Chapter 1 - Taking Comfort from the Cold
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Knock, knock.
"Whoever is bangin' at this hour is gonna get a piece of my hand upside their flat head," Original Cindy mumbled as she rubbed her bleary eyes. She'd been out late with Sketchy and Herbal Thought, celebrating the "success" of keeping Jam Pony in its rightful place – out of the hands of Mr. Sivapatha…whatever. She was just about to crawl into bed to sleep off the consequences, when she'd heard a knock at her door. She'd paused, hoping, praying it would go away, but it just repeated…and repeated…and repeated.
As she reached the door, she had already begun to give the knocker a piece of her mind. "I don't care what you sellin', Original Cindy ain't buyin'. Unless you got flat-assed two-leggers. Then I might give you a chance on the try and buy dealio. If not, I—" She flung open the door, and stopped. "Max? What the hell are you doing…here?"
Max smiled a soft smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Nice to see you, too," she quipped.
Original Cindy peered at her friend. She would have sworn Max had been crying. Except Max didn't ever cry. "Sorry 'bout that, boo. It's just…have you ever dropped your pretty self by my digs in the middle of the night? Hell, have you ever even hit my crib before?"
"I've been here before."
"I mean on your lonesome."
"I'm here now," Max replied impassively.
Cindy sighed. Something was seriously wrong here, but she couldn't quite put her manicured finger on it. "You're always welcome to swing by, Max. Original Cindy just didn't expect you, is all. What do you need?"
Max looked down the dark hallway. She was starting to feel like this might have been a bad idea. She probably shouldn't have come by, but… "Kendra's out. Couldn't sleep." Alone.
Something's happened, Cindy thought. But I ain't even gonna ask. Sistah girl loves her mysteries, and I've got a feeling this is gonna be one of those I don't need solved. "Well, you're welcome to drop your boots here, hang a while, if you need."
This time, Max's relieved smile did brighten her dark eyes. "Thanks, boo."
"Anytime," Original Cindy grinned. She stepped out of the doorway and gestured towards the interior. "I'd tell you to make yourself at home, but it ain't much of a home. Just a squat spot 'til I can move up in this world."
Max did a quick scan of the interior, as much to check for trouble as to check out the place. She was still a little jumpy. "You've got nice digs. Real digs."
"Don't even go there. Yours are real, too. A bit of paint and it'd be nicer than this dump, at a cheaper cost."
Max shrugged and looked back at her friend. "We've got paint."
Original Cindy couldn't help but snort. "All that graffito in your kitchen don't count as paint. Wouldn't you want it to look like something?"
Max stared at her blankly. "It looks like a kitchen. What else should it look like?"
Original Cindy shook her head. "Your butch side is showing again. I swear…" She stopped and smiled. "Well, you look like you gonna' be bouncing for a while. Why don't you cop a squat down on that couch while I make us some popcorn and java? Then we'll drop in a flick and bring out that girlie side that I know is in there somewhere."
Max chuckled as she slowly walked over to the couch and sat down.
Cindy headed into the kitchen, hoping she even had coffee somewhere. She pulled open one cabinet, and thankfully found enough grounds to make a couple of cups. Briefly glancing at the refrigerator, she smiled at the picture of her and Max there.
"You missed a good show today, boo." She put the grounds into an old percolator, added water, and set it on her poor excuse for a stove. Turning, she began the hunt for popcorn. "I swear Normal was going to shit himself when Mr. Sivaboy never 'showed.' 'Course, he was about to shit himself anyway."
Giving up on the popcorn, she turned back to the stove as the kettle began to steam. "If he ever finds out what his coffee was spiked with, that'll be the end of my days at good ol' Jam Pony." She laughed. "'Course that might not be the worst thing to happen, right, Max?"
No response.
"Max?" Cindy called, turning towards her living room. She crossed back to the room and sighed. "And she says she doesn't sleep."
Max was curled up on one end of the couch, fast asleep, her head resting on the back. It didn't look like the most comfortable position in the world, but it didn't seem to bother Max.
The dark skinned woman tiptoed towards her bedroom to grab a blanket. She laid the thick flannel over her sleeping friend. Original Cindy had never seen Max sleep before, and was amazed at how young she looked. She reached over to smooth the hair away from where it had fallen over the side of her face, but jerked her hand back like it had been burned. She leaned closer, hoping she wasn't seeing what she thought she was.
It was so small, almost unnoticeable. Cindy wasn't even sure how she had seen it. Them. High, right underneath Max's jaw line, was a series of small scratches. Two lines of them, running parallel to each other, with some light bruising that just now seemed to be coming out.
A chill ran down Original Cindy's spine, as she ran her fingers lightly along the marks. She'd seen enough cop dramas and crime shows to recognize them for what they were. Ligature marks.
Someone had tried to strangle Max.
Original Cindy closed her eyes and said a small prayer. She could only imagine what had happened to her best friend that dark night. "Who hurt you, baby girl?" she whispered to the sleeping woman, with no response.
Cindy dropped into a chair across from the couch, determined to stay awake as long as possible, to make sure nothing else happened to Max that night. But, at some point, her eyes grew heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.
The sun gleaming happily through the window woke her. She blinked a couple times, rubbed her eyes, and glanced at the couch.
Max was gone.
Original Cindy's heart flipped, wondering why Max hadn't said goodbye. She took a deep breath and stood, thanking God that Max had trusted her for those few hours that she had been there, and prayed that she would be safe.
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Chapter 2 - When It All Goes to the Dogs
Coming August 21
