Disclaimer: own nobody!
It's been 4 months since the Saints have taken cover since escaping from the prison. Romeo wants to take the boys out, but one short run-in leads to much, much more.
"Come on, guys. It's time to have fun again". Romeo said as he came out of his room.
He and the twins shared a 3- bedroom apartment, an actual apartment with rooms and a kitchen and living room. The twins had wanted to return to Ireland so badly, but their Da's condition had worsened since the incident with the Roman. He could walk and talk, also remember things, but he could only walk so far before his lungs betrayed him and he needed to rest.
"Where at, Rome? I ain't go'n out ta get killed". Murphy sounded irritated.
Both he and Connor ast on the couch, numbly watching the news.
"Jesus Christ, you puntas. I don't even recognize you guys anymore". He drew out a deep breath. "My pal Carlos' is having a small, small party at his house. It wouldn't kill you guys to have fun for a minute". He dug in the fridge and found some rum. "I'm leaving. If you guys wanna come, you have 5 minutes to get your asses to my car". Romeo shut the door.
"Romeo, you stupid cunt! Haven't seen you in ages". The guy who answered the door basically screamed.
"Hey hey, Carlos. This is Connor and Murphy". Romeo then stepped inside to introduce the twins.
"It's a pleasure" Carlos extended his hand. "Any friends of this creepy motherfucker is a friend of mine".
The boys scanned Carlos. Carlos stood about 5'7 or 5'8. His hair was a rich brown, maybe caramel and his green eyes stood out even more. With his t-shirt only leaving enough skin to show his arms, he had sleeves of all sorts of figures. From Richie Sambora to Jesus, they were completely random. He had tattoos on his knuckles, but the boys couldn't make out what they said.
Right as they stepped in, there was a set of stairs to the right. To the left was a dining room, where pong was taking place. There was a doorway leading to the living room and straight ahead from where they stood was a hallway to the kitchen.
"Please, what can I get for you guys?"
"Beer". All 3 said in unison. Romeo knew these guys like the back of his hand.
"Guys up for some pong?"
"Pong?" Connor asked, confusion clearly written on his face.
"Aye. The game where ye throw the balls into the cups, righ?" Murphy asked.
"Yes". Carlos couldn't hold back the smile on his face. "Ever played?"
"Only once. Connor was so drunk off his fuckin' arse, he couldn't even see a damn cup".
"I member naw. We played with t' rum, righ?" Connor asked Romeo.
"Yeah, you guys know how to play". He laughed as they started up a game.
The boys didn't do bad their first game; they only lost by a cup. They switched it up, and Connor and Carlos played against Murphy and Romeo.
"Hey, Carlos. Where's Charleigh?"
'Eh, somewhere. I guess she had to close tonight".
"I thought Ruby's closed at 11". Romeo stared straight at Carlos.
"What time is it?" Carlos glanced at his watch. "Jesus!" He snapped to look at the twins, remembering their rosaries from earlier. "Sorry, guys".
They tapped their heads, their chests and shoulders in perfect synchronization. "T'is all good, man. Think yer sister's okay?" Connor threw a ball and it bounced off a cup. Murphy followed it until it was stopped by a black dress shoe. He grabbed it and stood up straight, coming face-to-face with a short and petite girl.
"Thank god, Leigh. Where the hell have you been?!" Carlos asked from the table.
She wasn't paying him any attention, she and Murphy were in a deadpan stare.
She glanced him over. His blue eyes stood out against his brown hair. He had a good bit of height on her, probably around 511, maybe 6 ft.
He did the same to her. She barely looked like her brother. She had the same caramel-colored hair, but hers was cut to her chin and had bouncy, loose curls. She had a small stud in her nose. Her eyes were what Murphy couldn't take his stare away from. One eye was the same color as her hair, but the other was a pale blue. Her entire outfit was black; black shoes, black shirt, black skintight pants.
"Hello!" Carlos' voice sounded to them both like an alarm.
Murphy snapped out of it and returned to the table.
"Go change, Charleigh. Let's get a pong tournament going". Carlos said without even looking to her. He was focusing on Romeo blocking the last cup. Before he or Murphy could even realize, both Connor and Carlos sunk their balls into the cup.
"Eh, fuck ya both". Murphy joked in good fun before he took his last drink of the cup.
He sat on the couch nearest to the table and got out their cell phone, checking for any missed calls. They mostly bought it to keep tabs on their Da's he stuffed it back into his pocket, he noticed Charleigh floating down the stairs. She had on blue jeans that hugged her curvy hips. Her shirt, a faded and worn grey, had a red figure on the front, and the words "You're all going to die down here" in blood red on the back.
"Finally". Carlos smiled while tugging her to him. "Let's get this started. By the way Charleigh, this is Murphy and Connor". She nodded to them both.
Then they seperated for a second, he coming back with a hat and pen, she with paper.
"If you can wait a few, the girls will be here". Charleigh told her brother while writing a few names down.
"That's cool. I need to go on a beer run, anyway. Shaina coming over?" He asked with a childish grin.
She rolled her eyes in response.
"I can take ye to the store. I need cigarettes ehkneeways". Murphy offered.
"Yeah, that'd be cool. Leigh, keep this place in control". He said while grabbing his jacket.
Murphy got the keys from Romeo. He had to pass Charleigh to get to the door. He noticed a faint grin on her face, then went back to writing more names down.
Within 10 minutes, Murphy and Carlos were back. They noticed a huge sign, titled "Tournament", leaning against the chairs.
