The upstairs of this club was filled with smoke, and it burned my eyes. There was a slight aroma of weed, and the floor seemed to be somewhat wet. My shoes were sticking to the surface. I don't even want to know what made this floor so damn sticky. Disgusting myself, I shuddered.
"Are we sitting right here?" I asked, hoping she would say 'no.' My eyes couldn't take the burning sensation. Or the thought in the back of my head that bodily fluids are what made the floor sticky.
"No way, we're going to the back." Thank god. We walked through a curtain and inside this warehouse there was another club. This side was much nicer. There wasn't anyone bumping into me, and it didn't smell. The bar sat in the middle of the open floor. I wanted to sit down so badly. My feet were killing me already in these heals. There weren't any strobe lights either, thankfully. My eyes wouldn't be able to handle it.
"I'll be right back. There is someone I need to speak to." Rory huffed and handed me her purse.
"Who?"
"The asshole that lied about me to Josh." She was getting angry quickly, and I wasn't sure if I should go with her. Most of the men on this side of the club look like trouble, compared to the ones downstairs.
I glanced at a table across the dance floor and saw a group of four men in the corner. They clearly didn't want to be seen.
As if reading my mind she shook her head, "I'll be fine. Go sit at the bar. I'll be back."
I nodded, "If you need me, let me know." She gave me a thumbs up and walked over to the group of men. I wanted to stand there, and make sure she was okay, but I couldn't any longer. My feet hurt. This is why I don't usually wear heels.
As soon as I got to the bar, I sat down and took my shoes off. My feet were red and looked they would be blistering soon. How fun.
I looked around the room and noticed there was a mix of men. Half of the men had on suits, while the other half had on casual clothes. I don't understand why you would wear a suit if you're on the south side. That seems a bit redundant.
My friend Kayla always said she loved men in suits. She said it made them look sophisticated and put together. It reminded me of Goodfellas or any other mafia movie. Maybe they just stopped here to get a drink and were planning on leaving to go strangle someone.
"Well, look who it is." A mystery voice said, making me jump. I turned my head left and right and didn't see anyone. Suddenly two hands made their way over my eyes.
"Guess who?" He chuckled, "I'll give you a hint. I'm tall, dark, and gorgeous."
I laughed, "No idea."
He took his hands off my eyes and spun me around. I did not recognize the man in front of me. His smile was gleaming. He was tall, with black hair, and dark eyes. He really was tall, dark, and gorgeous. He had tattoos covering most of his body. I couldn't make any of the symbols out under the dim light. He had on ripped jeans and a black t-shirt.
He held a lazy smile on his face.
"You really don't remember me?" He put his hand over his heart and faked hurt.
"That cuts, A. That cuts deep." He pulled his hand up and showed a scar on the side of his hand. A pool full of memories hit me at once.
"Ash?" I smiled. "That can't be you." The last time I saw him we were kids. Childhood friends. He was just a scrawny, sarcastic, loudmouth when we were young. Last I heard he moved in with his grandmother.
The scar on his reminiscent of a when he accidentally put his hand through glass at my house. That was not a fun day.
“’Tis I, the devil in the flesh." He kissed me on my cheek, and my face lit up, red.
"You grew up that's for sure. You look good. I look better, but you still look good." He joked and put his arm around my shoulders. I laughed and pushed at his chest. He was still the sarcastic asshole I remembered. He still had that same glint of mischief in his eyes as well.
"You still at the same place?" His face was so close to mine. He was unbelievably attractive. Definitely not the boy he once was.
"Rory and I are. My parents moved to Florida." Thank god.
"Your parents never liked me, much." He laughed. "They always thought I'd get you into trouble."
"You never did. You aren't evil." I smiled. He gave me a wicked grin and rubbed his arms.
"I am very evil." He joked and fluttered his eyes. It was slightly awkward seeing him again. I didn't know what to talk about, exactly. I haven't seen him in almost eight years, and the last time I did wasn't very pleasant. My mom always hated him, so she blamed everything that happened to me on him.
