|
3: Long Day [During the time of chapter one] "You'd think we'd get along at LEAST as well as we did when we made the first album," Kyle muttered as he, Paul, Brian, and Adam wandered into the kitchen. 'This is f***ing ridiculous', Kyle thought as he grabbed a beer from the fridge. "You mean when you didn't used to talk?" Adam chimed in, and Kyle laughed. "Yeah," he chuckled, "maybe that's asking too much." Paul pulled open a cupboard and retrieved a bottle of vodka and a wineglass. Filling it to the top, he breathed, "You know, guys, it's my fault." "'The hell you doing?" Adam grabbed the bottle. Drops of alcohol splashed off the polished wooden counter. He wiped it with a dishcloth. Snatching Paul's glass, Adam began pouring the contents of the glass back into the bottle. "'The hell YOU doing?" Paul took possession of the bottle and glass again. "Hashbrown, I'm over twenty-one." "That's too damn much though!" Adam protested as his friend refilled the glass. Paul knocked back half the glass in one shot. "It might not be enough," he murmured. Seated at the kitchen table, Kyle nursed his beer. He glanced across the table at Brian, who held one of his own. "Hey, Paul, don't blame yourself. Rob's being the real ass. Damn it!" Kyle slammed his beer can into the table. "He f***ing rejected MY song!" 'A song', Kyle thought, 'that's ironically named Happy.' Paul shook his head, then chugged the remainder of his vodka. "He didn't reject it, Smooches. He just doesn't think it's ready yet, and he's probably right." Kyle threw his empty beer can across the room, then stared at the table. "Well if it's not ready, it's because we spent so much f***ing time on a song that Mr. Thomas 'just doesn't want to do anymore'," he whined the second half of the sentence. Kyle glanced back at Paul, who was reaching for the bottle of vodka. Adam grabbed his hand. "Paul, that's it! Please, no more." "Don't tell me what to do!" Paul shot back. His hand wiggled free of Adam's grip and wrapped around the bottle. Adam grabbed the wineglass. Shrugging, Paul unscrewed the cap and drew the bottle to his lips. Adam's hands clenched the bottom of the bottle, and Paul couldn't raise it any further than he had it. He pulled away from Adam, but his friend's grip was tight. Kyle watched as the two stared at one another. "Please, Paul," Adam's lip movements were barely dipped in sound. "Let me have the bottle. You've had too much already." "F*** you!" Paul lunged his fist into Adam's stomach, grabbing the bottle with his other hand. Adam staggered back and fell into Brian's lap. Kyle watched as Adam winced up at Brian, tears welling in his eyes. "'the hell, Paul!" Kyle stared at the drummer, who was gulping the bottle's poison nectar. |