"Boys are drawing the names. Girls, this is Murphy". Charleigh stood next to him so he could see the girls. "The blonde, that's Deanna. The brunette is Shaina, and Cassy is the one with purple hair". She smiled to him. He stared into her amazing eyes before finally looking to the other girls, even then only for a second. "Go ahead and draw a name". She smirked. He reached in and read the name. He hesitated.
"Who'd ya get?"
"Take a guess".
"If it's me, you better get your game on".
She took off so the other guys could pick. Connor ended up with Cassy, Carlos with Shaina, and Romeo with Deanna.
"Flip two coins, Leigh. See which teams are up".
Charleigh took a quarter out. "Connor or Carlos, heads or tails?" She asked quickly while flipping the coin.
"Heads". Carlos said first.
"Connor and Cass are up. Romeo and Murphy, quick".
"Tails". Murphy called.
"You and Dee sit out". She smiled to Romeo.
She let the other 3 set up the game while she got the beers. She handed 2 to Connor, then joined Murphy.
"Having fun?"
"Yea. Never party or get out too much".
"I've gotta say, I've known all of my brother's friends for as long as I could remember. How come I've never met you or Connor?"
"We dun' normally go out or anyting like tha". Murphy poured the rest of the beers in the cups.
"Wait a minute". She was about to light a cigarette. "Do I sense a bit of an accent?"
"Born and raised in Ireland". He said proudly. "You mind if I smoke one too?"
"Nah, we don't care. Eye for eye, fucker!" She said to Cassy, who was trying to get Connor to hurry and throw a ball.
She shot her a funny glare then rolled a ball to her. She held her palm open with the ball to Murphy.
"You wanna do it?" She asked him, before taking a puff.
"Nah, you can".
Balls kept going in, until they were down to 4 and 5 on each side.
"So if you twins were raised in Ireland, what brought you here?"
"We heard that our Da lived here in Boston. We've lived here for 18 years and didn't find 'em until about 10 years ago".
Charleigh kept trying to hold his gaze, but he seem more interested in the game.
"How old are ye?"
She shot him a sideways smile. "How old do you think I am?"
He examined her face for a second. "Maybe 17, 18 at ta most?"
"I turn 21 in 4 months".
"Weh shite. I was off".
"Not by far. Can I ask how young you are?"
"Little girl, ye dun' want to know".
"Sure I do, or I wouldn't have asked".
He drew a deep breath out slowly. "38".
"No way!" She gave an incredulous look. "You definitely don't look a day past 30".
"Ye can quit complimenting me".
"I only speak the truth". She flashed him a genuine smile.
Jesus, he felt like a pedophile.
"What do you do for a living?"
"It's complicated".
She could feel that he didn't want to talk about it. She didn't bother him anymore.
"So, who's gonna win? Charleigh and Murphy, or Carlos and Shaina?" Romeo asked from the sideline. Shaina was on the steps, talking on her phone. It was almost 3am, and they were on the final game, down to the final cup on each side. They had run out of beer, so Charleigh mixed her favorite concoction; vodka and sunny D.
"Well, if Murphy could see straight, we have a chance". Charleigh joked.
"I ain't drunk, if that's what your implying". Murphy tried to get the whole sentence out in one, but it sounded more like rambling.
Connor and Cassy were sitting on the couch, talking very closely in their own little bubble.
Shaina and Carlos had both missed, and Murphy and Charleigh were up.
"Hey". She said closely to his ear when he was about to throw. She kissed his cheek very lightly. "Good luck".
When he aimed, she shot first and made it in. He steadied his hand, and vision, looked to her and threw without breaking their gaze.
"You fuckers!" Carlos was more drunk than any of them. They both missed and Murphy and Charleigh had won.
"Good game though. Only took almost an hour". Charleigh shook both their hands, Murphy doing the same. "Are you guys leaving now?" It looked like a small hint of a frown on her face.
"Well", he looked to Connor, who was still enjoying Cassy's company, "I'm tinkin Connor ain't gonna wanna leave anytime soon".
She drew a small grin before finding a teal-colored camera. She one-by-one took pictures of everybody, and a good bit of her with the girls.
"Come on, I want a group picture".
The drunk Carlos gathered everybody up while Charleigh found a spot to start the timer. She stood in front of Murphy with Cassy and Deanna on her sides. After the flash, everybody groaned and started back to sit down. Carlos and Shaina took up the loveseat, and after Deanna, Romeo, Connor and Cassy took up the couch, Murphy and Charleigh sat down against a wall.
"Get a picture of with me?" She asked quietly.
"If ye want".
He scooted closer to her, her shoulder gently pending into his chest. She let her head rest against his before the camera flashed.
"T'is a good one". He beamed as they reviewed the picture.
She brought it up to take one of just him. He smirked while showing off a bottle of Heinekin.
"It's cute". She poked fun while teasing him, not showing him at first. He finally grab her hand and jerked it his direction.
While he was looking at it, Charleigh couldn't help watching his face. The way his eyes would glisten when he smiled big, and, out of habit she guessed, he chewed on his fingernails.
"That's bad to do". She said while pushing his fingers away from his mouth.
"No different than when ye pick at the skin around yer nails". He challenged.
"I've done it since when I was little. It just got worse over the years". She shrugged.
They stood still in yet another frozen stare. She studied his face more now. Although she could tell of the years on his face, his now-baby blue eyes pierced through her, making her feel small. His soft brown hair slightly fell on his face and she pushed it away, feeling the thickness run right through her hand.
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**Chapter 2 soon**