AUTHORS NOTE: I'm so sorry that this took so long to get up! It's been so
crazy with getting ready for college and work. Well, if anyone is still
reading this! You'll be glad to know that any form of writer's block I had
is very much over and I definitely know where this story is going from here
on out. This means the next update will be here really soon. Maybe even
today. Just a warning, this chapter contains a lot more of New York than it
does Horizon, but I had to take it back to where it started. I'm sorry if
any one gets confused!!!! Also, I'm considering a sequel to this story and
was wondering if anyone would be interested in one! As always I don't own
any characters that appear on either Higher Ground or Third Watch, I only
own Marisa and her friends!!!!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!! :) Enjoy!
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"What the hell are you doin here?"
"I was just..." Shelby stood up in a panic and frantically began to fidget with the rings on her fingers.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Who the hell are you?"
Time stood still for Shelby. The shadows of moving cars flew across the curtains behind her as she stared at the figure in the corner.
"Look sweet cheeks, I don't really give a fuck who the hell you are, I just wanna know what the hell you think you're doin here"
"Look, Asshole. I don't really give a shit what you wanna know. Besides, I was just leaving"
"Not from around here are you" His voice grabbed her in its gruff stopping her in her tracks toward the door.
"And you think thats your business because?..."
"No need for the lip sweetheart"
"No need for the presence jackass"
"So you a friend of Marisa's?"
"Are you?"
"I asked you first"
"I don't care"
"Yea, we go back, you?"
"We can't stand each other"
The man flipped a light switch next to a dresser on and Shelby shut her eyes against the harshness of its unexpected glow.
"Sorry, didn't realize you was so sensitive" The kid took another drag of his cigarette and walked over to the window to flick it out.
Silence hung in the air as the kid looked over Shelby. Although extremely uncomfortable, she took in his as well. Dirty blond wavy hair, deep blue eyes, torn leather jacket, jeans, dirty white tee shirt, he looked like a modern day James Dean. Marisa sure had good taste in platonic relationships, if they even were platonic.
"Yea, Marisa never did get along with other chicks, none of our girls ever did."
"Your girls?"
"It was a neighborhood thing" He left no intonation in his voice leaning towards any specific emotion, but his eyes softened when he lifted the photograph off the floor Shelby had been looking at only a moment before.
"So what, you passed each other around or something?" Shelby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"No." His eyes hardened and he glared at her. "It was nothin like that."
"Whoa there killer" Shelby raised her eye brows and raised her hands up in surrender "Didn't mean to disturb the peace"
"Yea I'll bet." He brushed past her
"Where are you going?" she called out before she even realized she had done it.
A smirk grew across his face
"And thats your business cause?"
"Touché"
"I'm gettin a drink. You want somethin? "
"I was actually gonna try some of the lasagna Mrs. Boscorelli said was left over, care to join me?"
"Is this a date?"
"You light the candles I'll grab the Trojans" sarcasm oozed off her voice as she rolled her eyes.
"You know who you kinda sound like" A small laugh escaped his mouth
"Don't say it"
"But you don't even know who..."
"Shelby"
"Huh, no I was gonna say-"
"It's my name moron. Shelby."
"Oh. Right. Yea, I'm Ben" He extended his hand and she took it.
"So Ben, tell me, do you always pick up dates by coming off like an axe murder?..."
"Nah, you just seemed like an easy target"
The two stepped into the kitchen. "Ben" grabbed the sodas as Shelby stuck the pasta into the oven to reheat it.
"So Shelby, now that we've known each other for all of..." he pretended to check his watch "14 minutes and 17 seconds, wanna tell me what you are doin here? Especially considerin you two don't get along so well"
"You first" she raised an eyebrow challenging him.
"Like I said, we go back, I was hearin some things I wanted to know the truth about"
"Like what?"
"Why you have answers?" he looked at her skeptically
"I might."
"Right, cause you two get on so well. Where do you know her from anyhow? You don't look like you're from around here."
"Trust me. This place isn't much different from anywhere else."
