Those times when the sky was as cloudy as today were the perfect times to go to the park for a walk. The sun has been horrible this summer; you wouldn't want to go outside just to burn yourself with the 113 degrees temperature. However, today the clouds were covering the sun and the sky was dark, since the time was 7:00 pm, and the clouds were grey, threatening with unleash a storm at any moment. But that wouldn't keep Lily Loud from going for a walk. Any time she wanted to get out of her house she went to the park on Morgan Street; not many persons go to that zone because of its bad reputation. That park was the gathering point for addicts and dealers; the few business that were there were the kind you would expect in a hood like that. It was dangerous, but for Lily Loud it was nothing but a walk in the park.
The blonde was not a little girl anymore; she was sixteen years old with her long golden hair with that characteristic cowlick, she was wearing a pair of jeans with a pair of black converse, and she was using a long sleeve purple shirt. Her childhood years weren't the happiest of her life since her father left the house to live with another woman and her children. "It's cheaper to support hers than yours." It was the last thing Lynn Sr. said before leaving the house to never return, leaving Rita on the floor crying and begging him not to go. Lily was five years old when that happened, and since that moment she knew thing would change for bad. The situation of the Loud family didn't get better; Rita became alcoholic, and whenever she wasn't working, she was drinking on her room, crying and blaming her daughters for making her husband leave. The elder sisters, since Lori to Lucy, left the house when they turned eighteen, leaving her and her sisters trapped in that asylum.
As years passed, Lily was growing up with resentment towards her elder sisters for leave her, towards her father for change them for another family, towards her mother for not being the adult she was supposed to be and for not being there for her when she needed, but upon all that, she hated her brother. The white-haired boy was not only her brother, but the person she trusted the most, the person she admired and loved the most and her hero; the day when he left the house Lily begged him on her knees not to leave, but her brother didn't listen to her. "Sorry Lily-bug, but I must go." Was all that he said. He didn't even look at her eyes when he said that, he just turn his back and walked trough the door. Her brother left her; the only person she looked up, the person she needed the most to protect her and take care of her… In that moment Lily realized that she was alone; she couldn't count on her elder sisters because they gave up time ago. Now was everyone by themselves.
Lily felt a bitter taste on her mouth; she balled her hands into fists and clenched her teeth.
She woke up from her thoughts to realize that she arrived to the hood everyone called "Black Market", because there were not only addicts and dealers or cheap taverns, but many others "stores" where you could buy from weapons to mercenary services. Lily didn't know how she ended up going to that kind of site; maybe it was because of the time where her mother forgot to pick her at the middle school and she decided to walk home, losing herself in the way and ending in that dangerous site. Or maybe it was because of that girl she met outside the school selling cigarettes; Lily became her friend, and she introduced her in that world. Unfortunately, Lily suddenly stopped seeing the girl outside the school; when she asked in the black market a man said that a black suburban kidnapped her and since that day she hasn't been around there.
The teen put her hand into her pocket, revolving everything as she looked for something, when she found it, she took it out; it was a pack of cigarettes. The girl opened it, but when she saw there only was her lighter, she crushed it with her hand and thrown it behind her. The blonde turned in a corner and walked straight, and in her path she passed several locals a sixteen years old girl should never know, like Roy's tavern; that place was a pit of alcohol for the local drunks that smelled like sweat and pee. Even some of the clients were sleeping in the banquet. Next to that place was a cheap whorehouse which Lily couldn't remember the name, but almost all the clients were the drunks from the tavern or fat guys from other parts of the city that went there because either they were too stingy to go to a better place or they had small problems. At first, Lily didn't understand how those places even get some income since all their clients are the poor bastards that live there, but eventually she realized that those places are sponsored by the Mexican gangs that sell their shit there.
After walking for some time, Lily finally arrived to the place; trash, beer bottles, cigar butts, used condoms and syringes were all around the ground, making it hard to walk without stepping on one of them. The park consisted in some threes over tall grass, some benches occupied by homeless men, and a bridge that crossed over a pond of green water with trash floating in the surface. The benches, the bridge, and almost all the walls were covered in spray, with paints about the Mexican gangs of the zone. Lily had no time to appreciate the pieces of modern art that surrounded her; she only came to this place forgotten by god for one reason.
