"I heard that to." I took a belt of bourbon. I winced as it burned its way down.
"And that Burn punk…"
"Rex?"
"Yeah, him, he got himself in trouble with the man. He knocked off a pizza joint."
"No shit?" I laughed.
"Yeah shit. See what happens when get yourself knocked out. The world happens." A salvo of phlegm riddled coughs interrupted him. He took a belt from the bottle. "Ah, good for what ails ya boy" he pounded his chest. "Yeah, looks like the dumb ass be spending some good time on the inside."
My head spun. Russell's voice faded in and out as he cackled. I passed out.
"Never figured you for such a light weight." Russell said as I came to. My head ached, I struggled to sit up. The bourbon bottle sat empty on the table.
"Take you time boy. Don'ts go standing up too fast." Russell instructed.
When I found my legs, Russell's apartment seemed alien to me. The stale, damp air constricted around my lungs. I needed to escape. Russell's voice crackled like a distant AM radio station. "Russell, do you know where I live? I don't know where I live. I forgot where I live. I don't know where I am. Where the fuck am I? Can you take me home? Please, I don't know where I live!"
"Get hold of yourself boy, I'll take ya home." Russell's voice slithered through my panic. My claustrophobia faded as we stepped out into darkness. The fresh air chased the residue of Russell's apartment from my lungs. A semblance of calm returned.
"Where you going? This way boy," Russell said. When we crossed Main Street he told me to lead the way. "If you screw up, I'll tell you."
I walked, once familiar landmarks rushed around me. I felt dizzy. I tried to mask my increased breathing.
"Relax boy, you ain't going to be lost again."
Despite his reassurance, I felt a like stranger in a strange land. As we came to Cemetery Street, Russell asked me: "which way boy?"
I looked up and down Cemetery Street, its streetlights casting a pall in the winter night. I knew that I lived next to a cemetery that was at the end of Cemetery Street. I was confused about if it was uphill or downhill. It's uphill, it's gotta be uphill, I told myself. I looked down Cemetery Street and noticed Lucas's Funeral Parlor. Though I knew better, I started towards Lucas's.