# A Surprise Visit Chapter 4

4
​
The first week of September rolls by fairly uneventfully. Some part of me had expected whatever was going on between Trish and I to accelerate, but that part had probably watched too many mediocre Chinese cartoons. We had gone on a couple of casual dates at fast food places in the meantime. I don't know what her obsession with that stuff is - she hasn't seemed particularly strapped for cash and doesn't even mind paying for me, taking into consideration my peculiar financial situation, but I can't complain.
A now-familiar buzzing sound catches my ears and I check my phone to see a new message from Trish.
"hey"
"Hey."
"wanna hang with reed in like an hour"
"You sure?"
"hes cool i promise"
"Alright. Where at?"
An address for a small public park appears on my screen. A little out of the way, but manageable, and not too far from Trish’s house too.
"Am I meeting you there?"
"ye"
"Alright I'll be there."
​
A little under an hour later I find myself surveying the park before me. A pair of massive trees dwarfed the area, casting a pleasant shade that shielded the ground below from the late-afternoon sun. The park was dotted with walkways, benches, tables, clusters of bushes and other various plant life. I spot Trish sitting at one of the tables and make my way over, seating myself next to her.
"Hey skinnie."
"Hey babe. Reed coming?"
"Should be. Also if you call me any pet names around Reed terrible things will happen to you." I very briefly consider doing exactly that whenever Reed arrives, but decide against it for his sake. A few minutes of small talk later and a pink raptor with a tight fitting tank top shows up, sitting across from us.
"Yoo, Trish." Reed looks over at me, his expression remaining but his voice losing just a bit of enthusiasm. "Anon." Without waiting for a response, he turns back to Trish. "You finally calling in that favor, then?"
"Favor? I- OH! No nononononono. It's not like that." Reed looks genuinely surprised for just a second before his expression melts back into his normal 'cool raptor' mode.
"Alright, cool. Wouldn't really wanna do that here anyway." I get the feeling that an Anon in another timeline is suddenly in grave danger.
"It's just, you know, it's been a while since we had a chance to hang out and chat," Trish explains.
"Yeah, I know sis. Been rough for all of us."
"Speaking of, I-" An obnoxiously loud ringtone cuts Trish off, and she fishes into her pocket, pulling her phone out.
"Oh for fuck’s...I'll be right back." Trish moves off to answer her call. The second she's out of earshot, Reed leans over and stares right into me, that cool stoner attitude completely absent.
"So, 'bro'. What's up with her?" I'm taken completely off guard by Reed's shift, and can barely manage a confused grunt.
"Not once has she ever wanted you around for anything. And a few months ago she wanted you dead. Like, actually for real dead. Then I stop hearing from her completely, outside of the occasional 'I'm okay' when I try to talk to her. Out of nowhere she asks me to come here, and she brings you along, and she apparently no longer wants you dead. What gives?" Reed's final question is laced with anger. The pit in my stomach grew with every word he spoke, and I come to realize that Reed is not nearly as 'cool' as Trish had promised.
"Look, we...we worked things out." My lack of readiness to have this conversation is obvious.
"Bullshit Anon, these aren't the kind of things you just 'work out'. Something fucky happened when I was out of the loop. She isn't telling me, so you will."
"It's her business, if she wants to tell you then-" Reed slams on the table with his fist, and he struggles to contain the volume of his voice.
"Fuck off with that, I am not letting you just fuck off with one of my friends. Again." His last word drips with a demonic venom that completely floors me. The fuck can I even say to that? I can't just throw Trish's darkest moments around like they're my own, and he probably wouldn’t even believe me if I told him.
As if by divine providence, Reed’s expression morphs back into it’s usual relaxed state, and Trish takes the seat next to me once again.
“Sorry about that, got it handled though. So, how you been Reed?”
“I’m doing alright, all things considered.” Was that a jab at me? “How’ve you been? I was gettin’ kinda worried when you weren’t bein’ super responsive, but I didn’t wanna just show up unannounced, you know?”
“Yeah, I was dealing with some...personal issues. A lot to think about. Too much, really. It took its toll, but I’m starting to feel better.” Reed is constantly glancing over at me while Trish talks. His face says nothing but his eyes say everything. Do I just lay everything out on the table and let the cards fall where they may, or excuse myself and let them talk it out in private?
...
Fuck it. Reed’s not a bad guy, and he’s friends with Trish too. They can handle it. And if we have to end this early, it sure as hell isn’t going to be my fault.
“Hey, I think I’m gonna go grab a drink. Either of you two want anything?”
“Just a water, thank you,” Trish responds. Reed’s response is just to flash his signature thermos filled with only Raptor Jesus knows what. Taking my leave, I meander towards the vending machine. I struggle to slow my racing mind, desperate to know every word that they’re exchanging.
