Been a while since we've had another chapter of Envy Problems, hasn't it? Well I aim to deliver as best I can. I think you're going to like this one, especially if you enjoy Lillian or Suki. I'll save the rest for later. Read on, guys and girls!

Bottom of the Bottle

There was always a silving lining, even as one partook in the endless slog of sifting bank books and financial accounts. Whoever they had running finance for this particular chain of the hotel section needed to be relieved of their duty, and promptly.

After a long and somewhat hard day of checking and double checking, Markus Kane was quite content to set aside his reading sunglasses and settle for the regular ones. He exhaled deeply and leaned back into the headrest of his relaxing leather seat.

There is such a thing as confidentiality, I'm aware, but where my friends are concerned, especially in matters such as these? I shall make a small exception. There was a transaction among all the ones he'd looked over that stood out as a particular interest. Thankfully the hotel in Oakridge was never all that busy, otherwise he would have been here looking through information for days.

A payment made via checking account on the second Friday of the month, two weeks ago. It later bounced, and was beholden to one Audrey Belrose. It was then and there that Markus had made the connection.

One of Mike's many female acquaintances. In most situations I would have left him to his own devices. But even I believe he's ill-suited toward doing something so uncouth as plastering himself and a young woman all over the internet.

A VHS tape slid across the table and into Mark's view. He looked up in thanks to the deliverer. A late twenties, golden blond woman with rounded cheeks and a beauty mark on her left cheek. Her plain blue receptionist's uniform with a white collar was creased from a long day of exhausting busywork. She stretched her arms and yawned as though she was about to fall over.

"Ya need anything else, Mister Kane?" She asked in a drowsy Bostonian accept as she puffed out her chest and fought to stay awake. "The local manager's had me working double shifts these past two weeks and I'd kinda like to rush on home and go for dinner with my brother. He ain't home much these days with looking after ma 'n all."

Markus gave her an appreciative smile and pushed his sunglasses upwards to the ridge of his nose.

"No, Janet. I think this is the one I'm looking for. And please... worry yourself no longer about your manager. On friendly terms with my family I may not be. But after seeing how this specific establishment is run... it shant be long until I make a telephone call and have him replaced. Head home to your family, and I have sent an an extra bonus sent with your next pay."

Janet got to her feet and reached for her coat, giving a droopy eyed chuckle.

"You ain't so bad, ya know? Makes a nice change from the shitheads they usually send out from head office. I mean, I know ya the big bosses' kid 'n all... but I like ya."

"And I you, Miss Perrywest. Your help today was invaluable."

Treating people with respect was something Markus prided himself on. He waited for Janet to collect up her things and depart before lighting up a cigar. A much needed drag awaited.

"Now, to call Mike and see if we can straighten this matter out. But first, I need to ascertain the location a place with the means to watch something as archaic as a VHS tape. I'll also have to make a note in regards to having the Oakridge branch's security upgraded."

"Like, who are you?"

Mikey had some serious explaining to do. First of all, he didn't call for two whole days. Two whole days. Then he came home in a pair of sweatpants and a greyed out tee like a hobo. And who the hell was this girl clinging to his arm like a puppy following her owner? Fake tan was sooo last year, and she was a seriously chubby 'lil fucker too.

"Ohhhh my! Sugoi desu, ne? You must be Lilli-chan! It's totally kimochi to meet you!"

And all Mike could do was stand there, with a sleepy little smirk on his face, like he'd been caught with his pants down. He looked an absolute mess. Black rings under his eyes. Booze booze and more booze. Lillian could wiff it from over here. Sure he might've been showered, but the cuz she knew and (kinda) loved at this point woulda offed himself on the spot if he'd been seen walking around like this sober.

Just what in the holy freakin' shit have you been doing these past few days Mikey?

"Ooookay, like, hold the phone! Back at up 'Lil Miss Sunshine? You didn't answer me. Who are you again? Can't say I like, know you."

"Meee?" The girl gave a creepy salute like somethin' outta one of those Japanese porn cartoons. "I'm Suki! Pleased to meet you! And I've been looking after Mike-san."

Lookin' after? Lilian set her scowl to kill. Not like this dumb 'lil bimbo noticed. Seriously, she was soooo dense. She just kept smiling.

Smiling.

Smiling.

Freakin' smiling.

And Lillian was totally weirded out by it. She snapped up her boyfie- Can I call him that?

Errr... yeah, Lilian concluded. He totes popped my fuckin' cherry. 'S not too bad we're fam. So long as pops 'n the grouchy bitch don't find out about it.

