Ch. 1
Starting off Strong
As he closed the lighter and slipped it into his pocket, he took a long drag of his cigarette. When he pulled it from his lips he let the smoke slowly billow out, curling around him. His eyes were deadlocked with hers, sizing her up. She wasn't too tall, ample build. Her rich, dark brown hair fell well past her shoulders. For all intents and purposes she would've been considered absolutely stunning. Of course, this was not his focus at the moment. While he did idly take in all of these features, he concentrated on her eyes. Most importantly, what she was saying with them. She held almost no fear in those eyes, though there was some; they were dead-set and determined. Her crystal blue eyes almost matched his, except for one very important feature – his eyes never hinted towards even the smallest amount of fear.
"You've got some nerve comin' down here for Lee, you know that?"
She didn't reply. She held still, standing her ground. She wasn't about to play any of his games.
"Tell me girl, what is it exactly you expect to do here?"
"Just tell me what I have to do, and I'll take care of it."
He grinned at this. "Tell you what to do? This ain't fuckin' rocket science, just pay up."
She sighed in frustration. "I don't have the money, and you sure as hell know she don't either. If either of us did, we wouldn't be in this little predicament now, would we?"
He narrowed his eyes a bit at her tone as he walked towards her, coming within inches of her. He easily towered over her as he bent down next to her ear. "That ain't my fuckin' problem, now is it?"
She felt her breath catch in her throat. She had never quite realized just how, well, large he really was. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she struggled to form a reply. "W-well n-no…" she was finally able to let out, her voice barely above a whisper, "it's-"
"Exactly," he said, cutting her off before she could finish. He brushed past her as he took another long drag from his cigarette. "Why don't you save yourself some trouble and just tell her to come down here. I've been waitin' long enough… and I won't be so kind if I have to go get her myself," he added the last part as an afterthought.
She mentally scolded herself for letting him get to her. After a deep breath, she gathered herself enough to turn around and face him. "Wait."
He turned back to look at her, getting more annoyed with every second she spoke.
"Please, don't do this to her. I'll do anything-"
"Anything?" he spoke as he slowly began walking towards her again. His expression had shifted, now more amused than anything.
She shrunk back a bit at his question. She wasn't even sure herself how far she was willing to help Leah out, and the look he was giving her wasn't helping. However, she knew she had no choice. She had to do something or this whole situation could have a bad ending. Unfortunately for her, it was already looking that way.
"How much exactly does she owe? I mean can't we set up some kind of, I don't know, payment plan or-" she stopped mid-sentence when she heard him laugh. "What the hell is so funny?"
"What do you think this is a fuckin' bank? It wasn't no loan she took out little girl. She took my shit and didn't pay."
"Well now you make it sound like she stole from you," she countered, crossing her arms. She knew Leah was far from an angel but she knew she would never steal from anyone, not intentionally at least.
"Oh I'm sorry, what do you call taking something without paying for it?"
She sighed and dropped her arms. He had her there. "There has to be something I can do…" She looked at him pleadingly, desperately. She hated that she was driven to this, that she was practically begging, and to him no less, but there was nothing more she could offer. "Please…"
He took a long drag as he stared at her. "Look," he said as he exhaled, "why don't you save yourself some trouble and just go home."
"What about Leah?"
He shrugged. "One way or another, it will work itself out."
"No," she replied stubbornly, "I won't let you hurt her."
He raised an eyebrow curiously at her. "Oh really?" he said as he began approaching her again. "Tell me, how exactly do you intend to stop me from doing anything?"
She stood there and stared at him. She didn't have an answer for that, for she herself didn't know. However, she didn't let this break her stance.
He looked her over for a moment. He admired her courage, but that would only get you so far. "What the hell are you doing here for her anyways?" he asked, breaking the heavy silence between them. "It's not like this is your problem."
