Drop Dead.

The car alarm blares angrily in my ear, telling me that I don’t have much time. It’s the reason my hands are shaking while searching through the car for anything valuable. And by the time I hear, probably the owner, scream “Hey!” I’ve already snatched all the money he has, a pack of gum, and what looks like an expensive watch.

I don’t bother shutting the door. Quickly. I snatch up the bat I used to bust the window and run down the street with everything in my arms. My lungs constrict, legs burn, heart races, and body shakes with nerves, fear, and excitement.

I curse when I slip and fall. Glaring down at my shoes, I realize that the hole in the front has gotten bigger and my entire foot is sticking up. “Fuck!” I rip off my shoes and run in my beat up, old socks until I feel that I’m a safe distance away. Huffing, I fall into a heap of trash bags, which most people will find disgusting but it’s much more comfortable than lying on hard cement. Groaning, I pull my legs up to my chest and curl in on myself as my entire body shivers in the winter air.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Just thinking about it pains me because once again another year has passed without waking up to bound into the living room to see a tree covered with lights and ornaments with piles of Christmas presents beneath it. Sure, my home before wasn’t a happy one but on holidays we all tried our bests to be happy and most of the time it worked.

Mom and dad would laugh as I ripped open the presents, exclaiming my thanks the moment I saw them. I would stand on a chair and help mom bake cookies while dad cleaned up the mess I made. We’d all sit at the island and eat cookies with milk before going to relatives' for the day to play games and eat until we felt like puking.

It was nice and I use to wait just for Christmas because it was the happiest time of the year. The others were filled with drugs and abuse but Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, they were all holidays that made my parents stop and think about me, about us, about the family and I would count the days down until the next time for us to be happy.

But now…it’s gone. It’s all gone and here I am, five years later, still wishing for that time to happen once again but who I am I kidding? Like that’ll ever happen. I’ll probably die on these streets before then.

I push myself into a sitting position and smirk at the hundred bucks I managed to savage. I hold the watch before my eyes and scan it over. I should be able to get something from the pawn shop for this. I shove what I got into my pockets and slip my feet back into my shoes.

They’re soaked and I know that if I don’t warm up soon I could get sick, which is not good. I push my legs to take me home where I find Gel and Tee already fast asleep under the blanket. I tip toe over to them and kick off my frozen socks before placing myself under the blanket as well and curl up on Gel’s side.

As if she knows it’s me, she turns and curls into my chest. I throw an arm around her waist and sigh as I fall asleep.

I stretch after waking up the next morning. Grunting, I sit up and rub at my eyes. Gel smiles at me when she sees I’m awake. I give her one back while looking around us at everyone. Some are still asleep in their corners or the middle of the floor while others have already up and left, looking for food until Janet, Terry, andthat son of a bitch Carter arrive.

“It’s Christmas Eve!” Gel squeaks and I nod. Remembering my luck last night, I reach into my pocket and pull out the money I managed to get. Smiling, I hand her thirty out of the hundred and say.

“Get yourself a present with that. The rest I’m using for food.”

“But what about you, Jinx? You need a present too!” Gel shouts, forming a cute little pout, which I chuckle at. Reaching out, I ruffle her hair and shrug to show that I don’t feel like I need one. I guess…I would like something but I would much rather have food.

Gel whines and curls back up under the blanket. I throw a protective arm over her shoulder and squeeze her into my side and the two of us just rest here until around noon when Janet and Terry arrive with their little bitch. Gel squeals whenever she hears the doors open and she looks over the railing, down to the bottom floor to see Carter waving up to her.

I shoot him a glare and follow slowly after the running girl. By the time I reach the bottom floor, she’s already at his side, squealing at the stuffed animal bunny he had brought her. “Jinx, look what I got! Ain’t he cute?”

I grunt in response and stare at the purple thing. Bunnies aren’t even purple but whatever, it must be a girl thing. I’ll never understand the female species. Such strange, strange creatures.

“I got something for you too…Jinx, is it? Is that your real name?” Carter asks, probably trying to start friendly conversation, which I promise he will not get.

I snarl at the man but he’s strange and chuckles. After rummaging through the duffle bag he brought, he pulls out a pair of shoes and I stare, dumbfounded at the nice looking sneakers that I could never afford, obviously. I make sure to remove the shocked expression I had before Carter could notice.

“I saw the other day that your shoes were worn out and it looks like I got these just in time. Try them on to see if they fit. If not I’ll return them and try a bigger pair,” he says, holding them out for me to take. I watch him carefully as I reach out and snatch them from his fingers before stepping away. He smiles and stays put as I kick off my converses and put on the sneakers, which are a little big but fit perfectly.

I stand up and curl my toes, loving the feel of them. Suddenly, I see something white being thrown and I manage to catch the soft fabric. Looking into my hands, I find a pack of socks as well and I glance at Carter who grins and says, “Good thing I got the socks with them. You obviously needed them…so…Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” Gel giggles, throwing her arms around Carter in a hug. He laughs and pats her back and I can’t help but wonder why he’s here in the first place and why he’s helping us. Where is he from? What does he do for a living? Why is he here? How did he meet Janet and Terry? What are his hidden motives?

I take a step back from him whenever everyone starts crowding around him for the food or gifts that he had brought. It’s like he’s fucking Santa Claus, creep.

And when he’s done he looks towards Gel, who is playing with her bunny, and I. Smiling he waves to us and asks, “How about you two come to my house tomorrow for Christmas dinner? My wife will be making something spectacular.”

Before Gel can answer, I snap, “No way in hell.”

“Oh, so you can speak,” Carter chuckles. “I was starting to think otherwise.”

“Fuck off. We aren’t going anywhere with you,” I bite, grabbing Gel’s shoulder and holding her to my side. She looks up at me with a look that clearly states she has no idea why I put down the offer. Nibbling on her lip, she asks.

“But why not, Jinx? Carter is nice and if Janet and Terry trust him he’s obviously a good guy!” I narrow my eyes at her and she shrinks beneath my gaze, playing with the ears of her rabbit she mumbles an apology and walks away.

Once she does, Carter suggests, “If you trust Janet and Terry then let them drive you there and they can even stay. That way you know that nothing will happen.”

“That sounds like an awesome idea!” A new familiar voice interjects and Janet appears at our sides with a smile. “Gel, Tee, and Jinx would love to go!”

I hiss but Janet ignores my sound of disapproval as she giggles out, “Do you care if they take a shower as well? I’d like them to enjoy themselves on Christmas and not worry about what others think about the-”

“Janet!” I growl, finally catching her attention. I look at her like she’s crazy and she sighs, waving my look off.

“Look Jinx, Carter can be trusted. Terry and I have known him since we were kids. It’ll be ok.”

I scoff. Doubt it.