"Now I KNOW you aren't from around here"
"I met her at school"
"Bull. I would have met you too"
"Not your school. Her new school"
"And what school is that?"
"Horizon."
"What are you talkin about? Wait, are you talkin bout the place Maurice sent her to? The Martha Stewart detention center in the mountains?"
"It's not a detention center. It's more of a boarding school for misguided youth."
"Aren't all youths misguided? Isn't that the point of being a youth?"
Shelby just shrugged.
"So why are you here now? I mean, I know why Marisa's here, Mikey..." Ben just looked down "A Boscorelli can't catch a break if it's not to a bone anymore."
"Whose Mikey?"
"Her brother"
"What happened?"
"It's complicated. It's a street/blood thing. He went after somebody without anyone wit him, he shoulda waited, we all woulda gone. It was stupid. He ran into trouble, hell no one to back me up I woulda too. Anyhow, last I heard he ain't lookin so hot down at Mercy."
"That sucks."
"Yeah. It does. Anyhow, so like I said, I came to see a friend. What's your excuse?"
"I came to see an enemy" With that, Shelby stood up to get their lasagna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Here." Faith set a cup of black coffee in front of Bosco's seat behind his desk. The captain had basically reamed him out good.
"Thanks" He mumbled, dejected like a little kid.
"What's a matter Boz, did teach yell at you again."
"Apparently, I am a wannabe cowboy with a lit canon attached to my ass at all times and until the flame goes out I am not allowed out of the office. Public safety and all."
Faith fought the urge to smile. That was a pretty accurate description.
"So you're on office detail?" This time her smirk couldn't repress itself.
"Ey, Hold on a second miss Mary sunshine, this affects you too."
A knock on the door brought Faith's eyes upward in confusion.
"Come on in Gus" The smug look broke into a laugh as he watched her face change.
"You have got to be kiddin me Boz. I can't believe you! You are such a... I can't be in a car with him all day I'll end up throwin myself under the tires!"
"Hey, its the price you pay for ridin with a loose cannon such as myself"
"uh.. Hi guys!" Gusler awkwardly made his way in.
"Get out" Bosco shooed him away
"But.."
"Gusler!" Both Bosco and Faith yelled as the kid practically ran from the room.
Boz let out a small laugh, followed by a sigh. He turned around and fidgeted with the rim of the coffee cup.
"So, did you two clear everything up? Have you talked about anything?"
"Faith..."
"No Maurice. Look. She's seventeen years old. She was just attacked and raped. She has one brother who she feels betrayed her and one who just barely escaped death -"
"I think I know the situation Faith."
"Do you Boz, cause you didn't know the situation when she was out on the streets. You didn't know cause you didn't want to know. She's scared Bosco."
"Fuck you Faith." Bosco stood up, grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the room
"Boz! Bosco! I'm just tryin to-"
"Fuck it" Faith grabbed her hat and the coffee Bosco had left on the desk.
"GUSLER! LET'S GO!" She was pissed, she almost pitied the kid considering she was gonna spend her night taking it out on him.
"Fuckin shit..." Bosco mumbled as he slipped the keys into the ignition and pulled away.
"What the fuck am I gonna do?" he asked no one as he silently drove back to his apartment alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey wait. " Josh pulled her back into an alley. She shivered in remembrance. He must have realized this cause he pulled her closer to him as a sign of comfort.
"Sorry, but I gotta be careful" he motioned over to a cop car turning at the corner
She pulled her sweater closer.
"So do I" she whispered meekly.
Josh glanced down and saw the nervousness in her eyes.
"Hey, Nothin's gonna happen to you okay, I won't let it." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Come on babe, we gotta get you and I both out of here." She smiled and looked him over once again.
The years he'd spent at juvie had thickened him up, in more ways than one. He'd always been a little ahead of the group. He was older, smarter, and had a hard edge to his eyes that took the rest of them years to mimic. Everyone kinda viewed him as the protector. He hung with them, but always on the sidelines. If they were playing a game he was in the bleachers smoking a cigarette, barely there but ever present, and most importantly, he was always there when they got in trouble. No one knew about his family, or if he had much of one, they knew he lived with his grandmother but that was about it. Truth be told,
Marisa had always had a bit of a crush on him, even back when he was just a scrawny punk. Now, he had filled out but he was darker than before. Not that she blamed him. Out of nowhere an image of Scott flashed into her mind. She smiled softly as she let Josh lead her down the alley. She wondered if he was even still thinking about her.
