Vodka and Lemonade

I had Jimmy trained in no time. He was making an excellent killing as being the best dealer in HB, and, because of this, Lou was happy since this also meant that he was expanding his turf. That made me happy, also. Since I was the one who convinced Lou to take Jimmy on, I was also getting a swipe at the reward. Today marked the one month anniversary that Jimmy had been dealing on his own, and Lou wanted to give him something a little special- something he only awarded to his favorites.

Currently, I was sitting in a cheap diner on the corner of North Spring Street and West Elmyra Street, just wasting time until I had to go to work at the bar. Already, the sun was setting on the city, casting pinks, corals, and oranges across the sky. I didn’t care, but tourists seemed to eat it up- like they had never seen the sun go down before. It was a little ridiculous. No matter where you go, the sun rises and sets the same- only the background is different…maybe. I’ve never been outside SoCal, so I wouldn’t know. I just assume that the background changes. I never went to school, so I’m not quite sure how big the US really is. I mean, I hear people tell others that they’ve traveled several thousand miles... and they speak English, for the most part- but their accents are all wrong. And sometimes, they can barely speak. It’s odd. I hate tourists.

The bell above the diner dinged, signaling a new customer. On instinct, I looked up and smiled when I recognized Jimmy immediately. He was with a friend, but that didn’t bother me.

“Yo! Jimmy! Over here!” I called, waving him and his friend over.

“Danni!” he yelled, taking long strides to me. He swooped me up in his arms and hugged me tightly. I used to hate hugging or even touching people. It’s always made me feel uncomfortable. But ever since I met Jimmy a few months ago, I was getting used to it. Jimmy was a big fan of hugging, and there was no way that you could say “no” to him. He was just that kind of person. “God, it’s been forever!” He said once he put me down.

“Jimmy, it’s been a week, tops,” I smiled, taking my seat back.

Jimmy immediately swooped in next to me and placed his arm around my shoulder. “Danni, this is my one of my best friends, Zacky. Zacky, this is Danni, my newest best friend.”

I was taken aback. I had never been called someone’s best friend before. What the hell did that mean? Did I have to do something special now?

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Zacky’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Jimmy talks about you almost all the time.”

“Hey, that’s not true!” Jimmy said back, laughing the entire time.

I gave Jimmy an odd look. “All the time, really now?” I asked with a smirk before turning to face Zacky. “Well then, I hope it’s nothing too bad,” I added with a wink.

Zacky gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I guess that depends on how you define bad.”

Jimmy and I burst out laughing.

“Danni? Good? Now that’ll be the day!” he exclaimed loudly.

I shoved him, causing him to fall out of the booth. “You fucking cock-sucker,” I laughed. “You’re just as bad as me…only, not so much.” Actually smiling, I turned back to face Zacky as Jimmy got back in the booth seat. “So, why are you guys here?”

Jimmy shrugged. “My parents were yelling at me again, so I scrammed. Zacky found me walking on the beach, and, I dunno. We just ended up here.”

I cocked my head slightly. “You walked over twenty miles to L.A. and then you walked even further to get here? In Eastside? Are you fucking nuts? It’s almost nighttime, you’ll get shot.”

Zacky looked at me oddly. “You’re here, too.”

“Yea, not my choice. I work around here.” I quickly looked outside, noting that it was getting darker. “You guys should call someone to get you. It’s not safe.”

“What about you?” Zacky asked. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Everyone here knows me. And they know that Lou will kill anyone who touches me without his permission.” I quickly looked at the clock. “I gotta go. Here, here’s some cash for a ride back,” I said, slapping a few twenties down.

“Danni!” Jimmy called as he ran toward me.

I turned around. “What? You’re going to make me late.”

“I don’t want you working tonight. Come with me, back to my place.”

I shook my head. “I’m going to the House now and Lou’ll kill me if I miss my drop. You know that.”

Jimmy bit his bottom lip and nodded. He looked around before grabbing a paper menu off of a nearby table and jotting something down. He quickly stuffed it into my hands. “If you ever need anything: food, shelter, comfort, anything, just call.”

I nodded my head and shoved it into my pockets. “I will,” I told him before pecking his lips and disappearing into the night.

I was a block away when a figure stood in front of me and a sleazy voice broke through the cool night air. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Little Danni Patterson.”

His grating voice sent chills through my body. “What do you want, Marcus? I paid my debt.” I said coldly. Every time I took a step, he went to block me.

“I think you know exactly what I want,” he said, his stinky breath going on me neck.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I run with Lou now, and you know how he is.”

Marcus didn’t listen to me. Instead, he took a step closer and forced me against a wall. “I don’t see Lou here.”

“Marcus, please, you’re going to make me late for work,” I said, trying to push him aside.

He pushed me back, causing the back of my head to hit the brick wall forcibly. Then, he punched me a few times for good measure, finally landing a blow to my ribs. “You forget who you really belong to,” he said, landing a sloppy kiss to my lips. It took everything within me to vomit. He backed up, letting me slump to the ground in a bloody heap. “I’ll see you around,” he said before walking away.

Soon enough, I hurled on the concrete next to me. When I was sure that nothing else would come up, I slowly stood using the wall as support. I hobbled my way to the House, knowing that Meeri could patch me up. What seemed like a lifetime, and several breaks later, the red neon sign came into view. With a bit of bounce in my step, but not too much since that would really hurt, I made my way to the backdoor of the bar.

“Danni! What the hell? You’re over an hour- what the hell happened to you?” Meeri asked, her tone softening once she got a better look at me. The back of the bar was poorly lit, so it cast shadows on everyone during business hours. “Come into my office, I need to get a better look at you.” She said, ushering me into the only place where all the lights worked
I slumped into the nearest chair.

Meeri grabbed the first aid kit from the wall and started patching me up. “So, mind telling me what happened?”

“M-Marcus found me,” I said, gasping for breath.

“That fucking douche bag. I told you that you should have never run with him. What the hell were you thinking?”

“H-he jumped me. S-said h-he wanted s-something from me- Ow, god dammit!” I screamed when she touched my ribs.

“I think they’re broken,” she said, looking me dead in the eye. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

“No, no,” I said, standing up too quickly. “I don’t have insurance. A-and they’ll send me back. I don’t wanna go back. I-I can’t.”

Meeri grabbed her coat and car keys. “The walk-in clinic it is, then. Janet can be in charge until we get back,” she said while ushering me to the door.