Nothing For No Tomorrow

By Tim Sabados

Four friends. Four secrets. One fatal truth.

 

In the midst of a deadly pandemic Braxton, his girlfriend and another couple meet at a crowded bar. Each of them holds a tightly guarded secret—a secret that inhabits a dark corner of their very selves. And it's these secrets that slowly make their way to the surface the longer the friends sit and talk.

 

One by one the friends leave, forcing Braxton to face the horrifying truth he's kept buried for so long—a truth that will reveal the world he's tried to deny. A truth that will change his life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tim Sabados
• Release date: Nov 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201619732

Book preview

1

J

anelle’s frigid sigh saturated her breath with the frost of disgust. The cool, agitated air took a second or two to travel across the vestibule and crash into the back of Braxton’s neck. What do you think you’re…?

Braxton braced his foot against the glass door and lifted his hand behind him to try to block the bulk of Janelle’s irritation. Give me a second.

Come on. No one cares about that.

But I want to…

You always do this, Janelle said harshly. You promised you were going to…

I didn’t promise, Braxton mumbled. He adjusted his mask to better fit his nose. More like you demanded.

What did you say?

Braxton bit his tongue before he could add fuel to the smoldering argument. I said, I realize that. A pause to push back his annoyance. He purposefully extended it a little longer so he could temper his voice. I’m sorry, but it happened to catch my eye.

Janelle stepped close behind him and thrust her arm past his head. I want to be sure. She jabbed her finger repeatedly. It’s that thing right there that interests you.

Yes, that thing.

"You mean to tell me that…that thing is what you find so important at this very moment?"

Yeah. Braxton shrugged meagerly. I wanted to see what it would do next.

Janelle scoffed. What does your power of observation tell you I’m about to do next?

Braxton glanced over his shoulder. The furrow in Janelle’s brow was the sign that impatience was cracking her façade. That this night is supposed to be about us.

Yes, it is, Janelle said with a mouthful of condescension. So stop watching that dog and turn your attention to where it needs to be.

Braxton swallowed his reluctance. Did it really matter that he took a few seconds to watch a dog? Was he really as neglectful as Janelle was leading him to believe? Okay…I’ll stop. He swiped his finger below his eye to try to rub away the exhaustion. It had been another long day at the… Maybe this will be a good mental...

We’ve talked about this, Janelle interrupted. A night out is good for both of us.

Braxton slowly nodded. He was here, at this bar, and that meant this night was going to happen despite his subtle efforts to stop it. His protests over the potentially large crowd fell on deaf ears. I guess we should get inside. He slid his foot from the door. I could use a drink.

Me too, Janelle said excitedly.

Braxton turned to walk into the bar, but not before allowing himself one last look at the black-and-white dog scampering along the edge of the parking lot. His tail was curled downward. Nose skimming over the ground. The dog stopped near a bush and sniffed. Must’ve found a piece of scrap food, because he lifted his head to check his surroundings before he began to chew on something.

Let’s go, Braxton, Janelle said with exasperation.

Had he really paused that long? I’m coming, Braxton said quickly. I think that’s the third one I’ve seen this week.

It’s a dog, Janelle reiterated. Thousands of people have them. That’s why they’re called pets.

I realize they’re pets, Braxton shot back a little more forcefully than he intended. It’s more about him being a stray.

Does it have a collar?

I think so.

Then it belongs to someone, Janelle said. Now, let’s go.

Braxton sighed. Was it the third stray he had seen this week? Or possibly the fourth? It was just yesterday when he had spotted that light-brown pit bull weaving through the front yards near his house. A couple of days before that it had been a black Labrador sniffing a garbage can. Was it all mere coincidence? The early signs of something more? He hadn’t given it much thought when he first saw them, but now…now he was taking notice. If only work hadn’t been sucking every bit of his energy, then maybe he would have…

Braxton!

Janelle’s adamant tone shattered the thoughts prancing though his mind. I’m coming, Braxton replied. He spun to step inside the glass door when something else snared his attention. It was right at his feet. A small clump of green poking through a crack in the sidewalk. Was it really what he thought it was? A patch of clover? Luckily, his thin smile remained hidden behind his mask. He lifted his gaze toward Janelle and let it dance up, then down her toned body. She held open the old wood door leading into the bar. Stood there with her hip cocked. Waiting for him to respond. Waiting, by a door, just like that time when…

The image of the hotel room swirled across Braxton’s vision. He was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the door. Waiting for her to arrive. The electric static of anticipation spread across his chest, crinkled his lungs, then swept out into his limbs and numbed his hands.

It was only ten minutes past the hour and already doubt was piling on his shoulders. He stood up from the bed on legs that wobbled with reservation and walked into the bathroom. Uncertainty clung to his reflection in the mirror, so he ran his fingers through his hair to try to brush it away. Had he dressed too casually? Should he have worn a tie? He shook his head to the negative. A tie would’ve made things too awkward; don’t you think? Braxton asked his reflection. The nod had reaffirmed his decision.

He returned to the edge of bed and grabbed the remote, aimed it toward the television and hesitated. An endless array of questions raced through his mind. Would there be anything on the thing that could possibly enhance the ambiance? Make the mood a little lighter? Definitely not the news or the sports channels. Was there something dedicated to just playing music?

The card listing all the channels was sitting on the bedside table causing Braxton to sigh. It was too much of a hassle to stand and get it, so he leaned back and stretched across the bed. He had just laid his fingers on the card when…

Knock, knock, knock.

The soft tap against the door forced Braxton to freeze. His heart thumped wildly against the walls of his chest. Was it her? The haze of doubt crept across his sensibility. Maybe it was the manager from the front desk checking on him?

Braxton took a deep breath to steady his trembling nerves, then he rolled off the bed and forced himself to leisurely walk to the door and unlatch the bolt. Grabbing the handle with his sweat-covered hand, he slowly turned it, allowing the door to quietly open an inch or two. What should he say? What should he do? Hug her? Kiss her? Pull her inside? For years and years he had fantasized about what would happen inside this very room, but never those first moments at the door. He couldn’t stop now to try to figure it out. There was no way he was going to, either. What actions he would take or words that would spill from his mouth were anyone’s guess. He swung open the door and quietly exhaled a breath of relief. She was finally here, standing before him on the balcony.

The rain steadily fell behind her. He could hear the unbroken sound of water cascading through a downspout. The squish of tires rolling over the parking lot’s soaked asphalt. He heard it all as if it were the distant whisper of a radio, but his attention was centered on her. It was her and only her that mattered and there was nothing in the entire world that could pry him away from this moment.

A bubble of uncomfortable silence enclosed them both. She looked up at him, the surface of her eyes shimmering with anticipation in the steel-blue lake of shyness. Eyes that silently whispered from their very depths the yearning they both felt. A longing that had existed for years—a desire that would