Carson by Mike Miller
He reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the door to apartment 202. He cupped his hand under his mouth and exhaled, trying to catch any bad breath.
Suzi answered the door. “Thanks for dropping by, Brad.”
“No sweat,” he said with a grin full of teeth.
“Come on in,” she said, and let him through the door.
The apartment was alot messier than the last time he had seen it. “Sorry the place is such a dump,” she apologized, closing the door and turning the deadbolt.
“I hadn’t even noticed.” He plopped himself down on the couch like he still owned the place. He moved a crumb-covered plate on the coffee table so he could kick his feet up on it.
Suzi sat down on the couch, leaving a comfortable cushion’s distance between them. “It’s just I miss him so much, and I didn’t know who else I could talk to.” Her voice started to break, but she restrained herself.
Brad shuffled closed to her.
“There, there,” he said comfortingly, and he reached an arm over to pat her on the head. “I’m sure if Carson were alive, he’d miss you too.” He gave her a soft hug, and Brad triumphantly noted the lack of resistance.
But she broke away quickly.
“For the longest time, I thought that Carson was . . . the one. Everything he did was just perfect,” she said.
“You probably say that about every guy,” Brad scoffed.
“I didn’t say that with you,” she said. Brad wasn’t quite sure how to react to that one.
“I remember there was one time I was driving us home from dinner, and this guy cut me off quickly. Then at the stop light, the jerk started shouting and honking at me. Carson just leapt out of the car, ran over to the driver, and he said, ‘Nobody says that to my girl.’ And he punched a hole through his window with his bare hand.” Suzi smiled nostalgically to herself as she wiped a lone tear from her eye. “I remember how in the red tail lights of my car, his hand looked so bloody,” she whimpered, “but he didn’t care.”
“What happened next?” asked Brad. He always knew Carson was some sort of maniac, but had never heard any actual stories.
“Well, the guy was so scared he just slammed on the gas, and the car took off. Carson’s shirt go caught on some of the broken glass of the window, so the car started dragging him down the street. I followed them for almost five blocks before Carson fell loose. An ambulance showed up five minutes later to take him to the hospital because he had cuts and bruises all over his body.”
Brad interjected, “I bet he looked like ground hamburger.”
Suzi paid no mind to the remark. “But Carson waited another twenty minutes for a bigger ambulance that had enough space for me to ride along too.”
Suzi lost it and started crying. She held her face against Brad’s shirt to muffle her wailing. Brad didn’t mind that his nicest shirt was getting completely soiled with liquid sadness.
“Suzi, I got to tell you that it sounds like you’re better off without this nutcase around.”
Suzi jerked her head up and stared sorely at Brad.
“How can you say that?” she asked. “Carson loved me.”
“That’s not love, Suzi. That’s insanity. The guy had problems.” Brad explained.
Suzi bowed her head to think about that.
“Think about it, Suzi.” Brad continued. “Remember the time you called me at two in the morning to borrow two hundred dollars so you could bail Carson out of jail?” Suzi was silent. “I don’t think I ever called you up at two in the morning for you to bother whoever the boyfriend before me was for two hundred bucks bail money, did I?”
“No,” Suzi said, “just rent.” Brad would have been more offended, but he knew a girl as innocent as Suzi didn’t intend to intentionally insult him.
“That’s something totally different.” Brad said defensively. “I never committed a felony.”
“But he stole that television for me,” she said. “Besides, when I picked him up from jail, he did the sweetest thing. He broke some guy’s glasses so he could use the edge to carve my name onto his chest. It said, ‘Susi,’ but that’s because he had to write the Z upside down. And he was pretty close because I spell my name in a weird way too.”
Brad nodded because her name was weird.
Susi continued with a sniffle, “He just felt so bad being in jail for a night, and for breaking the law, and he just missed me so much that night that he said he didn’t have any choice. He had to do it. Isn’t that just adorable?”