The goth girl snapped up her boyfie and brought him into safe hands. The stink of hard liquor 'n vodka damn-near made her eyes burn.

"I can't trust her Lillian. N-Nora. She'sa total- s-snake! I bin gud to her over the years 'n she scrwedmeova..."

Mike swayed like he was seasick.. How much booze did this loon swill down his throat? Did she know who she was dealin' with? Just looking at the state Mike was in made it hard not to throw up.

There Weren't many times Lilli freaked out about the fam... but this was one of 'em

She snapped back to the one piece of advice the old goat had given her that she'd actually listened to.

"Keep an eye on Mike when he starts knocking them back, Lillian," he'd always tell her, all serious about it, too. "He's definitely got the family knack for a good bottle or two. That's... probably my fault... I should've stopped him in his senior year when Nora took him out places. I think it grew on him... and your mom chewed me out for it no end of times."

And it sure as all hell looked like one'a those times. If Mikey went any greener he could've passed for something outta one of those shitty fantasy movies that her laaaame geek friends used to watch in school.

"C'mon, cuz." Lillian sat Mike down on the couch went straight for a bottle of water out of the fridge. Soon as she'd brought it back, though, the girl with the bleached hair and the huuuge waist had already made herself comfortable.

Ohhh no you don't! Like, ohhhh em gee. This Suzie chick needs to lay the hell off.

The way she was sat there stroking Mike's bicep - all while he was looking sicker and sicker - was enough to make Lillian wanna swing for a punch. She slammed down Mike's bottle of water against the coffee table, giving the deepest, hardest huff she could manage.

Okay, maybe this was one of those moments when she looked like mom. Glaring someone down like the devil, hands on hips.

"Alrighty 'Suzie'. You wanna stay sat on the couch, gettin' all cozy? You're gonna tell me just how much sauce he's chugged down! Cuz I'll be damned if I'm gonna put him the recovery position 'n clean up puke!"

No matter how much Lillian shouted, lost her cool, came damn near to melting point, Suki wouldn't stop grinning like she'd swallowed a fist full of depression meds.

"Ohhhh," Suki counted on her fingers, snorting and giggling all the while. "Just one or two. Mikey's my super awesome senpai! He said he was sad because his best friend was all hekiin. So I was really nice and let him stay with me. And we've been having so much fun! He's sooo kuru!"

She still wasn't answerin' the question. Lillian felt a vein pop on the side of her head.

Ohhhh if I could punch you right now, girl...

"How... many... drinks?" Lillian growled behind clenched teeth. She was so close to screamin'. Sooo very close.

"Weeeell." Suki finished counting up and clapped her hands together in celebration. "I guess maybe... a whole bottle of vodka. Annnd maybe a few shots. Plus I had this rainbow stuff in my fridge. Soooo I guess it was a lot. A whole lot! I did try to stop him, super honest. But he wouldn't! He said he was having a great time!"

"Don' f-forget..." Mike slurred, sloshing back some water, and spilling the rest across his tee-shirt. "We had those sncnapps too. 'N we had the blue ones... 'n the red ones. N-n we had the one pink one t-oo." Iwasgreaaat."

You try'na tank yourself? Doesn't fuckin matter how much you think you can take. Every freakin' body has a limit... And you're waaaay past it. Dumbass.

Lillian rolled her eyes so hard it made the sides of her head throb.

"Urgh! Fiiine! I'm gonna tidy the bedroom so we can put him someplace safer. Get your chunky butt off the couch and keep him sat up straight. There's a mop bucket in the corner. Mikey so much as looks like he's gonna hurl? You deal with it."

"Yeeees sir!" Suki nodded, standing to attention like a soldier on command. "Right on it!"

Seriously fuckin' creepy...

Talk about a tension headache

. Lillian flopped against one of the dining table chairs behind the lounge area and massages her temples. 'Was like a bass drum going off in her damn skull, except it matched with her heartbeat.

She let out a tired sigh and slumped forward against the dinky, mahogany dinner table, basking in the cool of the surface against her burning hot cheeks. She heard Suki humming away on the couch as though everything was totally peachy keen! She was a serious... serious weirdo.

"Sooooo..." She chimed. Lillian grimaced at her high pitched, cheery bleating. "How's Mikey-san?"

Would you please stop being soooo fucking happy?!

"He's fine," Lillian growled, picking up her her face from the wonderful, wonderful, smoothed wood. "No thanks to you, Suzie. He's asleep in bed... But not before he totes barfed in the sink. Shit stinks..."

"Awwww..."

Is she pouting? The hell does she get off pouting after nearly givin' Mikey alcohol poisoning?

