[Freddy clarifies for Larry like he might actually be cracking a small ill-timed joke because it's so fucked up he could laugh. But laughing hurts, literally, so he won't.]
Okay, Larry.
[The kid nods, sinking down even lower in his seat. What would his mom say? That's Freddy's only comforting thought however fleeting. He hasn't been near his family for a couple years...at least now they're on the same planet. But after all this maybe that just makes it worse.]
[Hours on the road, highways and byways and the midday sun makes the car hot even with the windows down. Dust has a taste in the air. The air is dry and carrying a spice of desert land. Not exactly paradise. They're passing through a boarder town off the major roads.
A burro brays. Larry isn't sure if Freddy is awake or not. Every once and awhile he pats on him to be sure he's warm and alive.
His heart hasn't stopped feeling heavy or wrenched into a vice.]
[How he hears the burro over the sound of the engine is a mystery. Maybe your senses get thrown out of whack after getting shot, blasting off to some mysterious universe for years, then coming back to being shot. Who knows. Maybe it's because Freddy hasn't eaten. Can he even eat in his condition?]
Stop it.
[He groans with a sudden stirring. Sleepy caramel green eyes are looking hazy and half-lidded. There's crust on the corners. Not attractive at all.]
[Cash money. The road the old man knew was out of commission. Who knew someone actually mended fences or now and then kept track? The point is they're here.]
We're going to a hospital.
[No ifs, no ands no butts.]
If I understood right it'll be another twenty minutes or so to the larger cuidad.
[The cars are moving slow enough for him to get a look at the passenger. Hell as a face right now and it's Freddy Newendyke's.]
What? [Remember, Newendyke? You're on the run.] We're through?
[And so fucking soon. No chance to consider diverting their path (to let his mom know he's alive). Freddy shifts in his seat to be more upright. Ow that didn't feel good.]
You speak enough Spanish to...
[Make sure they don't accidentally amputate him or leave a sponge behind. Not that he's profiling the developing world or anything.]
Through yeah, still too close to the border for my liking.
[The more miles, the more hours the better except Freddy cannot wait that long.]
To-?
[The uncertainty shouldn't be surprising. Larry blames the lack of sleep and a hot meal. The most he's had is from the gas station. It was a necessary stop for fuel.]
They speak English here too. Not everybody does but I speak enough. I'm sticking by you, man.
[Like always. Like has been. There they go again.]
Look--[where to start? I am sure beyond a shadow of a doubt I spent years with you?]
[About the English, that is, Freddy snorts, a temporary return back to the chipper fox he can be, the chipper fox he was before he suddenly disappeared. Fuck what was he even doing at the time? He vaguely remembers going by the arcade to try his hand at a claw machine, just killing time before Larry got off work.]
Look. [They both speak at the same time.] I was--I was kinda delirious back there. A lot of stuff was going through my head.
[At least the basics are clear. They're here. The kid is going to get the care he needs. Well. As soon as they get there. Both hands on the wheel but his attention is on the conversation.
Last the old man knew he came home to an empty apartment. Hours rolled by. Days. Empty even though it all went on around him.]
You and me both. It all sounds, feels crazy but I felt like I just woke up.
[How does he come out to say what he wants to fucking say?]
[Freddy asks. He wants to know because that sounds like Larry gets what he's trying to say too. How two grown men can't talk about the few years they shared in some entirely different cursed reality isn't too difficult to conceive. Before the City, Freddy would have cited someone spouting off the same words for public intoxication.]
[A throat clear and a nose sniff like they they will buy him time.]
This is going to sound crazy. And I'm not saying this in a figurative way like people say they known one another all their lives.
[Because people do.]
Back there, before I got Joe and Eddie... it was like we were some place else. You and me.
[If he puts it like that then it doesn't sound like his whole happiness doesn't rely on this moment. For a moment the engine, the road, the sounds around them are nothing. It's silence when Freddy isn't speaking.]
[Both hands to the wheel for caution and because it feels to surreal. He needs something stronger than the other man to grasp too. Shit he's bled out so much. Bonnie wasn't sure if she could do more than patch him up.]
