Chapter Nine: Secrets and Lies
Jimmy and Manny were currently sitting in Jimmy's living room after Jimmy had chased her down and insisted upon talking with her.
"Look, Manny. I'm sorry about what happened in the hospital. There were a lot of emotions going around, and...come on, you don't wanna give up on this, do you?" Jimmy asked. Manny just kept staring at the floor. "Look at me, Manuella." Manny's head snapped up.
"You...you've never called me Manuella before." She commented.
"Well, I figure times like these kinda warrant it." Jimmy replied. "Look, Manny, if you don't want us working together anymore, that's cool. I don't need the money that bad. But this," he grabbed her hand, kissing it. "I am not letting this go. I am not letting you go."
Manny smiled. "Jimmy..."
"Shhh. Come here." Jimmy pulled her toward him and bent his head, kissing her.
"Holy shit." A voice rang out through the room, causing Manny and Jimmy to jump apart. Craig was standing at the door glaring at them.
"Can't you knock?" Jimmy asked.
"How did I know that this would happen? I mean, I'm talking about Manny Santos here. She lures guys in for fun!" Craig said, basically talking to himself.
Manny had had it with Craig's sarcastic, smart ass remarks for one day. She rushed toward him, and slapped him as hard as she could. He clapped a hand to his cheek and stared at her.
"What Jimmy and I do or don't do is none of your business, Craig." Manny said, her voice displaying no emotion. "If I were you, I'd mind your own business."
"If I were you, Manuella, I'd never slap me again." Craig replied. "I'm out. Give me my money."
"You can't just cut out like that, man!" Jimmy said.
"What did I tell you, Jimmy? I said we can't mix business with pleasure! It gets the emotions too high and you can't be emotional when it comes to drugs! What's gonna happen when you guys break up? The whole business is gonna under! I don't wanna be around for that. So give me my money, I'm out."
Manny grabbed two thousand and threw it at him. "Take your fucking money, Craig. I don't give a shit anymore. Because that's you, in a nutshell. Always leaving me when I depend on you!"
"That's different, Manny, that was an accident." Craig replied.
"Yeah, and I went and fell for Jimmy on purpose." Manny said sarcastically. "Craig, I didn't jeopardize the business on purpose, okay? It just happened."
"I don't care, Manny. I don't care. I'm out." Craig replied, still picking up his money off the floor.
"You're jealous." Jimmy said suddenly. Craig's head snapped up.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"You're jealous. You still have feelings for Manny." Jimmy said. "That's why you didn't want us together."
Craig scoffed at Jimmy's statement. "If I wanted Manny, I could have Manny."
"I'm still in the room, Craig!" Manny reminded him. "And don't be so sure of that. After what you did to me, nothing could make me go back to you. Nothing. You're a business associate who happens to be my ex boyfriend. That's it. I cut you in because you have a flair for the scene. That's the only reason. You mean nothing to me."
Now it was Craig's turn to be caught off guard. "Nothing?"
"You heard me. Nothing." Manny replied. "Now go, run along with your money. Tell Ash I said hi."
Shaking his head, Craig walked out, slamming the door behind him. Jimmy sighed and ran his hand over his head.
"This has been one fucked up day."
"Tell me about it." Manny replied.
"What are we gonna do? One of our guys just walked, and the other one is in a hospital bed." Jimmy said.
"No problem, Paige and Spin have been wanting in on it for awhile. I'll give them a call."
"You know, we may not even have to pay them. We could just give them free drugs." Jimmy offered. Manny laughed.
"I love the way you think." She said.
"And I love the way you look in that sweater." Jimmy replied, picking her up by her waist. He tossed her on the couch, turned off the lamp, and dove on top of her.
The Next Day...
Manny walked down the hallway towards the girl's bathroom. It was the middle of first period. She was halfway there when out of nowhere someone grabbed her and threw her into an empty classroom.
"What the..." Manny trailed off and rolled her eyes in annoyance when she saw who had done it. "You have got to stop doing that."
"I need to talk to you." Sean replied, shutting the door to the room.
"Ever heard of phones, Cameron?" Manny replied.
"Look, you need to get the hell out of Degrassi." Sean replied. "You need to get Craig, Jimmy, JT, and anyone else you're working with these days, and get the hell out of here. Go to BC or something, but you can't stay here anymore." Sean replied.
"And why is that?"