"Are you mad at me, Lilli-chan? Suki's super-duper sorry! Gomen!"

Lillian picked herself up to find the girl bowing, hunched over into a squishy ball against the leather of the loveseat. But that wasn't the thing that bugged Miss Aurawell the most. Ohhhh no. You don't get off being all sweet with me.

Up in a heartbeat, the goth girl charged into battle; thunderous feet across the hardwood. She swept in front of the television 'n towered over Suki. All serious like mom for the second time tonight. Yeah actin' like the bitch was a total drag... but this kinda shit right here called for it.

"First off, pudgy... Where'd you think you can get off throwin' those g-ross 'lil nicknames my way? Huh? Like, where'd you even know my name from? Mikey talk about me at your place? Huh?"

"Thaaat's right," Suki answered, jumping up to meet Lillian face-to-face. The overpowering reek of her flowery perfume was enough to make a girl gag. "He talked lots and lots about you, Lillian! And his mom... and his friend Mark, and the meanie with the big boobs!"

Lillian rolled her eyes again 'n gacked in disdain. She hadn't missed the sight that was Suki's huuuge pair 'o sweater cows. Wasn't like she did a job hiding those massive bronze-tanned jugs behind such a thin pink dress, either. The thing looked like it was made of paper.

And mom had the nerve to call my G-string dental floss when she caught me tryin' it on? She'd totes die on the spot if she could see this!

Moving on quickly, Lillian took careful notice of what Suki had just said. There was only one other girl she knew with tits big enough to fit the picture... 'least outta the girls Mikey hung around with.

"You've gotta be talkin' 'bout Nora, right?"

"Yeeeep! Bingo! That's the one!"

Again with the bouncy celebration! Suki clapped her hands. But... it was short lived. Only lasted for a 'sec before her smile dropped. She looked a tad dreary. And bad as it woulda sounded if she'd said it outright, Lillian was thankful. Made this walking cheer machine feel a bit more... human.

"But if I'm being honest with you, Lillian... Mikey was so sad when he woke up this morning. I'd left him on the couch to go sleep and..."

It was the weirdest thing, watching Suki as she tried bringing back her happy face. She forced it. Once. Twice. Three times. But in the end, she sank back down into the leather, twiddling her toes with a waaay more natural looking, rainy smile.

"Annnd?" Lillian prodded, peering into Suki as deeply as she could get away with. "Somthin' happen? Friend'a his or no... there's gotta be a reason why you let my cuz get soooo totally smashed. Friends look out for each other... they totes don't fucking trigger."

"He was crying, Lillian... I couldn't stand it. It reminded me of when we first met. He was sad then, too. So, I poured him a drink and... that's when he started telling me all of his gloomy stories."

A single, lonely tear leaked from Suki's eye. Sure it might'a been real, but it only made Lillian more confused. This girl was like somethin' out of an opera show, the kind of laaame old shit that granny used to watch before she passed. Suki was the same as one'a those actors behind a mask. The whole two sides thing. It was like she was a different person now.

But no sooner than Lilli wanted to shake Suki by the shoulders, had she dried her eyes. She hadn't gone back to the whacko, nutcase smiling, but she was tryin' crazy hard to stay upbeat.

"I asked Mikey-san to bring me here... because I wanted to meet you, Lillian. He kept going ooooon and ooooon and on about how he'd let everyone down. His mom. His family. Some mega cutesy cheerleader with biiiig blue eyes... But most of all, he wouldn't stop talking about you."

Lillian's heart stuck in her throat. She nearly chocked on it. Opera mask or not. Loony tunes or not, she could tell Suki was being serious about this part, if nothin' else. Sounded like her voice was cracking.

"W-what did he say?" Lillian felt her lungs tighten, and subtly brought her hand against the thumping heart in her chest.

Bump... Bump... Bump... Bump...

"T-tell me, Suki."

"He told me his cousin was one of the most special people in his whooole wide world. So I asked him more. And that's when he gave Suki your name. He wouldn't stop talking after that. His smile was soooo big. He told me he was proud of you, and that he always remembered the way you'd follow him eeeeverywhere he went in his last year of highschool."

Now there was something Lillian flat out thought Mikey didn't even care about anymore. Yeah... 'Was the three of us. Him, me, and Nora. We always hung out 'round Greenville. There's not shit to do where we lived... so we'd sit around in dingy lounges 'n listen to drunk losers try 'n sing.

"But," Suki paused, breathing deeply, "After that... Mikey stopped smiling. He told me that it was all his fault. That he'd hurt lots of people... and that he was afraid. Afraid of you."

Lillian nearly fell flat on her ass.

