about fat boy over there? Or your
big-boobed slut? Look at the size on those puppies! I certainly
won’t be able to miss.”
“That’s
enough,” Rick replied, rubbing his thigh. “Don’t talk to Amy like
that. You’re way out of line.”
She stuck out
her bottom lip. “Aww, what’s the matter, Wick? Are you afwaid I’ll
upset your poor widdle girlfwiend? This baby’s full to the brim
with pellets! One more word out of you and I’ll have you leaking
like a sieve.”
“Enough!” I
shouted. “This is ridiculous. Rick, put a top on. Everybody, be
quiet. Listen. Can you hear that?”
Louisa sighed
at me. “What am I meant to be hearing?”
“Sirens.
They’re coming, Louisa. The police are on their way. This nonsense
is over.”
She scowled in
my direction. “Yeah? You know what I hear, sweetie? The sound of
bullets spraying all around this room, massacring every one of you
asshats!”
“You don’t have
any bullets,” I sighed. “Think about what you’re doing here,
Louisa. You can't win. It's over. Rick loves me and he'll never
take you back. I might sound harsh and to the point, but that’s the
way it is.”
“Wow,” she
smiled. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you? And here I was,
thinking you were all good hair and great tits. Maybe he does like
you for your brain as well, after all. You’re a stronger woman than
I gave you credit for.”
“It’s why I
love her,” Rick agreed. "I'm not the man for you, Louisa."
"Why not?
Couldn’t you be?"
"No, I can’t.
Because I'm an asshole."
She nodded.
"True."
"An arrogant,
childish asshole who needs to start growing up."
"And
overrated."
"Hey! Who are
you, Rolling Stone?"
I interjected.
"Rick! We’re making progress here, okay?"
He turned to
look at Louisa. "Most of all, I'm a coward. I'm a coward for
leaving you to look after our child alone. I'm a coward for not
giving Lucas a proper father all these years. He deserves better
and so do you. But it's not with me, Louisa. We both know that. I'm
a coward who's in love with a girl who'll put up with my cowardly
ways, probably more than anyone ever should. I love Amy and I
always will."
“So there’s no
hope for us?”
Rick shook his
head. “There never was, Louisa.”
“But we’re
Luke’s parents! We could build a new life together! Give him what
we should have all these years…”
“We’re not
Luke’s parents,” Rick interrupted. “We conceived him, but we’re not
parents to him. We never were. Julia and Michael are his parents
now. To pretend otherwise would be horribly unfair to them and
him.”
I knew how
tough that must have been for Rick to admit, feeling tears well up
in my eyes.
“He’ll always
be in my life. He can be in yours, too, Louisa. But only if you
listen to your doctors and the people trying to help you get
better. Only if you try.”
“I don’t know
if I can accept that,” she said, her voice breaking. “I love him so
much.”
“Then let him
go,” Rick smiled. “And me.”
Louisa put the
gun to her head just as two police officers appeared, guns drawn,
in the doorway. “Drop it!”
Rick waved at
them to lower their pistols. “Come on, Louisa. It’s an air pistol.
The worst you’ll do is mess up your hair.”
She scanned the
room, initially defiant. Then, slowly, her face began to change.
She looked desperate, sad even. For the first time, I felt a little
sorry for her. She slowly lowered her gun and dropped it to the
floor as the officers moved towards her, their guns back in their
holsters. Suddenly, she adopted a kung fu pose. “Hiii-yaaa! Get
back! I’ll tear you pigs limb from limb! You’ll never take me
alive, coppers!”
The room fell
silent in utter disbelief.
“I’m just
kidding,” she said, putting her wrists out to be handcuffed. “Just
having a bit of fun with you guys. I’m off my meds, remember?”
“This is
freaking crazy,” Rick muttered. “Welcome to my world,
officers.”
Roger turned to
me. “I