The sun shown in through a tangles mess of blinds in the main part of room 108. A half filled coffee pot still bubbling from the day before, and a heap of towels lay in the corner by the sink. Jude puffed his cigarette intensely and felt the nicotine take control of his shaking hands. He looked around at the messy bed and thought seriously about calling the maid down and asking her to make it, but decided he would just make do with the mess.
The mess. Just like the one in his mind and his heart. He took another long drag and sighed deeply as the smoke escaped his mouth. He looked for the cup he was ashing in but when he grew tired of searching he decided to just ash on the floor.
Outside the Manhatten air was thick and heavy. It was summer and the heat was causing everyone to be a little testy. Cars were honking obsessively at one and other and shouts would come in through his cracked window. He rested his head on his hand and anxiously tapped his foot on the ground.
"2 weeks." he mumbled to himself. "2 damn weeks I have been in this bloody hole."
Jude looked at the TV remote and opted for turning on the news. The only thing on was the news and seeing as how no news was good news he turned it back off. He stood up and stretched feeling all the bones and muscles in his body scream at him at once. He walked over to the side of his bed and laid down. Clutching a pillow to his chest he felt his eyes grow heavy. He knew he was tired but insisted on getting up for one last swig of whiskey before he slept. Clutching the bottle in his grip he chugged down what was more like 4 swigs and sat the bottle down. Getting back into the position he was in he curled up and let sleep take over.
Max looked out the window and sighed at the sun.
"It's so damn HOT in this CITY!"
"Well what do you expect?" Sadie smirked, "They're saying it's one hell of a summer swelter out there."
Max watched her walk into the kitchen and grab a water, then fixated his gaze on the empty mattress in Jude's room.
"Have you heard from the boy?" Sadie asked with a sadness in her voice.
Max shook his head and coughed. "No….I know he is at Robin's Inn, he won't pick up the phone when they transfer the calls to his room and he stays there all day."
Sadie sighed and looked out the window.
"I worry about Lucy." Max added.
"I do, too. The girl won't come out of Prudence's old room and I hear her moving all through the night. Sometimes she gets really anxious sounding. I hear the floor boards creaking like crazy and her footsteps get fast. I always think she'll come out to the kitchen but she only stays in there, it's almost like she is running."
"You can thank the cocaine for that." Max replied sternly.
Sadie shook her head. They had all done a few lines at Prudence's place here and there but not like that. She would crave it, you could see it in her eyes. And it didn't help that Prudence's friend John would offer it to her every time they came over.
Max stared into the heat of the day and rolled up his sleeves. "Maybe I'll pay our buddy Jude a visit today."
Sadie nodded her head in approval but her facial expression stayed bland.
"I think Lucy would be able to knock the habit if Jude were here telling her no."
"Jude has his habits of his own too though." Max sighed pointing to the liquor cabinet.
"We all have our drug of choice Max. Some like the drink, some like the smoke, and some just like to be free." Sadie responded.
Max rubbed his temples and shot up from the window. He walked to his room and after pulling on his shoes he tapped lightly on Lucy's door.
"What Max?" she demanded.
"I'm going out, need anything?"
"Out to where?"
"Not to Prudence and John's so don't even bother asking."
"Then where to, you don't know anyone else."
" I know a lot of people, I am a taxi driver. I meet interesting people every day."
Lucy didn't respond and Max gave up trying to talk to her. She was a recluse, only coming out in afternoons to eat or drink or shower. Max closed the door to his apartment and decided to walk the 6 blocks to Robin's Inn, he could use the fresh air.
Lucy sat in her room tangled up in her bed sheets and starring at the ceiling. The paint was chipping in five places and she often fixated her gaze on them and imagined that if Jude was there he would without hesitation repaint the whole ceiling and add some creation of his own to brighten the room. The idea of that made her chapped lips form a smile and as quickly as it was there it was gone.
She hesitated before getting out of bed and when she did her back yelled out in pain. She stretched and walked quietly into the bathroom so that she wouldn't have to talk to anyone. She never wanted to talk, she had nothing to say and didn't want to deal with anyone else's problems.
She slipped into the shower and let the water ease her aching muscles. She winced at the hot water at first and then she began to relax more and more, until she sank down to the floor. The water splashed her face and she began sobbing. She couldn't get Jude to leave her mind and she was the one who wanted him to go, well she had said she wanted him to go. She didn't think he would actually leave and not come back. She remembered sitting by the window and starring into the darkness of the night waiting to hear his footsteps, but they never came. She brushed the image of Jude from her mind and stood back up. She thought seriously about paying John and Prudence a visit for once…on her own. She smiled at the thought of getting to be numb and not feeling anything. She quickly finished her shower and then made her way to Prudence's.