"Let's go Buttercup, I got shit to do." I got in and slammed the door. "Easy there." He said, throwing the car into gear and kicking up a cloud of dust as he tore down the driveway.
"Don't call me that." I said as I stared out the window.
"Truce for now, alright Sam?" He looked over at me, all traces of anger had left his eyes.
"Alright." I said through my teeth. It always amazed me how quickly Ace could shift from mood to mood. I never could let my anger go so easily, it tended to linger.
"How's your grandma? She still cooking those biscuits?" He asked, taking me by surprise.
"She's good, and her cooking is better than ever. She always asks about you."
"Does she?" There was a genuine smile on his face, a rare thing these days.
"Yeah, we talk about that summer a lot, the one we all spent down there. You, me, and Eyeball." I stared at the empty fields, lost in memory. It was nearly ten years ago, Chris had been too young to make the trip. Mom was still alive so she kept him at home and put us three on the bus to visit her Mom in Mississippi.
"Those were good times." He said, interrupting my thoughts.
"Speaking of summers." I looked at him through the corner of my eye. "What happened here while I was gone?" I didn't have to elaborate. I could see his jaw tighten and knew he was well aware of what I was asking.
"Your little brother and his group of pussies decided to poke their noses into our business." He said staring at the road.
"You know, Ace, I'd think a boss gang like the Cobras would have better things to do than pick on a bunch of kids." He didn't slow down as we drove into town, even though the speed limit had dropped significantly.
"We do, but it's a small town, pickings are slim sometimes. We have to elevate the boredom somehow." The tires squealed as he pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner.
"You mean alleviate?" I said with a smirk.
"You know what I mean smartass." He put the car in park and killed the engine.
"Well you need to find something else to occupy your time because this shit between ya'll and Chris's friends is getting real old real quick." I reached for the door handle to jump out of the car and storm off but he caught my arm and pulled me back.
"Jesus, Chambers, calm down and listen." I jerked my arm free and leaned back in my seat.
"I'm all ears." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Alright, smartass. I've got some shit to take care of, meet me back here in half an hour."
"Alright." I said getting out of the car and heading across the street to the grocery store.
"I mean it, Sammy, a half hour, don't make me come lookin' for you." He yelled to me from across the street and I just gave him a wave as I turned to walk into the store.
It only took about fifteen minutes to get what I needed for the spaghetti. I was putting the bags in the back of Ace's car when I heard someone call my name.
"Hey, Sammy!" I'd know that voice anywhere. I turned to see my best friends walking towards me.
"Hey Maryanne, hey Lester!" I said starting towards them.
"What's this all about?" Lester asked, nodding towards Ace's very recognizable black Chevy convertible.
"Same old shit." I said with a shrug.
"You shouldn't swear, Sam. How was your summer?" Maryanne was her same old sweet self. Her skirt and blouse were crisply ironed and her strawberry blonde hair was tied up into a high ponytail with a ribbon that matched her blouse as well as the scarf tied around her neck. She looked so fresh and wholesome. I always wondered why she and Lester let me tag along with them. I was such a stark contrast to their neat and tidy appearances. My curly brown hair was forever escaping the bonds of my ponytail, I'd been wearing the same pants for two years and they were quite tight now that I'd started to develop some curves. My shirt was even more ill fitting for the same reason.
"It was good thanks, how about you two?" I didn't miss the look that passed between them.
"It was the best!" Maryanne said, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. She reached out to grab Lester's hand, beaming at me.
"Good for you!" I smiled back. So Lester had finally asked her to go steady. No wonder she was radiating like a ball of sunshine. She's liked him for years and he'd finally caught on. I wonder if my absence had anything to do with that. Lester was still giving me a disapproving look.
"You should stay away from him, Sam, you know he's bad news." I could see the worry etched in his face. He had good reason to hate the Cobras, they picked on him for years, never gave him a break, until recently when I started getting involved.
"He's right, ya know!" Maryanne's face was a mirror image of Lester's.
"Not this again," I said trying not to roll my eyes, "We've been over this a dozen times. You know who my family is, bad news attracts bad news and there's not much I can do when they all practically live at my house." I threw my hands up in exasperation.
"Well, no one's making you get rides from him." Lester liked to argue, I could tell he was itching for it after a whole summer with only passive Maryanna to keep him company. Oh, she'd argue with me until she was blue in the face, but she'd never spoken a cross word to Lester.
"Actually, smart guy, my Dad told him to take me into town. We need stuff to make dinner." If he wanted an argument he'd come to the right place.
"Don't start this already you two." I'd noticed lately that if it wasn't Maryanne playing peacekeeper it was Lester. When did I start arguing so much with my friends?
"Besides, it's easy for you to say don't take rides from the Cobras, you live in the middle of town. I've got an hour walk to get here from my house and an hour walk back." I said, poking him in the chest.
"I'd make the walk." He said, pushing my hand away. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by Tyler Sanders.
"This kid giving you trouble, Chambers?" Tyler walked out of the diner holding two cups of ice cold coca cola.
"No, we're just having a friendly discussion." I said, not taking my glaring eyes off Lester.
