CHAPTER NINETEEN- Coked-Up Grandma's House
"Few ideas, huh?" Grant remarks snidely as he drops his packed bag of clothes and necessities on a park bench.
Xavion rolled his eyes and kept typing on his phone. "It's not my fault that all my good friends are in Hell right now." He was probably trying to call someone again, because he put the device on his ear and tapped his foot impatiently for a second.
He sighed and dropped his arm, before scrolling through to what I assumed was another contact.
I wondered how he had so many people on his phone-- I only had Daddy Dumbion and Grant for a week, but I'd already accidentally called or messaged the wrong person a few times.
I gently set a bag of my own down and sat next to it.
I wasn't sure what exactly to pack. Xavion had just said, "okay, let's split up for ten minutes max to get everything we need."
I ended up throwing in all of the clothes that Grant got me, the earring cleaner for the hole in my ear, the blanket from the couch that I liked, and the charging-thing for my phone. Though, it didn't appear that this park bench had a counterpart charging-thing.
After a few more people, Xavion's eyes lit up and he began talking into his phone. "Hey, Jessy!"
My ears perked up as I recognized the name.
"Oh, eh, I've been better. What about you?" A pause. "Ah, yeah. I get that."
Grant elbowed Xavion and motioned for him to speed it up.
Xavion rolled his eyes, "Okay, Jess, I'll cut to the chase. My roommates and I are in a little pickle. Do ya think we might be able to crash at your place for a bit?" A long pause. "Oh, well, it was more of a break-in." Short pause. "No- no, we're all good. We just need a place to stay." He sighs and rolls his eyes after listening to something she says. "Yeah, yeah." His eyes lit up. "Fuck yeah. What's the address?" He snapped at Grant. "Grant, get something to write this down on."
"Do I look like I carry around a pen and paper?"
I pulled out my phone and grinned. "I can write on the cool texting app and send it to you!"
Grant and Xavion both looked at me in surprise for a moment.
"Wow, I think that's the first good idea you've had," Xavion remarked before gesturing to Grant. "Grant, use your phone. You don't type like a dying sloth."
I pouted and returned the phone to my pocket. Xavion started to recite a few numbers and words as Grant typed them into his phone.
"Thanks, Jessica." Xavion sighed. "You're a real one." He pulled the phone away from his face and ended the call. He shoved it back in his pocket and grabbed his own bag from the park bench.
"Put that address in a GPS and we're home free," Xavion said.
Grant messed with his phone before also picking up his bag and gesturing down the sidewalk with his head. "It's about a fifteen-minute walk from here."
I picked up my own bag and slung it over my shoulder before following the both of them to where I hoped I could take an extremely long nap.
.......................................
The house was quite cramped as we all dragged our stuff in. Instead of a large building with many different apartments, Jessica's house seemed to be for one family. If even.
There were random loads of laundry taking up the couch and food scraps scattered on the floor.
Jessica, who had greeted us at the door, was leading us through a cramped living room.
On the couch, amongst all the clothes, was an old woman. She watched us all with glassy eyes as we walked past her.
The woman grinned at us. "Hey, any of y'all wanna do a line with me?" She offered, arranging what looked like a pile of flour into a line. Her voice was rough and gritty.
I blinked and stopped following Jessica to observe it. "How do you do it?"
"Ah, well-- it's pretty eas--"
Xavion clapped me on the back. "Ish here hasn't even been drunk, not sure that's the best plan."
She raised an eyebrow and looked me over. "How old are ya, kid?"
I nearly answered '12', but then remembered that she meant in human years.
"Twelve-thous--"
Grant softly flicked me before cutting me off. "Twenty." He clipped. "He's twenty."
"Twenty and ya haven't drank? Psh. Some people are way too careful with the law." Jessica's grandma rolled her eyes. "Xavion," she turned her attention to him, "good to see ya. Wanna do a line like old times?"
"Nah," he waved it off, "I'm on a diet."
She rolled her eyes. "You youngsters and your diets." She pulled out something I actually recognized-- a cigarette. Hell absolutely loved those things. She drew in a breath of the stick after setting one of the ends on fire.