She went deeper into the park, ignoring all the vulgar things the homeless were yelling at her. Some others were asking for a something she could share with them, but Lily ignored them just like the others, and kept walking. She knew that showing money in public, especially in that place, was not a good idea; if someone knows that you have money you might become an easy target for burglars.
She walked towards a kiosk in the center of the park, which was also covered with spray and dirt. She walked trough the stairs, and when she arrived to the top she spotted a man covered by shadows; Lily reacted quickly, and with a calm face, she put a hand on the combat knife she was hiding on her waist. The man walked forward to step out of the shadows and his face was revealed by the light. Lily recognized the man, relaxing a little and unhanding the blade.
"Hey, Doggo." Lily said. Doggo was one of the many dealers that lived there; the guy was tall, had brown hair, and was dressed with a leather jacket, jeans and boots. He was the right-hand of the Mexican cartels in charge of that zone, which gave him power and advantage over the other dealers.
"How are you Lily?" Doggo said, just as calmed as the blonde.
"I'm fine." Lily replied. "I need more stuff."
"Normal or specials"
"Both." Lily said.
"Alright." Doggo said as he put his hand inside the jacket; Lily saw some things in his belt, such as a knife, a walkie talkie, and some other stuff, but what caught her attention was a gun he had attached at his belt. Lily had never used a gun, and honestly she was kinda afraid of them, but she knew Doggo would never use it against her. After some moments that for Lily seemed like hours, he took out an unopened cigarette pack, and a smaller box which contained five weed cigarettes. "The price of the tobacco increased, but I'll leave it to you at the normal price."
"You're the best, Doggo. Here you got." Lily said, giving the dealer a well folded $20 bill, so anyone spying on them wouldn't suspect. The man took the cash and went again in the shadows. Lily looked at everywhere to see of someone were spying, but luckily she saw no one, so she just left the place as quick as she could.
She opened the pack to grab a cigarette and then put it in her lips, using the lighter she lit the white cancer tube. Giving a drag, she felt as the smoke filled her lungs, the nicotine flowing in her blood and taking out all the stress she had from her house. Soon the sensation of relaxation and calmness dominated her.
Lily followed the path she used to get to the park; she passed a dark alley between the tavern and the whorehouse, when suddenly she felt as a pair of hands grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into the shadows. One of the hands slammed her violently against the wall while the other was over her mouth, preventing her from screaming.
"Don't even try to resist, girl!" The guy said as he tried to hold Lily. "Gina didn't want something with me tonight, but that's her loss because I just found something better…" The guy said as he introduced his hand under Lily's shirt, touching and squeezing her breasts. The horrible smell and the rancid breath told the girl that it was one of the drunks from the tavern. Lily knew what she had to do, so she let the guy do what he wanted, letting him down his guard.
That was his mistake.
Lily grabbed the knife hidden in her waist and held it tight while waiting for the perfect moment to strike; the guy opened her shirt, revealing the girl's smooth and soft white skin, along with her small breasts that were showing up because the guy lifted her bra. Next, the drunk unbuttoned her pants using the hand with which he was covering her mouth. Lily saw his moment, and as quick as she could she stabbed in the guy.
The guy felt as the sharp blade was going through his skin and his muscle, which made him release the girl and step back; Lily took out the knife, and watched as the guy grabbed his belly in an effort to minimize the pain and the blood loss. The drunken man fell, and soon a pool of blood began to form beneath him; Lily got closer with the knife dropping blood in her hand, and with a kick she put the guy on his belly. The drunken man just continued grabbing his wound while whining in pain. Lily took advantage of that by grabbing him by his hair to lift his head, she put the knife on her throat, and then she slashed the poor bastard.
The blood was now gushing as the guy took his hands to his throat in a useless effort to stop the bleeding; Lily just watched as the blood flooded in the ground, nearly staining her shoes. When the guy stopped moving, she cleaned the knife to hide it again in her waist, fixed her clothes, and then she lit another cigarette as she walked away from that place.