Everything I needed to say was in the last chapter, you're getting two for being so patient, btw I wonder what happened in the party after that kiss... Coming soon
-AGA-xx
ROCKY START. CHAPTER 7
If there was something I never got used to in the city was the pace, everything in here moved so fast that sometimes it felt impossible to keep up. After moving to New York again my timing felt off, I found myself being pushed by people in the sidewalk, constant honking when I was on the wheel. Maybe I had gotten to used to the quietness of Austin, when I was on the ranch nothing could be heard except the animals in the morning, the crickets in the night, no cars, no sirens, no yelling.
Still, the noisy city had grown on me, the two years I spent away in Texas had only shown me how much.
I was walking down the street when my phone vibrated.
r u on ur way?
A text from Zay, I was headed to Billy's house, we were celebrating his acceptance to law school.
yeah, why?
we need snacks, can u pick up some on the way?
sure
I sent the text, I looked around to see where I was standing, I knew there must be a store just bellow the street. I looked up, the sun was coming down and everything was about to be golden, I contemplated the effect like Maya had taught me so long ago, as I was turning around a lady was coming out of a store causing me to bump into her and drop her bag.
"I'm sorry, ma'am" I said reaching down to grab the bag and give it to her.
"You should be" she spat at me, an angry look on her face, she took the bag from my hand and kept going her way. "Kids these days... With their drugs and..." I heard her murmur as she left my sight.
When I returned my eyes to the buildings the golden minutes had passed and the sky was starting to turn black. One block down I saw a small convenience store that should have just what I needed.
The store was very small, three aisles at the most, I was the only one there except the cashier man and an elderly woman that smiled at me when I came in. I grabbed some chips and a couple of dips and headed to the entrance to pay, the man did everything like he had been doing this for a long time, putting the items in a bag, giving out the change, even when he said Have a nice day, it sounded a little robotic.
Just when I was about to grab my bag and go, two armed men entered the store. My heart stopped, sweat appeared in my cold hands and my breathing was unsteady.
"Put your hands up!" Me and the cashier did as they said. Their faces were covered but the second one to come in was definitely younger, by the way he held his gun it appeared like he had never shot one before. The older one was pointing the gun at the cashier guy.
"Take all your money out and put it on a bag" he screamed, I watched every move the employee did, the attacker was nervously looking around the store, which was their biggest mistake as he missed how the cashier man pressed a panic button, he gave me a look, terror in his eyes.
"Hands!" The young one screamed, pulling my attention, his gun pointing at the elderly woman "Why... why aren't your hands up?" The woman clearly was in shock and couldn't move. "I'm talking to you! The hands! Put the hands up" She was crying, her legs trembling
"Leave her alone!" Escaped my mouth, I swallowed hard realizing my own mistake. Two guns were now looking at me, my heart raced, afraid of moving anything, I stood there like a statue. The big one narrowed his eyes, checking me from my feet to my face. He came close to me, the barrel getting close to my body.
"Give me all your money too" he said. I slowly took my wallet out, my eyes were glued to the gun and the man holding it. Behind him, the woman had started to cry.
"Shut up! Stop crying!" The young man yelled, making the lady to cry harder. I clenched my jaw to stop me from saying something to him about the frightened lady.
"C'mon, hurry up" I was brought back, my hands trembling, a layer of sweat covering my forehead. If we could stall them a little longer, the police was on their way.
"If you don't shut up, I'll shoot you! I swear I'll shoot you!" The other kept going, he was too nervous and his finger was on the trigger, at any moment he could freak out and pull it by mistake, I couldn't wait anymore, I had to do something. I was standing next to the wine bottles, I had played baseball my entire life. Sirens were faint in the distance, just one minute.
"Your money, hurry!" I took all my bills out with a trembling hand, together they made roughly a hundred dollars. I threw them at the floor. "Idiot!" He said, kneeling to pick them up.
The next seconds my entire life changed. In one swift move I let go of my wallet, grabbed a bottle of wine with both hands and swung it as fast as I could until it met his head. It all looked like it was happening in slow motion. The bottle exploded against his head, glass flying everywhere, the man dropping unconscious to the floor. What I didn't counted on was on his sidekick to react so quickly, the sirens were seconds away. Without thinking he fired his gun at me three times.
It's interesting getting shot, it feels hot when the bullet cuts through your skin. I felt the sting in my arm, but before I could turn my eyes to see the wound I felt one in my chest. A few inches below my left nipple, this one took my breath away, like someone had kicked me on my stomach. I saw the cops getting off their car and I saw as the world spun over me. I hit the ground with a loud thud, I felt how the blood ran out of my body, hot and thick dripping on the floor. I could hear my heart in my ears, my breathing was quick, like each time it was harder to take the air in; it felt like needless in my chest every time I breathed.
"We need an ambulance, I repeat, there was a shooting, we need medical support." A cop was over me, I screamed as he pressed on my chest, everything going black. "Stay with me, son!" Was the last thing I heard.
I was late, my class had taken too long, because the teacher had decided to tell the class all about his trip to Paris and how beautiful it was, all about the buildings and the parks and the food and the city at night and the men, we just had to know about the men. Now I would have to focus on beautiful architectural details for next week. I was on my way to see Riley, it was the first time I would be able to actually see her this month and I was late.
I ran into the subway station, my pocket buzzing for the fourth time in a row, but I knew it was Riley and I knew she was calling to know where I was and to lecture me about punctuality and I just wasn't in the spirit of being lectured tonight.
"Did you hear what happened today?" I heard a lady ask the person she was talking to on the phone. "I know!... So young, yes... A true hero...He was shot" She kept going her conversation as I walked out of the car and climbed the stairs skipping two at a time.
"Friar" I thought I heard someone say behind me. I turned around, but no Lucas or any of the Friars I knew were on site. I shook of a bad feeling bubbling up on my chest and headed to Riley's apartment.
As I passed a electronics shop, the twelve screens on the window were showing the same news station. I gave no importance to it, until the tip of my eye caught it this time, Friar. It couldn't be a coincidence, the bad feeling on my chest just growing larger. I retraced my steps and stood in front of the store watching the news. Down in the headlines I could read: Lucas Friar stops a robbery. My heart stopped, reading the sentence over and over again every time it passed on the screens. The news changed from 'Weather' to 'Local events', I couldn't hear what the lady was saying but I could understand a couple of words coming out of her mouth.
Street. Stop. Twice. Hero. Head. Footage.
My concentration was taken away from the window as Riley's tone played on my pocket. I grabbed it and answered.
"Hello" I said, getting back to the TV's.
"Maya, it's Lucas..."
My mouth fell open and tears were hanging on my chin when I saw a little black and white copy of him dropping to the floor on twelve different screens. Riley always loved calling Lucas a western hero and he loved that everyone believed he was, today the entire city of New York would think so. Except a little blonde who just wished for him to be back in Texas, alive and well.
That's it for today, follow... ah you know what goes next.
