Chapter Two: When Things Were Simpler
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my own original characters. Graceland belongs to Jeff Eastin and the other producers of USA network.
~A Few Years Ago~
My door opened and someone jumped onto my bed. I groaned. "Damn it Johnny!"I swore, opening one eye to glare at the Hispanic man laying beside me. He grinned.
"Hello Sleepin' Beauty. Time ta get going. C'mon. Up and attem."he rose up. I swore and turned over.
"No. I'm sleeping. Get the Hell out."I growled. I felt the bed move and then fingers on my sides. I laughed grabbing his wrists to get him to stop. "Damn it John. What do you want?"I finally spoke once my breath was caught. He gave a cheeky grin.
"Briggs and Donnie told me to get you up for a guys night." He answered. I swore and let go of his hands.
"Out. I'll get dressed."I told him. He got up and left, shutting my door back. I swore, getting up and getting dressed, pulling my dreads into a ponytail instead of dealing with them...
We got to The Drop and walked in. "Wanna play darts?"Donnie suggested. Briggs smirked.
"Sure. We do teams though. Me and Dale vs. you and Johnny."Briggs challenged. Donnie smirked, taking up the bet.
"Losing team does winning team's chores for a week?"he asked. Briggs grinned.
"Deal." and with that, we were in a challenge for our chores. Briggs went first, tossing a nice center shot. He shot a look at Donnie. "Beat that Banks."He winked. Donnie chuckled and easily mimicked Briggs' success. The teams neck in neck.
After awhile, it came down to a sound off between me and Johnny. The Latino man winked at me. "Wanna kiss for good luck?"he smirked. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't need luck, you might though." I quipped, taking my shot. Bastard got me to miss my first shot. I glared and threw my next dart, getting a little over the center mark. I swore and threw the last one, getting under the mark. I looked at Johnny who was shooting me a smug smile. "Take your damn turn Tuturro."I growled out. He chuckled and took the darts for himself.
Perfect scores on his part. Briggs swore while Donnie and Johnny high-fived each other. "Looks like you two will be taking on our chores."Donnie grinned at Briggs. Briggs sighed.
"Deals a deal."he lamented. We decided to drown our sorrows in whiskey while the other two celebrated with beer. A blonde woman walked over to Donnie.
"Hey Handsome. Wanna dance?"she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Donnie grinned.
"I'll meet you at the dance floor."he answered, watching as she left. Johnny chuckled.
"Is Lauren gonna be okay with that? Won't she like kill you when you get back?"he asked. Donnie winked.
"What Lar doesn't know, won't kill me."he grinned and went to the dance floor, finding the woman. Briggs shook his head, said something about the restroom before leaving. Johnny looked at me.
"So not gonna find a girl to dance with?"he asked. I shrugged.
"Might at some point. Only a few worth gettin' to know."I answered him. "You?" It was his turn to shrug.
"Maybe. Though I'm just as likely to dance with a man."he gave a wink at me before starting to the bar, leaving me there at our table, stupefied.
I couldn't ignore my stomach any longer. Getting out of bed, I made my way downstairs, to the kitchen. Johnny was sitting at the island counter, looking over a case file diligently. "Hey."I greeted him. He looked up at me, briefly, nodding his head. Acknowledging me.
"Hey. If you're looking for the cereal, it's in one of the top shelves."Johnny told me. I looked at him.
"Why is it there?"I asked, getting milk out of the refrigerator. Johnny sighed.
"I had some free time, so I organized the kitchen."he answered. I stopped in my tracks. Organized... Johnny? What? I turned to him.
"You... Organized... The kitchen?"I asked. He looked at me, furrowing his brow.
"Yes. I did. Why?"he asked. I shrugged.
"No reason just... Not something anyone hears from you... Or expects to hear you say..."I admitted. I fixed my bowl of cereal, sitting across from him. Johnny glared.
"Why? Cause I'm supposed to be messy? Honestly.. I can be extremely neat. You've seen my room lately. It's nice and neat."he spoke softly, but it was... An... Almost menacing... Tone. Menacing. Johnny.
"Okay. You're right. We tend to assume too often. I'm sorry."I shrugged and began to eat. "So what case are you working on?"I asked. He sighed, calming down I suppose. (Was he even mad?)
"Gang activity in the West End. Guns being sold on the street. Arms dealing. I gotta shut it down. Then I'm done." He took a deep breath, looking over the case more.
I chewed a spoonful of Cheerios. "Done? You mean done with the case, right?"I asked. For some reason, the way he said 'done' didn't set well with me.
"I guess I should tell you now... I'm leaving after this case is finished. I don't know where yet, but I'm leaving Graceland. Silvo even agreed."he shrugged, as if it was no big deal. He looked at the clock. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I gotta go."he took the file and gathered it all up in a tote. He waved at me, taking the JEEP keys and leaving.
He was going to leave Graceland. Johnny was leaving Graceland. Why? Why? I swore and hurried to finish eating, needing to call a meeting between the rest of the house, sans Johnny. Maybe even have Charlie call Mike to see what he says... Johnny can't leave Graceland, not when we've already lost Mike, Donnie, and Lauren. Not when things were still fragile in the house... (Not when I'm getting used to that goofy grin...)
