Sitting on the bed next to her, I put an arm around her shoulders. Her glassy brown eyes pleaded with me for advice. As if I were in any position to give it. My own life was a different brand of disaster.
“How about you take a few days to think about it? Do some research about your options. I’ll even go with you to Planned Parenthood, if you want.”
“Am I a bad person if I get an abortion? We’re Catholic. My parents would kill me.” Tears streamed down her face, making her mascara run.
I brushed her unruly hair away from her face. “You don’t have to tell your parents, Cece. But Dante has a right to know, no matter what you choose.”
“I suppose, but I’m afraid to tell him, Gianna. We’ve been together for almost a year, but we’ve never talked about this type of stuff.”
“He loves you,” I assured her. “He’ll do the right thing.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Don’t change on me. Don’t extort me unless you intend to do it forever.”
-Tupac Shakur
CALEB
The football player stood menacingly over the cheerleader in her matching blue and gold uniform. Her eyes were closed, her face covered in blood. She resembled a broken doll, sprawled out on the hard floor. The football player’s eyes were wild, his face twisted in uncontrollable anger, his fists clenched as if to inflict more pain.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the image. I hadn’t been there at that exact moment, when Josh had hurt the girl I loved, but it was etched in my mind nonetheless.
Setting down my paintbrush, I stepped away from the painting.
I hated it.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d despise it until it was finished. Jim was expecting me to deliver it to him next week. After working on it furiously over the past two days, I’d completed it sooner than he’d anticipated.
I had to get out of here before I burned the thing.
Grabbing my keys and tugging a t-shirt over my head as I pushed my feet into a pair of unlaced Converse, I locked the apartment door behind me. It was Tuesday evening and the summer sun was just beginning to lower in the sky.
I slipped on the sunglasses I kept in my car as I pulled out of the parking garage. I needed food. My mom had been at work all day and I hadn’t eaten since lunch when I had a sandwich and chips. I was tempted to go to my favorite diner, but the last time I’d been there had been with Gianna. I swung by a drive-thru instead, getting a hamburger and fries.
I’d resisted for four days since getting out of juvie, but I couldn’t any longer. Entering the address I’d memorized while locked up into my phone’s GPS, I got directions to Gianna’s dad’s house.
It was only twenty minutes from downtown, in an area of Englewood I was vaguely familiar with. Swallowing my food without really tasting it, I washed it down with soda and got onto the freeway.
Their house wasn’t far from the Denver Tech Center and Fiddler’s Green, where I’d been to a few concerts. Normally in the summer, I’d have tickets for concerts at Red Rocks, Pepsi Center and Fiddler’s Green. Sometimes even at the seedier venues downtown.
This year I’d be stalking my ex-girlfriend instead. Hailey was right, my life was pathetic.
But letting go of Gianna would be like taking my last breath. And I was too young to die.
The house was in a very expensive neighborhood, even for Englewood. I’d known Gianna’s dad came from money, but damn. No wonder Julie had been pissed when he’d divorced her ass. My dad made a good living, but not enough to afford a house like this.
I circled around the block, returning to park my car down the street, cursing its bright red color. Next time I’d switch cars with my mom.
Yep. Pathetic.
The question was, should I try to win her back if she really did love Gage? What if he made her happier than I could? Did I blame her for moving on when I hadn’t been there for her the past eight months since the attack?
It was impossible to be sure of the answers, but one fact was more important than anything else.
No way did Gage love her as much as I did.
My world revolved around that girl. I got locked up for her, I fought for early release for her and I’d keep on fighting for her.
Somehow I knew that no separation could dim my love for her. I could go without seeing her for a decade and one glimpse would have me falling all over again.
I had a whole lifetime with her planned out in my head. I wouldn’t let a sleazy dipshit like Gage steal the love of my life.
I’d even find a way to forgive her if she’d let him touch what was only mine.
But he’d have another beating coming.
