A MOTHER'S LOVE

CHAPTER 12

Huggy smiled as he glanced at the dark haired boy walking by his side. It had only been a little over a week since he'd met the displaced New Yorker but already they had built a unique bond between them different from any other friendship Huggy had ever known. Through casual conversations, Huggy had learned about David's life in New York, at least up to a point. He seldom talked about his life after his father's murder. He had made it clear that the last year of his life was a subject that was off limits. But from what he had learned, Huggy knew that until his father's murder, the Starsky family had been a close knit unit that had fallen on hard times after his father's death. Huggy also knew that his father's death was the source of David's anger, anger that had only deepened when his mother had decided to send him to Bay City. Anger that ran so deep that the other boy was at a loss to express it fully and until he did, he would never heal.

For the last two nights, he had stayed at Huggy's apartment. They both knew that his Aunt and Uncle were probably worried about him and undoubtedly had the police looking for him. Huggy had avoided bringing up the subject of David going home and trying to work things out. He needed more time to come to terms with the upheaval in his life. He was filled with feelings of anger, betrayal, and abandonment combined with an intense homesickness and loneliness. Huggy had already discovered just how closely the brunet guarded his emotions and how resistant he could be to discussing his innermost feelings.

Huggy had some errands to run for his mother and some of his neighbors in the housing complex, so David was going along to keep him company. He was already becoming familiar with the neighborhood. Like a true child of the streets, he knew every alley, every shortcut and every abandoned building in the area. The street-smarts he had acquired on the mean streets of New York served him well in his new environment. Huggy's friends had readily accepted David as an equal, recognizing him as one of their own. But then, David was an easy kid to like with his laid-back, easy-going nature that could just as easily turn to a street-smart predator when needed.

Huggy spotted the black and white police cruiser just as they turned the corner heading for the grocery store on the next corner. He turned his head to warn David to keep out of sight but the other boy was already gone. Huggy grinned to himself realizing that he had disappeared down the alley to their left and taken refuge in the darkness where he wouldn't be seen. Huggy kept walking so as not to draw attention to himself as the cruiser slowly drove past him. Huggy glanced in both directions and then crossed the street to the store. As he opened the door to step inside, David suddenly reappeared at his side. Huggy chuckled softly as the two boys went into the store. He had to admit that David was good when it came to blending into his surroundings so he wouldn't be noticed.

The boys ambled up and down the aisles, picking up the items they had been sent after. They each grabbed a soda and a candy bar for themselves before going to the checkout. Huggy hid a grin as he watched the cashier making eyes at his brunet friend. Flashing his crooked smile, David flirted back and left the store with the older girl's number tucked safely in the pocket of his jeans.

"Way to go, man!" Huggy congratulated him with a grin, the two of them exchanging a high five. "She's hot…"

"Yeah, she reminds me of this honey back home named Lola Masters." David said with a smirk. "Man, she could ride ya hard and put you away wet and leave ya begging for more."

"Sounds like a couple of honeys I know." Huggy told him with a chuckle. They continued to talk about some of the girls they had each known on their way back to the projects. Just before they reached the courtyard, Huggy grabbed David's arm and pulled him in between two buildings that faced the housing project. "Shit, man….the cops are over there."

"They can't be looking for me." David said "Nobody knows I'm here."

"Don't sweat it, man….there's always cops coming and going…probably Artie and his old lady fighting again or they're looking for Big George…he busted into that liquor store last week." Huggy said "You stay here and out of sight. I'll check it out and see what's going down." David nodded and disappeared farther back into the shadows.

As Huggy sauntered across the street, David crouched down behind a dumpster and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket. He lit one and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in his lungs for a minute before finally letting it drift out his nostrils. A few minutes later, Huggy came back into the alley and crept up to where he was hiding. Sinking down on the ground beside his friend, he said "Shit, they are looking for you. They got a picture of you and they're flashing it around….asking people if they've seen you around here."

"Damn!" David muttered under his breath "Ya think anybody will narc me out?"

"I don't think so….but you never can tell. Old Lady Miller would if she'd seen ya but I ain't seen her around since you been here." Huggy told him

"Fuck, I can't take a chance on staying here any longer. I'm gonna have to split."

"Hey, look….I know you probably don't wanna hear this but won't don't you go back and work things out with your Aunt and Uncle?" Huggy suggested "I mean, they ain't gonna beat the shit outta ya or anything, are they?"

"No….they'll probably just ground me for the rest of my life." David said flatly. "I'll be lucky if they even let me out of the house again till I'm twenty-one."

"Ya can't keep running forever….they'll catch up to ya sooner or later."

"Yeah, I know." David admitted with a heavy sigh.

"Probably go easier on ya if you go back on your own instead of having the cops pick ya up and haul ya off to Juvie."

"Yeah, my Uncle would probably tell 'em to keep me for a while just to teach me a lesson." David mumbled. He leaned his head back against the wall of the building behind him and scowled. "Fuck, I can't change the way things are so I guess I better start accepting it. I ain't gonna be going back home anytime soon."

"Yeah and that sucks." Huggy suddenly grinned "But look at the bright side….if you hadn't come here….you'd have never met the Bear."

"I owe you, man….I owe you big time."

"Don't sweat it. I've been there myself a few times. We're Bro's now…and we're gonna stick together. The Bear will teach you all about the mean streets of Bay City." He cracked a broad smile "As soon as you get offa house arrest that is."

"Can I crash with you tonight?" David asked "Then I'll go home in the morning after my Uncle leaves for work. I'd rather deal with my Aunt first….I can handle her….I'm not so sure about my Uncle."

"Hey, you don't even have to ask." Huggy reassured him "But let's go hang at the basketball court for a while to make the cops have cleared out before we go home."

"Okay." David said, finishing his cigarette and crushing out the butt on the ground. "Hey, what about the stuff you got for your mom and them other ladies?"

"No sweat. I gave the bags to Little Willie and told him who to give them to." Huggy told him. The boys shoved themselves to their feet and cut through the alley to a rundown basketball court two blocks away behind an old church. They slouched down in the shade of an old tree, sharing a cigarette.

"So…" Huggy said as he glanced at his companion "You never did tell me…were you in a gang back there in New York?"

"Not exactly….but I was hanging out with some guys who were." David said "They were teaching me the 'ropes' until I got my ankle busted."

"So just how did that happen?"

"I got jumped by some guys from another gang. They took me up to the roof of this old warehouse and beat the shit out me with a baseball bat, then they threw me off."

"Man…..you have a way with people, don't ya?"

"Yeah,….well, I was kinda seeing this girl, ya know?" David told him with a shy smile "Only I didn't know that she had a boyfriend that belonged to this other gang."

"You are one lucky son-of-a-bitch." Huggy told him with a low whistle of admiration "You're fucking lucky they didn't settle the score with knifes."

"Yeah, well I still got the message….loud and clear." David admitted "They busted my ankle in four places. The doctor back home said even if it heals okay, I'll probably always have trouble with it. I'll be lucky if I don't end up with a limp."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"So is that why your mom sent you out here?"

"Let's just say that was the last straw. I'd been fucking up pretty bad for a few months even before that happened."

"Takes a lot of guts to admit that." Huggy told him, his quiet respect for his new friend increasing. "Just remember….anytime you wanna talk about anything….the Bear is here."

"Thanks, Hug….I really appreciate that. I mean…there are some things I can't talk about to my mom or anybody like that, ya know?"

"Yeah, tell me about it. I know where you're coming from." Huggy said as he grasped the brunet's shoulder in a friendly gesture of understanding. "Come on…let's go see what Ma left us for lunch."

41