The apartment was dark when I got home. It was unusual for it to be dark this late at night. Ethan didn’t go out after a certain time at night. If it was dark out, he was home. When he was younger, he had gotten jumped and robbed of the money he had earned while playing.

When I had met Ethan we were fifteen at a fine arts camp. Then we both got accepted to the same fine arts college. Sadly, I couldn’t go because my asshole father disowned me and refused to pay my tuition. I had to live vigorously through Ethan. But since I was a visual artist and Ethan a violinist, it wasn’t the same. His friends were also complete snobs and thought I was freeloading off of Ethan. If they only knew I paid for the rent, utilities, and food. Ethan used his money for his own wants. Just because Ethan was in school and living his dream and I was prep cook at a dive of a restaurant didn’t make him better than me. Well, I was a prep cook. Now I seem to be a personal assistant for a man with an ego the size of Alaska.

Looking around I noticed Ethan’s ugly vase his grandmother gave him was no longer on the wobbly shelf they got at a thrift store. His music stand was also not at the end of their bed like it always was, just so I could trip over it going to the bathroom. In fact, I didn’t see anything of Ethan’s that wasn’t garbage he found on the street. I noticed the flashing light on the answering machine and knew what it was. I thought about deleting it without listening, but I had always been a glutton for punishment. Pressing the play button, I prepared for the worst.

“You have 1 new message and 3 old messages. First new message.”

“I know you’ve noticed I took all my things out of the apartment. I’ve tried, really, I have. You’re going nowhere and I need someone that has goals in their life. You don’t even have a job anymore. I’m going to be someone someday and you riding on my coattails isn’t what I want for my life. I’m going to stay with Francois until I figure out my next step. I do wish you well. Take care of yourself, Justin. Bye.”

It was funny, I had always wondered what I would feel if Ethan left. I had always thought I would be devastated. Turns out it just made me hungry, maybe it wasn’t the leaving just that I hadn’t eaten since this morning.

The thing was, ever since I turned sixteen, I’ve had plenty of offers, before sixteen if I was perfectly honest. Ethan hadn’t liked that and said guys with a high body count were disgusting. So, I didn’t entertain the idea after that. But this was the first since I was fifteen that I was completely free to do anything I wanted. The first thing I was going to do was pack my messily ass shit and move the fuck out of this hellhole. I smiled remembering that Ethan hadn’t wanted me on the lease because he didn’t trust me. I wonder how long it will take him to realize I’m not going to pay the rent anymore. I hope not before he’s thousands of dollars in debt.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself when I remembered I was thousands of dollars in debt.

When I went to sign the paperwork, my mouth dropped at how much I was going to be paid. I would make more in one week than I had in a month at my old job. With any luck I would have him paid off in a few months’ time. Even though I hadn’t worked a day yet, I wanted to keep the job even after he was paid off. Jobs like that don’t come up every day. If I didn’t get to keep the job, I would just hit his car again.

Grabbing the phone, I dialed my best friend Daphne’s phone. It was good she never got annoyed with my as she calls them “drama queen” moments.

She answered on the third ring. “Someone better be dying or in jail,” she snapped.

“Does homeless count?” I asked, hearing her groan. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Yes, but what’s new about that. Hey, stop, give me a minute.” She was clearly talking to someone else.

“I was just wondering if you still needed a roommate?”

“Shit, Justin that was three years ago.”

“So, is that a no? Because I’m tidy.” There was laugh on the other end of the phone and it wasn’t very ladylike.

“You not only make a mess you are one. But you’re my mess. Come over tomorrow and we’ll work on your unhomelessness.”

I didn’t think that was a word, but she was the one in college. We said goodbye and I let her get back to whoever’s dick she spit out to talk to me.

“Fuck this shit.”

I wasn’t going to stay here one more night. There was no way that I was going to sit at home and lick my wounds. Ethan never wanted to be part of Liberty Avenue more than playing on one the street corners where most tipped him more for his ass than his playing. But I was single now for the first time in my adult life and I was going to make the most of it. Maybe I should be sad Ethan left but we weren’t suited for each other. He wanted to be rich and famous, and I wanted to hold a pillow over his face until he stopped moving. You see? Different priorities.

Most of my clothes were outdated and baggy. Thankfully, I could still wear the clothes I wore in high school. The bad part was it was because we didn’t eat very much because bills were more important. Well, I didn’t eat, Ethan usually ate at his friends’ houses. I hope they get food poisoning. That wasn’t very nice to think but they hated me long before I hated them. I was able to find the last outfit my mother had gotten me. She didn’t like Ethan any more than Daphne did, but I knew she didn’t buy tight clothes for me because she wanted me to go out and get laid.

The jeans were a bit tight, my mother still thought I was twelve. I cut the bottom off the white shirt, showing off my mid-drift.

I grabbed my license but left my wallet in the apartment. Sliding my license in my back pocket, I was ready to go. Only problem was I didn’t know where to go. I knew most of the clubs were membership only. Well, the worst they could do was turn me down.

I decided to try Poppers, mostly because it didn’t look as intimidating as Babylon. The bouncer let me in with no problem, he did grab my ass as I walked by him though.