Page 42 of Waves
“I don’t think Ezra knows how much I saw. Hell, how much any of us saw on any night around the both of them. Anyone with eyes eventually sees Thom’s a lying, manipulative snake-in-the-grass, but I never would’ve imagined how much so until that night. Once Thom dragged Ezra out of the house, I followed them to convince Ezra not to drive but crash here instead. I watched them argue right in my driveway, and I swear, Thom fucking backhanded him before they noticed me. And then, all of a sudden, Ezra is in tears, and Thom’s screaming at me to fuck off while shoving Ezra in the car and taking his keys from him. A few weeks later, their wedding is off, and Ezra becomes a pariah among our friends. And if Thom didn’t call him hundreds of times in those first few days, he didn’t call him once.”
Grumbling to myself, I crossed my arms. I knew it. I knew that cur stunk, and I too wished I could get a chance to bite him like Ishmael did.
“I’m not saying this to you because I want you to treat him with kid gloves. Ezra really hates that shit, which is why he’ll be so mad if he knew I told you all this drama. But the thing is, Kai, this guy is still fucking stalking Ezra over a year later. Last week Ezra told me Thom showed up at his gym on the other side of town, miraculously at the same time Ezra’s always there. He’s had to change his routine and some places he frequents half a dozen times in the last year to avoid this guy, who still calls him and texts him almost every single day. The whole thing is totally insane, and Ezra refuses to change his number or leave town or even get the police involved. I honestly think he believes if he ignores Thom, he’ll just go away. So, please, if that creep starts driving past his house or something, you need to convince Ezra that enough is enough. Otherwise, just be careful.”
“I’m confident I could snap him in half,” I said, only partially in jest.
Mary laughed. “Probably, but that’s the last thing Ezra wants. He might die from embarrassment if you fight his battles for him.”
“Good point,” I agreed. I uncrossed my arms and shifted around on my legs. “Thanks for telling me.”
“No prob,” Mary said with a hearty clap to my shoulder. “Now, let’s get trashed and eat.”
* * *
EZRA
As hesitant as I was to come to this party, I had an excellent time. The sun finally went down, and those assholes with the fireworks Mary mentioned were right on time. We had all strewn across the backyard, with front row seats to our own private show. Scott had since passed out on the lawn with the same friend from college he brought last time. Mary reclined in a folding beach lounger nearby while she chowed down on her fourth plate of the day, and a mostly sober Eric tossed another log on the fire pit. Kai dozed beside me after eating something close to his weight in shrimp throughout the day.
So, yeah, I felt pretty good after drinking all afternoon and into the evening. I wasn’t even worried about getting home. We had plenty of time left for us to chill around the fire and sober up before leaving. Worst-case scenario, Kai and I could sleep it off together on this canopied bench swing while we rocked hand in hand. His head slumped against my shoulder and he sighed with his eyes closed. Leave it to him to sleep through the Fourth of July.
An extra-loud pop erupted when a bottle rocket exploded into a shimmering spectacle of green light above our heads. Kai wrinkled his nose before he sat up, and I was about to heckle him for his napping during a break in the noise. Then I heard Thom’s voice clear as a bell for just a second before the rest of his tirade got drowned out by more fireworks above us.
“Shit,” Mary mouthed, spilling her plate of snacks once she rolled from her lounge chair.
“That’s it. I’m calling the cops,” Eric yelled, also springing to his feet.
“What?” Mary yelped. “No, Eric, no. Are you stupid?”
Mary’s argument wasn’t well-rounded, but she had an excellent point. Only an idiot would call the city’s finest down to a party with underage kids passed out drunk on the grass, illegal fireworks two houses down, and the faint aroma of cannabis still lingering in the air.
“I am so sick of this,” Eric barked back while he marched across the backyard.
I gulped and sank back down in my seat beside Kai. If I were Eric, I would be sick of it, too. I doubted he would invite me back after ruining yet another gathering. Craning my neck, I peeked at the yard behind me and saw Thom already let himself through the back gate.
“He’s not here, Thom. Leave,” Eric yelled while he pointed back to the road.
“Fuck if he ain’t,” Thom screamed while sauntering across the yard. “He’s not home, and he doesn’t go anywhere else.”
Eric cut Thom off, refusing to let him walk past him. “This is private property, which means I’m allowed to use necessary force against an intruder.”
“You fucking know me,” Thom yelled with a shove. “Hell, you’ve known me longer than that pissant you’re hiding.”
I ducked down even lower and turned to Kai, who was only half-awake and still yawning. I shook his arm until he groaned. “We should go.”
“Now?”
“Yes, before Mary and Eric get in serious trouble.”
Kai nodded and slid out of the bench with me. I planned to slip around the other side of the house and be in my car before anyone noticed we were gone. It was a good plan, in theory, until the whole yard illuminated with another crack of a celebratory explosion overhead, and our cover got blown.
“Move, move, move,” I urged Kai while rushing across the backyard with him.
We weren’t fast enough. Actually, I was not fast enough. Before my sluggish mind could even react, a hand yanked me backward and my ass was in the dirt. I didn’t even realize someone hit me right away, either. One minute I was walking, then I wasn’t, and now my cheek burned while my ears rang. Even the sound of the sparks in the sky came across muted while I fixed my glasses, and I couldn’t hear what Kai was saying once he helped me up.
“You fucking piece of shit.”
My hearing returned in time to see Eric rushing at Thom, swinging his arm back and then... boom. He laid Thom flat on his back.