New (untitled) story

[grumpypirate]

Another great part! Keep up the wonderful work!

[njbohemian]

grumpypirate said:

Another great part! Keep up the wonderful work!

Thanks. The same goes for you as well, GP.

Part 9

"You ever hear of 'Radiohead?"
She looked over at Marty, who was holding a cd case in his hand by the stereo. When Lucy replied no, he raised an eyebrow.
"You've never heard of them? What about their songs? 'Creep'? 'Karma Police'?"
"Oh okay. I know who you're referring to now," Lucy replied, "Guess I need to catch up on all the rock music stuff."
"I agree."

She smiled and walked next to him, observing the amount of cd's he had stacked near the stereo. All these groups she had never heard of faced her like shelved library books, as if they were saying, "Study us wisely. It could come in handy one day." It had been weeks since the confession, and the two quickly bonded as friends...more than what Marie expected.

"So, how's your friend?"
She looked at him in confusion.

"You know, the one who bugs you alot about us. What's her name...Marie?"
"Oh her. She...uh...you know, I haven't heard much from her lately. She's always out, enjoying the nightlife. That's about it with her.She's more nocturnal than I am."
She took out her cellphone and asked him if it was okay to make a call.
"You don't have to ask. I'll wait."

She smiled and started to dial Marie's number. When she didn't pick up, she left a message: "Hey Marie. It's me, the mute. Um...I haven't heard much from you in a while, so give me a call whenever."
Marty looked at her and said, "'The mute'?"
"I'm not much of a talker when I'm with her."
He laughed and said, "I find that hard to believe."

Lucy decided to head over to a local club where Marie usually hangs out. When she entered the room, her head immediately started to pound from the loud techno music that blared from the speakers. Everyone was talking, dancing, having a good time. Lucy scanned the room and saw her at the bar, downing her drinks shot by shot while everyone cheered around her.
She called out her name twice before walking over to her.

"What are you doing?!"
"I'm having some fun, what do ya think?!" Marie said, almost slurring her words.
"You need to go home."
"Who died and made you the cop? I'm fine!"
"No you're not! You're drunk as hell from god knows what..."
"Oh just shut the hell up, why don't you? Go home to your little friend of yours and do your business".

After that remark, Lucy turned red and slapped her across the face.

"What'd you do that for?!"
"For ticking me off, that's what!"

Marie suddenly punched her back and shoved her to the ground hard, causing her to moan in pain.
When she got up, she leaned in and said, "You want to go get drunk?! Go ahead! I don't care anymore!"
"Fine! I got my own friends! They don't care how drunk I get!"

Lucy headed out of the club, not wanting to face her now ex-friend. She headed up to her apartment and passed Marty's door. She had been walking around all night, replaying her bizarre fallout with Marie. Her back and face ached and she felt tired. Without warning, she knocked on his door. Minutes later, he opened it and saw that she looked upset.

"What happened?"
"I just had a fight and a fallout."
"All at once?"

Lucy motioned to her bruised face and asked, "What do you think?"
His eyes widened slightly as he got a better look.
"That must have hurt," he replied.
"No kidding."


He started to rummage through the freezer while she told him about her friend's excessive drinking and the small scuffle before storming out. Marie had always been one who had a wild personality, but it was shocking for Lucy to see how it increased from normal to extremely high.

"I have the slight suspicion that you two need to back off for a while," Marty replied, handing her a bag of ice cubes from the freezer.

She gingerly placed thr bag near her bruise and winced.
"Still hurt?" He asked.
"Probably the same bruise from the last time. I think I made it worse...come to think of it, I think I made everything worse."

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Uh oh...fights between friends. Not good!

Great new part!

[njbohemian]

Part 10

(2 Months later... )

The snow had melted, and winter was at an end. Despite the fact that it was still cold out, the sun still shined like a huge gem in the sky.

"What's your favorite season?"
She looked at him and said, "What?"
"Your favorite time of year? You know, autumn, winter..."
"Summer. It's' better hot than cold, I guess."
After a quick silence, Marty asked, "That was a stupid question, huh?"
"Pretty stupid," Lucy joked, laughing with him.

They sat in their usual spots on the bench and watched the people pass by them unknowlingly.
"I'm so glad winter's over. I was getting sick and tired of the cold," Lucy said, looking at the sky.
"I agree. But I thought you liked the cold," he said.
"It just depended on the day, for me. Considering all the crap that's happened lately."
"That's life. We all have to deal with situations once in a while, both good and bad. Just be glad that we found each other," he said, placing an arm around her.
"Yeah. We did," she mumbled, sinking down in her seat slightly.
"You're either not thrilled or you're shrinking," he joked, looking over at her.
"No, I'm thrilled. It's just...I don't know."
"You don't know?"