"Watch your step!"
Marisa looked down and stepped over the trashcan in her path.
"Josh, we're going back to my place right?"
"Marisa, I dont' know if that's such a good idea. What if your brother's there?"
"Maurice? You don't have to worry about that." Her voice was bitter but with a sadness that wasn't difficult to pick up on.
"Here" he pulled her gently over a couple boxes and through a gap in a fence. They were back in their home neighborhood now.
"I don't even remember the last time he stepped foot in our apartment. Oh wait, yea I do, it was when he went to get all my stuff so he can ship me off to -"
"Give him a break, from what I hear he was doin you a favor."
"What?" Marissa was taken aback by the comment "You agree with him?"
"Hell yea, what the hell were you thinkin, God I have to hear from Kirsten that yous two were workin the street? You were fuckin whorin yourself around Marisa, what the hell were you thinkin? I'd do the same thing if I was Maurice. Same exact thing"
"Excuse me? First of all it's none of your god damned business what I do with me or my time, second of all it's not your fuckin place to make any judgments on me or the decisions I make. In case you forgot, you weren't around, you don't know anything about me past the age of 13. A lot can change Josh, a lot has" and with that Marisa stormed off into the night, not even thinking about where she was going.
"I can see that" Josh lit up a cigarette and went to follow her. One step later he recoiled back as something cold and hard connected with his ribs. A baseball bat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Walk this way, talk this way!" Bosco sung along to the classic rock station on his way home.
He didn't exactly appreciate Faith's input, but at the same time he didn't like the way he left it with her. When it came down to it she was his best friend, still she had no right. Even if what she said was true. He had been so obsessed with his own guilt and anger and trying to find somewhere for it that he had completely immersed himself with making sure she was physically safe, he'd neglected the emotional side of it. Truth be told, he hadn't let himself think too much below the surface of what had happened either. It was just too much. But he had to make it right. Bosco slammed on the brakes and turned the car around. He spent the next 20 minutes fighting every emotion in himself.
As he turned the corner into his old neighborhood, goose bumps ran up his spine. So many memories. Before he could really delve into those thoughts something caught his eyes. A glint of mental flashed in the reflection of his side mirror. Quickly his instincts took over and he pulled the car over. Grabbing his gun he stepped out of the car. Slowly he approached the scene. Three guys were pummeling another. The kid was putting up quite the fight though. Something about him was extremely familiar but he couldn't place it.
"NYPD FREEZE!" Bosco yelled into the night
The two men still conscious began to run. Bosco started to take off after them but realizing he didn't have Faith with him to stay with the victim, he cursed and turned around. At least he had one of the three.
"Yo man you alright?"
The kid was a bloody mess, his shirt was ripped and a couple of his teeth had been cleanly knocked out. The guy on the ground next to him didn't look much better.
"Just fuckin peachy" Josh choked out after a few deep breaths, well as deep as he could take them with a few broken ribs.
"I'll call in a bus"
"NO!" Josh yelled out in a panic
"Why not?"
"I don't think its such a good idea Maurice. Too many people would be very interested in hearin that I'm around if you know what I mean"
"Who the f-"
Josh just looked up at him and waited for it to hit.
"You're Marisa's friend. The kid from juvie."
"Formally. Nice to see you again. It's been a while"
"Yeah. Look kid..."
"Gotta turn me in?"
Bosco looked at the kid. At this point in time, he was already on the top of Marisa's shit list, but if he took this kid in he would BE the shit list.
"No, but we do gotta get you cleaned up. Come on"
"Where we goin?"
"I'm callin this guy in and you and I are goin to my apartment."
"You gettin fresh with me Boscorelli, geez you AND your sister..."
"HEY! Watch it, or I'll break the rest of ya ribs. Speakin of my sister, you seen her?"