I can't tell you either, kid. I was there then I wasn't.
[He swallows and nods before he speaks. Freddy is a cop. Joe and Eddie are dead and fresh in their graves now. Again. Something like that. They're on the lamb.]
[He knows his name's Freddy. He knows he's a cop. And he hasn't thrown the kid out of the car to run him over. It's real.]
I can't fuckin' believe it...what the hell happened to us?
[Yeah he's going to ignore the whole dead Joe, Eddie, Marvin Nash, and the scumbag. If Freddy were to think about it more he might realize Pink was nowhere to be found when all the guns went off. Is he still there?]
[He's only assuming other things about those years are gone too, like Larry's new tattoo. Hell they do look a little different. At least in the old man's case being thrown from 3 years living together back to this day he can see a few differences. Lawrence Dimick looked less gruff in the other place, maybe a result from being happier.]
[Less gruff, less road worn, and certainly a hell of a lot more balanced in food. Being a bear type of varying size that time in the desert gave him a kick start toward the slimmer end.]
If you remember and I remember, I can deal.
[That means that it all still means something, right? Right? Larry swallows as he pulls closer. If only there was more time to talk. Freddy's going to be getting the help he so desperately needs to live. That's more important than hashing out details by far.]
[Freddy nods, hand giving a squeeze. Then suddenly he's remembering the ring and how it's no longer on his finger. Is this also going to change that? For a long time he wondered how coming their lives in that place would change anything here, now the kid's got the answer he was looking for. And it doesn't answer a thing. Just because they had a good time then doesn't mean they'll have a good time now. They're on the fucking run.]
Shit.
[He swears softly, not for any particular reason. It's rhetorical.]
[Just because they did so well there doesn't mean he isn't going to try. Dimick comes into the driveway of the hospital holding his hand once again. Small, meaningful luxury. They started that way, sort of. No, it started with tacos and planning.
A look into his young, confident face (Brando bravado) and Lawrence Dimick was lost. A change in location, he says himself, will not change a thing. This is without listening to voices of doubt humming in his ears.]
Remember I'm here for you. I'm not gonna leave. We made it once we can make it again.
[Because he's pulling them into a parking space.]
We'll stay here until you're ready, then we're off again. A real start. No one's gonna get us. [Avoiding eye contact. Freddy can't see his worry, his fear then.]
[Freddy nods, putting his trust in Larry, as if he has anyone else right now. You could have said no, Newendyke, you didn't really have to go with him. Don't pretend you didn't have a choice. What does that make Freddy Newendyke, formerly of the Los Angeles Police Department?]
Don't leave my sight while we're in there.
[Or at all. The old man isn't looking straight at him which is all fine because that makes it easier for the kid to really look at those crow's feet. Funny how it works.]
[Memories and trust. Two things. The l-word makes for three.]
I'll piss. That's it.
[Larry squints from the light, from the stress. He's steeling himself. His Spanish is passable. Passable is gonna need some help in this emergency. The engine dies and the buzz goes on in his skin.]
I love you. Hear me? We're gonna be okay.
[Unsolicited it sounds better to his ears. Still there is no way of knowing.]
[He said it. Of course he said it. Of course he feels the same. Because those years still feel like yesterday. They're back here in this world, this time and place, but not completely. Instead of saying words back Freddy leans over enough to place a kiss on the corner of the old man's mouth. He wasn't aiming for it, he's just too ill and weak to really make it a proper kiss. You don't forget all that time in one blink.]
[A kiss is a kiss. That one word is something that makes a bold cop go quiet. It's a truth that the old man has come to accept. That's how Freddy is. Nerves, tiredness and general black feelings can't be touched by the meaning of his mouth pressing to his face.]
Okay, tough guy.
[One deep breath in. One deep breath out. Larry gets out and makes is way to the other side to help Freddy out.]
