Aftermath – Chapter 2
By MyNameIsCAL
-Gazzy's POV-
It was surreal, man, seeing Fang and Iggy together. Weird wouldn't be the right word to say how I felt about it, but you could tell that the two of them were in love. Alright, maybe jealous is the word I'm looking for. For them, nothing was complicated. They lived here secluded from the rest of the world. They were safe and no one else gave a fuck about what they were doing. Then again, I made my living by selling rumors and gossip to the public.
No, what I really envied was their happiness and stability. I had none whatsoever right now. You see, I have this nasty cocaine addiction. Part of me is hoping they'll figure some things out.
It was way past midnight. The time wasn't important though. I lay in bed, my thoughts drifting to Nudge. Last year we had spent under the radar after a one night stand. I thought we had something. I was ready to settle down. Hell, I was ready to marry her. Then one day, I woke up to my own magazine printing an article about her engagement to a famous fashion designer that, for the longest time, everyone thought was gay. Her career turned out to be more important than me.
Yet here I was wallowing in my self-pity. I still fucking loved her.
Then there was Max and Dylan. That bastard sweeping Max off her feet like that. I guess I'm glad Fang got a happy ending though. Well, Max was happy, but I don't think I'd ever forgive him for just stepping in like that. It was an asshole move if you ask me. They had a kid though and I had met him a couple times. He was sweet, I'll admit. Innocent as kids can be. We were never like that though, and so maybe I even yearned for what he had.
Things weren't going so well between Max and Dylan though. Max said they were fighting all the time now. Whatever it was, it would blow over. It always did. I wish all my problems would too.
"Gazzy, you need to sleep."
My eyes flickered up to the end of my bed. "Go away, Angel."
"I'm not even real, Gazzy. If you got help, then I'd go away for good." She let out a sigh. "Please don't make this harder than it needs to be. They're going to find out sooner or later."
I shut my eyes and when I opened them she disappeared.
Yeah, I'm seeing my dead sister. I needed more than help, but my drug induced thinking wouldn't allow that. The drugs kept her away. That's what I thought anyways.
The darkness soon turned into light. I curled up under the blankets and tried to shut my eyes.
It looked like a rainbow had barfed all over the kitchen. I sat there drinking my third cup of coffee staring at a cabinet Iggy had left open. Fang explained everything was color coded so Iggy could find it. I guess it was sweet of Fang to even think of that, but now it was giving me a headache. Then it struck me that Fang's explanation was really the first thing Fang had ever said to me in a long time. Iggy was softening him. Maybe for the better.
"I have an appointment at noon," I said to Iggy as I got up to close the damn cabinet. "I'll probably be having dinner out in the city, so don't worry about having to feed me."
"Well, call if anything changes then," he said.
I nodded and then said, "Okay."
After breakfast I changed and headed towards the city. Nudge was here, but I doubt I would even get within a hundred feet of her. Her fiancé, Mr. Flamboyant Fancy Pants seemed to be good keeping me away. I had practically chased her around the country to all their events. He threatened to put a restraining order. If I didn't know any better, I would have stayed in New York, but I had to come. I refused to believe that Nudge would desert me like that.
I told Iggy I was looking for a job. It was the truth really. Despite owning one of the nation's best-selling tabloids, I didn't do much for it. Besides stalk Nudge, but she had spent the last few months out of the spotlight supposedly preparing to go to Europe in the beginning of next year. I needed to be occupied. Although once people heard I owned the tabloid, they usually turned me away. I didn't need a job. Hell, I was crazy. I needed help.
"Gazzy, you came here to get help!" Angel appeared next to me as I crossed the street. "Go back and talk to Iggy!"
"Shut up," I murmured.
"You have all the money in the world!"
"I'm going to sell that dumb tabloid company. It's a fucking waste of time."
Angel disappeared, but I realized people were glancing at me as I passed.
Sell the tabloid company. That was what I was going to do.
I turned midstride and went back across the street.
"Gazzy, you're not thinking straight! You can't just sell it!"
"I'll make millions." I shoved my hands into my pocket, walking faster now.
"Gazzy, stop!"
"SHUT UP!"
More people were staring and I broke off into a run to escape their stares.
I went to a bar and had a few beers before I called Jerry Gallagher. He wanted to buy the company a couple months ago after the tabloid ran a report that was a total lie. They all said it was going to go downhill, but we came back with a newsbreaking story about some celebrity's secret affair. He still wanted it and I wanted to be rid of it.
"You want to sell it to me? Why? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Just fucking taking it, Jerry. It's yours. Once you transfer the money, I'll send you everything you need to takeover." Was I slurring my words?
"Oh, alright then. Sounds like a deal."
It wasn't until the next morning I had sobered up the next morning that I realized I had just signed away my biggest asset. I knew I shouldn't have done it. I should have consulted my lawyers and everything, but I simply didn't care. With the new money, I was going to find a way to get Nudge back.