next to me, leaning over and kissing my temple. “Wow.” He looks around. “This place is a real dump.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Sophie says, bouncing on the balls of her feet, rubbing her hands in front of her.
I didn’t tell Axel or Lena I was leaving. I just packed up my clothes, makeup, and the few other personal items I had at the house and threw them in the back of Sophie’s car when she picked me up. I didn’t dare take the Accord. Besides, it’s on Axel’s insurance and I can’t afford my own right now. But the apartment is close enough to the pub that I can walk to work, and in the winter I’ll take an Uber.
“I’m surprised yourboyfriendisn’t here.” Fonz looks at me.
“I didn’t think you and Sean would play too nicely together since the last time you saw him you broke his nose,” I reply.
“What?!” Sophie chokes on a sip of the soda she just cracked open.
Fonz is shaking his head and wagging a finger in front of me. “Not broken. Just bloody.”
“It was very bloody.”
“Yeah.” He smiles. “There was definitely a lot of blood. I didn’t know the face produced so much. That was the first time I ever punched somebody in the face.”
“Oh, well, you did a good job.”
“Thank you.” Fonz gives a small dip of his head.
“Wait. Back the bus up.” Sophie comes to stand next to me, wiping soda from her mouth with the back of her hand. “What did I miss?”
“Oh, just that after Fonz coaxed me into telling him about how I lost my virginity to Sean in a less-than-storybook kinda way—”
“I saw you crying your eyes out as you were running down the road. Back and forth in front of my house. For, like, hours.”
“Whatever. Anyway, the next time Sean stopped over, Fonz came barreling down the street and lunged his fist at the guy like Vincent Gambini …” I pause and point a finger at Fonz, eyebrows raised.
“My Cousin Vinny,” he answers my silent question. We high-five, and I continue.
“The next thing I know, Sean is holding his face while a geyser of blood shoots from his nose.”
Fonz and I look at each other, nodding in agreement that I got the story right. We look at Sophie when we realize she’s silent.
“Soooo …” Her eyes ping-pong between us, then land on me. “Are you and Sean still, like, whatever you are?”
I answer, but can’t look at Fonz when I do. “Yeah.”
