The Gunslinger

Chapter 4

EXPECTATIONS

Liz was sitting on the couch with Harvey, she should have been getting ready for their night out but decided that it could wait. Ashley came out of the bathroom looking a bit concerned as she called Harvey into the bathroom. Liz got off the couch to see what the ruckus was about and she was shut down rather quickly, returning to the couch, defeated.

"What the hell is this?" Ashley's voice had never sounded so defeated.

"Shit," Harvey didn't know what to say. "Where did you find that?"

"You're just shooting up in our bathroom now?"

"Look I'm talking to Liz tonight; I'll talk to you tomorrow." Harvey tried to console Ashley before anything got out to the other two.

"Like hell you will! Tell me now or I'm telling her."

"Just...come out with us tonight. I promise I will explain everything."

Ash looked at him for a moment, she was curious now; something was up, and she could not figure out what, which frustrated her. Harvey returned to the couch, practically collapsing into Liz as he let her know that their date night would now be a double date and that Ashley and Courtney would be joining them. Ashley yelled down the hall for Courtney to get ready, that they were going out tonight, and suddenly their apartment was buzzing with activity. Soon, the three of them were running between bathrooms, raiding closets, and yelling about counter space. Liz dragged Harvey off the couch to get him in the shower, however, nobody informed him that the hot water had run out and he would be freezing his ass off.

After a couple of hours of getting ready and screwing around, the four of them had gathered in the kitchen. Courtney had the idea to take a few shots before going out, as she always did. She pulled the Jagermeister out of the freezer and set a few Redbulls on the counter; nobody was happy about it, but they all knew it would be better than listening to Courtney whine for the next forty-five minutes. Three shots later and they were all scrambling to gather their things and load into the car. Ashley was supposed to be their designated driver, but they all knew they would be taking a cab home the rain had started up just an hour earlier, but it did not seem like much of a problem to them. The Pearl District was their main stop for the night as they filed from one bar to the other, with Harvey trying his best to corral the rest of the group. It was Friday night and there was plenty going on. They were heading toward a brewery when Harvey stopped for just a second along the way, thinking he recognized a young woman that passed by. He was quickly hurried along by Liz as they were losing sight of the other two.

They reached a public house at about eight-thirty, and Ashley just could not wait any longer. She ordered the first round of beers and took her seat, looking Harvey dead in the eyes as she sat down. He could feel her staring a hole through his head, and as nervous as he was, still unsure of how to tell everyone, he knew he didn't have the time to ponder his next move. Ashley began sending him text after text, threatening to say something if he didn't sack up and fill them in. He finally stood up, interrupting the conversation. He looked around the table and finally set his gaze on Ash.

"So, I'm assuming Ash told you already." Harvey's voice quivered a touch.

"Told us what?" Courtney was horrendous at playing dumb, she always had that same tell of brushing the hair behind her ears.

"Okay just tell us. We all know, you're a junkie." Ashley seemed adamant in her accusation.

"Well, I'm not a junkie. Actually, I started taking hormones."

The table fell silent, eyes grew wide, and she could see the confusion on their faces. Nobody knew what to say, until finally, it was Liz who spoke up.