Brad chuckled. “The guy’s going to prison and giving himself tattoos. That’s not normal. He probably had tattoos all over him from some other dumb girls.” Brad suddenly blushed with embarrassment. He quickly prattled, “I mean, the other girls were dumb, not that you were dumb like the others.” His voice tapered off with weakness.
“There were only two other girls,” Suzi said. “But theirs were professional ones from professional tattoo artists. To do it personally by himself, he never did anything like that for anyone else besides me.”
“Fine, Suzi. He loved you. He was a little bit crazy, and he committed a couple of crimes. And now he’s… gone. Aren’t you glad that you can finally stop worrying about him for chrissakes?”
“He worried about me plenty,” Suzi replied. “When I told him I thought my boss was looking at me too much, the first thing he did was drive down there and beat him up.”
“Suzi, jeez,” Brad exclaimed. “Couldn’t you have just sued the creep or something?”
“I guess so. But my boss never looked at me again. In fact, he even promoted me to a new office on a different floor.”
“Well…” Brad said, but he couldn’t find anything to add. Suzi blew her nose on a tissue.
“Thanks again for listening to all of these sob stories.” She smiled warmly and squeezed his hand.
Brad decided he wouldn’t wait for anymore about the great Carson. He leaned over and kissed Suzi. When he opened his eyes, Suzi simply looked back with a very confused look on her face.
“I… I don’t know,” she stammered.
“Wouldn’t Carson want you to move on? Have some fun?” Brad asked. He’d use her weakness against her, twist Carson’s love to his advantage.
“Maybe, but… I don’t even know if he’s dead, Brad.”
“Come on, Suzi,” Brad said, shuffling closer to her on the couch so their butts touched. “Nobody survives a plane crash out at sea.”
He leaned over to kiss her again, but she shied away.
Outside the apartment, Carson clenched his fists enraged. He hadn’t swam halfway across the Pacific just to watch his girlfriend get attacked by her loser ex-boyfriend. He cracked the four knuckles on his right hand that were still attached to fingers and quickly ascended the stairs.
He reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the door to apartment 202. He cupped his hand under his mouth and exhaled, trying to catch any bad breath.
Suzi answered the door. “Thanks for dropping by, Brad.”
“No sweat,” he said with a grin full of teeth.
“Come on in,” she said, and let him through the door.
The apartment was alot messier than the last time he had seen it. “Sorry the place is such a dump,” she apologized, closing the door and turning the deadbolt.
“I hadn’t even noticed.” He plopped himself down on the couch like he still owned the place. He moved a crumb-covered plate on the coffee table so he could kick his feet up on it.
Suzi sat down on the couch, leaving a comfortable cushion’s distance between them. “It’s just I miss him so much, and I didn’t know who else I could talk to.” Her voice started to break, but she restrained herself.
Brad shuffled closed to her.
“There, there,” he said comfortingly, and he reached an arm over to pat her on the head. “I’m sure if Carson were alive, he’d miss you too.” He gave her a soft hug, and Brad triumphantly noted the lack of resistance.
But she broke away quickly.
“For the longest time, I thought that Carson was . . . the one. Everything he did was just perfect,” she said.
“You probably say that about every guy,” Brad scoffed.
“I didn’t say that with you,” she said. Brad wasn’t quite sure how to react to that one.
“I remember there was one time I was driving us home from dinner, and this guy cut me off quickly. Then at the stop light, the jerk started shouting and honking at me. Carson just leapt out of the car, ran over to the driver, and he said, ‘Nobody says that to my girl.’ And he punched a hole through his window with his bare hand.” Suzi smiled nostalgically to herself as she wiped a lone tear from her eye. “I remember how in the red tail lights of my car, his hand looked so bloody,” she whimpered, “but he didn’t care.”
“What happened next?” asked Brad. He always knew Carson was some sort of maniac, but had never heard any actual stories.
