Not Again
Chapter Two
By Za
I sat slowly on the couch, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. A fancy new television set played The Simpsons in front of me, shrouded slightly by stale cigarette smoke. This place really was nice, made me a bit jealous of my own house. I missed that house already, and I’d only been gone for a night. It was early the next morning, and I couldn’t help but wonder how Juniper, Lucy, and Lollipop were doing.
“Thanks for letting me crash, Rico.”
My old high school buddy, Rico, tossed me a beer which I caught on instinct. He fell beside me, cracking his own drink open and chugging.
“No sweat,” he said through a smile. “Stay as long as you need.”
We clinked our cans and watched TV for a bit, chatting about what life had been like since high school. We hadn’t kept up much, but he and I were inseparable during high school. He was doing well for himself, running the StereoShed downtown. That was the place to go for anyone who needed electronics, so he was probably set for life.
My attention waned as I heard a child chattering from the other room. I grinned at him, giving a gentle nudge.
“Hey man, when did you have a kid? You never told me you were seeing someone.”
He met my gaze, clearly confused.
“I ain’t got no kids,” he said. And then, there was a moment of realization. “Oh, you mean Nacho Libre?”
My eyes narrowed.
“Fucking what now?”
“¡OYE, NACHITO!”
And from down the hall, I heard a tiny set of skittering footsteps. A sky blue fluffy came scampering into the living room, babbling something utterly incomprehensible to my ears.
Rico leaned down, helping Nacho Libre crawl up into his lap. He sat there, petting the fluffy as it cooed. It looked up at Rico with a sense of wonder only found in children and… goddamn fluffies.
“What did you say your wife kicked you out for again?”
I snapped back to attention. My eyes flickered from Rico to Nacho Libre as I remembered brutalizing that feral shitstain that bit my kid.
“Oh, uh…”
I cheated. No. Uh. Smoking crack. Wait no. Uh. I beat my wife. Uh. Wait, shit, uh.
“I smoked my wife’s crack.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you know, married shit. I’ll tell you another time.” I averted my eyes, scratching my shoulder absently. “It’s still fresh, you know?”
He nodded, patting my shoulder. “Yeah man, I get you. It’s why I’m not tied down.” He stood, crushing his empty beer can and heading for the kitchen.
“Alright bro,” he said, chucking a spare key at me over his kitchen table. It hit me in the face. “I gotta get to work. Make yourself at home, yeah?”
I nodded, looking at Nacho Libre as he ran circles around the couch.
“Yeah… at home. I think I can do that. Thanks, Rico.”
And with that, I was alone. I’d been mentally alone since yesterday but now, I was truly all alone.
“Hoda buen señod!”
God dammit.
“¿Quien sed nuevo buen señod?”
I turned to see Nacho Libre rolling around in the floor near the hallway. He was wrestling with a stuffed toy of some character from a show I watched with Lucy at some point. His eyes, however, were completely affixed on me as he chewed the character’s face.
“Nacho Wibwe sed mejod peleadod! Papi lo dijo!”
My face scrunched in confusion as I tried to understand what he was saying. I stood, walking over to pet him. This fluffy was very different from Lollipop, but I didn’t mind trying to make nice with him. Despite everything, I still didn’t love fluffies. I liked them at best, tolerated them at worst. I used to feel bad when I had to swat Lollipop with a newspaper, but killing that feral…
“¿Buen señod?”
Oh, shit, right.
“Uh… sorry little dude, I don’t speak Fluffanese or Espanglish or whatever you’re saying.”
“Buen señod dice cositas gwaciosas!”
I sighed, reaching down to pet him behind his ears. Fluffies usually roll right over for that. His black mane was velvety soft, as was his fluff. I needed to figure out what shampoo Rico used on this dude.
“Heehee.. fwuffy ama a nuevo amiguito!” he cooed, leaning into my pets as I scratched him. I grinned, figuring laughter was at least a good sign. I hoped Juniper would reach out soon. I didn’t wanna spend too much time away, but… sure, she needed a break. Yeah, that’s fine. It’s not like I beat that snotty little fuckwad for biting my kid or anything. Any dad worth his “world’s best dad” mug would, right?
“¿Nuevo amiguito quiede jugad?”
“You what now?” I asked, locking eyes with the little blue critter.
He smiled, asking again “¿Nuevo amiguito quiede jugad?”
Before I could react, he bit my hand and started shaking his head roughly.
“Ow, hey!”
I flicked him in his snout, causing him to recoil slightly. Despite this, his bite never faltered. I smacked him gently in the side of the head, but his small teeth were sunk well into my hand.
“Stop it, you little shit!”
“Nacho Wibwe sed mejod peleadod!” he declared again, his mouth still full of hand. I tried to grab him by the body and pull him off, but he simply wouldn’t let go.
“FUCK OFF!”
I ripped my hand away, sending a punch right back into the fluffy’s face. He stumbled backwards, landing on his ass.
“Nu dastime a fwuffy!” he cried, tears welling up in his eyes. I towered over him, stooping down to shout in his face.
“You little shit! Why the fuck would you bite me?” I raised my hand again, causing the fluffy to sob harder, cowering behind his front legs.
“Fwuffy solo quiede jugad!” he wept, pissing onto the carpeted floor. “Powfavo nu dastime a fwuffy!”
A sudden feeling of guilt gave me pause. I lowered my hand, trying to reach out and pet the fluffy to see if I could make amends.
“Powfavo nu más dolodcitos!” it cried, shaking like crazy against my pets and scratches.
“I’m sorry little dude, I’m sorry!” I pleaded, slowing my pets. “You’re good, okay? You’re not bleeding, it’s just gonna hurt a little bit. Don’t cry.”
The fluffy sat up, still instinctively reaching out to me for huggies after everything.
“Huhuhuu… fwuffy quiede a papi…”
Papi. Wait, I did know that word. He was gonna tell Rico what happened.
And I’d have nowhere to go.
I couldn’t let that happen.
Not again.
Next Chapter ==> (COMING SOON)
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