It’s not my business. I mentally repeat this a dozen times. I go through the motions to buy a bottle of water. It is not my business. Not. My. Business. I slowly bend over to retrieve the first bottle, then go through the motions a second time. It’ll be fine. He can’t possibly ruin everything in just a couple of minutes.
Right?
I turn towards the park table and slowly start to make my way back.
“REED!” Trish’s shriek hits me and I break into a full sprint. Goddamnit, that STUPID pink motherfucker! They’re both still seated, so at least Reed isn’t imapled yet, even if he probably deserves it.
I finally cross the distance to the table and slam the water bottles onto the table, turning towards Reed, completely furious.
“The fuck did you do?” I quickly scan the scene before me. Trish looks like she wants to either cry or kill, maybe both, and Reed is completely baffled at the outbursts from both of us. He attempts to respond, but can only manage a couple of pathetic stammers.
“Just one day,” Trish quivers. “One day where I don’t have to deal with all this bullshit. Relaxing with my friends, Reed. That’s all I fucking wanted. I told you it was fine, why couldn’t you just leave it?” Trish places her head in her hands. “Do you not trust me?” Reed takes some time to survey the damage. Come on, I know you can fix this. Just...
“I sure as hell don’t trust Anon,” Reed snarls. “Neither did you, last I checked.”
“Then go. I don’t want you here,” Trish responds dejectedly.
“No. I’m tired of being the guy that just sits on the sidelines and watches everything fall apart.”
“Fine, we’re leaving then.” Trish stands up from her seat. Reed raises his voice.
“And I’m tired of resigning control and letting people make the same mistakes over and over.”
“Come on, Anon.” She turns around and starts to leave. I move to follow her away. Reed starts shouting.
“And I’m sure as hell not letting you leave with that bastard!” Trish stops. I can’t see her face, but I can tell that pissed her off. She turns around and faces Reed. Her voice is low, full of hurt and anger.
“What’s gotten into you, Reed?”
“What’s gotten into you, Trish? Monkey cock?”
Before I can react, Trish goes completely berserk, screaming a terrible warcry and charging directly at Reed, horns forward. Reed dives to the side, being missed by mere inches. He scrambles to his feet and sprints into the distance, and Trish adjusts to chase him down.
“Trish!” I shout as I run up to her. My voice causes her to stop in her tracks and I pull her into a hug. She lurches in Reed’s direction but I hold her still. “Come on, don’t do something crazy!”
“Fucking bastard! Worthless stoner trash! Piece of shit! Let me go!”
“Trish, please! This isn’t worth it!” She struggles against me for a few moments longer before slowing down.
“God fucking damnit! Why would he say that?” Trish pants, her rage subsiding. “Why the fuck…” I loosen my grip as her rage transitions to betrayal. “We’re friends. We’re supposed to be…”
“And you still are, okay?” I step in. “Reed just...doesn’t understand. Yet.”
“God, what...what happened to him?”
“I don’t know, but we should try to find out at some point,” I say, desperately trying to salvage the situation before the damage is permanent. “We all got fucked up. He did too.” That last line seems to get through, and Trish’s eyes meet mine. “We’ll work it out. Together.” She silently wraps her arms around me and I pull her in tight. “Come on, let’s go.”
​
We slowly make our way back into Trish’s house and onto her couch. We lie down, her back against me as I cuddle her. She isn’t crying, but I can tell how upset she is.
“I really didn’t want to be sad today. Fuck. What do you think all that shit about ‘resigning control’ was, anyway?”
“I dunno, Trish. Probably best not to dwell on it until we can actually talk to him again.”
“Are we actually going to?”
“We can’t just leave it like this. He’s still Reed, you know?”
“I guess…” I decide to drop the subject. Probably not the best time for it anyway.
​
Soon after that conversation, I had to return home. Trish’s mom was apparently not in the mood to see me and I wasn’t about to push my luck. We said our goodbyes and traded hugs and kisses and then I was on my way back to Skin Row. I tried to relax when I got back to my apartment, but my mind roiled and toiled over what had happened.
Reed hates me. A lot. I can’t exactly blame him, either. Would telling him what happened between Trish and I help? Would he even believe me? Should I even get involved, or can Trish handle it herself? Too many questions and no answers. I realize that I have absolutely no idea what Reed has been doing over the last few months.
‘We all got fucked up. He did too.’ My own words rattle around in my head. I’m not even sure what I meant by that. I don’t think I have ever seen Reed stressed before in the first place. How does Reed handle these things? Is it healthy? Probably not, considering the drug use. Fuck. Could be bad, but no idea how bad. And I won’t know until I’m able to talk to him again.
I try my best to cast these unanswerable questions from my mind and drift off to a troubled sleep.