I hopped out of the cab and smiled sadly at the man who was my best friend.
Well, my second best friend at least. Were Phil and I even friends now? I wondered before PJ pulled me into a hug.
"Hey buddy," He said slightly muffled against Dan's shoulder because he could only reach so far.
"Hey." Dan hugged him back but pulled away quickly. Human touch only reminded him of Phil. Neither of them knew what to say. So, PJ just lead the way up the stairs to his flat. Dan had insisted on carrying his duffel bag the whole way up.
"Here's your room." PJ opened the door to his guest room, no need to show Dan where the toilets were and everything, he already knew.
Dan plopped the bag onto the bed then PJ say softly "I'll leave you to it." before closing the door shut. Dan was grateful that PJ wasn't pressing him to talk about what had happened that caused Dan to call him and request to stay with him for awhile, but Dan guessed PJ knew. Dan had, on occasion, got drunk with PJ and told him everything with little knowledge of it the night morning with a hangover on PJ's spare bed. He now looked down at the bed and the bag on it with disgust. What the hell had happened since that night they found out Jennifer was pregnant? The world went to shit, he thought, at least, his part of the universe did.
He began to pull out different things from the bag he had taken. Clothes, mostly black, overnight requirements like a tooth brush and deodorant, plus he vlogging camera and laptop. There was some other things at the bottom of the bag he had taken without Phil's knowledge: the lube to prevent Phil from cheating, Dan didn't know why he had thought this but he felt satisfied with himself all the same, and a stuffed lion. It was the one Phil had used most often in his videos when he had started out, the one Phil had given Jennifer was its partner. Dan looked at the little lion and felt even worse.
He sat on the bed and cried with everything that he could survive on with him. Almost everything.
He needed Phil but he couldn't be a father to anyone, not now. Especially how badly he had fucked up with Phil.
He got ready for bed even though it was only seven and let sleep take him. He had visions of Phil's hurt and angry face repeating over and over 'You said it first, not me.' But no matter how much Dan apologized, Phil always ended up slamming the door in his face and when he turned it would start all over again. Several times Jennifer appeared too, floating like a ghost with tears streaming down her face. 'You and Phil broke up?' She would ask before plunging a knife into her stomach and cutting it open to reveal two babies who cried 'Daddy, why?'
I woke up many times in the night from these night terrors. I almost saw the hours past by, thanks to the clock on the wall. Midnight, one twenty, two forty, three fifteen, four eleven, five thirty, six twelve. But when he woke up and saw it was eight o'clock, he got up and made coffee. I couldn't take the nightmares anymore.
"Hey." PJ greeted me at ten.
"Hey." I nodded, pouring my fifth cup of coffee.
"Heard yeah having trouble sleeping last night." PJ noted pouring a cup of his own once I had finished.
"Yeah sorry." I mumbled around the lip of the mug.
"Do you want to talk about it?" PJ hesitated.
"No." I deadpanned.
"Dan, you can't avoid every bad conversation forever." PJ insisted.
"Watch me." I growled, finishing my coffee in one scalding gulp before going to back to my room and slamming the door. Now that I had confined myself in a room without a wifi password, I could only think of one person I could talk to that might understand: Jennifer.
He texted 'Hey, can we talk?' but there was no reply. Odd, I thought then I tried ringing her up. 'Hey, this is Jennifer, leave a message.' Her voicemail instrusted, something isn't right I concluded hanging up the phone.
"PJ, I'm going out." I told him throwing on my jacket. "Do you know where Richie's tavern is?"
"No, but I can show you." PJ said, dawning his own coat. "Don't give me that look, Dan! You need a friend right now, weather you want me or not." PJ informed him locking the door to the apartment.
"Fine, but I am on a mission so don't get in the way." I ordered. PJ mimed locking his lips before we went off to find Jennifer.
"And who are you handsome?" A waitress winked when we entered the tavern.
"Married," I said holding up my ring finger then added as an after thought; "for now. Where's your boss? I need to have a word." She looked disappointed but remained perky.
"He's over there in the red vest." She thumbed over at man with a red vest and ginger hair that clashed magnificently.
"Thanks." I muttered before making a beeline towards the man.
"So, what are you doing tonight?" I overheard PJ ask as I came near the man. I thought I also heard a slap when I said "Excuse me, are you the owner of this restaurant?" The man turned around with a smile plastered on his face.
"Yes I am indeed, what can I do for you?" He asked cheerily.
"Where's Jennifer?" His smiled vanished as he growled.
"Jennifer no longer works here."
"Do you know where she lived?" I inquired.
"Even if I did know, why would I tell you?" He snarled.
"Because she is carrying my children now tell me, where is she?" I hissed back. He looked taken aback then wrote the address on a napkin.
"There you go and please come again." He snapped before turning and smiling at others around him. I swept up the napkin, and sore faced PJ, on the way out. I was fuming but surprised to see the address wasn't too far, within walking distance in fact!
