Bobby Mack had to go to the hospital to get his nose set and stitches where Faye Louise cut him. He also had two broken ribs. As far as Tim knows, he's been laying low at home ever since.
But Tim has seen the rest of the boys around town these past few days. They talk some, and they're friendly enough to him. Stewart even buys him a beer at Buck's. They don't try to jump him or do anything stupid. There's a sort of uneasy peace between him and the Kings now, but he still keeps his guard up. He's well aware that things could go sour at any time and without warning.
Tim also knows that Bobby Mack is still a threat, even though he hasn't seen him lately. Mack is a special kind of stupid, and even though they put him in his place, he wouldn't put it past him to break into Faye's house and try something. Tim knows she's armed, and she wasn't kidding when she said she'd slit Mack's throat the next time he tried something. But the thought of a girl all alone and possibly in danger doesn't sit right with him, so he assigns Curly to be her personal, live-in bodyguard.
Curly practically jumps up and down and shrieks like a little girl when he hears about the arrangement. He thinks he's so secretive, acting like he doesn't care about her, treating her like he would any other girl, and saying the only thing he wants from her is sex. But Tim has heard the bedsprings squeaking and Curly moaning her name at night when he thinks he's asleep enough to know it's a lie. He's got it bad for her, and he has pretty much ever since she got to town.
Faye Louise is less thrilled about sharing the house with Curly, but she knows that they have a deal, and that keeping Curly occupied is part of it. So she goes along with the idea without complaining. And, to tell the truth, she does feel safer having someone else in the house with her.
Tim has a feeling that, by the time Walter gets out of jail, Faye Louise will have either fallen in love with Curly or killed him. Both outcomes are equally possible.
XXX
"What does this do?" Curly asks.
"Controls the humidity," Faye Louise says.
"What's this thing?"
"It's a space heater, Curly. What does it look like?"
"Why do you have fans and a space heater?"
"Because we need to keep the air moving, and the space heater doesn't do that."
They're in the basement, which Faye and Walt turned into a grow room. Faye Louise is trying to check on and take care of the plants, but Curly is complicating things by constantly asking questions and getting into everything. She's about to give him water laced with Quaaludes again.
"What's this thing?"
"Curly, don't touch that! Keep your hands to yourself. Didn't you learn that in kindergarten?"
"I had to do kindergarten over."
"What, you couldn't color inside the lines?" Faye Louise asks.
"No, I couldn't keep my hands to myself," Curly deadpans.
Faye laughs. Curly gets on her nerves sometimes, and she'd never ask him to help her run her brother's gang like she did with Tim. But, even if he's been annoying her, he has a way of quickly getting back on her good side. She doesn't know how he does it. He's almost like a puppy in that respect. He does something to get on your nerves or get in trouble, but then he does something funny or cute, and you just can't stay mad at him.
Curly sits on the floor and watches as Faye Louise starts carefully inspecting the first plant. He's seen pot plants before. One of Angel's friends had one for a while, but it was always brown and sick looking, and the bud it grew was terrible. But Faye's plants are huge, green, and healthy, and she grows the best pot he's ever had.
"How'd you get so good at this?" he asks.
"Well, Walter and I were raised by our grandparents on a farm out in the panhandle, so I've been around plants my whole life. They had me helping with crops not long after I could walk. And, I don't know, I was just good at it."
She picks up watering can, pours some water at the base of the first plant, and moves onto the second one.
"So then Walter left as soon as he was eighteen. It wasn't the best life out there. I stayed for a couple of months, and then I couldn't take it there without him, so I ran away. Somehow I ended up in Omaha, and I met this guy who had a small pot business. Smaller than what we have now, even. But I started working for him. I just did deliveries at first. Then he had a plant that was dying. Couldn't bring it back. He was gonna get rid of it, but I asked if I could try and save it first."
She looks up at Curly and smiles a shit-eating grin. "And I fucking saved it. So the guy made me partner. I learned everything there was to know about growing and harvesting and all. And I was really fucking good at it. Even created my own strain."
She finishes watering the plants, stands up, and shrugs. "I dunno. It's my calling."
"Well, why'd you leave Omaha? Did Walt ask you to come down after their moonshining tanked?"
She tenses. "No. Things went sour and I had to get out. I didn't even know he was moonshining."
She pushes past Curly and bolts up the stairs. He hears her run across the floor above him, and then the back door slams.
"Shit," he says under his breath. He forces himself up off the floor, up the stairs, and out the back door after Faye.
She's lying on the grass in a small patch of shade from the yard's only tree. Jake is next to her, and he can faintly smell the sweet pot smoke. He takes his sunglasses out of his pocket and lays down next to Faye.
"Sorry if I said something wrong," he said after a minute.
She shakes her head, takes a long hit off her joint, and passes it to Curly.
"Don't be. It's alright," she says. "But never, ever ask me about Nebraska again."
He nods, takes another hit, and passes the joint back to Faye Louise. They lay next to each other in silence, passing the joint back and forth until it's gone.
Faye turns toward Curly and props herself up on her elbow. Her eyes are red, and her cheeks are rosy from the heat outside. She smiles lazily down at him.
"Anybody ever tell you that you look like Bob Dylan?" she asks.
"People only ever tell me I look like Tim," he replies.
"Well, you look like Bob Dylan. If he had black hair."
She looks at him intently, studying him. He's looking back at her, but there's no need for him to study her. He already knows every part of her, and he can see her clearly if he closes his eyes. The long brown hair, the big green eyes, the nose that's a bit too big but somehow suits her and makes her look cute. The body that's so skinny, but somehow always feels soft against him.
"It's the sunglasses," Faye Louise says.
"Huh?" Curly asks, snapping out of the trance that he was in.
"You've both got that curly hair, but those sunglasses really make you look like him. It's the sunglasses and the hair together."
"Who are you talking about?"
"You!"
"No, the other guy," Curly replies.
"Bob Dylan?" Faye Louise asks.
"Guess so. People only ever tell me that I look like Tim."
"I think we've had this conversation before," Faye says. "I think we just time traveled."
"Bet Tim's never time traveled," Curly says absently.
"You look so much like Bob Dylan. I can't stand it. Sing me a song."
"Fuck, I can't sing."
"Neither can Bob!" Faye exclaims.
She's just said the funniest thing in the world, and they both burst out laughing. They laugh until they can hardly breathe and their eyes are tearing up.
"I'm so fucking hungry," Faye Louise says once they've stopped laughing and caught their breath.
"I'm so fucking horny," Curly replies. "Pot makes me horny. You make me horny."
He pulls Faye Louise over to him and kisses her deeply.
"What 'cha say, babe?" he says. He's talking through his nose, trying to make himself sound like Dylan. "Let's have some fun, huh? Don't think twice, it's all right."
She giggles and goes with his kiss, tangling a hand in his hair. There's no food in the house, and there's really nothing else to do. They might as well have some fun.
Curly's her friend, sure, but she doesn't really have feelings for him. They just have an understanding. They both like sex, he's amazing in the sack, and neither one of them is steady with anyone. It's a good arrangement. It was even before it became part of Faye's business deal with Tim. She wouldn't change a thing about it.
She doesn't know that Curly wants more, and he's going to do everything he can while he's living in her house to get it.
I have no self control when it comes to publishing. I write something, I publish something ;)
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a Bob Dylan song.
Could I maybe get some reviews? What do you think of Curly? :)