The Wrong Man

Chapter 6

The next day, after I have completed all my online coursework around noon, Joshua and I meet up with Trevor, Joshua's friend at a local sumptuous taproom, and, not too long after we enter the taproom, the rivalry between Joshua and Trevor already begins as Joshua presents the deck of cards from his pocket, which subsequently induces me to sit near Trevor's girlfriend, Kelsie, out of chariness.

"Ready?" Joshua asks, shutting off his cellphone before putting it back in his front pocket.

"Hell yeah, man."

Taking out his hair tie, Trevor lets down his hair, and flings the faux hair tie whimsically at Joshua's face, hitting him on the forehead. Joshua gives Trevor the hair tie that he managed to catch before it fell to the ground, as he says something to him with a complacent grin on his lips.

Their constant argument only escapes my attention when the waiter approaches us to take our orders. After they shuffle the cards, placing the prepaid shots in between them, it's only after they have taken five shots of alcohol do I realize they are only playing a petty game to see who can hold their alcohol longer. Kelsie tells me that the bet was that the other person would be unable to hold it. Meaning the first person to get drunk was the loser to the fruitless wager.

And from my experience and knowledge, I can only see Joshua being the first to be drunk since his limit was one glass of wine. Unless he consumed more than that alcoholic beverage before I arrived, it's safe to assume that he placed himself on a plinth where he'll be blacked out drunk or too tipsy to go anywhere on his own. And not just for his safety, everyone's safety.

Is this how they hang out regularly?

The shots of alcohol eventually do begin to affect them gradually but not enough to tell their drunken behavior from their usual soberness. Trevor laughs when Joshua grabs a card and it automatically causes him to take another shot.

"Your turn," Joshua says, slightly pouting at his cards.

"Is it true that you won a sports bet?" Trevor asks, smirking up from his deck. "Or did you lose?"

What does he mean by that?

"I did do it." Joshua says, placing a card down.

"Your turn."

"Is it true that you're inheriting the empire?"

Trevor turns the card in between his fingers, staring blankly at Joshua. I can see the drunkness setting in but not enough to be the loser as Joshua expected. He looks like he's letting Joshua's temerity of his family's inheritance to him sink in. But, with a gentle throw, he tosses a card on the table, smirking. "As true as you getting your family's company."

Joshua scoffs, taking a sip of his water. "Who said I wouldn't?"

"Me." Trevor shifts his gaze to me. "Isn't that right, Mrs. Michael?"

I can hear him drawling out the surname in a crooning voice but, feeling Joshua's gaze shift to me as well, I clear my throat and awkwardly laugh. "I wouldn't know. I'm still new here."

Feeling satisfied with my reply, Joshua turns his attention back to the game. "Stop teasing my wife, Trevor," Joshua mutters, flicking a card haphazardly on top of the other strewn cards. "And pay attention to the game, drunkard."

Trevor chuckles. "Got it."

***

In the end, Joshua lost to Trevor in a game of cards as I heralded beforehand, and without being affected by his loss in their drinking competition, Joshua still wants to continue playing, trying to watch Trevor's every move, but no luck, he just gets more intoxicated. Kelsie and I are both drinking bottled beverages because we don't want to end up as drunk as they are; slurring our words and acting clumsy with our actions.

While we keep an eye on our significant others, I revel in the small gathering, mostly talking to Kelsie the entire time. Once I've finished my second bottle, I'm feeling quite bored, so I glance to another part of the taproom and wander over there without knowing what's over there. Curious, I use the time I have without Joshua noticing that I have gone on my own to look around the area, spotting a pool table surrounded by a few people.

I wonder how you play this.

I pick up a billiard cue stick off the wall and walk to the pool table to play for a bit.

It shouldn't be too hard.

Several kind people help guide me through the game, and, after I few mistimed strikes, I eventually manage to knock some balls into the sockets. At this point, I'm completely engrossed in the game, forgetting who I came here with, so I bend over the table to knock the white ball into the orange one. Not aware of my surroundings to concentrate on finishing this pool game.

As soon as I fix the balls again, Joshua walks in and leans against the pool table. "Trevor was fudging at cards." He frowns as he surveys the table wobbling when someone bumps into it. "What are you doing?"