Ash and I were playing on the front lawn, and he got into a fight with a neighborhood kid. The kid accidentally hit me, and my mom called the police and told them that Ash hit me. We weren't allowed to be friends anymore. We still snuck around behind my parents back and continued to be friends for about a year. His father died, and his mom had a breakdown, so he moved in with his grandmother across town. That was the last I heard about him. Years later I tried searching his name on F******k, and nothing was there.
His mom died last year. She was extremely mentally ill, and never seemed to get help. She would only come outside at night, and she would only walk to the store down the street and come right home. She never had any visitors, and when she died, there was only a handful of people at her funeral. Ash, being one of the people who decided not to go. Her cause of death was suicide, but of course, around town, there were speculations she was murdered. The rumors were cruel, and not needed.
He still held a lazy smile on his face, "It's crazy seeing you again. I can't believe it's been so long."
"How come you never called me?" I asked, bluntly. When I was a kid that hurt a lot. We were best friends, and I waited for him to call every day for what seemed like months after he left. He never did. That was my first real heartbreak. There was a time in my life where he meant the most to me. After years it was almost like he had died, and the only thing he left behind were memories. And, after years here he was standing right in front of me.
His smile dropped, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. He appeared to be thinking about his words more carefully.
"My gram was pretty strict. I wasn't allowed to use the phone in the house. She was kind of like my mom." He laughed, nervously. I could tell he was lying. I glared at him, and opened my mouth to tell him off, but before I could my sister interrupted.
"Well, well. If it isn't Mr. bad boy in the flesh." Rory laughed and threw her arm over my shoulders. I glared at her, and she gave me a confused look.
"Well, well. It looks like ugly decided to show up." He teased and poked her in her arm.
She pretended to be hurt and punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"I joke. I joke." He held his hands up, defensively.
Ash and Rory always got along quite well. They're the same age, so they were in the same grade together. She was the one who introduced us when he moved to the neighborhood. My sister was much more talkative and outgoing than I was when we were young. She got along and was friends with everyone. It was much harder for me. I had one friend, and I was looking at him.
"I see you two are catching up," Rory said, looking between him and I. I became confused and angry. Did she know where he was this whole time?
"You knew he was back around?" I snapped.
Rory looked at me with regret in her eyes. She knew, and she didn't say anything. How could she?
"I told her not to say anything." Ash interrupted and stood between my sister and me.
"Why?"
"I couldn't see you. I've only been out for two months." That was a slap to the face. It's never fun to find out how little you mean to others. How insignificant you are in their life.
"Out from where?" I spat. Hurt had to be clearly written on my face, because he frowned slightly, and reached for my hand. I snatched it away and furrowed my brows.
"Jail." He sighed.
And then I heard the first gun shot.
I hardly had any time to process what he had just said to me before a second long bang erupted throughout the room. I couldn't make out where it came from, but as soon as the first bang hit, another did too. I heard yelling, and glass breaking. I looked around the room frantically trying to see for a way out."Someone's shooting we need to go," Rory yelled. We both were looking for an exit when Ash grabbed Rory and I and hid us behind the bar. The woman who was bartending had her hands over her head and was sitting on the floor with us. She had tears in her eyes, and she had a pocket knife in her lap."You two, don't move," Ash yelled, sternly. The easiness that was in his eyes just a moment ago was gone. His eyes turned an even darker color, if at all possible.Rory and I both nodded. My hands were shaking, and my heart was poundi
"What the fuck are you involved in?" I whispered and climbed out of the closet. Kicking shoes, and random articles of clothing out with me.I was beyond angry, and I didn't know how to process it. It might have been years, but this is someone I thought I knew. As a kid, he’d gotten into trouble, but this now was more than trouble. This was criminal. This was dangerous. At the same time, I wasn't sure what I expected. People change. Some for the better and some for the worst. I'm guessing he was the latter."None of this was supposed to happen tonight. This was us brokering a business deal." He ran a hand through his dark hair and held a blank expression. He started collecting the papers that the man from before flung across the room. He had his back turned to me. His muscles tense."Are you in a gang?" I muttered. I'm not sur