"Me? Why would he be scared of me?!"

Suki hid away from the fire of Lillian's glare, a frightened schoolgirl. Her voice shrank to a squeak.

"He thinks that you hate him... He wouldn't say why... but I couldn't get him to stop drinking after that. And... Suki had to see you for herself after all he'd told me. So, I brought him back here. The cab ride was really expensive, but it's okay. I got it!"

A giggle - soft but warm - from the mega freak. She was back on form again. Great. Just great... From zero to sunbeam faster than Lillian could count.

"I've missed this couch soooo much! Hehe!"

She's missed it? What the hell does that mean?

Come to think of it, Suki looked awful relaxed, melting into the leather like it was her fav place in the whole world.

"You been here before or something?"

The way her cheeks glowed pink made shit hella clear. Lillian gave an accusing glare. Suki winked and flashed another one of those cartoon porn peace signs. Obsessed much?

"Mikey-san and me get along really really well. Watashi no okiniiri no shō."

What language even- Lillian glazed over, throwing out a hold the phone hand signal. "Would you quit that shit and talk in English? Ohhhh my gawwwd! Start again... like a normal human. Not some freakazoid!"

"Gomen!" Suki bowed - tits almost spilling out of the tissue paper she called clothes. "What I mean to say is, yes, Lillian! I stayed over once between school. Mike and me watched anime together! It was so fun, and he was really nice!"

"You..." Lillian stopped the train and slammed on the brakes. Here I thought they'd boned. Seriously wouldn't surprise me. "Sorry, I guess. Had the wrong idea. You watched shows together, yeah? Alright. Alright. Bitchin'."

Maybe I'm being too hard on the 'lil butterball. Sure looks like the two of 'em get along. 'N she was nice enough to bring the his wrecked ass home... Yeah Lil. Cool it. She's good people. 'Least compared to the hoes he usually hangs around with,

About time she dropped the guard dog act. Lillian let the tension in her shoulders ease and stopped with the nasty scowls. Reaching for a pack of cigs from the pocket of her jeans, she scooped up her lighter from the coffee table 'n sparked up.

"So, erm," she continued between drags. Her back rested up against the arm of the couch. "Looks like you 'n me might be on the same page, girl. We both wanna look out for Mike? Am I rite?"

"Of course!" Suki agreed, all gross and smiley. That part of her was gonna take some gettin' used to. "You betcha! He's the greatest!"

"Alright, cool. Then how about you help me with somethin'. Someone's been settin' up my cuz. 'S the reason he's so fucked up at the mo. How 'bout you help me find out who's doing it?"

"Of course I a-"

"Come, my lady. Come come, my lady. You're my buttahfly, sugar, baby! Yeaaah come 'n dance with me. Come 'n dance with me!"

Mike's phone. Only one guy had a remix of such 'n old song as his ringtone. Lillian grabbed for it, havin' been left behind after putting her cousin to bed. The caller I.D was a name she'd only come across once or twice.

Markus. The one friend of Mike's mom actually liked? Yay me... Like, gag! This guy's borin' as sandpaper.

She swiped 'answer'.

"Errr, yeaaah?"

There came a deep clearing of the throat. Real deep. Sounded like the guy'd gone 'n smoked sixty in one straight shot.

"I'll assume that Winters is not near his phone at this juncture. If my memory serves me rightly, I'm talking to Lillian, aren't I? Your distinct inflection is hard to forget."

Snobby, much? Did this rude asshole want her to put the phone down? No surprise mom thinks he's the bees fuckin' knees.

"He's passed out in bed a the mo. Crazy drunk. 'N I mean reeeal wasted. Want me to pass on a message?"

"Only one, thank you. I must be quick. Tell him I've had luck in finding something that will help in setting his ills to right. A tape containing surveillance footage. Ask him to meet me tomorrow night, if he's able."

"I can do that," but Lillian sure wished he'd get to the point. "When and where?"

"Lusties Nightclub at ten. The security room. They're one of the only venues left in Glenberry with the means to playback tapes."

"'Kay then. Laters!" Lillian hung up quick. She was still kinda steaming from his uppity-ass trash talk.

"Well?" Suki looked on excitedly. "Who was it, Lilli-chan?"

The mall brat gave her coolest smile.

"You free tomorrow night? Sounds like we might have a lead."

"YAY! Of course I am! Anything for Mike-san. Anything..."

To be continued...

So, how did you like the chapter? I took a little advice from Cypher DS on small perspective switches here and there to give some more depth and detail to the overall plot. If you enjoyed the read then please feel free to leave some feedback and let me know!

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