"For some reason, this whole month just went too quick. I still keep thinking that it's March or February."
"That doesn't explain why you shrunk down in your seat."

Lucy smiled slightly and looked down.
"That's not a smile, is it?" Marty asked, glancing over at her.
"Maybe. Why? I'm not allowed?"
"Never said that. Just glad to see one. It looks better that way."

Lucy smiled again and this time, they both met with a kiss.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

[njbohemian]

Part 11


"But I'm a creep; I'm a widow; what the hell am I doin' here?" Lucy sang as she walked into his apartment.
He glanced over at her, smiled and replied, "You're finally catching up, huh?"
"I guess you could say that."

"So, what's on our to do list today? More walks in the park?" She asked, taking a seat next to him.
"If you want. I really need to catch up with my material here."
"Oh. So, I don't want to keep you from..."
"No, it's fine. I could use some company...as always."

As soon as she sat down on the couch, she heard a knock at the door. When he walked over and opened it, he didn't expect to see a familiar face.

"Remember me?" Ann asked.
"Hey...um...what's up?" Marty asked nervously.
"Nothing. Just wanted to see how you were..." Ann peered into the door and locked eyes with Lucy, who stared back at her.
"Hi, I'm Ann. You must be..."
"Lucy."
"Cool name. I like it."

Lucy looked at Ann and then at Marty, who wasn't really looking at anyone. Hours later, she slammed the door to her apartment and slid down to the ground, not listening to the footsteps that followed.


"Lucy? I need to talk to you for a second."
"I'm really not in the mood for this right now."
"Please? I hate to see you like this."
Lucy sighed and opened the door, facing him in disgust.
"You're letting her move back in? You're taking her back?" She asked angrily.
"No, I'm not..."
"Then what? What the hell was she doing here?"
"To be honest, I really don't know."

She was about to close the door again when he started to talk.
"Look, it wasn't what you thought it was going to be! It was an honest mistake..."
"An 'honest mistake'? Having your ex walk to your door and investigate is an honest mistake? I think she just wanted to cause trouble! Just for the hell of it! All she wanted to do was damage our friendship and take you back just like that!"

"Luce, look. I'll be 100% honest with you and say that it was unexpected."
She started to look down.
"I don't care about her. I only care about you, and that's it. And she's not coming back."
"Yeah right."
"It's the truth! I spoke with her and told her not to come back."
He tilted her head up, locking eyes with her.
"You're the only person I care about right now. Okay? Not her. You. And only you."
She smiled slightly and embraced him, whispering, "I can trust you, right?"
He nodded and replied, "Of course."

(To be continued...)

[yakketyyak]

wow, didn't read for a few days and so much has happened! Njb I love the tenderness in your style of storytelling....

[njbohemian]

Part 12

Days later, Lucy decided to listen in on Marty's rock session with his bandmates, which was part of the band called The Lovehammers. They had been performing locally throughout Illinois and were just about ready to cut a CD.

When she knocked on the door, she expected Marty to answer the door, but instead was greeted by a guy with glasses and a goatee.
"Can I help ya?" he asked, smoking a cigarette.
"Um...I'm supposed to listen in today. Marty's band..."
"Yeah um...Marty's got his hands full right now as you can probably tell."
"No, I can't tell."

The guy opened the door, and Lucy saw Ann with Marty, her arms around his waist and her chin on his shoulder.
"Sorry bout that. We'll keep in touch, kid."
The door closed right in front of her face, letting Lucy stare at it for a quick second, then walked down the steps and out the door.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Oh man. That's not good.

[njbohemian]

Part 13

"Anyone see Lucy?" Marty asked, brushing Ann off of him.
"No man, who's she? Describe her," Billy asked, handing him his guitar.
"She lives right next door from me. She's sort of shy but cool once you get to know her. She wanted to come in and have a listen."
Billy stopped short and stared at him.
"What? What happened?"
"Um...there was this shy kid who asked for you earlier, while you were pre-occupied with your ex."

Marty looked over at Ann and then at Billy.

"You idiot!" Marty yelled.
"Dude, I didn't know it was her! I thought she was just some girl trying to mess with me!"
"Session's cancelled! Get the hell out of my place now!"

