Page 86 of The Only Seconds that Matter
“You’re going home with Victor,” she explained to him.“Sound good?”
Johnny didn’t seem to comprehend all that well.Victor tapped Sarah’s shoulder, and she stepped aside to allow Victor to straddle the width of the tub so that he could grab Johnny’s other arm.Between them, they were able to get Johnny to a limp standing position, and from there Victor slid underneath Johnny’s right arm to support him.Sarah huffed as she bore Johnny’s weight on the other side.
“Son of a bitch is heavier than he looks,” she grumbled as she and Victor dragged him out of the bathroom and down the hall.Their path kept getting blocked by drunk or high partygoers, all of whom skedaddled with a quickness when Sarah snapped at them to move their ass.Only once they were out of the house did they have a straight and simple path to Victor’s truck, though he had to park across the street due to all of the other cars blocking the driveway.By the time they got to the truck, Sarah was huffing and puffing as she assisted Victor in shoving Johnny up into the passenger seat.Once he was placed, Victor secured Johnny’s seatbelt.Johnny muttered something as Victor clamped the belt across his lap, but there was no way to understand it.He sounded a bit gurgly, so Victor went to the bed of his truck to retrieve a horse water bucket he’d left in there.He perched it on Johnny’s lap.
“Throw up in that if you have to,” Victor instructed.
Johnny had no response, so Victor shoved the door shut and enclosed him inside.
“Thanks for coming to get him,” Sarah said, shoving sweaty hair off her forehead.“I told him to take it easy but… well, you know how he is.”
“You know he’s trying to get sober, right?”Victor snapped, whirling to face her.“And you gave him alcohol?”
Sarah’s expression turned sour.“What am I, his mother?I can’t make him do anything.I told him he shouldn’t come and he came anyway.If he wants to drink, I can’t stop him.If he didn’t get wasted here, he would have done it at a bar or at home.”
“You could have kicked him out before he nearly drank himself to death.”
“And let him drive?He would have gotten fucked up at home.At least here we could keep an eye on him.”Her eyes narrowed.“I’ve known Johnny since we were kids.I know how he operates way more than you do.”
“Did you ever try to help him?”
“Dude, I’ve got enough addicts in my life, I can’t play therapist, coach, and mommy for them all.I do what I can, but I can’t hold his hand.You wanna do that, knock yourself out.Have fun being disappointed.”At that, she left, waving at a car that stopped to let her cross the road before continuing on.
Victor swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and rounded the truck to the driver’s side.He was glad when Sarah’s house disappeared from view and the nighttime darkness of rural roads engulfed them.Johnny was still pretty listless, though he maintained a grip around the horse bucket to keep it from sliding off his lap.When his body stiffened and his eyes popped open, Johnny leaned over and gagged into the bucket, a sound followed by a stream of vomit.Once his body had ejected enough liquid, he collapsed back against the seat, eyelids blinking wearily as he moaned.
“Fuck,” he muttered.It was the first thing he’d said that Victor understood.
“I’m taking you home,” Victor said, but Johnny barely acknowledged him before falling asleep against the passenger window.Victor left him like that until he pulled into Johnny’s driveway, which is where he parked, exited the truck, and rounded the vehicle to the passenger side.He pulled the bucket out of Johnny’s lap, unhooked his seatbelt, and grasped an arm to shake him awake.
“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny mumbled, following Victor’s grip and stumbling out of the truck, only to practically land on top of Victor.Victor managed to stay on his feet, loop an arm around Johnny’s waist, and start a slow shuffle to the front door.Once they got there, Victor asked Johnny where he kept his keys.
“I dunno, somewhere,” was all he could manage.With a sigh of frustration, Victor shoved his hand into Johnny’s back pocket where he thought he’d seen the slight bulge of keys.He would have much preferred to be grabbing Johnny’s ass with them both sober, but as it stood, Victor made the contact as brief as possible until his fingers brushed metal.
With the keys he found, he opened Johnny’s front door, flicked the lights on, and continued to drag Johnny toward his bedroom.Thankfully the place still looked about as clean as they’d left it a few months ago, albeit not as organized.Once in the bedroom, Victor tossed Johnny onto the bed, then bent to drag his legs up as well.He was ready to let Johnny sleep in his regular clothes, but then he noticed the streak of spit across the front of Johnny’s shirt.So Victor wrangled that off, leaving only a tank top underneath.He also took off Johnny’s belt, in case Johnny had to run to the bathroom suddenly and couldn’t manage to unbuckle himself from his jeans.One would think the act of undressing him might be exciting, but instead Victor was furious at the world and frustrated by how little Johnny was trying to help him.
Victor flung the belt across the room before hunting down another bucket to put by the bed.After that, he was done.He turned off the bedroom light and shut the door before stalking out of the house, rage filling every step.By the time he got to his truck, he was amped enough to kick the horse bucket and send it flying into the brush.He desperately yearned for something to punch or scream at, but instead there was just the quiet of a winter night and the hum of his truck’s engine, which he had never turned off.
Have fun being disappointed, Sarah had said.Victor hated how much he was starting to understand what she meant.
CHAPTER 25
Victor woke early the next morning on Johnny’s couch.He hadn’t remembered making the choice to stay.Victor pushed himself to a stand and headed for Johnny’s room.The door was still shut, and Victor didn’t bother knocking before charging inside.He expected to find Johnny passed out still, but instead Johnny was sitting on the edge with his head in his hands, or at least he was until he heard the sound of Victor entering.He straightened and turned, his bloodshot eyes meeting Victor’s with the same pathetic helplessness of a shelter pup staring at you through the kennel bars.
“You’re still here?”Johnny asked, voice soft.
“Wanted to make sure you’d pull through,” Victor replied.
“Oh.”Johnny turned back around, shoulders hunched up around his ears.“Thanks.”
“I guess I can go then,” Victor said, turning to leave.He was halfway across the living room when he heard Johnny’s plea from the bedroom.
“Vic!”Victor stopped and waited for Johnny to shuffle his way into the living room.“Don’t—don’t go.”
“I gotta get home.I have a full schedule today.”
“Yeah, I—” Johnny cut himself off and rubbed his mouth.“I know you’re mad at me.That’s fine.No one’s more mad at me than I am.”
Victor couldn’t think of anything to say, so he didn’t speak.