"If it involves Leah, then it is my problem," she countered. "She's not like all of your shitbag friends." She knew she struck a nerve there as she watched his expression harden. However, that was not enough to deter her. "She's my best friend, and practically the only family I've got. And if you think I'm just going to sit back and do nothing while she has to deal with this, then you're completely wrong."
"Don't you dare talk about my friends as if you know anythi-"
"Then don't question me about loyalty to my friends," she cut him off. She felt her confidence rising more and more as she spoke. She had no idea where this was coming from, but she wasn't about to let up now. She was the one who held the power now. Well, at least it was that way in her head. "I know this may be a new concept to someone like you, but I actually fight for the ones that I love."
He moved to yell back at her, to put her in her place, but he stopped. Instead, he restrained himself and replied after a long moment, "Is that so?"
A slight smile touched his lips. This girl didn't know who she was talking to. While he could have chosen to be completely pissed off at her statement, he found himself more amused than anything. She had no idea just how deep loyalties ran out here on the streets. "And you think that I don't?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly at him, wary of his sudden turn of emotions. She didn't like how calm he was being, as if this were a regular Sunday afternoon conversation.
For a moment, she thought over her reply. She knew she was treading in dangerous waters already, and at any moment she could push him too far. After thinking it over she settled on a question that not only followed up on her point, but one she herself was curious to hear the answer to. "Tell me Billy Darley, what do you have out here to love?"
Now wasn't that the question of the ages? He'd never really thought about it much, mostly because no one had ever asked him such a question. Immediately he thought of his little brother, Joe. He meant the world to him and he wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for the kid. He felt the same about Bodie, who was practically his brother too. While he somewhat cared for the other guys in his gang, those two where the closest to him.
He hardened his gaze towards her. He didn't like this girl getting under his skin like this, but it only served to heighten his curiosity about her.
"Nothing that concerns you," he finally said after a he took a long drag. "You've got 'till next Friday." He figured he could keep Bones off his back for at least that long, but he was already pushing it.
"Wh-what?" she asked, confused and extremely surprised – that was not the response she had expected.
He rolled his eyes. "You fuckin' deaf or somethin'? I said you've got 'till next Friday; that's almost fuckin' two weeks. If you can't come up with the money by then," he shrugged, "then Godspeed." He knew if he didn't get the money by then, then it was his ass that would be on the line.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you being serious?"
"Would you rather I reconsider?" he asked, beginning to regret this decision already.
"No!" she quickly replied, shaking her head.
"Alright then. Go," he said, waving his hand for her to leave.
She rolled her eyes and began to walk out. But before she left she stopped and turned slightly, looking up at him. "Hey."
"What?"
"Thanks."
He rolled his eyes. "Get your ass home Kayla."
She sighed and shook her head, turning to walk out. There is not one appreciative bone in his body, she thought to herself as she left.
His eyes followed her as she left. While she was a little rough around the edges, this girl intrigued him. He didn't quite know just what to make of her yet. While they have had previous relations a long time ago, he now felt that he'd be seeing a lot more of her.
As she walked home she mentally cursed herself. While she was proud of the fact that A – Billy hadn't decided to kill her and B – she'd freed up more time for them, she knew the problem was far from over. Even with the extra two weeks she knew Leah owed something in the thousands, and that was a hell of a lot of money to just "come up with" in that amount of time.
Slowly the streetlamps around her began to turn on. A car alarm sounded in the background, mixing in with the sound of an ambulance racing down the highway. The low hum of traffic rounded out the chorus of a city that never truly went to sleep. Worn out and mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal she'd gone through today, the sight of her apartment building was a relief. While her troubles still went unresolved and were far from over, she took solace in the fact that she could at least rest peacefully, if only for tonight.
She walked up the stairs to her door, pulling out her key. Once unlocked, she stepped inside and turned on the lights.
"What the…"
"Look, I know it looks bad right now, but it isn't as bad as it seems."
"Leah… what the hell did you do?"