[Freddy's got a small meal in him, something bland and hardly delicious, but good enough. He can't have anything that might provoke his belly into going nuclear, he can't even have a cigarette but he's already smoked one against doctor's orders. As if Doctor Juan is going to care, they're never going back to that hospital. Freddy's already sure for a little while they won't be seen in the same place twice. This motel hell is only temporary, a blessing and a curse. He's sitting up in the bed because it feels better than laying down. How he's going to sleep without exhaustion to black him out is going to be the real test. They have painkillers with them, he's tempted to take enough to knock him out for a couple hours.]
The TV sucks.
[He comments to break the silence. It's all in Spanish and there's no bizarre intergalactic space porn to discover either.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orangetoughguy) wrote2010-08-06 11:39 pm
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[Freddy clarifies for Larry like he might actually be cracking a small ill-timed joke because it's so fucked up he could laugh. But laughing hurts, literally, so he won't.]
Okay, Larry.
[The kid nods, sinking down even lower in his seat. What would his mom say? That's Freddy's only comforting thought however fleeting. He hasn't been near his family for a couple years...at least now they're on the same planet. But after all this maybe that just makes it worse.]
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A burro brays. Larry isn't sure if Freddy is awake or not. Every once and awhile he pats on him to be sure he's warm and alive.
His heart hasn't stopped feeling heavy or wrenched into a vice.]
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Stop it.
[He groans with a sudden stirring. Sleepy caramel green eyes are looking hazy and half-lidded. There's crust on the corners. Not attractive at all.]
What happened?
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[Cash money. The road the old man knew was out of commission. Who knew someone actually mended fences or now and then kept track? The point is they're here.]
We're going to a hospital.
[No ifs, no ands no butts.]
If I understood right it'll be another twenty minutes or so to the larger cuidad.
[The cars are moving slow enough for him to get a look at the passenger. Hell as a face right now and it's Freddy Newendyke's.]
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[And so fucking soon. No chance to consider diverting their path (to let his mom know he's alive). Freddy shifts in his seat to be more upright. Ow that didn't feel good.]
You speak enough Spanish to...
[Make sure they don't accidentally amputate him or leave a sponge behind. Not that he's profiling the developing world or anything.]
no subject
[The more miles, the more hours the better except Freddy cannot wait that long.]
To-?
[The uncertainty shouldn't be surprising. Larry blames the lack of sleep and a hot meal. The most he's had is from the gas station. It was a necessary stop for fuel.]
They speak English here too. Not everybody does but I speak enough. I'm sticking by you, man.
[Like always. Like has been. There they go again.]
Look--[where to start? I am sure beyond a shadow of a doubt I spent years with you?]
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[About the English, that is, Freddy snorts, a temporary return back to the chipper fox he can be, the chipper fox he was before he suddenly disappeared. Fuck what was he even doing at the time? He vaguely remembers going by the arcade to try his hand at a claw machine, just killing time before Larry got off work.]
Look. [They both speak at the same time.] I was--I was kinda delirious back there. A lot of stuff was going through my head.
[Spit it out, Newendyke.] Weird stuff...
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Last the old man knew he came home to an empty apartment. Hours rolled by. Days. Empty even though it all went on around him.]
You and me both. It all sounds, feels crazy but I felt like I just woke up.
[How does he come out to say what he wants to fucking say?]
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[Freddy asks. He wants to know because that sounds like Larry gets what he's trying to say too. How two grown men can't talk about the few years they shared in some entirely different cursed reality isn't too difficult to conceive. Before the City, Freddy would have cited someone spouting off the same words for public intoxication.]
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This is going to sound crazy. And I'm not saying this in a figurative way like people say they known one another all their lives.
[Because people do.]
Back there, before I got Joe and Eddie... it was like we were some place else. You and me.
[If he puts it like that then it doesn't sound like his whole happiness doesn't rely on this moment. For a moment the engine, the road, the sounds around them are nothing. It's silence when Freddy isn't speaking.]
no subject
I was at an arcade. It seemed all right, but the lights and the noise...it made me sick. I woke up and...I knew where I was, it felt like a memory.
[Gunning Blonde down. Maybe Freddy's doomed (blessed?) to replay that moment in his life again and again.]
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Fuck, that's right!
