Bad Company

Chapter 27: Changed

His baby brother was gone, and something had just snapped deep inside of Billy.

Image

After I got done at the clinic, I made my way to work just to be bitched at by Christy and Megan for not waking them up this morning as they both really wanted to come to the doctor's with me. Other then that, everything seemed like a normal work night. For the first time in days, I wasn't stressed... at least not until Jack showed up. Christy and I were working with Amanda and Ramona tonight as Sammy was out of town for the week. Megan sat at the bar eating nachos and drinking beer, visiting me to help make my shift go by faster.

Jack looked sick, the rest of Billy's boys piled into the bar all looking just as sick as Jack looked. Billy was no where in sight but I assumed he was around somewhere close as it was rare that all of Billy's boys would be here without him. It didn't occur to me what was going on until Jack grabbed hold of Megan by the arm and mouthed something to her, making Megan's expression drop.

Everything seemed like it was in slow motion as Megan slowly stood up from her stool and stared at me and gulped, reaching out for Christy who had just walked out from behind the bar with a tray full of shots. I tilted my head to the side slightly as I watched Megan block Christy from taking anymore steps and proceed to tell her something.

My heart sunk as I watched Christy drop the tray full of shots... glass and amber coloured liqour flying everything as the tray hit the floor. Christy fell into Megan's arms and Jack instantly ran over to her and helped Megan hold a hysterical, bawling Christy. Christy flailed around in Jack's arms as she collapsed to her knees.

"NOT MY JOE!" She screamed in horror. "JOE!" She continued to bawl.

My stomach flopped and I made my way over to Christy, falling to my knees and wrapping my arms around her - still not processing what was actually happening. Jack, Megan and I all fought to get Christy to stand up and come back behind the bar where she just ended up collapsing to the floor again, this time bringing me down with her. I rocked Christy back and forth in my arms and Ramona turned the "closed" sign on the bar while Amanda delivered shots over to Billy's boys like nothing was happening.

"Get me my phone!" I commanded to Megan.

"No. Don't call him..." Bodie exclaimed from the table. "He'll be here soon enough."

I can't even properly describe the feeling I have inside right now. The room is still spinning and Christy is still in my arms, sobbing into my shoulder. Ramona and Amanda are dealing with the few regulars who are still sitting at the bar. Jack and Megan and crouched down beside us and Bodie and the boys are sitting at their regular table, glasses raised ready for a toast. An eerie familiar song began to play throughout the bar, making everything ten times more intense than it already was. "Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels.

"He didn't deserve that... No way he deserved that. He was a true fuckin' soldier." Bodie started to toast as he raised his glass up followed by the rest of the guys holding their beer mugs up and pressing them together in a toast.

"To Joe!" Bodie raised his voice, "He was a good fucking boy! ...A good FUCKING BOY!"

That was all Bodie was able to say before the beer mug was ripped right out of out of Bodie's hand. Bodie stared up at Billy who had just yanked the mug out of Bodies hand followed by slamming it down on the table making beer fly up out of the mug, all over the table and over Billy's hands. The others went wide eyed and even gasped a little as they stared up at Billy.

"So that's what we're going to do?" Billy asked everyone as he wiped his hands on his jeans before picking up another mug full of beer from the table and pouring it out onto the floor. "Why don't you show a little fuckin' respect at least?"