"I was just―" I put down the stick, feeling unsure of how he will react to me goofing off with a few strangers, "―playing pool..."

"Did you at least win at it? Or did you lose? Because nobody in our home loses at shit."

"I did win a few times. Is that not enough?"

"It's enough since you're new at this kind of thing, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. My family never really―"

"It's fine." He grabs my pool stick, twirls it, and points the end of it at the ball. "Just try not to make it such a big deal. You'll get better eventually."

Joshua leans down, aims the end of the pool stick at the ball, and knocks it into the others. He straightens upright and c***s his head to the side when a taller guy approaches him. "Is there a problem about me taking over my wife's pool stick?"

"No." The guy says. "I was just wondering if you were the Joshua Michael that everyone has been talking about."

"What if I am?" Joshua says, almost glaring at the guy.

"Nice." The guy smiles slightly before walking away.

"What a weird dude," Joshua mutters, leaning down when it's his turn again.

"You play good while inebriated. How long have you been doing this?" I ask, immediately tensing when Joshua straightens and looks at me. "What I mean is ― uh―"

"Since I was in middle school," Joshua says, handing me the pool stick back. "My mother played it a lot as an outlet to her frustrations. You'd think that a g**g member would go outside and kill like an unhinged maniac for no reason. But she always played pool by herself and always wore a composed expression as she played. She never stripped off her grace for a moment in her life. She taught me and now I do it whenever I can. It's not a hobby, just a pastime when I'm able to win a game or two."

I didn't expect to receive a full life story as a response. Now, what do I say?

"There you are, asshole." Trevor stumbles toward Joshua. "Leaving us to come play with some f*****g balls. I bet you didn't even win."

"I was winning but I ain't feeling it right now," Joshua says. "Besides, Seraphine wants to play so I'm going to leave her to it. The room's spinning so I wanna lay down."

"I'm coming with you. I think the floor looks too soft at the moment."

With that, the two of them leave to lay on the couches while I resume the game again. Only to hear Kelsie ask me in a low voice;

"What do you think of Joshua?"

I almost miss the shot when I hear the question and awkwardly smile, straightening upright so I can look at her. "He's nice."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know what you mean, but," I sigh, leaning against the pool table, "I'm not one to say about whether I think of him in that particular aspect or not. I never dealt with things like that before and I might not be able to handle the emotions if I do feel that way."

"Just try not to feel overwhelmed, okay? I know how hard changes can feel."

"I'll try not to. Thanks, Ms. Lenning."

"I've said before that you call me Kelsie."

"Sorry, I mean Kelsie."

"It's alright. Don't apologize for being formal with me." Kelsie looks down at my wedding ring, grinning wearily. "So," I feel like she wants to comment on the arrangement part of our relationship, but looks away, presumably deciding against it, "how are things so far? With work and other stuff? Are the employees treating you nicely?"

"They're considerate and respectful. And everything else is tolerable. I love it so far."

"That's nice to hear. Tell me about yourself. What grade are you in?"

"Eleventh. But if I continue working on my online courses at this speed and complete my credits. I might be able to graduate before next year."

"I remember doing that. Working hard to expedite my future and everything. I'm twenty-one and the fact that I'm owning my own gymnasium still shocks me. I worked hard to be big so I want you to be bigger. Be on top. School tells you to do that anyway but still, I see potential in you."

"The only potential I have is agility and self-management. Resilence is something I don't have currently." I sigh, bending down to do my turn. "Besides, why would you entrust me to be bigger? I'm not..." I miss the hole and straight upright. "...Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'll take a mental note of it."

Kelsie looks at me for a moment then leans against the pool table, looking down at her wedged boots. "Being in the underworld must suck, huh? I'm not going to say I'm lucky that I was born out of it or anything, but Trevor tells me everything that happens, and, honestly, it sounds scary. Straight out of a horror film scary. I hope you're safe. We may not know each other but I can feel your pain right now." She laughs awkwardly. "Sorry, I empathize with people."

"It's fine." I tilt my head up to look at the ceiling. "I adapted to this years ago. My parents made my bed now I have to lie in it."

"Isn't it 'you've made your bed now lie in it'?"

"Not in this concept."