[Okay fuck. He can't just keep away the old man takes a hold of Freddy's shoulder and tries not to wrench him any way to pain him.]
Yes, baby.
[Dare he say it? The word just rolled out.]
I came to and I saw the warehouse. The guns, I didn't know what to think. I wanted us to get the fuck out.
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[Freddy warns and doesn't push that paw away. Any incident no matter how minor could blow the whole thing. But he's looking at Larry, brow furrowed.]
I don't know what happened. It's--it's fuckin' weird, Larry.
[A true indicator of it being real? The old man knows his name. He didn't tell him that before all this. Another indicator?]
You know I'm a cop? I'm a cop, Larry. [The vomit is coming out but only as words.]
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[Both hands to the wheel for caution and because it feels to surreal. He needs something stronger than the other man to grasp too. Shit he's bled out so much. Bonnie wasn't sure if she could do more than patch him up.]
I can't tell you either, kid. I was there then I wasn't.
[He swallows and nods before he speaks. Freddy is a cop. Joe and Eddie are dead and fresh in their graves now. Again. Something like that. They're on the lamb.]
I know, Freddy. You're a cop.
[It doesn't make it less of a murder.]
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I can't fuckin' believe it...what the hell happened to us?
[Yeah he's going to ignore the whole dead Joe, Eddie, Marvin Nash, and the scumbag. If Freddy were to think about it more he might realize Pink was nowhere to be found when all the guns went off. Is he still there?]
That was three whole fuckin' years, Larry.
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[Three years. So much. All the wondering and doubt. Here they are back where it started more or less. Now they got a head start.]
It's a long time. Longer than I could have hoped for.
[And now that it's done, it is a mind fuck to be in their own reality. The hospital is visible ahead..]
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[He's only assuming other things about those years are gone too, like Larry's new tattoo. Hell they do look a little different. At least in the old man's case being thrown from 3 years living together back to this day he can see a few differences. Lawrence Dimick looked less gruff in the other place, maybe a result from being happier.]
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If you remember and I remember, I can deal.
[That means that it all still means something, right? Right? Larry swallows as he pulls closer. If only there was more time to talk. Freddy's going to be getting the help he so desperately needs to live. That's more important than hashing out details by far.]
no subject
[Freddy nods, hand giving a squeeze. Then suddenly he's remembering the ring and how it's no longer on his finger. Is this also going to change that? For a long time he wondered how coming their lives in that place would change anything here, now the kid's got the answer he was looking for. And it doesn't answer a thing. Just because they had a good time then doesn't mean they'll have a good time now. They're on the fucking run.]
Shit.
[He swears softly, not for any particular reason. It's rhetorical.]
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A look into his young, confident face (Brando bravado) and Lawrence Dimick was lost. A change in location, he says himself, will not change a thing. This is without listening to voices of doubt humming in his ears.]
Remember I'm here for you. I'm not gonna leave. We made it once we can make it again.
[Because he's pulling them into a parking space.]
We'll stay here until you're ready, then we're off again. A real start. No one's gonna get us. [Avoiding eye contact. Freddy can't see his worry, his fear then.]
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[Freddy nods, putting his trust in Larry, as if he has anyone else right now. You could have said no, Newendyke, you didn't really have to go with him. Don't pretend you didn't have a choice. What does that make Freddy Newendyke, formerly of the Los Angeles Police Department?]
Don't leave my sight while we're in there.
[Or at all. The old man isn't looking straight at him which is all fine because that makes it easier for the kid to really look at those crow's feet. Funny how it works.]
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I'll piss. That's it.
[Larry squints from the light, from the stress. He's steeling himself. His Spanish is passable. Passable is gonna need some help in this emergency. The engine dies and the buzz goes on in his skin.]
I love you. Hear me? We're gonna be okay.
[Unsolicited it sounds better to his ears. Still there is no way of knowing.]
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Okay, tough guy.
[One deep breath in. One deep breath out. Larry gets out and makes is way to the other side to help Freddy out.]
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The TV sucks.
[He comments to break the silence. It's all in Spanish and there's no bizarre intergalactic space porn to discover either.]
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