I was a simple kind of girl. You're all American girl is you must. I grew up with the perfect American family and lived in the house with a white picket fence. I was the youngest and therefore the spoiled one. I had daddy wrapped around my pretty little finger. I was the pretty and innocent one. The one that knew nothing of the street life. But one day my world came crashing down on me. My world fell apart and I was thrown into a new one. One that I would stay loyal to for years to come. And when my loyalties were blurred it would come back with a vengeance.
It was a hot summer day. The dogs were barking and the sprinklers were spraying. I was sitting in my window seat looking out. I had my white and pink notebook in my hand. I was an artist. I loved detail. It was my passion and my life. That morning I had woke up and saw a bird sitting in a tree outside. I slowly made my way over and started to sketch. That was an hour ago and I was in the same position. My knees drawn up to be my make shift table. My brown hair thrown carelessly in a bun. Wearing my pink polka dotted night shorts and white cami. This was normal. This was life and it was about to be over soon.
It was later that day when we were all in bed. My parents at the end of the hall. My brother who was home from college was in the guest room down stairs with his new girlfriend in his room. I laid there thinking about my graduation in two weeks. I was excited. I turned 18 a week ago and the same day got my acceptance letter from Yale. I was leaving in July. My parents were upset but happy. They were afraid to let me go. I heard a thump downstairs and sat up. I went to get out of bed when I realized it was probably my brother. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I heard another bump upstairs. I sat up and sighed. I walked toward my door and slowly opened it. I looked out and saw my parents door open. I sighed and went to close the door when it was shoved in my face. I screamed and fell back holding my nose. I looked at my hand and saw blood. I was yanked off the floor and was face to face with a man in a black mask. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth. I saw out my door that two other men had my parents. The man that had me pulled me out the door and downstairs. He threw me on th floor next to my brother and his girlfriend. I saw the other men take my parents into the kitchen. I felt Donnie wrap his arm around me and hug me. I screamed as I heard two gun shots go off and saw the two men walk out off the kitchen. They were loading shells into the gun as they walked. There was five of them. The two that had my parents. The one that got me and the two that had taken Donnie and his girl. I tried to move backward from the men walking toward us but another pointed his gun at my head. One man pulled up Donnie's girlfriend and took her into the guest room where Donnie had been.
I heard her screaming and crying through the door and cried harder. I knew he was raping her. I saw Donnie tear up before a man grabbed me. Donnie stood up and screamed at him but was hit in the face with the man's gun. He drug me into the den at the front of the house and threw me on the sofa. I jumped up and tried to run. He grabbed my hair and threw me on the ground. He kicked me in the ribs and rolled me over. I screamed as loud as I could but stopped when I heard another shot go off. The man on top me of laughed.
"Big brother, ain't gonna save you now."
I screamed and hit him in the chest. He ripped my shirt off and felt my chest. I cried as he kissed my lips. I squeezed them shut and moved my legs but he just laughed. He hit me in the side and I cried out in pain. He shot his tongue in my mouth when I did. I wanted to gag. He pushed himself against me and I bit down hard on his tongue. I tasted blood in my mouth as he jumped off of me and screamed. I scrambled over to the fireplace and grabbed the sweeper. I just grabbed it when he turned me over and when he did I hit him. I hit him two or three times and dropped it. I slowly walked over to the doorway of the den and looked at my front door. It was unlocked. I ran for it and swung it open. I ran down the street as fast as I could. I heard people honking and yelling for me. After all it was nearly midnight and I was running and screaming down the street in my bra and shorts. I ran and ran until someone caught me by the waist. I screamed and hit the person. They pulled me tight and hugged me. I stopped fighting and sobbed. The man pushed me back and looked at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I shook my head and sobbed. He saw my chest and wrapped his jacket around me. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911. He sat me down and held me as we waited. He held me and rubbed my back until the police arrived. They took me aside and asked me what happened. I told them as best I could but in the end all I managed was bits and pieces.
"My parents...they...dead...raped her...attacked me..." I sobbed and fell to my knees. The man that had caught me ran over and hugged me again. I fell into his arms and cried. The cops managed to get my address out of me and told me to wait at the police station. The man had been walking so he rode with me.
We sat in the lobby at the police station. I stared off and blocked out the bustle of the room. I didn't even hear the man call me as the police walked in. The walked over and took their hats off.
"I'm sorry. No one made it." he told me. I sat there and stared at him. I wanted to cry and to scream but I couldn't. I looked over at the man sitting next to me and laid my head on his shoulder. That was the beginning.
"Johnny! Get your lazy ass up!" I shouted my boyfriend. He groaned and threw a pillow at me. I jumped on the bed and bounced. "Johnny! Oh Johnny!" I shouted.
"Neveah! Damn it, quit!" he yelled at me. I sighed and got down.
"You're an ass!" I said stomping out the room. We had been together for three years now. He was the only thing I had after my family was killed. Thing was he was a complete stranger. He caught me that night and held me while I cried. He was there for me through the whole investigation and all. He was there when they told me they had no idea who did this. He was always there for me. I loved him then. But now. Now is a different story. I knew he had a gang but they were nothing big three years ago. He had gained more power and was more hateful. He was fine sometimes but other times I wanted to leave. But I knew better. I was safe with him. He took care of me. He gave me what I wanted. I guess that's the perk of selling drugs. He made money. Lots of money. He spoiled me. I guess he thought that would make up for him treating me like shit.
"Nev. Come back here!" he called getting out of bed. I stopped at the doorway and glared at him. He got up and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close. It was his arms that made me fall for him. The way he held me, it made me melt. I sighed and leaned back into his chest. He smirked and kissed me temple. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It was a rough night." he told me swaying slightly.
