Sweet Little Sister

It was dark and I was wandering around, trying to remember where the Whisky was in order to find Joe’s apartment, even though highly doubted he’d be there, he was probably selling crack to babies or something.
I was starting to get cold but stopping was out of the question now, I was too scared to stay put at one spot where people could talk to me. The crowd hanging around the streets were either drunks, junkies or sleaze-balls and I liked neither of them.

I was on godamn Sunset Strip but where the fuck did the Whisky go? Had they relocated or what?

Then, far in the distance, I saw it. My heart beat went up as I starting sprinting. All I wanted to do was get out of this place and go to sleep or watch a stupid show on tv.

As I approached the Whisky, I could see cops outside, talking to people waiting patiently outside. I lowered my gaze and walked slowly, pretending I was just a passerby that happened to go by.

“That’s her!”

There was commotion but I turned and saw nothing. When I went to turn around the corner, my face hit something hard.
I opened my eyes, slightly disoriented by what had just happened and came face to… chest with a blue uniform. Fuck, a cop.

“Miss, if you don’t mind, could you answer some questions?”

Before I could even say a word, the cop grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside, where, thanks to my damn luck, the Whisky’s manager was. The old man of course recognized me, he obviously didn’t have people from the Make-A-Wish foundation con him every week.

I was royally fucked.

“She’s the one, she came with a punk and tricked me! Cost me thousands of dollars!” he shouted.

“Is he right? Do you disagree with this man’s allegations?” the cop asked me.

All I did was nod weekly, what else could I do? I had no big brother to cause a distraction and save my ass. I was going to spend the rest of my life in jail.

I felt a pair of handcuffs go around my wrists and the cop guided me to the police car. His partner had the great idea of searching me. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t start kicking them in the balls. The bastard cop pushed me on the hood and my face grinded on the cold metal.

People had already gathered around, laughing, talking or just looking. Here I was, spread out on the hood as the cops felt me up, because I looked like the type of girl that enjoyed carrying bazookas and switch-blade knives. Duh.
I let out a yelp when I was pulled back up, my shoulder blades were in a very uncomfortable position, I felt like they were gonna snap anytime now.

They opened the door for me and thankfully I didn’t hit my head as they pushed me inside. Those bastards even put their siren on as I was being taken to the police department.

It was a very long and quiet ride and I felt like everybody on the street was trying to take a peak at me, see yet another delinquent person rot away in prison.

The police department was filthy dirty, all the cops were smoking and the majority of women in there were hookers. Cassandra was a good hooker though, she was smart enough to not get her ass in jail. And look at me now, all I did was follow through with Sebastian’s fucked-up plan. And all that was because of Rachel, so he wouldn’t suspect anything… why did we have to throw that fucking party anyway?
Rachel would have been happy to go to McDonald’s but no, I had to open my big fat mouth and mention the Whisky.

The unlocked the handcuffs off me and I was put into the cell, as other women approached to see the fresh meat. The walls were greenish-gray but filthy, full of writings and shoe marks. There were some things that looked like benches but far less sturdy… but they were occupied anyway. I could feel every eye ogle me.
I sat in a far corner, where none of them could talk to me and used my body language so they could keep the fuck away from me. The cop told me that they were checking me for any previous records and that later on, I would be held for interrogation.

I closed my eyes and tried my best not to scream out loud. Didn’t I even deserve a telephone call? Scratch that, I didn’t know anyone’s phone number by heart. All I was going to do was wait around for nothing.
Or wait around to be sentenced. Haha, so funny.

I started to drift off to sleep but did my best not to, mentally making myself to stay awake so nobody would manhandle me. But it was impossible, mister sandman had set his mind, I had to fall asleep.

**

“Southworth, up!”

Upon hearing my name, my eyes shot open and I groggily saw the same old cell, even though in my sleep, I prayed that it was all just a bad motherfucking dream. Nope, wasn’t that lucky.

As if I were public enemy number one, two cops escorted me to a small office, where the interrogations took place obviously. And of course there wasn’t just one light in my face so I would confess, the whole room was normally lit.

I sat down on the uncomfortable metal chair and a guy in a suit came in. He was balding but gracefully I guess, he was in his late forties.

“Miss you know why you have been arrested. I’m here to ask you about your accomplice,” he said sitting across me. He was rather polite, unlike the other ones, who liked pulling me around.

“I… umm, it was just me.”

He gave me a look, he knew I was lying. I was no criminal mastermind.

“Hear me out. I understand you kids like to have fun but you committed some serious stuff, that man lost lots of money, money he has invested in his business. Fraud is a felony.”

I sighed. “It was all a stupid idea okay? Everything leads up to my brother, its his fault.”

He laughed. “Could you explain a bit more?”

“Okay, this is the story. I am having an affair with one of my brother’s best friends. My brother doesn’t know and he would castrate him if he did find out. The guy I like, well, we were talking about us when my brother overheard something and we had to patch things up somehow so we pretended we were throwing a party and being all secretive. I had the dumb idea to mention the Whisky so then we came up with the elaborate plan of lying to the owner and saying crap about my brother being retarded and that his dying wish was to have a party at the Whisky. And that’s the whole story.”

I said all that in one breath and when I was done I was lightly panting. The man stared in disbelief and wasn’t speaking for a long time.

“So what you’re saying is that its all because of you having a secret relationship?”

I nodded.

“Take her out of here,” he said frustrated at the cop supervising. “Bring her back when she has a better story!”

“I’m telling you the truth!” I screamed as I was being escorted out and back to the cell but he wanted nothing to do with me.

I was being pulled by the cop when I saw that dimwit, Steven, from that odd band.