"Yea, pissed her off about 15 minutes ago, she stormed off right before these guys popped up. She was heading home. I was gonna go after her, but I got a little hung up."
"So she went ahead by herself??" Bosco's voice shook a little
Josh began to shake his head but then realizing the severity of the situation he muttered a string of curses.
"Shit!" Bosco threw the unconscious perp into the back of his car and sped up ahead. He had to find her before they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Such a jackass. Why is it that everyone seems to know what I'm doin wrong with my life and how to fix it" Marisa mumbled to herself as she walked along the cold streets.
Marisa came to a stop in front of her building and looked up with a sigh. Her expression turned from annoyed to confused. The light was on. If no one was home why was the light on? Ma probably just stayed home. Marissa tried to convince herself that was the simple explanation as she headed up the stairs.
By the time she came to the apartment door she found herself wishing she were back dealing with Shelby's crap and mountain lions at Horizon. Quietly, she slid her key in and turned the knob, wincing at each creak.
"Ma?" Marisa called out praying for the desired response.
"Risa?" a male voice called from the apartment, she stepped back as a man in his late teens flung the door open.
"Marisa!!" he quickly swung her up in a hug. The grab was too much for her. She kicked him back.
"Fuck, what the hell was that for?"
"Ben???"
"Who the hell did you think it was? You didn't recognize me?"
"Sorry without the trademark bloodshot eyes and spliced up veins you aren't exactly yourself."
"Yea, I try to leave those elements of my wardrobe at home lately"
"You got yourself cleaned up I hear, studying to be an EMT?"
"Yea, I hear you could have used my medical skills a couple weeks ago"
"Oh god, is there anyone who doesn't know?"
"I'm sure there are a few stragglers back at the cabin" a new voice filtered through the hall.
"Shelby? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Don't sound so excited you'll make me blush"
"Like a sailor I'm sure"
"Ladies ladies come on, lets go inside..."
"Yes, lets.." Another new voice came, a voice followed by a gunshot
"FUCK" Ben grabbed his side.
"Ben!!" Marisa stood to run to his side but was backhanded with the gun into the wall.
"Oh my god" Shelby backed into the door frame
Marisa could feel the blood trickling down her face as she tried to sustain consciousness
"Marisa! Marisa you alright?" Ben coughed
"Shut up asshole" The man's accomplice kicked him in the side
"OOOOOOH SHIT" tears were streaming down Ben's face as well as Marisa's
"Whose Blondie?"
"Leave her alone she's not from around here she won't understand the welcome" Marisa spoke with bitter sarcasm
"Bitch. Grab her Eddie"
"No!" Shelby moved forward but was shoved back hard into the wall.
"I want you here for when her brother gets in let him know I'm babysittin his sister. Over and over again." the two men laughed as they drug Marisa down the hall.
"God, Ben! What the hell do I do?" Shelby knelt down
"I'm no rocket scientist and all, but..." Ben coughed through the blood "I'd call 911"
Shelby ran into the apartment and searched frantically for a phone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If she's not back by tomorrow morning I say we all go look for her"
"And where exactly do you suggest we start looking east coast? West? I mean, considering she could be ANYWHERE."
"Well we should do something!"
"Daisy, look, Shelby is tough she can handle herself. She probably just needed a break."
"A break from what?"
"Me." Scott ran a hand through his waves and sat down "A break from me and all my crap."
"Scott it's not your fault" Juliette tried to convince him.
"Yeah meat, its just Shelby being Shelby"
"NO, Daisy was right. She is always back by now. She's gotta be really pissed at me. I just.. I just got caught up."
"Thank you!" Daisy threw up her hands in silent victory.
"So what, you're over Marisa?" Ezra asked
"I don't know if I was ever actually into her"
David, who was usually extremely vocal about his opinions on absolutely everything had remained silent through this conversation up to this point.
"Oh thats nice, what the hell are you a freakin yo yo? What makes you think you can go back and forth asshole?"
"For once in his miserable existence the man makes a point." Daisy raised an eyebrow as she spoke.