"Because Dean's ordered a hit on you." Sean replied. Manny laughed.
"How can he order a hit on someone he can't even recognize?" Manny replied. "I've been in his bed. Me, his biggest drug dealing competition, in his bed, with him. If he couldn't pick me out without a scrap of clothing on me, then how is he going to find me?"
Sean lifted his shirt tail and pulled a gun from the waist of his jeans and pushed Manny against the wall. He put the gun against her head.
"This isn't a fucking game, Santos!" Sean roared.
"What is your problem?" Manny yelled.
"Because I'm the one!" Sean yelled.
"The one what?" Manny asked. Sean didn't say anything. "The one what, Sean? Tell me!"
"I'm the one that's supposed to kill you, Manny! Me! This gun against your head? Dean's gun! I'm supposed to pull the trigger and get rid of you! He's paid me ten grand to do it!"
Manny didn't say anything, just looked at Sean in fear.
"I'm not gonna shoot you, Manny. But you and your friends need to get the hell out of Degrassi, before someone else thinks the money looks pretty good, and takes the job for me." Sean said, tucking the gun back into his waist band. Manny hurried to the door and opened it. She gasped and stopped in the doorway.
"Oh my god..."
Sean's face went white. "Oh god, Emma..."
Emma stared at her best friend and her boyfriend. "You're both...you're...you're drug dealers?"
"Em, you wouldn't understand..." Manny began.
"You're right I wouldn't understand!" Emma yelled.
"Emma, you don't live like us, you don't know what it's like to scrape for food and know you deserve better!" Manny said, defending herself.
"So killing people, contributing to the death and decay of society, breaking how many different laws, that's bettering yourself? Because it doesn't look like it, Manny. It looks like you're getting worse!"
"Em..." Sean began, touching her shoulder. She jerked away.
"Don't touch me! You're a hitman!" she said, aghast. She turned and ran down the hallway.
"Emma!" Sean yelled. Manny grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait. Give her time. She'll come around." Manny replied. Sean glared at her.
"Manny, I do not need your help. Stay away from me, and stay away from Emma, before you get both of us killed." Sean replied, taking off down the hallway after Emma.
Manny slid down the door until she hit the floor and leaned against it. How did everything get so complicated?
Jimmy and Manny were currently sitting in Jimmy's living room after Jimmy had chased her down and insisted upon talking with her.
"Look, Manny. I'm sorry about what happened in the hospital. There were a lot of emotions going around, and...come on, you don't wanna give up on this, do you?" Jimmy asked. Manny just kept staring at the floor. "Look at me, Manuella." Manny's head snapped up.
"You...you've never called me Manuella before." She commented.
"Well, I figure times like these kinda warrant it." Jimmy replied. "Look, Manny, if you don't want us working together anymore, that's cool. I don't need the money that bad. But this," he grabbed her hand, kissing it. "I am not letting this go. I am not letting you go."
Manny smiled. "Jimmy..."
"Shhh. Come here." Jimmy pulled her toward him and bent his head, kissing her.
"Holy shit." A voice rang out through the room, causing Manny and Jimmy to jump apart. Craig was standing at the door glaring at them.
"Can't you knock?" Jimmy asked.
"How did I know that this would happen? I mean, I'm talking about Manny Santos here. She lures guys in for fun!" Craig said, basically talking to himself.
Manny had had it with Craig's sarcastic, smart ass remarks for one day. She rushed toward him, and slapped him as hard as she could. He clapped a hand to his cheek and stared at her.
"What Jimmy and I do or don't do is none of your business, Craig." Manny said, her voice displaying no emotion. "If I were you, I'd mind your own business."
"If I were you, Manuella, I'd never slap me again." Craig replied. "I'm out. Give me my money."
"You can't just cut out like that, man!" Jimmy said.
"What did I tell you, Jimmy? I said we can't mix business with pleasure! It gets the emotions too high and you can't be emotional when it comes to drugs! What's gonna happen when you guys break up? The whole business is gonna under! I don't wanna be around for that. So give me my money, I'm out."
Manny grabbed two thousand and threw it at him. "Take your fucking money, Craig. I don't give a shit anymore. Because that's you, in a nutshell. Always leaving me when I depend on you!"
"That's different, Manny, that was an accident." Craig replied.
"Yeah, and I went and fell for Jimmy on purpose." Manny said sarcastically. "Craig, I didn't jeopardize the business on purpose, okay? It just happened."