“Hey Anna!” he said happily, as if being in a police department was his natural habitat. I grunted in response as I was put back behind bars. “Watcha doing here?”

I glared at him. “I wanted to see what it feels like behind bars.”

He looked confused there for a moment, he must have thought I was serious. “Oh, well, I’m bailing out Slash, he passed out on a cop car and then puked all over it.”

“That’s precious.”
I tried ignoring him but he was persistent

“When are you getting out?” he asked. “Is anybody bailing you out?”

“Nope, I‘m actually planning to dig my way out, using a spoon. On concrete.”

“Okay then, I guess I‘ll see you later.” He proceeded to leave but I called after him.

“Wait! Could you find Cassandra and tell her to get my brother? Or someone?”

He smiled from ear to ear. “No problem, I‘m gonna find her. Well, talk to you later, got to go find Slash. With that, he left and I was once again alone, surrounded by women who looked very intimidating to me.
Some were old, some were young but most of them were dressed in dirty, sleazy clothes and probably were just waiting to smoke some crack. I searched the cell for anyone remotely normal… I saw a girl leaning against the dirty wall, not doing anything in particular, just looking around.

I, the social butterfly, went over to her; I thought it would kill time somehow.

“Hey,” I mumbled but it came out a bit rough. I sounded like a drug dealer. I sound like Joe, I thought and almost laughed.

“Hi?” she asked, looking around nervously. She had a hoodie covering most of her face but you could see her brown hair flowing underneath.

“So what are you in for?” I asked her, because it was the only thing I thought of asking, that’s what they seemed to do in movies.

“I crashed my teacher’s car through a wall… but it was accidental. You?”

“Fraud… I think. I don’t really understand this legal mess. I wish I could get the fuck out of here…”

She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, me too…”

So we sat there, talking about random shit like how I was obsessed with the idea of Joe Perry and Steven Tyler being a secret gay couple and stuff when I heard a deafening noise all the way back, towards the entrance of the police department.

Most of the women rushed to see what the commotion was but I had the impression that I knew exactly who was causing all this.
To my dismay, it was just a bunch of random drunks. I was going to spend my night here.

**

I woke up to banging, a cop was hitting the metal bars with his stick, producing a noise that seemed to travel to the depths of my skull. I opened my eyes and saw him eyeing me.

“Southworth. Up.”

I stumbled forward, desperate to get out, anywhere but here. Odd, he didn’t put the handcuffs on me, right when I was starting to get used to it.

He took me to the left, where the offices are. He motioned with his gaze for me to enter the one down the hallway. Crazy thoughts were going through my head, some cop wanted to rape or maybe they were going to sentence me to prison.
Hesitantly, I entered the office, the door took some force to open but I pushed it free.

There, sitting in a chair all alone, was Joe.

I ran to him and hugged him so tight that I was hurting myself. I was trying to be tough but this whole experience had shaken me up; I started crying, which made me really embarrassed but I couldn’t help it.
He patted my back and kissed the top of my head, mumbling it was all going to be okay. I sniffled and finally pulled myself away, after soaking his shirt for good. I wiped my eyes with my stinky shirt and just stared at him, like a lost puppy.

“Let’s get you home,” he simply said, taking my hand. I didn’t care anymore, I just wanted out of here, I didn’t care if he used his drug connections to get me out or paid some corrupted cop, I was never setting foot in this place again.
He had his motorcycle outside, I held to him as he gave me a helmet; I was glad he did so because I still wanted to cry a bit more. All the way back, I realized that for the past few months, I kept getting into trouble.
Getting kicked out of the house, fighting with Rachel and now spending a night at the police department… it was too much to handle, I needed a long time to distance myself from all that.

Joe and I had reached the apartment, he unlocked the door and there was a whole different apartment. It was furnished, there were posters and personal touches added everywhere. It looked home-y, like I place I’d like spending my time at.

He sat on the couch and I joined him.

“I have to be honest. I’ve been hiding stuff from many people nowadays and… you deserve the truth.”

He didn’t look surprised. “I knew there was something, I just didn’t know what…”

“Just hear me out and after you can do whatever you want,” I told him, holding his hand.

So I began. “Back in Jersey, a while before we met, was when I met Sebastian, Rachel’s friend. I fell for him and he seduced me kind of… and I couldn’t resist. Rachel doesn’t know a thing about that, he’d flip and go bananas. Meanwhile, I met you and you’re so wonderful and kind but…” I paused, “I found out stuff about you. I know about the drugs.”

His gaze was distant but he turned to me, looking at me like a dear caught in the headlights.

“I’m not going to deny anything about the drugs. I sell, sure, but its to pay for all this… and… I have a confession to make.”

My eyes blinked. A confession? I knew about the drugs, what else was there to find out?

“I wasn’t in New Jersey by coincidence, I was there to find you…”

“You believe in fate?” I asked him, almost smirking.

“No, hear me out. I knew about you… I… your mother hired me to find you.”

It took a while for the words to register. My mother? She paid Joe to find me?

“So this is it right? You made me into your little toy so my mother could find me? The woman that abandoned my brother and I?” I screamed.

“Listen, An-”

“Don’t fucking tell me to listen! I’ve listened all my life! You brought me here because that crack whore needs more money right? She preferred to leave me and live a junkie dream… don’t ever talk to me!”

I went for the door.

“Anna, she’s dead…”

I stopped as my hand was about to touch the doorknob. I tried to complete the action but my hand started trembling.
It felt like the whole room was spinning. I don’t know what caused it; was it the exhaustion? Was it my hunger? Was it the news about my mom? I didn’t have the time to find out because my eyes were rolling to the back of my head and I was about to hit the floor.