One day Harley came to see Cade. She knocked at his apartment door. Knock Knock. Cade was buried under the covers in his dark bedroom. His muffled voice floated to the door. Harley could barely hear him.
"What, what you say, Cade?"
"Go 'way," was the reply. She could hardly make out the words but she recognised the tone. Cade was not a morning person.
"Get outta bed, Cade and answer the frickin' door. I got something for you." Harley bellowed.
Cade pulled the pillow over his head and burrowed deeper into the soft old mattress.
"I'll break the door down. You got ten. One. Two. Three…"
Cade reluctantly crawled out from under the blankets and dragged himself across the floor to the door. He flung it open as she reached "…ten," and stood swaying and squinting at the tall blond woman in sunglasses before him.
"Oh. 'syou."
With that, he turned round, bunching the bed sheet tighter around his middle with one hand and rubbed at his cropped hair with the other. His back twinged at the movement, it was going to be a bad day, he could tell. Ever since he'd carried that safe down the stairs, he'd had a recurrent back pain. He idly considered seeking help about it. Maybe go to a doctor. He was feeling like an old man these days.
"What time?"
"Dunno," giggled Harley as she flopped on the threadbare couch. "Lost my key. Forgot my watch." She stared at her long jeans clad legs.
Cade sighed as he plodded to the kitchen area and put a kettle on the gas. He searched through the cupboards for coffee; his eyes clogged with sleep hindered his search. He could hear Harley continue to giggle as she rooted down the couch cushions in search of her elusive key.
Cade tipped coffee from the jar into two mugs then returned to observe his friend. She smelt particularly pungent today, like burnt rope.
"What you got, Harley?" Cade's voice was weary.
"Some weed. Peace weed, zombie weed, wobble weed. Weed." Her voice was husky, sexy in a way that made Cade shiver.
"What, you high?"
"Sure Cade you want some?" She pulled some rolling papers out of the pocket of her leather jacket and waved them at him. "Come get it Cade." She teased. "Pipe or joint?"
"I'm just doing coffee today, Harl. I need a clear head."
"Not just weed, Cade. Angel dust." She grinned at him her eyes wide, unfocussed, the pupils appeared to float. Cade stared at them in fascination.
He was aware that she was rolling a joint as she spoke. She lifted it to her lips and very slowly ran a tongue along its length. Cade was mesmerised. He didn't know how Harley did it but the effect she had on him was always the same. He was putty in her hands.
"No, Harley. Say you didn't. You know what it does to you." He tried to resist.
"Aw come on Cade, just a teensy weensy iddy bit. You'll feel so much better."
Harley lit the joint and inhaled deeply settling deeper into the couch and stretching out her long legs. She held the cigarette out to Cade.
Cade took it. Cade raised it to his lips.
Harley sighed.
Cade inhaled. Deeply.
The kettle began to whistle.
Harley laughed. Cade exhaled.
Harley laughed more.
Cade inhaled. The pain in his back began to ease.
Harley stopped laughing.
Exhaled.
Cade giggled.
Inhaled.
Silence.
Sirens. Cade exhaled.
Cade strained to listen for his heart beat.
He heard silence.