"It don't look too friendly from where I'm standing. Here," He held out one of the coke's. "I got this for you." I turned from Lester to stare at the coke he held in his outstretched hand.
"If I want something to drink I'm more than capable of buying it myself." I folded my arms in front of me, refusing to take it.
"Come on, Sam, it's a hot day. It'll cool you off." He thrust it towards me and I just shook my head. We were all so engrossed in what was going on, Maryanne and Lester looking awestruck at me and Tyler. Tyler looking at me, trying to get me to take a coke I hadn't asked for, and there was me, frustrated with all of them. None of us even saw Ace approaching until all of a sudden he was right there, walking in between me and Tyler on the way to the driver side of his car.
"Thanks Sanders," He grabbed the coke that was being offered to me on his way past. "You're such a fucking gentelman." He didn't even spill a drop of it as he hopped into the car, forgoing using the door altogether.
"That's not yours, Merrill, I got it for Sam." I could tell Tyler was angry but fear was holding him back from actually doing anything.
"Well then, I might let her have a sip of it, if she's a good girl on the ride home." His grin was wicked as he winked at me and took a sip. The innuendo didn't go unnoticed.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lester took a step forward.
"Oh, language, Chester, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He leaned over and popped open the passenger door.
"His name is Lester, Ace, you've known him for years." I said through my teeth.
"Whatever, Buttercup, let's go." He pushed the door all the way open for me to get in. I moved towards the car but Tyler got there first, he'd finally found his voice but I was afraid he'd lost his mind in the process. When he reached out and slammed the door to Ace's car I froze in place. Ace didn't. He was out of the car and making his way towards Tyler in what seemed like a split second.
"Woah, woah, woah." I said positioning myself in between the two of them.
"You need to keep your hands to yourself, pal." The look on Ace's face was terrifying. But Tyler didn't seem phased.
"Maybe you should take your own advice." Tyler said then his eyes turned towards me. "I can give you a ride home, Sam. You don't have to ride with this trash." They both inched forward, causing me to hold my hands up to physically keep them apart.
"Calm down." I said quietly to Ace as I saw his eyes flare up. I turned to Tyler. "Trash? You know we grew up together, right? Despite everything, you know we're still like family, right?" I dropped my hands but Ace didn't try anything, he was too busy glaring and smiling at Tyler, knowing he'd hit a nerve.
"Sammy, that's not what I meant. I wasn't talking about you." His attention had shifted from Ace to me.
"Really? I bet that's what you really think we are huh? Deep down." I turned to open the door and Tyler reached out to stop me, he never made contact though, Ace was on him in a split second. I got into the car and closed the door.
"I'm not gonna tell you again, asshole. Keep your goddamn hands to yourself. Next time I'll cut em off." Ace had his knife out and pressed against Tyler's cheek.
"Leave it, Ace, let's get the fuck out of here."
"Yes, Ma'am." He said, grabbing a handful of Tyler's shirt and flinging him away from the car. He stumbled but didn't fall.
"I really didn't mean it like that, Samantha." Tyler sounded sincere. But the damage had already been done.
"See you two at school." I said to Maryanne and Lester, completely ignoring him. Ace jumped back into the car and lifted the coke to take another sip. I grabbed it out of his hand and threw it on the ground at Tyler's feet. Ace laughed and rested his arm on top of the seat behind me.
"Catch ya later faggot." He said, leaving behind a cloud of smoke as he sped off. I opened the glovebox and grabbed a cigarette out of the pack Ace always had stashed there.
"So that's what happens to all my smokes." He reached over and got one for himself. I didn't say anything, just stared out at the fields. I was so mad I wasn't even really seeing them.
"You okay kid?" He asked after several minutes of silence.
"If one more person uses the word 'trash' to describe me or my family, I don't care who it is, I'm punching them in the fucking face and damn the consequences." I put my smoke out in the ashtray and flung the butt into the ditch.
"You just cool it sweetheart and leave the fighting to us." He turned into our driveway and stopped at the front steps.
"I can handle myself." I got out and he was right behind me, carrying the groceries.
"I never said you couldn't. But seriously, you need to stay away from Sanders, there's nothing but trouble there." I took one of the bags from him.
"I know." I didn't even try to argue that one, it was too true. It didn't take long to rustle up supper. The rest of the night was surprisingly peaceful. After dinner and dishes Chris and I got to work puting the big batch of moonshine that was ready into glass jars and packing them into wooden crates while Ace, Eyeball, and Dad put the finishing touches on the pickup.
"Alright, kids. Bedtime, school starts tomorrow." Chris and I groaned but didn't argue, we were actually pretty tired.
"Goodnight ya'll. Be careful out there." I gave my Dad a hug and waved to the boys as I followed Chris to the house.
"I'm glad you're back Sam, things are calmer when you're here." I put my arm around my little brother.
"That's because there's too much testosterone in this place. You need a woman to balance things out a bit."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said ducking as I ruffled his hair.
"You'll understand one day." As I laid in bed going over everything that had happened today I was more confused than ever. The evening had been so peaceful and drama free, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my stomach was twisted into knots.