High Voltage

Lines of whiskey and cigarettes were the ones to keep me from falling apart these last months, but no more. I was done with poisoning myself. If I knew myself then I could clearly admit, this was just a very long and painful phase of mine, not an addiction as everyone thought of it. I could get off the hook as fast as I got on it. And that was what I was doing now. After I yelled whatever profanities I managed to come up that one time when dad had sent Brian to pick up some technical gear, I had gone to sleep off the anger and confusion. If you think I woke up feeling like an easter bunny, all fluffy and cuddly – you have a serious another thing coming. I was feeling like hangover tortured tooth fairy.

I woke up more miserable than that cat I had dragged on to our tour bus while playing Warped. At one point I think he either died or figured a way to ditch our little dysfunctional family and run for dear life. I just couldn’t be around animals, I don’t know why, but none of them particularly liked me. A couple of years ago I had a gold fish named Charlie. It wasn’t for sure that Charlie was a boy, but he looked like a Charlie to me. Anyhow, he died two days after I had bought him. Maybe the lack of food was to blame or me simply not taking care of him, but either way he was floating upside down in his bowl for quite some time until I noticed he’s dead. So what did I imagine to be a good investment in my trip to sobriety ville? A fucking dog.

Like, a real four legged creature with anger management issues. At the pet shelter they told me she’s gonna be a real peach. I didn’t believe that. She looked like a rebel, but once she got in the car, she turned into a fully different creature from what she had been in her cage. She was quiet and on her best behavior, so I didn’t understand why none had taken her home. She truly was a peach. And why the hell was she in the pet shelter in the first place? Besides her snobbishness and cocky attitude, yes, even dogs were like that, I didn’t see anything wrong with her.

I turned off the engine of my Mercedes SLR – the one which I practically never drove, have no idea why I even bought the ridiculously expensive car, but I think that was Raven to blame, since me and her? We weren’t on the same page. For fuck sake – it was worth two of my dad’s houses! I had to sell her ASAP. She burnt the gas like a french whore burnt her calories riding men. And that’s why, people, french girls are so thin.

„Okay, Lady, I don’t particularely like you and I know you don’t like me,” I turned to look the dog in her lovely browns. „But we’re stick together so, please, be a lovely beastly and don’t rip my throat in the very first day, ‘kay?” I swear she just snorted, before turning her head to look out the window. okay?

I was very surprised when she didn’t take off at the first opportunity she had. Instead she remained by my side, even when I took that bigass package of her Blackwood food out of the trunk. „Okay, Lady, right in there-„ I pointed to the sand color house in front of us, „is a very grumpy old man and he might start yelling at you and kick you the hell out, but you know what you have to do right?” She showed me a bit of her killer whites, making me end in a chuckle, „Right on.”

As I carried the heavy bag to the door, she never left my side, not even when a cat crossed her path. Instead she looked over our neighbor Patsy as a mere nuisance. Well, look at that, turns out my Lady is a classy broad.

I opened the door to hear some track from what I supposed to be Avenged new record blasting through the house. Both me and Lady looked at each other, confusion written all over our faces. Since when did dad bring work back home?

„In this part we can use the UK clear channel and sorta stick in some sound effects. Meg has a great pedal for that fade out shit,” Dad turned the volume way down and I saw both Matt and Brian sitting on our couch. Well, wasn’t this just marvelous?

„That, Lady, is my shithead of an ex, who ruined my fucking life,” I whispered to her, pointing over to Brian’s messy nape right after I had dropped the dog food on the marble floor.

„Yeah, I know what you’re talking about, but I don’t think we’re going for that kinda sound. It’s more of Meg’s scene,” Brian spoke while I pulled off my boots. I couldn’t miss the way he treated my dad just because of some bad past with me. I really wanted to punch him in the troath, I really did.

„Oh... okay,” I could imagine my dad’s face dropping not even looking at him, and I swear to god I’m gonna get back at him for the shit he makes my dad go through only because he doesn’t know how to draw a line between his private life and work.

„Hey dad, I’m home,” I said as I walked in the living room, Lady hot on my heels.

„Oh he—what the hell is that, Meg?!” He shouted noticing the Doberman Pincher by my feet. Matt and Brian finally turned their heads to look at me.

„Oh this? This is Lady. She’s a classy broad,” I smiled, scratching between her ears.

„Is that a—„ Matt started, but I cut him off. Oh come on, Matty bear, no need to look so scared.

„Yeah, a Doberman. Isn’t she awesome?” Just then I noticed the little fur ball in Brian’s arms, screaming some obscenities towards Lady in their dog language. Well I’ll be damned if Lady doesn’t rip that bitch apart. She could swallow Pinkly in one, for Christ sake! But instead, what did Lady do? She followed me to the kitchen, not even minding Pinkly who was going out of her mind.