Marty got up and walked out of the room, walking down the hall. When he knocked on the door to Lucy's apartment, there was no answer. He then walked outside, letting the rain fall down heavily. He searched for three hours, but had no luck. As he walked through the park in the rain, he saw her sitting down on the bench, staring at the surrounding area in front of her. He walked over and sat down next to her, looking at her.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry about Billy and Ann?"
"Would you care if I said 'no'?" Lucy muttered, fixing the collar of her sweatshirt.
"Luce, I'm..."
"You betrayed me! I saw you with her after you claimed that I meant more to you!"
"You do! You still do! But it was her fault! She was getting too touchy feely with me and I was getting sick of it!"
"Yeah right." She got up and walked away from him, letting him catch up with her. He grabbed her hand and turned her around.

"You have no idea how sorry I am right now! Blame me, blame Billy, you can even blame Ann! Lucy, please....I'm sorry."
She started to walk away in sadness and disgust, leaving him behind in the rain.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

[njbohemian]

Part 14

He didn't see her for days, and those days progressed into months. Marty was busy putting the record together and missed Lucy terribly. He missed the quality time they spent together before the incident, and no matter how many times he apologized to her, she didn't want to hear it.

One night, he heard someone slowly walking up the steps in the dark hallway and heard some keys fall to the floor.

"Dammit," the person whispered loudly as she struggled to pick it up.

Marty walked over to the hallway and turned on the switch.

"It helps if it's turned on," he said to the person.

Lucy slowly turned around and faced him with a sad expression on her face.

"Luce? What's wrong?" He asked.
He saw the tears form as she walked over to him and replied, "Marie's dead."
"What?"
"She overdosed on alcohol and pills while she was partying and collapsed in the host's bathroom. The doctors just took her off life support at the hospital..."

He watched Lucy sob uncontrollably and wrapped her in a hug as she continued.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Oh No!! That's just...just...horrible. Poor Lucy.

[njbohemian]

Part 15

Lucy remembered calling her one night weeks after she stopped talking to Marty. They talked about the fight at the bar and Marie quickly apologized, saying that she had "never been this crazy before", and decided to make it up to Lucy.

"I'll take you to a real party," Marie said happily on the phone.
"I don't know. You know that parties haven't really been my type of thing," Lucy replied.
"You'll enjoy this one. I promise. It's at Josh's place. You remember Josh, right?"
"Not really."
"Well, you'll remember him when you see him. Trust me."

Lucy was silent for a quick second and then replied, "Sure. I'll join you."
"Awesome," Marie said, "and Lucy?"
"Yeah?"
Marie stopped short and replied, "You're one of the coolest people I've ever met."
"Yeah. You too," Lucy replied back before hanging up the phone.


A few weeks later, they went to Josh's party and everything was fine for the most part. Lucy still didn't know Josh, but she enjoyed the party for the most part. Hours later, some guests were handing out different colored pills in small plastic Ziploc bags along with some white dust; but Lucy had to decline.

"Why? It'll make things more interesting," Josh replied hours later, taking out a light blue pill from the bag.
"This party is interesting enough, thanks," Lucy said, walking through the crowds to find Marie. She saw that the bathroom door was open and decided to see if anyone was in there. As she opened the door and looked around, she finally spotted her friend, laying on the floor convulsing violently.

"Oh my god!" Lucy yelled out as she tried to keep her friend still. Seconds later, the convulsions stopped and Marie was still and silent.

To make things worse, she wasn't breathing. Lucy yelled out to the crowds for some help, but no one responded after five minutes. She grabbed Marie's cellphone and dialed the emergency phone number. Minutes later, the party was over as soon as the paramedics came in and got Marie on a cot and carried her out to the ambulence.

Lucy rushed over to the hospital as quickly as she could, but had to stay in the waiting room for hours until a doctor told her that there was nothing else to do.

Days later, Lucy was distraught. Her only good friend from college had died and left her alone. She couldn't even muster up the courage to go to the funeral or the memorial service. She stayed in her apartment with the lights off and the blinds closed, not wanting to face reality. She didn't even bother to eat a thing and couldn't sleep. All she thought about was seeing Marie's lifeless body on the floor while the party goers did nothing.

Someone knocked on her door hours later, and she shrugged it off. When the person knocked again, she muttered something and stumbled over to the door to unlock it. As she opened the door, she spotted Marty, who looked at her with concern.