The sky had darkened into night when a white Honda pulled into the driveway. I’d been playing a game on my phone, patiently waiting for a glimpse of Gianna. The Honda’s horn honked and she came out the front door wearing a clingy yellow dress that went to her knees. I’d had my hands full of those curves, leisurely licking every inch of smooth skin.
I was hard at the memory. I’d have to take care of that myself again tonight.
Gianna got into the passenger side of the Honda, proving Gage was a crappy boyfriend for not getting out of his car and going to the door. He just sat his ass in the car, waiting for her to come to him.
Our first date after we got back together, I would make sure was amazing. My girl deserved the best.
The image of Gage’s hands on her curves flashed in my brain and I started my car to follow them. It wasn’t sane or healthy, but I didn’t need to feel good about myself, I needed to figure out how Gianna could choose this guy over what we’d shared.
He took her to McDonald’s. Holy shit, the idiot was with a girl like Gianna and he took her to a shitty fast food restaurant? With the money Ian had paid him, he could afford better.
I slouched back against my seat as I waited for them to eat their food. Sure, it was only a weeknight, but if Gianna were with me, I’d have at least taken her to a chain restaurant. Better yet, when I got her back, I’d cook for her myself.
Their booth sat against a window and jealously burned in my veins as she talked animatedly with Gage in a way she hadn’t done with me since last October. He reached out to touch her hand and I had to push down the desire to get the baseball bat I kept in my trunk and take it to the windows of his girly Honda.
After tossing their trash, they stood in front of a Redbox, browsing through the movies. How often did they rent movies and watch them alone in the dark? Dammit! It hit me that compared to the short time we’d had, Gage and Gianna had spent a lot more time together. Was her bond with him stronger than it’d ever been with me?
Psycho Josh and being thrown in juvie had messed up my life in ways I hadn’t expected.
*****
“I’d take ninety-nine problems over bitch problems any day,” Dante grumbled from the passenger seat.
“Amen,” I replied, more than feeling his pain. Although, it was more like I had ninety-nine problems all having to do with Gianna. I should write a list like I made her do when we’d first met.
Gianna still hadn’t responded to the last text I’d sent two days ago. It was bad enough I’d followed her and Gage last night, trailing them back to her house where they watched the movie. Surely Gage was limited with her dad being home?
When Dante called to hang out, I’d agreed to keep myself from driving past Gianna’s house again. I assumed she’d be with her new boyfriend tonight, but Dante thought she was with Cece. Not that he was positive since Cece had been dodging him all week.
“Man, you’re contagious,” Dante said. “Everything was fine with my girl until you came home and got dumped. Now the same thing is about to happen to me.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “That makes me feel really good about myself. Did you do something to piss her off?”
“Not that I know of. We were fine on Saturday, then she started ignoring my calls on Sunday and texted she’d be busy for awhile. It’s summertime! Until she starts
at the ballet academy, she doesn’t have shit to do but be with me. She isn’t even working at her family’s restaurant this summer so she can concentrate on her dancing.”
“So your solution is to get high?”
“Get high, watch South Park, eat a giant burrito. Wanna join me?”
“The burrito part sounds good, but I can’t get in trouble again. The judge will throw my ass back in juvie until I turn eighteen.”
“Alright, man. I just need to stop by Ruben’s apartment.”
I turned at the next left, heading in the direction of Ruben’s apartment. I hadn’t seen the guy in over a year. Marijuana might be legal in Colorado, but it was still illegal to buy for anyone underage. The area of Denver he lived in was worse than I’d remembered. His apartment was one of four on this side of the building.
I parked my car on the street and followed Dante up the stairs to knock on the door. Music blasted from inside but turned off when Dante kicked the door several times.
The chick who answered was almost as tall as me and Dante, but way skinnier. The bags under her glazed eyes told me she was strung out, probably had been for days. “Who are you?” she slurred. Stringy brown hair hung to her shoulders and she wore no bra under her bright orange tube top.
