28. Jealousy is an Ugly Thing – Sihn
CHAPTER 28
JEALOUSY IS AN UGLY THING
SIHN
When I wake up, my phone is dead, so I plug it into the charger before taking a shower.
Ruin came over last night and brought scotch. Single Malt. The good stuff. Between the two of us, we drank the entire bottle in less than two hours, and I am feeling that shit this morning.
He passed out on the couch. I made it to my bedroom and almost to my bed, but drunk me must have thought I might get sick because I woke up on the floor next to an empty bowl I usually eat popcorn out of.
When I emerge from my shower, freshly dressed, I notice not only Ruin standing in my living room, but Twink is here, too.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Where the hell is your phone!” Twink asks, demanding as ever.
I lean against the wall for support. “On the charger. When I woke up, it was dead.”
“When you woke up? It’s three in the afternoon, Sihn!”
“Sheesh, sorry I had a rough night.”
“Today’s about to get rougher.”
“I doubt it.”
“There was a fire, and you would know this if you were like a responsible adult who charges his phone and shit and deals with a loss like a grown man and not some little boy with a small pecker.”
“A fire? Where?” I look at Ruin like he might have some answers. “Is Mar okay?” If something happened to her while I was getting shitfaced, I’ll never forgive myself.
“Dude, I just found out with you…” Ruin replies.
We both look at Twink.
Twink says, “Some young wrestlers from out of town burnt down POW! Well, rumor is it was the out-of-towners, but who knows for sure, but POW! is gone.”
“Gone. What do you mean gone?”
“They couldn’t contain it. There were multiple ignition sites.”
I rub the back of my neck, not believing what I’m hearing. What will I do for money? Not that POW! was a great money source, but it was a money source.
“I need to go see Colonel,” I announce and look for my keys.
Twink heads for my kitchen, making himself at home. “Good luck, ain’t no one seen him since last night.”
“Was anyone in the building when it caught fire?”
“The only people missing so far are Colonel and Nikki. Everyone is accounted for. Well, you weren’t, until now.”
“I’ll call him.” I run down the hall to my room and notice the thirty text messages, twenty missed calls, and fifteen voicemails now that my phone has come back to life. The line rings once before going to his voicemail. His phone is dead like mine was. Shit.
“I think his phone’s just dead. Has anyone checked his house?” I ask Twink when I make it back to the living room holding my phone out.
“I don’t think that’s it, but no one has asked what I think,” Twink says, now standing back at the door.
“And that is?”
Both hands are on his narrow hips as he says, “Arson on the night you lose the big fight. He and Nikki are missing. I think they did it.”
“Why would they have done it?”
“Have you not watched any true crime at all in your life, Sihn? POW! had been draining money for at least the last year. Then you lose a match you were supposed to win. The only way to make sure Colonel leaves Nikki with anything is the potential for a big insurance policy payout.”
An insurance policy payout? I’m sure he has some sort of insurance on the place, but companies are really good about figuring out if something is real or not. A family who lived next to Harvey had their house burn down about eight years ago. The owners were sure it was just a freak accident as it had been storming that night. Turns out the teenager of the house had lit a candle and left it too close to the curtains. The company wouldn’t pay out for damages because of some clause in their policy stating that the owners, or someone else, set the fire intentionally. They said the child was doing some sort of satanic ritual or something. They ended up moving to a trailer. I told Colonel about that. I tell them, “He wouldn’t.” He knows something like that wouldn’t pan out.
“He might. I would for my kid,” Twink states.
“Twink…”
“You know my name is Tim, right?”
“I didn’t.” It’s odd, but I have only ever known him as Twink.
“Do you know my real name?”
Twink rolls his eyes.“Everyone does, Elwood. Colonel never calls you Sihn or me Twink, for that matter.”