„Pinkly calm the fuck down—„ I heard Brian struggle with his dog as I pulled up to the fridge and took out a red bull. In a split second the dog was out of his hands and running for Lady, who might I say, was minding her own business, before the barking madness ran up to her. A bit of uneasiness washed over me, but hell, it won’t be my fault if Lady rips her in two.

„Gates, for fuck sake, get Pinkly away from her!” Matt shouted, probably thinking the same thing I was. As I took a mouthful of my red bull, I noticed Lady push Pinkly away with her paw, obviously irritated. As if saying – get out of my way, peasant. God, I loved that dog!

„Lady, don’t mind her. She’s all bark and no bite, just like her fucking owner,” I grinned, watching Brian come up to take his dog. Only when Brian in front of Lady, she raised her head, before looking back at me as if asking – you dated this shit bag?

Maybe I was truly going nuts, but I think me and Lady? We had a little something going on here.

„Meg, where did you get that thing?” Dad was staring her down, wide eyed. Oh come on, she’s not that bad... Just look at this bundle of pure love who looks like she’s gone jump me and bite my face off, but come on, isn’t she just the cutest?

„At the pet shelter.” I stated with a slight shrug to my shoulders, taking a sip of the energy drink, „Some bastard had abondoned her and tied to a fucking tree in Slater. She was more dead than alive when they found her. And that’s where I stepped into her rescue,” Actually no. I don’t know why the fuck this dog was at the shelter and to be honest – I didn’t fucking care. I needed her for selfish intentions, but the story sounded too cool for me to say – hey, I needed something to take care of so I won’t fall back into searching my happiness at the bottom of every bottle.

„And you just figured you’ll take her...” Dad looked beyond incredulous, „You know you have to take care of it, walk it, clean it’s shit, you do understand that, right?”

„Hey, hold up, this it has a name and it’s Lady.” I pursed my lips at him. „Lady Frost.”

„Someone’s been watching Frozen lately,”

„Nah, I think Frost was in Batman, Matt,” I narrowed my eyes on his dimpled face, trying to recall the vilain from the movie. I couldn’t remember, but I was sure Brian knew since he had seen every movie of Batman, even those shitty remakes.

„No, I don’t think so, Twinks,”

„Yes, he was! The big icy dude, come on he was mister Frost! Tell him Brian!” Before I figured what had my subconscious mind spat out, Brian too answered, rather subconscious,

„If you’re thinking the one who was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, then you’re wrong, babe, his name was mister Freeze—„ Once he regained and realized what had he said and the way he had said it, all the color slowly faded from his face. What the fuck did he just call me?

A defeaning silence took over the room, since everyone had heard the loving and caring tone to his voice as his lips let out the word ‘babe’.

„Okay Matt, I think we need to—„

„Yeah, come on Lady, let’s go for a walk,” We both were still looking at each other. Why did that little word make me feel so... good? So... happy? No! Lock that shit down, Hills! Those things are called feelings and we don’t feel anything towards lousy, stinky, good for nothing cheating bastards! I shook the thought away, sliding the patio door open. As I waited for Lady to walk out the door, I caught Brian looking over his shoulder and back at me a very puzzled expression to his face.

I was too sober to deal with this shit and I strongly believed my body can’t handle the amount of liqour was needed to forget the hope I saw in his eyes.

Lady brought my attention to her by barking – for the first time since she was out of the cage. „What is it?” I questioned, pulling a cigarette out of the pack as we went around the house. She barked again, before bitting down on the edge of my leather jacket and pulling me to the front of the house, „What the fuck is your problem, dog?”

She dragged me to the front in the same moment when Brian sped off in his slick BMW. The reason she was barking – Pinkly had jumped out of the back window and was running towards us, wiggling her tail excitedly.

„Oh great... Now I’ll have to take you back to Haner...” I sighed looking down at Lady. I swear to god she was thinking Pinkly was the dumbest dog out of them all... Just like the owner, people! But despise that – she put up with the jumping, barking and basically all the cuddling Pinkly was up to. Some times I really thought that white Maltese was a lesbian. I know Lady was beautiful and all, but relax your ovaries, Pinkly, my Lady is a lady and doesn’t sleep with spoiled mutts on the first date, jeez!

Bark, bark.

„Well what do you suppose me to do, Lady? It’s not like I’m gonna carry her so she could try and hump my arm.”

Bark.

„That’s not gonna happen, you hear me?”

Bark, bark!

„You’re dogs for Christ sake! You hump one another, that’s what you fucking do!” Oh, so you’re giving me the cold shoulder? At the first day of us being together? Man, these chicks... Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. „Argh... Fine! Fucking fine! But this is the first and the last time I give into your shit, Lady...”

Notes

So she got a dog... And Brian called her a 'babe'... and she has to bring pinkly back to Brian. Will it bring back some memories? Or will she walk in on him and his lady?