May 22, 1960

Dear Diary,

Is that how you start writing one of these things? That's what I've heard, but I've never kept one before. I enjoyed writing at high school, but... it's been a while since I went to school. I kinda dropped out. Not because I didn't like it. I was pretty good at school, actually, but certain things happened, and I just never went back. Maybe I'll write about that another time. Or maybe, I won't. I didn't buy a ton of paper today to write my life story, only to keep a record of the things that have been going on around here lately.

Things have been... rocky. Scary, even. And there are things I've done that I'm not proud of. Things that probably shouldn't be written down. Maybe I'm stupid for doing this. But, what if, one day, I wake up and draw a blank, just like last time? OK, well, a physical head trauma was likely the cause of that, but... I'm no doctor. How do I know that my brain will be OK from here on in? I have a locked box I can keep this in. It doesn't have a key, but I don't need one. Hopefully, nobody else around here would know how to pick it, should they find it. I have a great little hiding spot to stash it in too. Maybe I should tell Chris about it in case I forget it exists. If there's one person around here I trust, it's him.

Maybe I should be saying 'you' instead of 'it'. That's why people say, Dear Diary, right? Because it's like they're talking to a book and the book is their friend. Hmm... that's sounds too airy-fairy for me. I'm more practical than that. Better make this a journal. Yeah, a journal. A record of all the crazy shit I would happily forget if it weren't so crucial to remember. After all, forgetting is what got me into this mess in the first place.

Now that I've justified myself to myself, I think the best place to start would be the day that the carefree lifestyle I created for myself was ripped out from under my feet. The day I met him.

It was a month ago today. God... what a month it's been.

The day started like any typical day, doing the morning and lunch shifts at the Blue Point Diner, and then getting away from the bustle in the late afternoon by taking a walk around the quiet streets of Castle Rock. But that day, my walk was unlike any other. As I stepped inside the high, wooden walls of the alleyway that leads back to Main Street, a cry barreled down the path towards me so loud and clear, it tickled my eardrums.

"Let me up, asshole!"

A curve in the path blinded me from what was unfolding up ahead, and so I ran to the bend and peered around it.

There were two assholes, actually, both about my age, possibly older, and they appeared to be bullying into a kid about middle school age who was struggling solo. The blonde asshole had the kid pinned up against the alley's 6ft wooden panels, while the one with a brown mop of hair stood back with his thumbs in his jeans pockets as he watched with a pitiless grin. All three were dressed in your standard-issue JD wear of jeans and T-shirts, although the older guys were clean while the kid's white shirt was dusted in dirt like they'd just rolled him in it.

The blonde's knuckles were white as he gripped two fists full of the kid's T-shirt collar at either side of his throat, using the taut fabric to cut off a good amount of his air supply. His elbows were locked, his arms rigid and stance strong to hold the kid in place as he wriggled and writhed to resist.

"Get off me, man!" the kid said, his voice raspy as he fought for each strangled breath.

The blonde leaned in, bringing their noses to less than an inch apart. "Don't even try to fuck with me. I know it was you who told him. Who else you been blabbing to? What about Lachance?"

"I haven't told Gordie anything."

"You better be talking the truth here, Chambers, 'cause if I find out any different, I'm gonna shut that loose mouth of yours so good you won't even be able to scream."

The kid's face was fury red and his eyes gleamed with boldness and resilience. If looks could kill, his would have shot a bullet. "Fuck you, Ace."

My jaw dropped in surprise - and admiration.

Ace leered over his shoulder at his friend. "Your brother never can help himself, can he Eyeball?"

Eyeball's pitiless grin widened. "Nope."

"And neither can I." Ace tightened his grip on the kid's T-shirt and began to raise him up against the fence. The kid's dirty, white runners lifted an inch off the ground, and he started kicking out and desperately clawing at Ace's hands.

"Hey, let him down!" I yelled, walking in on them. "Get the hell off him!"

Ace held the kid in place as his brutal stare turned my way. His steel-blue eyes wandered down the length of me, and then the corner of his lip lifted into a smirk, seemingly amused that this skinny 100lb girl thought she could tell a burly 200lb male what to do. "Maybe you should get the fuck outta here, or you're next."

I just squared my shoulders and stood my ground. Obedience never was my strong point.

"OK," he sneered. "So, come save him. Better hurry, 'cause he's about to blackout."

I've never been in a fight in my life, have no muscle, and had virtually had no chance against this malicious son-of-a-bitch. Still - I dived right in. I pounced onto one of Ace's arms and hung myself off it, using all my weight to try to pull it off the kid. Ace's elbow bent under the initial force, but he managed to lock it again and pushed harder against the fence for more leverage. As Ace and Eyeball laughed at the sight of me hanging there like a monkey, I went for Ace's fist, yanking and prying at the T-shirt clenched in his grip, but it was like trying to tear it from an iron claw.

"Your friend's passing out - hurry the fuck up!" Ace laughed, his bellows echoing between the alley walls.

