"But, I know, I love her. I LOVE HER." I’m screaming at him in a drunken stupor. "You must be so proud. So happy to win the prize. You have her all to yourself now."
I’m yelling and pointing, but I can't hold myself up too well. I stumble over to him.
Pointing each word into his chest, I begin speaking again.
"You. Are. The. Best. Man."
I know he can smell my breath as I heave air in and out of my chest.
Next thing I know, I wake up in bed. With a pounding headache, I look around my room to find James asleep in my chair. As I try to get out of bed, he wakes up.
"Let me help."
"What happened last night?" I ask, still trying to cover my eyes from the light.
"Well, you asked for a punch and I gladly obliged."
James nods his head in satisfaction, while pulling me up from the bed.
"I did that?" I ask with a quizzical look.
"Not in so many words. Look, I came here to talk with you about Alexa and you got belligerent, not to mention you were already three sheets to the wind when I got here."
"What about Alexa?"
James walks with me to the bathroom, gets out a clean towel and cloth and sets it on the vanity.
"You're being an asshole. She misses you." James sighs and adds, "I'll make us some food while you shower, and then we'll talk."
The hot water running over my filthy body makes me feel better. But thoughts of Alexa and James don't. The sight of them together sent me reeling for the last week. And the bastard is in my apartment, acting all high and mighty.
I try to shave what I can of my hair, but there’s too much growth for me to handle it properly. So, I go to my closet and pick out a shirt and khakis to wear, something comfortable.
Heading to the kitchen, I see James setting plates down at the table. My stomach growls as I sit down.
"Thanks for helping me," I’m embarrassed that he saw me in that condition.
"I need to inform you of this situation," he takes a bite of his breakfast. "Our situation and how you're affecting it."
He looks at me.
"Detrimentally."
I take a few bites of food, but my stomach begins to turn, so I opt for milk.
"What do you mean?"
"Alexa, our girl, and I say 'our girl' because she wants it this way. She wantsbothof us, Mattheo. You staying away has made her sad- she cries all the time. She thinks that you don't want to be a part of this relationship because you don’t want to share her."
I stare at him blankly for a moment as he takes a few more bites. I don't really know what to say right now, so I drink some more milk.
"Man, I know we said, 'may the best man win,' but that has been redefined for both of us by a woman that loves us both equally." He finishes his last bites. "May I suggest a couple of things?"
"You may, but I might not follow them."
"Suit yourself. My suggestions are that if you really love Alexa as you claim, then you'll do what makes her happy. If that’s true, then you'll clean up your act- as I don’t think she wants to see this."
He motions his hands up and down at my appearance.
"Anything else?" I ask.
He gets up from the table and looks around the house. He walks to the front door and turns to me.
"Yes, get your people here asap to clean up this hellhole."
With that, he leaves my house.