"Can't Take It"

song by All-American Rejects

BOBBY

I never liked that Tyler. Now, was he going for my girl? No matter what we had said before, Kerrie was my girlfriend. Technically. And they had been spending lots of time together lately. Or at least more than usual. But I didn't have time to think about that right now. Angel and I were driving home, Angel's foot pressed down on the pedal. We figured Sofi is at least smart enough to know where she can go. So we practically flew onto the driveway, and ran out, and inside. While we were still in the car, I had looked at my little brother. He had this look in his eyes. Fear. An emotion our family has experienced plenty of times, despite our lack to admit it. Only when something really bad happened. Last year, Jack almost died. We were so scared. I hate even thinking about it. Those few moments, that was our worst fear, on the edge of becoming our worst memory. But we still have Jack. He survived. We didn't even know what's happening to Sofi. But I was worried. We weren't exactly friends, but she mattered to Angel, and that was good enough for me. What am I supposed to do, turn my back on her, on him? Never. We rushed in the back door. "Sofi?" I called out.

"Sofi! Baby! Shit!" Angel had his hand covering his face, in serious distress. Well no shit. Anyway, I found a note on the coffee table.

"Angel!" He rushed over.

"What?"

"A note:

'Prodigal sons, welcome to Hell. Karma has in fact been kind to you and yours, for she is a small price to pay for what you and your friends and family have done within their already criminal lives. You are infuriated, and would much like to murder more of my men, I know that. I know you all too well. I know you want the whore back. Well, maybe you can get her back. I haven't really decided whether I should test your worth and give you an opportunity to rescue her or not, or if I should just kill her. Or maybe my men would like a little fun with her. So many possibilities open to me. But you are under my command. I hold control over you, through your so-called, 'morals', and 'bonds'. But when I make my decision, or decide to take advantage of my new power, I will contact you. Until then, like I said, welcome to Hell, have a nice stay.'

Motherfucker!"

"No! Shit! Aaagh!" Angel was pissed. He had good reason to be. I was pissed too. "So, what, we just sit here and wait for a goddamn phone call!"

"Apparently." Someone had to keep calm, for the most part. It was me, I guess. I punched the wall. Okay, so I wasn't calm, but I was doing better than Angel.

TYLER

As I walked out of Kerrie's, I thought back to that day. It had been about a week, maybe five, six days. That day.Holy shit. HO-LY, SHIT. I frenched my GAY best friend of the same gender. That's wrong on so many levels. And now I'm having a nerve attack. Dude, I'm TWITCHING. I need a drink. I walked down to the liquor store, and bought some Jack Daniels. That reminded me. I missed my best friend. When were they coming home? I need Alex, I think. She'd get anything. Kerrie's expression, however, was a little shock, and discomfort. Homophobe. Or maybe she was just a little shocked. No biggie. Wait! No, cuz, I'm not gay! I'm NOT! I just..started to make out with a dude, a little. Shit, well, everyone experiments in college. And so do rock stars. I'm college-age, and, well, on my way to rock stardom. So, this was perfectly reasonable. Perfectly. Shut up, I'm not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I wonder why Henry hasn't called. Well, not like he's your BOYFRIEND, Tyler. Cuz he's NOT. Cuz you're straight. Even though they're'd be nothing wrong with that if you--Okay, okay, I'm just going in a circle here. And I refuse to go in a circle. Because I'm straight. And CIRCLES, children, are not straight. See? I'm nowhere near h-ho-ho-homosexual. See? I said it. Okay, enough with my little bipolar attack. Now was the time for heavy drinking.

ALEX

"Damnit, Carlos. Always getting your DAMN self into trouble. Oh, my God, I'm freaking out. Jack."

"Everything will be alright. We're gonna get there in time, and help these kids, try to stop them from getting shot up by each other. We just have to step up. No hesitation. No fear. They're just kids, they don't know what they're doing. They're just kids, playing cops and robbers."

"Are we the cops or the robbers?"

"Uh..who do you want to be?"

"I get to choose?"

"Sure. Just, pick one."

"Uh...I don't like cops."

"Me neither. So, robbers it is?"

"I suppose. I dunno. It just sounds so, old-fashioned."

"How about rebels? Or, vigilantes?"

"Vigilante is a weird word. I like being called a rebel. Cuz I like to think I am. I'm cool like that."

"All right. So, she's a rebel. Well, then, Love, we best get to our destination." Jack accelerated, and soon enough we were at Carlos's girlfriend's house. Her name was Shondrella. What's up with THAT? Anyway, we showed up at her apartment, and knocked. A boy, about eleven or twelve answered. "Taye! What did I tell you about answering the door?" Exclaimed a teen girl, who came up behind him, turning him back into the apartment. "Look through the peephole first. Coulda been some gangstas. Last thing you want is to get shot, Taye." She turned to us. "Can I help you?"

"Shondrella?" Jack asked.

"Hell no. Not that freaky-long-ass name. I go by Dre."

"As in, Dr. Dre?"

"I guess. What do you want?"

"It's about Carlos." I said.