"What about you, huh?" She gestured to Grant. "You wanna get fucked up tonight?"
Grant shrugged a shoulder. "Not really my thing. I just want to go to sleep."
She grunted. "What a bunch of sticks in the mud." She grumbled. "Y'all sure?"
"Yeah, it's late. And I just had quite the stressful night, so yeah." Grant awkwardly started to gesture for Jessica to lead us away. "I think it's time we should tuck in."
I shrugged. "Sorry, Jessica's Grandmother. Maybe tomorrow?"
"If I'm still alive," she rasped with a shrug. She pulled in another breath of the cigarette and released it between her teeth.
My eyes widened. "I'm sure you will be!" I reassured. "I think you've got a lot of life left in you."
"Damn." She grumbled.
Jessica finally started taking us away from her grandmother, who was now shouting at the TV and sorting out her line of, what I now assumed was, drugs.
She took us into a cramped bedroom.
Grant awkwardly turned to Jessica. "She seems... uh... interesting."
Jessica snorted at the observation. "Instead of baking, my grandma is the type to get baked. It's caused quite the interestingly traumatic childhood."
Xavion smirked and slung his arm over Jessica's shoulders. "Well, it brought you to me, didn't it?"
"Exactly." She sighed dramatically and swatted his hand off of her shoulder. "Anyway, welcome to the guest room. Sorry, you're all going to have to share."
I surveyed the room, finding a single two-person bed and a bed-looking structure on the floor.
Jessica held out her hands. "I brought out an air mattress for ya."
"Thanks." Xavion smiled and pat her back. "You're a good friend."
"I'm doing this for grandma's drugs." She scoffed and turned around. She swung open the door and left. "Goodnight!"
We all called out similar phrases along the lines of goodnight. We were all finally alone again.
Grant sighed and slammed his bag on the bed. He sprawled himself out on it.
Xavion awkwardly poked his leg. "Move over and let me in."
Grant turned his head and gave Xavion a death glare. "You know what? No. You two are the reason that I can't be in my own apartment right now."
"Really, it's Ishmael's fault." Xavion shrugged.
Grant pushed him. "No. The both of you are sleeping on the air mattress."
"The air mattress?" I echoed. "Is that a cloud?"
Xavion gestured to me wildly. "You really wanna make me sleep next to that all night? I nearly got shot today, I deserve the bed."
"Well, I nearly got kidnapped." I frowned. "So, maybe I should get the bed."
"You've never had a bed, Ishmael. Why do you care?" Xavion asked.
I thought about it for a moment. "Eh, I really don't. Sleeping on a cloud sounds fun."
"It's not a cloud." Grant rolled his eyes and gestured to the bed-like structure on the floor. "It's that."
"Ah, that doesn't look too bad." I set my bags down and lay on the mattress. My eyes widened when I realized that it was full of air. "I seeeee, that's why it's called an air mattress!" I collapsed in it.
"Grant." Xavion sighed. "I nearly died today. Don't you think I deserve to share the bed with you?"
"Nah." Grant waved him away.
"But--"
"No butts, unless they're sitting in an air mattress." Grant cut him off. "Now, if you don't mind me... I have a ton of stress to sleep off."
Xavion grumbled and dropped his bag on the ground. When he plopped on the air mattress, I gasped as my side lifted and I bounced slightly.
I turned to them. "Guys, I just bounced!"
Xavion narrowed his eyes at Grant. "I won't forget this betrayal."
"You can add it to the 'bruh' betrayal." Grant sighed, pressing his face into the pillow and relaxing.
"You know what?" Xavion scoffed. "I will. These actions will not be forgotten. I will torture you mercilessly when its your time to descend to Hell."
"Mmm," Grant turned his back to us and snuggled into the blankets as he settled them over his body. "Sounds like fun, I can't wait."
"You won't be invited to any of my bangers."
Grant shrugged. "Oh well."
I settled under the blanket, getting cozy. "Will I be invited to your bangers?"
"Just to spite Grant, sure."
We talked for a bit more about absolutely nothing. Eventually, we all just went to sleep.