the saddest shot i'll ever take

a generic ringtone, a sound foreign to this 2am hour a beat as we freeze, glancing down, and then up "hello?" a motion towards the bottle clink, pour, swallow "things aren't looking too good" a pause a glance a motion clink, pour, swallow "you guys should get down here as soon as possible" no pause no glance no motion clink, pour, swallow a burning in the throat a burning in the throat that does not compare to the burning in the heart a burning that was meant to be a numbing, a botched attempt an order, a call to action slam, yell, run a somber race to get dressed flip flop flip flop a half drunken drive, the climax of chaos turn swerve ring ring turn yell "hello?" cry beep brake a car parked in the fire lane a confused family in a revolving door an out of place chuckle then, silence. seven floors of silence. finally, a collective sigh of relief at the sight of our beloved dying friend. a chance to say goodbye