Dirty Diana [COMPLETE]

Dirty Diana: Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Friday

"Janet? Can you come out of the closet?"

"Not until he stops yelling at me."

"He's not yelling at you right now."

"He will if he sees me. He said I did something bad, but I didn't. I don't need to take all that medicine."

"Janet, you do need to take them because it helps you, okay? I know you don't like pills, but that's the best option for you until you come to live with us."

"I don't want to live with you!"

*

"Hey!"

I felt a slap on my back, and my beer sloshed around almost spilling into my lap.

Jerome curved his mouth into an uneasy smile. "This is the first night in ages I've been able to come to a happy hour, and you're anti-social?"

"Sorry, there's been a lot on my mind lately."

"Thinking about getting serious with Elise?"

Not at all. I texted her, but she definitely was ignoring me. She posted on the photo app last night and this afternoon. I answered truthfully, "No, man. My mom."

"Is she going to end up moving in with her sister?"

"She doesn't want to. It's really fucked up." My brow wrinkled. I took a few gulps of my beer, and Jerome awkwardly sipped past the froth on the rim of his glass.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset, my man," Jerome confessed.

"No, it's all good. Life's been pretty rough for some time." I shrugged and was about to change subjects when I spotted Diana sifting through the crowd. This bitch.

I sighed, and Jerome followed my attention. Suddenly, he laughed, "You really have it out for her, don't you?"

"She's a bitch," I hissed before chugging the rest of my beer.

With large eyes, Jerome asked me if I was leaving anytime soon. When I said I wasn't, he gladly offered to get me another beer before we played a few games of pool.

Man, screw that uptight chick. She never seemed comfortable anywhere, entering the bar clutching her purse tight to her body and looking around in disgust — what a miserable person. Maria huddled by the bar with Aretha. Naturally, Diana gravitated towards them. Somehow, she cracked a smile through her anti-social essence. Maria moved to the side, and Diana hugged the bar top. The bartender was happy with her face as she appeared to order. Don't believe the hype dude. She's fucking gorgeous, but she's a miserable sack of shit.

That night I learned she liked drinking dark lagers, and that even when I was ten feet away, I could still be invisible to her.