"What happened? Are yall police? Cuz then yall best be armed in this neighborhood."

"No, no, Carlos is...well...no we're not police, but we are armed. Your boyfriend's in trouble."

"Says who?" That's when her 'tude kicked in.

"I'm Alex. This is Jack. I'm a friend of the family. We need to know where he is, because he about to get himself in deep shit."

"What else is new?"

Jack and I arrived outside an old warehouse downtown soon after. It was the perfect place for a gang war. It was, well, gang-war-y, I suppose. Cuz there was alleys, cover, very little population. But, what, did you think we'd show up EARLY for a gang war? You really can't plan these things. There was gunfire, and me and Jack ran for cover. I spotted some teenage guys across the street, also taking cover, but firing back whenever possible at whoever was shooting at them. From the information we got from Dre, they were wearing Carlos's colors. So, I don't know what Jack was thinking, but it seemed a very Mercer thing to do. He came out into the petty gunfire, pffft these kids couldn't hit shit. I'm serious. "FIVE-O! I wanna see some hands NOW, damnit!" Haha. I'll bet those little bastards shit themselves right then and there. I joined him.

"You, over there, hands up! Drop it!"

"Don't move, motherfuckers!"

"I'm looking for Carlos! Carlos get your ASS over here NOW!" I saw some scrawny kid, about fifteen, running over.

"Shit! Who the fuck are you? You ain't no cops, man!" Jack cocked his shotgun and Carlos shut up.

"C'mon man. We gotta get you back to your sister. She's freaking out. In the car." Jack said, and Carlos knew to follow his instructions.

"Alright, now all yall get the fuck home! Stop playing with guns, they are not toys, and especially when you can't hit shit." I said.

"Yeah, there are consequences. Carlos here is gonna be taken down to the station and beat until he spills information. Is that what you want? Is it? Go to school, do your homework, graduate, move out of this fucked city, marry a nice girl, and have lots of little prep school juniors, alright? Alright." He said, and we ran back to the car. Carlos was in the backseat, looking like, well, I have no planned comparisons. He just looked freaked out all right? Jack started driving, and I turned back to our little hostage.

"So Kid, how have you been?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ah, I'm hurt. You don't remember me? I'm your sister's old friend, I'm Alex."

"Alex..Alex...Shit! Alex! Hey! Hey, I don't want to go back to my sister."

"Really?" Jack asked. "I mean, you're a guy, it's a stripjoint."

Carlos thought about it, and didn't object anymore. Jack had made a good point. So we went back to the stripjoint, and dropped Carlos off. Obviously, his memory had improved, and he remembered our history, how he used to look up to me, and how I'd saved his life once, because he wa now treating me like an old friend. We said goodbye to them, and got into the car.

"So," Jack said, in that Jack like way he had, "What now?"

"Now, we either get something pierced, tattooed, or we sleep."

"Hmm...well we have a lot piercings and tattoos between the two of us, so I'd say sleep."

"Thank God. Another piercing and I'd feel unholy."

"Alex, I'm sorry but I think that ship has sailed."

"You're probably right. Let's sleep then."

Jack drove us to a hotel, and we checked in, and went into the room. Nice. For a crackhouse. Nah, it was so-so. I was so tired, I just crashed. Jack layed next to me, and kissed me goodnight. Thank you, God. You didn't let him die.

JACK

A few hours after we crashed at the hotel, I woke up. Alex was standing over the sink in the bathroom, her face tear-stained, and she was splashing it with water. "Alex...What's wrong?"

She looked at me, sincerely. "I don't know. I just, c-couldn't breathe. I was overwhelmed. I had this dream, and everything I had been through just mixed together. Like, Chris, and Iciss, Carlos, Leah, Lionel, Stephen, Rey, Greg, Bobby, Evelyn...the baby. I realized how much I actually wanted it. Everything, just, hurt so much. I still have nightmares sometimes. The guys who..who r-raped me. Ever since I was 13. These shouldn't happen. It's been seven years. I just...just w-want them all to stop." I went over to her, and put my arms around her. She clung to me, her sobbing face in my shoulder. Something was wrong with her. She kinda wigs out every now and then. I understand she's been through stuff, but so have I, and I'm fine. For the most part. Maybe it was just that I was tired. Maybe she was. Maybe it was just a this-one-time thing. But I was worried. I loved her. More than anything. I would go miles for her, anything to see her smile, or just to see her. And I get to see her everyday. I couldn't ask for more. And we never fought. It's like, we spent so much time fighting the rest of the world, we can't turn on each other, not for an instant.

"I know baby." I whispered. "I wanted it too. You know, if we ever want kids, we can adopt."

"I know. But not any time soon. We're not old enough. Not yet...Jack? Do you want to go back?"

"Why? Do you?"

"I asked you first."
"I asked you...second."

"Oh, then, maybe. I want to know what you want. Anything, to go home, for world peace, you want poptarts, whatever."

"I want to know your last name."

"Me too. C'mon."
"Where are we going?"

"To go get something tattooed."

"Ah shit. Oh well. Why not?"