"Come on PJ, let's go." I said, my spirits lifting but the corners of my mouth remained unmoved. I was swift and quick as I navigated the people moving up and down the London street. I thought it had something to do with my intimidating height but all thoughts left me as I neared the front door of the apartment. Jennifer was sitting on the front steps, crying. Some people looked at her with distaste, while others had pity as well as places to go and people to see. Jennifer looked sorrowfully up from her hands and was shocked to see me standing on the bottom step looking up at her.
"H-Hi Dan." She sniffed loudly and rubbed the tears away, while slightly hiccuping.
"What's going on here?" I asked, sitting down next to her as PJ sat on the step below her feet.
"I d-don't really want to talk about it." She sniffed again and went to pull out a hankie, but it was in worse shape than she was, which made her tear up more. "Does anyone have a tissue?" She sounded stuffed up as PJ extended his own to her shaking hands. She just seemed to notice him and mumbled a thank you before asking "You look familiar, do I know you?"
"Pasquale Jordan Liguori but everyone calls me PJ." He again extended his and Jennifer took it with a strange smile on her face.
"You and Dan did that Pushover video." She now recalled the instructive as well as hilarious video PJ did when we were just starting out on Youtube. Or at least it felt like starting out now looking back on it.
"Jennifer," I called her attention back to something more urgent. "I was trying to text you, I even called you. I had to go to your old work to find out your place because I couldn't remember it-"
"Why didn't you ask Phil?" She tries to change the subject but I keep going.
"And now here you are in front of your apartment crying. What happened? And don't say nothing." I implored. She closed her eyes and seemed to gather all the strength inside her to say what she was about to tell.
"I was thrown out of my own apartment." She kept her eyes closed but her voice cracked and tears continued to stream down her face. "I forgot to pay the rent and my landlord changed the locks when I went to get my last paycheck to go and pay the rent with. Now he won't even let me in the building to pay because I have forgotten in the past. But I always doubled up my payment when I forgot one month." She explains frantically everything hitting her at once. Me and PJ are speechless as she cries even harder finally admitting the awful truth.
"That's horrible, I'm so sorry." PJ manages setting a hand on her knee.
"Come on." I say to him rising off the cold, concrete step.
"Excuse me?" PJ asks following me closely behind along with Jennifer.
"We're going to have a chat with this landlord guy." I say, ringing the bell.
"Dan, that's not necessary!" Jennifer squeaks trying to stop me but I slid her hand off of my arm as a gruff voice asks.
"Who the hell is it?"
"It's the gas company, someone called in complaining that they smelled gas and felt faint." I stated boldly, there is a moment of silence before the door buzzes and we all rush in.
"Now, sir, who called you-" The ginger man that comes out of one of the five doors is wearing a ruined yellowing tank top and pajama bottoms. He takes one look at the cowering Jennifer behind me and growls. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I threw you out!"
"You didn't give me a chance to get my things!" Jennifer snaps back with more volume than anyone was excepting and she lowers it down as she whispers. "You have no right." The man is about to start yelling but I cut him off.
"This woman is pregnant and she has a right to retrieve the things necessary for survival from that apartment." I hiss pointing at the now newly changed lock at the top of the stairs. Some heads peek out of their safe apartments to see who could cause such a ruckus on a Sunday afternoon. Noticing this, the landlord puts on a fake smile and retrieves a big set of keys from his pocket. He unlocks the door and lets Jennifer in, PJ and I help pack as much as we can to help her not have to come back again. But we find that the entirety of Jennifer's live only fits in a few, easily manageable bags. We past the landlord with bags in tow.
"Now get out and don't let me catch you here again." He spits at Jennifer.
"You won't." She growls back and is about to go down the stairs. PJ and I are at the bottom when we see the bags fly out of her hands as she begins to tumble. PJ reacts quicker than I do and catches her before her feet even leave the first step.
"Are you okay?" He asks quietly.
"Yes," she turns back and sees the landlord slip his foot back underneath himself so he can stand straight again, "Just tripped." She mumbles standing herself up. No one seems to want to breathe or speak. I feel overwhelmingly furious and I am about to launch myself up the stairs to kill this guy when PJ sticks an arm out in front of me.
"He's not worth it." He whispers out of the corner of his mouth. I glare at the man before we gather everything up and head outside.
Two elderly women are waiting for us in their dressing gowns, holding open the doors of a cab.
"We heard the commotion from our apartment and called a cab." One says by the trunk.
"We'll be sorry to see you go, honey." The other says as we stuff everything into the cab. Jennifer says her last goodbyes to her neighbors (who we found out later were lesbians) and let the cab driver take us away.
"Where to?" He asks coming to a stop sign. Jennifer looked completely defeated by the question.
"800 Willie Road, red door, can't miss it." PJ chimes in.
"But that's your place." I say unsure.
"You can stay with me until you're on your feet again." PJ informs Jennifer, we both looked shocked.
"You don't mind?" She asks uncertain.
"No you seem like a scream, in a good way." He smiles and kisses her hand. "Plus," he looks at me as he says this. "My newest roommate just moved back in with their boyfriend."
"Oh well, I hope they're happy to be together now." Jennifer yawns and settles her head on PJ's shoulder. PJ is continuing to look at me.
"Me too." He says.