"Alright look. Maybe I don't know who I want or what I want but that's my right, and I don't owe any of you anything, let alone explanations I'm not sure I even have."
Scott stormed out of the room, a sinking feeling had been situating itself in the pit of his stomach. He had really screwed things up. With everyone and everything. This was becoming the story of his life, and it was time he changed it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!
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"What the hell are you doin here?"
"I was just..." Shelby stood up in a panic and frantically began to fidget with the rings on her fingers.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Who the hell are you?"
Time stood still for Shelby. The shadows of moving cars flew across the curtains behind her as she stared at the figure in the corner.
"Look sweet cheeks, I don't really give a fuck who the hell you are, I just wanna know what the hell you think you're doin here"
"Look, Asshole. I don't really give a shit what you wanna know. Besides, I was just leaving"
"Not from around here are you" His voice grabbed her in its gruff stopping her in her tracks toward the door.
"And you think thats your business because?..."
"No need for the lip sweetheart"
"No need for the presence jackass"
"So you a friend of Marisa's?"
"Are you?"
"I asked you first"
"I don't care"
"Yea, we go back, you?"
"We can't stand each other"
The man flipped a light switch next to a dresser on and Shelby shut her eyes against the harshness of its unexpected glow.
"Sorry, didn't realize you was so sensitive" The kid took another drag of his cigarette and walked over to the window to flick it out.
Silence hung in the air as the kid looked over Shelby. Although extremely uncomfortable, she took in his as well. Dirty blond wavy hair, deep blue eyes, torn leather jacket, jeans, dirty white tee shirt, he looked like a modern day James Dean. Marisa sure had good taste in platonic relationships, if they even were platonic.
"Yea, Marisa never did get along with other chicks, none of our girls ever did."
"Your girls?"
"It was a neighborhood thing" He left no intonation in his voice leaning towards any specific emotion, but his eyes softened when he lifted the photograph off the floor Shelby had been looking at only a moment before.
"So what, you passed each other around or something?" Shelby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"No." His eyes hardened and he glared at her. "It was nothin like that."
"Whoa there killer" Shelby raised her eye brows and raised her hands up in surrender "Didn't mean to disturb the peace"
"Yea I'll bet." He brushed past her
"Where are you going?" she called out before she even realized she had done it.
A smirk grew across his face
"And thats your business cause?"
"Touché"
"I'm gettin a drink. You want somethin? "
"I was actually gonna try some of the lasagna Mrs. Boscorelli said was left over, care to join me?"
"Is this a date?"
"You light the candles I'll grab the Trojans" sarcasm oozed off her voice as she rolled her eyes.
"You know who you kinda sound like" A small laugh escaped his mouth
"Don't say it"
"But you don't even know who..."
"Shelby"
"Huh, no I was gonna say-"
"It's my name moron. Shelby."
"Oh. Right. Yea, I'm Ben" He extended his hand and she took it.
"So Ben, tell me, do you always pick up dates by coming off like an axe murder?..."
"Nah, you just seemed like an easy target"
The two stepped into the kitchen. "Ben" grabbed the sodas as Shelby stuck the pasta into the oven to reheat it.
"So Shelby, now that we've known each other for all of..." he pretended to check his watch "14 minutes and 17 seconds, wanna tell me what you are doin here? Especially considerin you two don't get along so well"
"You first" she raised an eyebrow challenging him.
"Like I said, we go back, I was hearin some things I wanted to know the truth about"
"Like what?"
"Why you have answers?" he looked at her skeptically
"I might."
"Right, cause you two get on so well. Where do you know her from anyhow? You don't look like you're from around here."
"Trust me. This place isn't much different from anywhere else."
"Now I KNOW you aren't from around here"
"I met her at school"
"Bull. I would have met you too"
"Not your school. Her new school"
"And what school is that?"
"Horizon."
"What are you talkin about? Wait, are you talkin bout the place Maurice sent her to? The Martha Stewart detention center in the mountains?"
"It's not a detention center. It's more of a boarding school for misguided youth."
"Aren't all youths misguided? Isn't that the point of being a youth?"