“Is Ruben here?” Dante asked. “I texted him I was coming.”
“Damon?” she asked, recognition briefly lighting her eyes.
Dante stepped inside as she backed up, holding the door open for us. “Actually it’s Dante, and this is Caleb.”
“I’ll go get him,” She smiled, her teeth yellowed from unhealthy habits.
As she disappeared down the hallway, I murmured to my friend, “Sure you still want to get high?”
He grunted, taking a seat on the edge of a dingy couch. “I don’t want whatever she’s on.”
The apartment smelled of pot smoke and canned raviolis. A fantasy video game was paused on a enormous television and two ashtrays filled with cigarette butts decorated a scuffed coffee table. This dump made me fill dirty. Avoiding the stained couch, I leaned against a wall painted dark red.
Ruben came out wearing only basketball shorts and sagging socks, his scrawny chest covered in more tattoos than the last time I’d seen him. Unlike the chick, his grin showcased remarkably white teeth for his lifestyle. “Caleb, Dante! Haven’t seen you two in forever. What can I do for you?”
I stayed where I was as Dante stood to shake Ruben’s hand and receive a pat on the shoulder. “Just need a gram.”
Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s it?” He likely didn’t sell much of the stuff nowadays, with his venture into harder drugs and the legalization of marijuana.
“Need to relax tonight,” Dante answered vaguely. He didn’t smoke much anymore and knowing Cece’s ambitious personality, she wouldn’t approve. But my friend wasn’t the troublemaker I was and he did well in school. His mom was too strict for him to mess up much.
“Alright,” Ruben said, sauntering into the kitchen area to open a drawer. Knives, forks, weed, I guessed. If I ever entered Julie’s house again, it’d be funny to slip some weed into her cookie jar for her find at a later time. Odds were, Chance would be the one to find it, so maybe Julie’s panty drawer would be a better idea.
My dad spent time with Chance sometimes, picking him up for dinner or to see the latest superhero movie. Maybe I’d tag along next time so I could see the kid.
Dante had cash in hand, switching it for the baggie from Ruben. A pounding on the door interrupted whatever Ruben had been about to say. Dante got back to his feet when a deep voiced someone began shouting threats through the door.
Great, probably some junkie with no money.
Ruben ran a hand over his mouth, his eyes darkening with apprehension. “Fuck.”
“Who is it?” I asked, beginning to sense it was more than a junkie desperate for his next hit.
Ruben paced the small living room. Through the door a new voice yelled, “Open the fuckin’ door, Ruben, or we’ll break it down!”
The girl from earlier came out of the bedroom, her eyes now more alert. “Is it Sammy?”
“I gotta open it,” he said, his hand on the deadbolt.
Dante snatched my arm and I let him yank me further from the door. The door flew open the moment Ruben turned the deadbolt. Four scary motherfuckers barged in, one of them immediately pushing Ruben against the wall with a gun under his chin. “I want my money, shithead.”
Another of the intruders grabbed a hold of the druggie chick, making her yelp as he pushed her onto the couch and towered over her.
The eyes of the other two guys zeroed in on me and Dante. One of them pointed a gun at us, sneering. “Who the hell are you two?”
I felt Dante bristle next to me. Before he could shoot off his mouth, I answered for us. “Just customers of Ruben’s. Happy to mind our own business and leave.”
The gun waved at us while he spoke. “You’ll just keep your punk asses in the corner while we deal with this fucker.”
We were forced to stand there while two of the guys beat the crap out of Ruben and another one slapped the girl a few times. The fourth guy kept his gun on us as if we were inclined to play heroes for the drug dealer and his addict girlfriend.
One thug began rummaging through the apartment, disappearing into the bedroom for a long while. He came back looking less hostile, a wad of cash in his hand. “Found three Gs, Sammy.”
Sammy punched Ruben in the cheek. “Where’s the rest?”
“That’s all I got!” Ruben whined through swollen lips, blood dripping from his newest wound.