The lounge was elegant compared to the rest of the club. It almost looked like an old Victorian home. The couches were a maroon color, and the walls were black. I saw countless men that I didn't recognize. Some were sitting around a poker table at the end of the room, and others were at a small bar next to me."Stay here. I'll be right back." Ash whispered in my ear and let go of my hand."Hold on." I gripped his shirt, "The last time you said that I got shot at." He was trying to leave again. I'm starting to notice a pattern.He snickered, "All of these men here are my brother's men. No one will touch you. You'll be safe." His brother's men? He managed to pry my fingers from his shirt, and I gave him an annoyed look.I turned on my heel and started walking away until he grabbed my hand. "I
He's a murderer.I couldn't shake those words from my head. But, again what did I expect? He's in a gang for Christ sake. I watched Josh kill someone, why wouldn't Ash? It's has been a week, and I haven't heard from him. He had my number, and he knew where I lived."Aid, can you do the register today?" Kayla asked, snapping me out of thoughts. Kayla was the bubbly brunette that I happened to work with. She was very friendly, and inviting; almost a little too friendly.Mario's was a small, and cozy diner. It had a 1950's feel to it. My boss did say that his grandparents bought the place, and it's been in his family ever since. My boss was rarely here, and when he was, he would sit in the back room by himself. Which is nice; it gives us leeway to do whatever we want."Yeah, no problem," I gru
"I'm serving house arrest here." I wasn't sure if I was happy or terrified. I was happy I would see him more often, but I was terrified for the same reason. In a way, I was still cautious of him. I trusted him not to bring harm to me, but I did watch him pull a gun out last week. I had such conflicting emotions, and I was just a mess.I hadn't seen Ash since last night. He didn't want to talk for long; just in case the police were keeping an eye on him. He also told me to take the back door when I sneak over. He didn't want the police thinking we were up to something."They'll think we're conspiring."I understood that and decided to give him some slight space. I still had questions that I wanted him to answer. Every so often I would take a peek at his house, and see the lights on. I never
I must say Rory has been sober all week. I'm genuinely surprised, and very proud of her. She's been running every day. She also told me she was going to start gardening. I made fun of her and told her she was turning into an old lady. I stepped outside and noticed all the flowers Rory had bought already. I smiled and started walking over to see the asshole next door. I hadn't seen much of him this week since my work schedule was so packed. I guess it was time to catch up. Ash was sitting on the porch; which didn't make sense since he was on house arrest."I'm surprised that bracelet didn't go off yet." I smiled and walked up the porch steps."I'm allowed to the very end of the porch. I've tested it." He grinned and shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth. I heard the sound of tires squeali
Rory slammed the phone down and groaned. "Who was that?" I asked, popping my head around the corner to get a better look at Rory. She sighed, and threw me a glance that said, 'do you even have to ask?'"Mommy dearest, of course. She wanted to talk to you." She muttered, obviously annoyed. "I bet she was going to try and convince you to move to Florida."Rory pulled the eggs out of the fridge and slammed them down on the counter. I'd be surprised if all of them weren't broke. Talking to our parents always added unnecessary stress. "Like that would ever happen. I have no interest in Florida.""I don't blame you. You'd have to live with them." She sneered."I ca
"I'm getting out of this fucking bracelet today." Ash was frantic. He had been pacing around the house all day, and I had no way of calming him down. I felt like he was losing his mind. "I saw that fucking van again, but this time it parked outside the house all night." He made sure the curtains were closed, and he told me to only come in the back of the house now. "Calm down, please." It hurt to see him so anxious. Even more, because I had no idea how to get him to stop pacing. "I can't. This isn't just about me. If they see you coming over here, they could hurt you." He yelled, I flinched slightly, and he frowned. "You don't know these people like I do." "Why would they want to hurt me?" I wasn't involved in this lifestyle. I was only ash's f