Shelby just shrugged.
"So why are you here now? I mean, I know why Marisa's here, Mikey..." Ben just looked down "A Boscorelli can't catch a break if it's not to a bone anymore."
"Whose Mikey?"
"Her brother"
"What happened?"
"It's complicated. It's a street/blood thing. He went after somebody without anyone wit him, he shoulda waited, we all woulda gone. It was stupid. He ran into trouble, hell no one to back me up I woulda too. Anyhow, last I heard he ain't lookin so hot down at Mercy."
"That sucks."
"Yeah. It does. Anyhow, so like I said, I came to see a friend. What's your excuse?"
"I came to see an enemy" With that, Shelby stood up to get their lasagna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Here." Faith set a cup of black coffee in front of Bosco's seat behind his desk. The captain had basically reamed him out good.
"Thanks" He mumbled, dejected like a little kid.
"What's a matter Boz, did teach yell at you again."
"Apparently, I am a wannabe cowboy with a lit canon attached to my ass at all times and until the flame goes out I am not allowed out of the office. Public safety and all."
Faith fought the urge to smile. That was a pretty accurate description.
"So you're on office detail?" This time her smirk couldn't repress itself.
"Ey, Hold on a second miss Mary sunshine, this affects you too."
A knock on the door brought Faith's eyes upward in confusion.
"Come on in Gus" The smug look broke into a laugh as he watched her face change.
"You have got to be kiddin me Boz. I can't believe you! You are such a... I can't be in a car with him all day I'll end up throwin myself under the tires!"
"Hey, its the price you pay for ridin with a loose cannon such as myself"
"uh.. Hi guys!" Gusler awkwardly made his way in.
"Get out" Bosco shooed him away
"But.."
"Gusler!" Both Bosco and Faith yelled as the kid practically ran from the room.
Boz let out a small laugh, followed by a sigh. He turned around and fidgeted with the rim of the coffee cup.
"So, did you two clear everything up? Have you talked about anything?"
"Faith..."
"No Maurice. Look. She's seventeen years old. She was just attacked and raped. She has one brother who she feels betrayed her and one who just barely escaped death -"
"I think I know the situation Faith."
"Do you Boz, cause you didn't know the situation when she was out on the streets. You didn't know cause you didn't want to know. She's scared Bosco."
"Fuck you Faith." Bosco stood up, grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the room
"Boz! Bosco! I'm just tryin to-"
"Fuck it" Faith grabbed her hat and the coffee Bosco had left on the desk.
"GUSLER! LET'S GO!" She was pissed, she almost pitied the kid considering she was gonna spend her night taking it out on him.
"Fuckin shit..." Bosco mumbled as he slipped the keys into the ignition and pulled away.
"What the fuck am I gonna do?" he asked no one as he silently drove back to his apartment alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey wait. " Josh pulled her back into an alley. She shivered in remembrance. He must have realized this cause he pulled her closer to him as a sign of comfort.
"Sorry, but I gotta be careful" he motioned over to a cop car turning at the corner
She pulled her sweater closer.
"So do I" she whispered meekly.
Josh glanced down and saw the nervousness in her eyes.
"Hey, Nothin's gonna happen to you okay, I won't let it." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Come on babe, we gotta get you and I both out of here." She smiled and looked him over once again.
The years he'd spent at juvie had thickened him up, in more ways than one. He'd always been a little ahead of the group. He was older, smarter, and had a hard edge to his eyes that took the rest of them years to mimic. Everyone kinda viewed him as the protector. He hung with them, but always on the sidelines. If they were playing a game he was in the bleachers smoking a cigarette, barely there but ever present, and most importantly, he was always there when they got in trouble. No one knew about his family, or if he had much of one, they knew he lived with his grandmother but that was about it. Truth be told,
Marisa had always had a bit of a crush on him, even back when he was just a scrawny punk. Now, he had filled out but he was darker than before. Not that she blamed him. Out of nowhere an image of Scott flashed into her mind. She smiled softly as she let Josh lead her down the alley. She wondered if he was even still thinking about her.