"How're you holding up?" Marty asked.
Lucy shrugged and replied, "Okay, I guess."
"You sure? 'Cause to me, you look kinda pale."
"I'm fine, okay? I'm still trying to recover from what happened so if you'll excuse me..."

Before she could shut the door, Marty touched her forehead and realized that it was slightly hot.
"I'm not sick. Shut up," Lucy muttered.
"No. I'm serious. You're burning up."
"It's because I'm not taking care of myself, right?"

Marty glanced at her and replied, "You tell me."
"OK. I'm not. I'm pissed off at everything. I'm pissed that Marie died at the party while no one did a damn thing. I'm pretty much pissed off at whoever handed out all that crap to everyone-- including her. Dammit, Marty. I seriously hate everything and everyone right now."

The tears began to form as she finished with, "It just sucks."
He placed an arm around her as she continued to sob. Hours later, she was in his apartment trying to get some much needed
rest.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Wow.....

[njbohemian]

Part 16

Morning had arrived hours later, and Lucy wasn't in the mood to rise or shine. She was about to walk over to the window to close the blinds until she realized that she was in Marty's apartment.

"Maybe I shouldn't close them then," Lucy thought as she walked over to the couch and placed the blanket over her head, trying to fall back to sleep. She then heard someone walk over and sensed that he was facing her.

"You awake?" Marty asked, as she lifted up the blanket.
"Trying not to be," Lucy muttered as she stared at his calm face.

She slowly sat up from the couch and watched as he sat down on the couch next to her.

"How're you feelin' this morning?" He asked.
"Not great," she replied. She then said, "I'm sort of glad you're here."
"Same here. I haven't seen you in months."
"I know. I've been busy..."
"Avoiding me, right?"

Lucy shook her head and replied, "No. I've been writing...a lot. But I stopped after...you know..."
"Yeah," he replied. After a brief silence he replied, "I'm really sorry about Marie. I'm sure you guys were terribly close," he said.
She sighed and said, "We were before the partying escalated. I can't believe it took such a toll on her."

She placed her head in her hands and muttered "oh god" while he placed an arm around her.

(To be continued...)

[grumpypirate]

Awsome NJ! Can't wait for more!!

[njbohemian]

Part 17

They spent the next few days listening to music. Mainly rock and alternative because it was a favorite to listen to. An occasional pop song would come on unexpectedly over the radio, but Marty was good about changing the station quickly. Lucy still wasn't in the mood to be alone considering that she just lost a friend and didn't want to lose another one. She felt herself growing closer to Marty, but wasn't ready to admit to anything yet.

One night, Marty turned off the radio and suggested that the two of them head out to a restaraunt.

"I'm really not in the mood to do anything...at all," Lucy said.
"You can't just hide in the apartment forever. It's not healthy, Luce," he said, grabbing her hands, "So c'mon."
"But I look terrible."
"Not to me you don't. You look fine."

They were about to head out when Lucy heard someone call her name. She turned around and her eyes widened.

(To be continued...if anyone's still interested.)

[grumpypirate]

Who is it? TEll me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[njbohemian]

grumpypirate said:

Who is it? TEll me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here it is...since you're the only reader, GP.

Part 18

"What are you doing here?" She said nervously as Josh walked over to her.
"I...uh...wanted to say sorry. About Marie," Josh said, "I...uh...know how tight you guys must've been and..."
"You're sorry? You're sorry?!" Marie yelled, "You're the one who provided the drinks and drugs for a goddamned army and she died because of what you passed around that night! Now thanks to you, I lost my friend and nothing's gonna be able to change that! Not even an apology from you!"

"What's going on?" Marty asked, walking next to Lucy's side.
She continued to glare at Josh until she said, "Nothing. He was just leaving."

Marty nodded and walked down the hall with her until they got outside.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Hours later)

"What was that all about before?" Marty asked over dinner as Lucy tried to pick her food apart.
Lucy shook her head and replied, "That was Josh."
"And Josh is...?"
"Was the host of that party Marie and I went to. The one who provided the drugs and alcohol for..."
"An entire army. I know. I heard the whole thing before we walked out."

Lucy nodded and replied, "Well, that was him."

Marty stared at her for a while and replied, "I think you should tell the cops that he was responsible."
"Why? They won't believe me," Lucy answered.
"What makes you think that they won't?"
"Josh probably got rid of all the stuff by now so there won't be any evidence against him. I'm sure of it."
"It's worth a shot."

(To be continued...)