My heart raced as I started to panic. The kid's beet-red face was starting to turn purple, and his eyes began to roll around and lose focus. Even Eyeball's careless grin faded as he realized that his brother was now in some serious trouble. I glared at him as if to tell him to help the poor kid, and he took one step forward before halting and hesitating to interfere.

I had to think outside the square. I had to think of Ace's weak spots. My eyes lowered to his crotch.

"You kick me there, and I swear, I will fuck you up," he laughed. It all seemed to be a big game to him.

"OK, let's see how you hold up to this," I sneered. I went behind him and jabbed eight fingertips deep into his ribs.

"You bitch..." he slurred. He jolted and turned slightly, but didn't let go of the kid.

I dug in harder and more desperately, shoveling and rubbing and grinding my fingers and sometimes knuckles deep between his bones. He wriggled his hips and tried to kick out behind at me, and he clipped me a few times but holding the kid restricted his reach, and I only came straight back to get into him again.

Suddenly, Ace's elbow whizzed past my face and grazed my cheek as I reacted to dodge it, and then his other hand clasped around my throat and pinned me against the opposite fence, banging the back of my head against the wooden panels.

Meanwhile, the kid was bent-double, coughing and frantically sucking air back into his lungs. I was awash with relief that he'd made it, and now only wished he'd hurry up and get the hell outta there.

"That's your warning, Chris," Ace said to him. "Don't do anything stupid. Now, piss off."

Chris steadied himself, still massaging and rubbing his throat. "I'm not leaving 'til you let her loose. She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, she does now. Eyeball, get rid of him."

Eyeball's jaw hung and his eyes were wide. His chest heaved with breaths of relief, and I bet his heart was racing as hard as mine. He grabbed the young one by the scruff of the neck and started shoving him down the path. "Get lost, ' ya little runt."

Chris looked back at me as he stumbled along, swatting and fighting off his older brother's insistent pushes until one final push at the alleyway entrance sent him out of sight. I grinned as I saw him go, even with Ace's hand still gripping my windpipe.

He wasn't holding me too tight, and I could still move enough to look around; it was more to establish control over me rather than hurt me. Because if he really wanted to hurt me, he would have had no trouble doing so. He topped my height by three inches and his shoulders were wider by at least as much. I mean, he was no Rocky Marciano or anything, but you could tell by his speed and the power in his upper arms that he was a street-scrapper.

He leaned in close, his warmth surrounding me, as did the strong scent of sweet whiskey. "So. How are you gonna get yourself outta this one?" His voice was soft and laced with a slight huskiness that gave it a menacing edge.

"You know what? Why don't you just go right ahead and kill me? At least I'll die happy knowing that I just won one over on you." I crinkled my nose up in a derisive grin and winked at him.

Ace snickered, and the roughness of his palm drew down the soft skin of my throat before he released me and placed his hand on the fence, right next to my head.

"I think we've got one with a smart mouth," he said to Eyeball, while still eyeing me over. "Perhaps even a big mouth." Ace's eyes drifted down to my bust where my buttercup-yellow waitress dress was very fitting. "Have you got a big mouth, Cassie?" he asked, and I realized he'd read the name on my tag.

"Piss me off enough, and I'll sing like a bird."

He cracked a laugh. "So, what do you know then?"

"Just that you're extremely paranoid about something. I didn't hear anything specific. What a pity. I guess you can consider this your lucky day."

There was a sudden look of curiousness in Ace's eyes as he stared at me, and he shook his head with a disbelieving grin like some unfathomable idea had just come to him. "How long you been working at the Blue Point?"

"What does it matter?"

"Couple months?"

"About that... why?"

Ace leaned in close to my ear, and his whiskey-scented breath tickled my neck, sending a shiver down the left side of my body. My heart was racing again, although, this time, not out of fear. Here was this guy who I despised right down to the core of my soul, and yet, the animal in me craved to feel the rough skin of his hands in many more places than just around my throat.

"There's been a thief in town, and they're still on the loose," he whispered. "You know anything about that?"

I froze and stared at him wide-eyed. "I... have no idea what you're..." My voice trailed off as he stared into my eyes like he could see straight through them and was watching the memories play through my head.

"I think you do."

"You can't prove anything."

Ace smirked, his eyes traveling down the length of me one last time. "Whatever you 'think' you just won, I'll take it back." He crinkled his nose up in a derisive grin and winked. "You know, I am feeling lucky today."

He pushed off the fence and strutted away with his compadre in tow, leaving me standing there with my heart palpitating as they turned out of the alleyway and out to Main Street.

Hey, thanks for taking a chance on this story and for getting through chapter 1! I'm slowly rewriting this in diary-form, but so far I've only done this chapter and from chapter 36 onwards. Wanna know what you can expect in the next chapters? Well... step right up and buckle in tight to join the numerous readers who are already aboard. Let's go find some fun... :P Mailbox baseball, drunken nights out, billiards, breaking into the richest house on the street and borrowing their pool, car-boosting, drag races, cop chases, good old-fashioned fistfights, knife-fights, eyeball smitten, breaking out the catholic girl, in love with the rich mob bosses niece, throwing mud at the rich kids then each other - and that's some of the first half.