“Well, the guy was so scared he just slammed on the gas, and the car took off. Carson’s shirt go caught on some of the broken glass of the window, so the car started dragging him down the street. I followed them for almost five blocks before Carson fell loose. An ambulance showed up five minutes later to take him to the hospital because he had cuts and bruises all over his body.”
Brad interjected, “I bet he looked like ground hamburger.”
Suzi paid no mind to the remark. “But Carson waited another twenty minutes for a bigger ambulance that had enough space for me to ride along too.”
Suzi lost it and started crying. She held her face against Brad’s shirt to muffle her wailing. Brad didn’t mind that his nicest shirt was getting completely soiled with liquid sadness.
“Suzi, I got to tell you that it sounds like you’re better off without this nutcase around.”
Suzi jerked her head up and stared sorely at Brad.
“How can you say that?” she asked. “Carson loved me.”
“That’s not love, Suzi. That’s insanity. The guy had problems.” Brad explained.
Suzi bowed her head to think about that.
“Think about it, Suzi.” Brad continued. “Remember the time you called me at two in the morning to borrow two hundred dollars so you could bail Carson out of jail?” Suzi was silent. “I don’t think I ever called you up at two in the morning for you to bother whoever the boyfriend before me was for two hundred bucks bail money, did I?”
“No,” Suzi said, “just rent.” Brad would have been more offended, but he knew a girl as innocent as Suzi didn’t intend to intentionally insult him.
“That’s something totally different.” Brad said defensively. “I never committed a felony.”
“But he stole that television for me,” she said. “Besides, when I picked him up from jail, he did the sweetest thing. He broke some guy’s glasses so he could use the edge to carve my name onto his chest. It said, ‘Susi,’ but that’s because he had to write the Z upside down. And he was pretty close because I spell my name in a weird way too.”
Brad nodded because her name was weird.
Susi continued with a sniffle, “He just felt so bad being in jail for a night, and for breaking the law, and he just missed me so much that night that he said he didn’t have any choice. He had to do it. Isn’t that just adorable?”
Brad chuckled. “The guy’s going to prison and giving himself tattoos. That’s not normal. He probably had tattoos all over him from some other dumb girls.” Brad suddenly blushed with embarrassment. He quickly prattled, “I mean, the other girls were dumb, not that you were dumb like the others.” His voice tapered off with weakness.
“There were only two other girls,” Suzi said. “But theirs were professional ones from professional tattoo artists. To do it personally by himself, he never did anything like that for anyone else besides me.”
“Fine, Suzi. He loved you. He was a little bit crazy, and he committed a couple of crimes. And now he’s… gone. Aren’t you glad that you can finally stop worrying about him for chrissakes?”
“He worried about me plenty,” Suzi replied. “When I told him I thought my boss was looking at me too much, the first thing he did was drive down there and beat him up.”
“Suzi, jeez,” Brad exclaimed. “Couldn’t you have just sued the creep or something?”
“I guess so. But my boss never looked at me again. In fact, he even promoted me to a new office on a different floor.”
“Well…” Brad said, but he couldn’t find anything to add. Suzi blew her nose on a tissue.
“Thanks again for listening to all of these sob stories.” She smiled warmly and squeezed his hand.
Brad decided he wouldn’t wait for anymore about the great Carson. He leaned over and kissed Suzi. When he opened his eyes, Suzi simply looked back with a very confused look on her face.
“I… I don’t know,” she stammered.
“Wouldn’t Carson want you to move on? Have some fun?” Brad asked. He’d use her weakness against her, twist Carson’s love to his advantage.
“Maybe, but… I don’t even know if he’s dead, Brad.”
“Come on, Suzi,” Brad said, shuffling closer to her on the couch so their butts touched. “Nobody survives a plane crash out at sea.”
He leaned over to kiss her again, but she shied away.
Outside the apartment, Carson clenched his fists enraged. He hadn’t swam halfway across the Pacific just to watch his girlfriend get attacked by her loser ex-boyfriend. He cracked the four knuckles on his right hand that were still attached to fingers and quickly ascended the stairs.