"Watch your step!"
Marisa looked down and stepped over the trashcan in her path.
"Josh, we're going back to my place right?"
"Marisa, I dont' know if that's such a good idea. What if your brother's there?"
"Maurice? You don't have to worry about that." Her voice was bitter but with a sadness that wasn't difficult to pick up on.
"Here" he pulled her gently over a couple boxes and through a gap in a fence. They were back in their home neighborhood now.
"I don't even remember the last time he stepped foot in our apartment. Oh wait, yea I do, it was when he went to get all my stuff so he can ship me off to -"
"Give him a break, from what I hear he was doin you a favor."
"What?" Marissa was taken aback by the comment "You agree with him?"
"Hell yea, what the hell were you thinkin, God I have to hear from Kirsten that yous two were workin the street? You were fuckin whorin yourself around Marisa, what the hell were you thinkin? I'd do the same thing if I was Maurice. Same exact thing"
"Excuse me? First of all it's none of your god damned business what I do with me or my time, second of all it's not your fuckin place to make any judgments on me or the decisions I make. In case you forgot, you weren't around, you don't know anything about me past the age of 13. A lot can change Josh, a lot has" and with that Marisa stormed off into the night, not even thinking about where she was going.
"I can see that" Josh lit up a cigarette and went to follow her. One step later he recoiled back as something cold and hard connected with his ribs. A baseball bat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Walk this way, talk this way!" Bosco sung along to the classic rock station on his way home.
He didn't exactly appreciate Faith's input, but at the same time he didn't like the way he left it with her. When it came down to it she was his best friend, still she had no right. Even if what she said was true. He had been so obsessed with his own guilt and anger and trying to find somewhere for it that he had completely immersed himself with making sure she was physically safe, he'd neglected the emotional side of it. Truth be told, he hadn't let himself think too much below the surface of what had happened either. It was just too much. But he had to make it right. Bosco slammed on the brakes and turned the car around. He spent the next 20 minutes fighting every emotion in himself.
As he turned the corner into his old neighborhood, goose bumps ran up his spine. So many memories. Before he could really delve into those thoughts something caught his eyes. A glint of mental flashed in the reflection of his side mirror. Quickly his instincts took over and he pulled the car over. Grabbing his gun he stepped out of the car. Slowly he approached the scene. Three guys were pummeling another. The kid was putting up quite the fight though. Something about him was extremely familiar but he couldn't place it.
"NYPD FREEZE!" Bosco yelled into the night
The two men still conscious began to run. Bosco started to take off after them but realizing he didn't have Faith with him to stay with the victim, he cursed and turned around. At least he had one of the three.
"Yo man you alright?"
The kid was a bloody mess, his shirt was ripped and a couple of his teeth had been cleanly knocked out. The guy on the ground next to him didn't look much better.
"Just fuckin peachy" Josh choked out after a few deep breaths, well as deep as he could take them with a few broken ribs.
"I'll call in a bus"
"NO!" Josh yelled out in a panic
"Why not?"
"I don't think its such a good idea Maurice. Too many people would be very interested in hearin that I'm around if you know what I mean"
"Who the f-"
Josh just looked up at him and waited for it to hit.
"You're Marisa's friend. The kid from juvie."
"Formally. Nice to see you again. It's been a while"
"Yeah. Look kid..."
"Gotta turn me in?"
Bosco looked at the kid. At this point in time, he was already on the top of Marisa's shit list, but if he took this kid in he would BE the shit list.
"No, but we do gotta get you cleaned up. Come on"
"Where we goin?"
"I'm callin this guy in and you and I are goin to my apartment."
"You gettin fresh with me Boscorelli, geez you AND your sister..."
"HEY! Watch it, or I'll break the rest of ya ribs. Speakin of my sister, you seen her?"
"Yea, pissed her off about 15 minutes ago, she stormed off right before these guys popped up. She was heading home. I was gonna go after her, but I got a little hung up."
"So she went ahead by herself??" Bosco's voice shook a little
Josh began to shake his head but then realizing the severity of the situation he muttered a string of curses.