"Whatever." I told him flatly. He turned me around and cupped my face.
"Awww now babe. Don't be like that. I'm sorry." he said softly and kissed my lips. I reluctantly kissed him bac but relaxed when he pushed me against the wall. I felt his hand crawl up my side and play with my shirt. I sighed and pushed him off.
"I'm still mad." I told him and walked off. He punched the wall and cursed himself. I walked in the living room and headed over to the balcony. I sat down and grabbed my sketch pad. I looked around and saw a flowerbed on the window sill of an apartment across the street. I started to draw out the outline of the building and then the flower bed. I finished and looked at it. I smiled sadly and balled it up. I still drew like a pro but it didn't make me happy anymore. It wasn't the same anymore. I jumped when I heard Johnny walk out beside me. He looked down at the floor and grabbed the paper. He unfolded it and sighed.
"Why don't you ever finish? You're good, Nev." he told me. I never once doubted that he cared but he let this new world take him over.
"It's just not the same. I don't fell for it. So I can't finish." I told him rubbing my temples.
"Listen, Neveah. I'm sorry about earlier. I know I haven't been home a lot and I know I've been rude but it's been stressful." he told me kneeling in front of me. I sighed and rested my head on his.
"I know. But you've gotten so mean. It hurts. Feels like I'm losing you." I told him softly.
"Well, you're not. I'm right here. It's you I come home to." he smiled at me. I smiled back and kissed him. I was about to deepen it when his phone rang. I groaned and stood up. He sighed and answered. I walked into the kitchen and heard part of his conversation.
"What?! You've got to be kidding me! I'm tired of this shit. He needs to be gone. So what if he was here first! I'm here now. Look, I want Darley out. And soon!" he yelled and hung up. He walked into the kitchen and looked at me. "Sorry about that."
"Who's Darley?" I asked.
"No one. Just some guy that used to run this part of town." he said angrily. He hated talking to me about his work. What he didn't know was that I knew more than he thought.
"Sounds like he still does." He glared at me and walked off. We moved here about six months ago and even though he had a pretty good clientele I knew he was having problems with another gang. I sighed and walked into the bedroom. I got dressed and grabbed my keys.
"I'm going to the store. I'll be back in a few." I yelled at him walking out the door. He glared at me and waved me off. I slammed the door and got into the black Tahoe. He had gotten it for me last year as a birthday present. He had the money so he used it. It was nice. I started the car and drove off. I passed a nice mustang on my way out and looked at it. It was black with red tribal markings. I continued driving to the store not knowing it followed me there. I still didn't put two and two together when I saw them park next to me as I got out the truck. I walked into the store and grabbed what I needed. When I walked out there was a man leaning on the mustang. He was really tall and bald. He had tribal tattoo's going all the way up his neck and had a nice goatee. He had on a tight black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He had a long brown leather coat that showed off his fit and lean figure. He was very attractive and had the brightest eyes on the hardest face. He looked over at me and nodded to my car.
"That yours?" he asked. I shivered when I heard him speak. His voice was so deep and made me loose my breath for a moment.
"Yeah. That yours?" I asked and opened my door to set my bags down. He nodded and lit a cigarette.
"Yeah. What's a tiny girl like you doing with something that big?" he asked exhaling.
"What? Don't think I can handle big things?" I flirted. I mentally smacked myself when he smiled. I had a boyfriend. He'd kill me.
"Wanna show me how well you can?" he asked huskily. I tried not to smile and comment back..
"I would but my boyfriend wouldn't like that." I told him. He nodded.
"Speaking of, what's his name?" he asked seriously. I looked at him confused. Johnny always told me not to talk about him to people I didn't know.
"I don't see how that's any of your business." I told him getting in my truck. I tried to close the door but he grabbed it.
"Well, if you change your mind about showing me how you work things, let me know." he said and walked off. He was out the parking lot before I could start the truck. I couldn't help but think about him as I drove home. He was so...mysterious. So tall, lean and damn good looking. I shook him from my thoughts as I pulled up to my house. I unpacked the car and walked inside. It was dark and quiet. I sighed and knew he had left. I set the bags down and read the not attached to the fridge.
'Be back later. Love, Johnny'
I sighed and threw it away. I put the stuff up and sat down to watch tv. Somehow that guy came into my mind. I leaned back and thought about the places his tattoo's traveled. I laughed out loud and shook my head.
"Oh god, Nev. Stop it. You got Johnny. Even if he is an ass." I said out loud to the empty room. It wasn't until about 11pm that I got tired. Johnny still wasn't home so I got dressed for bed. I was pulling my shorts on when I heard something in the livingroom. I froze. I slowly reached for the spare gun in Johnny's top drawer and held it tightly. I walked towards the door but stopped when it opened suddenly. I screamed and fell to the floor. The person had seen the gun and tackled me. I was screaming and fighting when a familiar set of arms went around me.
"Hey! It's me. God, I'm sorry." Johnny said trying to calm me down. I started to cry and he held me closer. "I'm sorry. I should have yelled for you." he told me. I sighed and held onto him. He rocked me and rubbed my back.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak." I told him softly as he pulled me up and walked me to the bed. Even after three years I was still jumpy in the dark.
"You have every right to. Now let's get some sleep." he told me as he held me close. I relaxed and closed my eyes. "I need you to be careful for the next few weeks, ok?" he told me suddenly.
"Why?" I asked.
"This other gang. They're really bad and we're having more problems and I'm thinking they might escalate. So just be careful around people you don't know." he told me. I nodded. My mind went back to the guy with the mustang. I wanted to tell Johnny but decided not too. I fell asleep thinking about him that night. Bad. Thinking about a man that is not your boyfriend.
'I wonder who he is?' I thought.