The guy slapped the chick again while his friend looked on, laughing. I spoke up, hating to see a woman hit, even one like her. “Hey! Does she look like she has any money?”
The one holding the gun on us, who’d mostly ignored our presence up to this point, stalked closer. “You wanna take the hits for her, kid?”
“He didn’t mean anything!” Dante defended, holding up his hands.
Didn’t matter. The barrel of the gun pressed against my forehead, mingling with the sweat there. The asshole got in my face. “How about you two? Hand over whatever you got.”
Threatened with a gun and robbed? Never again were we buying from Ruben. Hell, after this I’d make Dante swear off smoking for life. Dante grabbed my wallet from my back pocket, shakily handing it over along with his own.
The dickhead backed up, snatching our money and carelessly dropping the wallets onto the carpet. His grin showed off a gold tooth. “Two hundred bucks. Thanks, this’ll buy me some pussy.”
I barely resisted making a smart ass remark. With an ugly mug like that the guy probably had to tip extra.
Ruben and his attackers were still negotiating when he’d pay the money he owed them. The girl on the couch continued crying, her heavy makeup running black down her cheeks.
Sammy and his thugs finally left, giving Ruben one more week to pay the five thousand dollars he still owed. His girlfriend ran to where he slumped to the floor as soon as the door shut behind them.
Dante tossed his bag of weed onto the coffee table as we got the hell out of there.
CHAPTER TEN
“He is not a lover who does not love forever.”
-Euripides
CALEB
I threw the basketball from half court, watching as it bounced off the backboard, missing the hoop completely.
Dante and Taye laughed at my miss as I went to fetch the basketball. My phone beeped and I pulled it out of the pocket of my shorts.
I need the rest of my money. When are we gonna do this?
Hailey was eager to spread her legs for Gage. I was equally eager to show Gianna what a douchebag he was.
I’ll figure it out and let you know soon.
No way was I paying her the rest until she’d at least attempted to seduce Gage. We’d have to wait for the right opportunity, a time when Gianna wasn’t around. Some people might think it was wrong to ruin her relationship with Gage,
but when it came to Gianna the only wrong I knew was us not being together. Right was her being my girl
“Throw the dang ball, Caleb!” Taye called out, prompting me to fling it at him, aiming for his head. We’d teamed up two on two with a younger kid who’d been shooting hoops by himself. Dante and the kid were kicking my and Taye’s asses.
“Hold up!” Dante yelled, his phone in hand.
I strolled over to where he stood with a sick look on his face. “What’s up?”
His eyes met mine. “Cece. She wants to know where I am so we can meet and talk.” He ran a hand over his sweaty face. “Aw, fuck. She’s gonna break up with me.”
“You tell her where you’re at?”
Dante picked up his t-shirt, using it to wipe off his perspiration. “Yeah. She’ll be here soon.”
I had a towel in my car I’d use later. My own t-shirt I flung over my shoulder. I’d driven us here, where we’d met Taye, so I’d stick around to see if Dante needed a ride. Or moral support. Taye and the kid, Carlos, had dissolved into playing one on one.
We waited by my car, leaning against it and talking about anything other than the shitty situations with our girls. I’d like to assure Dante he wasn’t about to be scraped off by Cece, but with her joining the ballet academy I wasn’t sure. Maybe she’d realized her new hectic schedule wouldn’t allow time for a boyfriend, even one she loved. I hadn’t witnessed the past eight months of their relationship, but I assumed she was as crazy about him as he was her.
But who was I to judge? I’d thought Gianna loved me.
It wasn’t Cece’s car that pulled into the parking lot, but a white Jeep. My heart began to beat like a hammer. I’d finally get the opportunity to talk face to face with my girl. Good thing her pipsqueak boyfriend wasn’t with them or I would have reenacted Friday night.
Through the window, I saw as Cece said something to Gianna and she responded by hugging her. Dante was totally getting dumped.