"Shit!" Bosco threw the unconscious perp into the back of his car and sped up ahead. He had to find her before they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Such a jackass. Why is it that everyone seems to know what I'm doin wrong with my life and how to fix it" Marisa mumbled to herself as she walked along the cold streets.
Marisa came to a stop in front of her building and looked up with a sigh. Her expression turned from annoyed to confused. The light was on. If no one was home why was the light on? Ma probably just stayed home. Marissa tried to convince herself that was the simple explanation as she headed up the stairs.
By the time she came to the apartment door she found herself wishing she were back dealing with Shelby's crap and mountain lions at Horizon. Quietly, she slid her key in and turned the knob, wincing at each creak.
"Ma?" Marisa called out praying for the desired response.
"Risa?" a male voice called from the apartment, she stepped back as a man in his late teens flung the door open.
"Marisa!!" he quickly swung her up in a hug. The grab was too much for her. She kicked him back.
"Fuck, what the hell was that for?"
"Ben???"
"Who the hell did you think it was? You didn't recognize me?"
"Sorry without the trademark bloodshot eyes and spliced up veins you aren't exactly yourself."
"Yea, I try to leave those elements of my wardrobe at home lately"
"You got yourself cleaned up I hear, studying to be an EMT?"
"Yea, I hear you could have used my medical skills a couple weeks ago"
"Oh god, is there anyone who doesn't know?"
"I'm sure there are a few stragglers back at the cabin" a new voice filtered through the hall.
"Shelby? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Don't sound so excited you'll make me blush"
"Like a sailor I'm sure"
"Ladies ladies come on, lets go inside..."
"Yes, lets.." Another new voice came, a voice followed by a gunshot
"FUCK" Ben grabbed his side.
"Ben!!" Marisa stood to run to his side but was backhanded with the gun into the wall.
"Oh my god" Shelby backed into the door frame
Marisa could feel the blood trickling down her face as she tried to sustain consciousness
"Marisa! Marisa you alright?" Ben coughed
"Shut up asshole" The man's accomplice kicked him in the side
"OOOOOOH SHIT" tears were streaming down Ben's face as well as Marisa's
"Whose Blondie?"
"Leave her alone she's not from around here she won't understand the welcome" Marisa spoke with bitter sarcasm
"Bitch. Grab her Eddie"
"No!" Shelby moved forward but was shoved back hard into the wall.
"I want you here for when her brother gets in let him know I'm babysittin his sister. Over and over again." the two men laughed as they drug Marisa down the hall.
"God, Ben! What the hell do I do?" Shelby knelt down
"I'm no rocket scientist and all, but..." Ben coughed through the blood "I'd call 911"
Shelby ran into the apartment and searched frantically for a phone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If she's not back by tomorrow morning I say we all go look for her"
"And where exactly do you suggest we start looking east coast? West? I mean, considering she could be ANYWHERE."
"Well we should do something!"
"Daisy, look, Shelby is tough she can handle herself. She probably just needed a break."
"A break from what?"
"Me." Scott ran a hand through his waves and sat down "A break from me and all my crap."
"Scott it's not your fault" Juliette tried to convince him.
"Yeah meat, its just Shelby being Shelby"
"NO, Daisy was right. She is always back by now. She's gotta be really pissed at me. I just.. I just got caught up."
"Thank you!" Daisy threw up her hands in silent victory.
"So what, you're over Marisa?" Ezra asked
"I don't know if I was ever actually into her"
David, who was usually extremely vocal about his opinions on absolutely everything had remained silent through this conversation up to this point.
"Oh thats nice, what the hell are you a freakin yo yo? What makes you think you can go back and forth asshole?"
"For once in his miserable existence the man makes a point." Daisy raised an eyebrow as she spoke.
"Alright look. Maybe I don't know who I want or what I want but that's my right, and I don't owe any of you anything, let alone explanations I'm not sure I even have."
Scott stormed out of the room, a sinking feeling had been situating itself in the pit of his stomach. He had really screwed things up. With everyone and everything. This was becoming the story of his life, and it was time he changed it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!