"I don't care, Manny. I don't care. I'm out." Craig replied, still picking up his money off the floor.
"You're jealous." Jimmy said suddenly. Craig's head snapped up.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"You're jealous. You still have feelings for Manny." Jimmy said. "That's why you didn't want us together."
Craig scoffed at Jimmy's statement. "If I wanted Manny, I could have Manny."
"I'm still in the room, Craig!" Manny reminded him. "And don't be so sure of that. After what you did to me, nothing could make me go back to you. Nothing. You're a business associate who happens to be my ex boyfriend. That's it. I cut you in because you have a flair for the scene. That's the only reason. You mean nothing to me."
Now it was Craig's turn to be caught off guard. "Nothing?"
"You heard me. Nothing." Manny replied. "Now go, run along with your money. Tell Ash I said hi."
Shaking his head, Craig walked out, slamming the door behind him. Jimmy sighed and ran his hand over his head.
"This has been one fucked up day."
"Tell me about it." Manny replied.
"What are we gonna do? One of our guys just walked, and the other one is in a hospital bed." Jimmy said.
"No problem, Paige and Spin have been wanting in on it for awhile. I'll give them a call."
"You know, we may not even have to pay them. We could just give them free drugs." Jimmy offered. Manny laughed.
"I love the way you think." She said.
"And I love the way you look in that sweater." Jimmy replied, picking her up by her waist. He tossed her on the couch, turned off the lamp, and dove on top of her.
The Next Day...
Manny walked down the hallway towards the girl's bathroom. It was the middle of first period. She was halfway there when out of nowhere someone grabbed her and threw her into an empty classroom.
"What the..." Manny trailed off and rolled her eyes in annoyance when she saw who had done it. "You have got to stop doing that."
"I need to talk to you." Sean replied, shutting the door to the room.
"Ever heard of phones, Cameron?" Manny replied.
"Look, you need to get the hell out of Degrassi." Sean replied. "You need to get Craig, Jimmy, JT, and anyone else you're working with these days, and get the hell out of here. Go to BC or something, but you can't stay here anymore." Sean replied.
"And why is that?"
"Because Dean's ordered a hit on you." Sean replied. Manny laughed.
"How can he order a hit on someone he can't even recognize?" Manny replied. "I've been in his bed. Me, his biggest drug dealing competition, in his bed, with him. If he couldn't pick me out without a scrap of clothing on me, then how is he going to find me?"
Sean lifted his shirt tail and pulled a gun from the waist of his jeans and pushed Manny against the wall. He put the gun against her head.
"This isn't a fucking game, Santos!" Sean roared.
"What is your problem?" Manny yelled.
"Because I'm the one!" Sean yelled.
"The one what?" Manny asked. Sean didn't say anything. "The one what, Sean? Tell me!"
"I'm the one that's supposed to kill you, Manny! Me! This gun against your head? Dean's gun! I'm supposed to pull the trigger and get rid of you! He's paid me ten grand to do it!"
Manny didn't say anything, just looked at Sean in fear.
"I'm not gonna shoot you, Manny. But you and your friends need to get the hell out of Degrassi, before someone else thinks the money looks pretty good, and takes the job for me." Sean said, tucking the gun back into his waist band. Manny hurried to the door and opened it. She gasped and stopped in the doorway.
"Oh my god..."
Sean's face went white. "Oh god, Emma..."
Emma stared at her best friend and her boyfriend. "You're both...you're...you're drug dealers?"
"Em, you wouldn't understand..." Manny began.
"You're right I wouldn't understand!" Emma yelled.
"Emma, you don't live like us, you don't know what it's like to scrape for food and know you deserve better!" Manny said, defending herself.
"So killing people, contributing to the death and decay of society, breaking how many different laws, that's bettering yourself? Because it doesn't look like it, Manny. It looks like you're getting worse!"
"Em..." Sean began, touching her shoulder. She jerked away.
"Don't touch me! You're a hitman!" she said, aghast. She turned and ran down the hallway.
"Emma!" Sean yelled. Manny grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait. Give her time. She'll come around." Manny replied. Sean glared at her.
"Manny, I do not need your help. Stay away from me, and stay away from Emma, before you get both of us killed." Sean replied, taking off down the hallway after Emma.
Manny slid down the door until she hit the floor and leaned against it. How did everything get so complicated?
