Free The Ups and Downs of Being Dead by M. R. Cornelius Page A

Robbie must have been sixteen. Robert knew
his son was drinking because he’d discovered whole bottles of booze missing,
but he didn’t realize how heavily Robbie was into drugs until the ski trip to
Utah. Amanda and Robbie wanted to go to Vail or Aspen, but Robert was thinking
of investing in some condominiums in Park City, Utah. To placate Robbie, he
said both he and Rachel could bring a friend along.
    The first day out, Robbie and his buddy Chaz were clowning
around on a black diamond run. Chaz collided with a tree.
    What a nightmare. Robert had been in the middle of a meeting
with the lawyers and real estate agents when he was called. Amanda had been off
shopping and couldn’t be found. The ambulance was just screaming in when Robert
arrived at the hospital. Paramedics leaped from the back, juggling contraptions
to keep Chaz alive.
    Robert only remembered bits of the doctor’s report: head
injuries – coma – drugs in the boy’s system. All Robert thought about was lawsuit .
    He instructed the doctor to make Chaz a top priority. He
called Martin and had him arrange to fly Chaz’s parents out. Then Robert and
the rest of his family waited at the hospital.
    Robbie lasted maybe two hours. At first he’d just slumped
into a chair and chewed on the yarn strings of his ski hat. But then he’d paced
around the small waiting room mumbling to himself, his face winking in
exaggerated twitches.
    He got louder until he finally stopped in front of Amanda.
    “Why are we hanging around here? The doctor said he’s in a
coma. There’s nothing we can do. I say we go back and ski.”
    Robert jumped to his feet, charging Robbie. “Absolutely not!
We’re going to wait right here until Chaz’s parents arrive.”
    “Oh, come on! That won’t be until midnight.”
    “That’s right.” Robert’s head bobbed with anger. “So you
might as well get comfortable.”
    Robert remembered how Robbie never even looked at him. His
eyes stayed right on Amanda. “I’m burning up in these clothes. Can’t we at
least go back to the condo and change?”
    Oh, no. If Robbie got the chance to go back to the condo,
he’d park himself in front of the television and never come back.
    “If you’d take that stupid hat off and quit stomping around,
you wouldn’t be so hot,” Robert said.
    Still glaring at Amanda, Robbie waited maybe another ten
seconds for her to come to his defense. When she didn’t, he stormed out of the
room. Amanda raced after him.
    For about an hour, Robert tried to convince himself that
they had just stepped outside to cool off. But then Rachel stretched her legs
out in front of her and announced to no one in particular, “I guess they’re not
coming back.”
    In the back of his mind, Robert had known all along they
would not. Amanda had taken Robbie back to the slopes.

 
    * * *

 
    The slut from Robbie’s bed padded down the hallway, but
before she plopped down on that nasty toilet seat, Robert followed his son to
the living room.
    First, Robbie pawed through the debris on the coffee table.
When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he patted down the boy sleeping on
the sofa. Still nothing. He went back down the hallway and stopped at the open
bathroom door, his hands braced on each side of the jam.
    “I need a fucking cigarette.”
    The girl stood, and as she pulled her jeans back up, Robert
realized that the snake tattoo went all the way down to her waxed mons. It
looked like the snake had slithered out from between her legs.
    Robert staggered back at the same time the girl pushed
Robbie out of the doorway and stumbled to the bedroom. She threw a crumpled
pack at him before collapsing on the bed. Once he had a cigarette lit, he
flopped down beside her.
    “Jesus, Morgan, where did we go last night?”
    Grabbing his wrist, Morgan pulled the cigarette close enough
to take a drag.
    “I don’t know, but my jaws are killing me. That goddamn
Damien sold you some shit.” She flexed her jaw, massaging the