Sell Your Soul

“Let’s watch a movie.” Funny flopped down in the chair and turned the television on.

Johnny glared at him. He had been thoroughly enjoying his time alone with Hannah. She had finally opened up to him about the life she ran away from, but there was more than she was telling him. He could see it in her eyes.

“I second that.” Andrea said taking a seat on the love seat.

“Should someone go check on Charlie? I mean what if he fell in the pool and drowned or something?” Hannah asked quietly.

“Danny went to get him.” Funny assured her as he flipped through Johnny’s Netflix account.

“Oh lets watch that new slasher flick!” Andrea spoke up.

“Sounds good to me.” Johnny agreed.

Hannah felt her heartbeat quicken. She didn’t handle horror movies well. They had been pretty much forbidden, other than a few nasty ones they liked to use as examples of what could happen to you if you left the community and strayed from the faith.

Danny appeared in the living room.

“Charlie’s in the guest room now and I locked the back door.”

“Thanks man.” Johnny nodded to him as he took a seat next to Andrea on the love seat.

Funny pressed play on the movie and Hannah took a deep breath. Maybe it wouldn’t be that scary. You can do this. She told herself over and over again. But it didn’t take long for the serial killer to appear on the screen and that damned music to start playing, the kind that catches the rhythm of your heart beat and lets you know something is about to happen. The killer popped out of the closet causing Hannah to scream like a little girl and bury her face in Johnny’s side.

Her scream caused Funny who was half asleep in the chair to jump up and yell himself. Andrea and Danny exploded into laughter. Johnny wrapped his arms around her.

Funny paused the movie.

“Fuck you guys I’m making popcorn.” He stomped off into the kitchen.

“That wasn’t embarrassing at all.” Hannah muttered to herself.

Johnny tossed a throw pillow at Andrea and Danny who were in the floor, doubled over in laughter.

“I’m…. not…. Laughing….at…her!” Andrea choked out.

Hannah felt her face go red. She kept her eyes on the ground. She wanted to disappear. But Johnny simply pulled her closer to him.

“Its okay baby doll.” He whispered in her ear and kissed her forehead.

“Fuck you guys you all fucking suck.” Funny said as he returned with a large bowl of popcorn.

“Dude if you end up throwing popcorn all over my floor I will end you.” Johnny said pointedly.

“The only reason I jumped is because I was half asleep.” Funny growled.

Andrea and Danny were still in the floor laughing at him.

Hannah was nearly sitting in Johnny’s lap. He kept his arms around her tightly through the movie, but about halfway through she fell asleep. Johnny didn’t want to disturb her so he slept sitting up on the couch with her resting against his chest.

**

Andrea and Hannah were taking a break together behind Rick’s when the white escalades rolled up. There were four of them all with jet black tinted windows.

“Holy shit.” Andrea jumped up.

“What?” Hannah stood up too.

“Those guys are serious bad news. Fuck, I’ve got to call Johnny. They aren’t supposed to be on his turf.” Andrea grabbed Hannah’s wrist and pulled her into the back of the restaurant.

“Whatever you do don’t mention Johnny or me. Pretend like you just work with me and I’m not here. Just take their orders and do whatever they want no matter what.” Andrea warned. Hannah could see she was worried.

“Okay.” Hannah tried to give her a reassuring smile but she was afraid if she moved her mouth too much she might throw up.

Hannah took a deep breath and walked to the front of the restaurant. The five men walking in the door seemed even more dangerous that Johnny and his friends could even imagine.

“Welcome to Rick’s. You all can sit wherever you like.” Hannah smiled sweetly. She was doing her best to channel her inner Andrea, and keep her voice calm. They chose the back corner booth where they could see the entrance to the diner.

“Your new.” A tall, sculpted and tattooed man glared down at her.
“Yeah, I just got into town.” She smiled again pulling her notepad out of her apron. “What can I get you guys to drink?”

They men placed their drink orders and Hannah went to retrieve them. She took a bunch of deep breaths before returning.

“Do you guys know what you want to eat?” She asked with another smile.

“Actually we haven’t decided yet.” The tall one said. Hannah got the feeling he was the leader of the group.

“Are you all alone sweetie?” Another asked. His voice was like velvet and he had piercing green eyes. Alarms started going off in Hannah’s head.

“No, the other girl is taking a break. Her shift is almost over and her replacement should be here any minute. Rick too.” She added the last part quickly. Too quickly.

A grin quickly spread across the leaders face.
But the bell on the door signaled they weren’t alone and a couple came walking in the door.

“Just sit anywhere! I’ll be right with you!” Hannah told them.

“Well if you guys want another minute I’ll –“ But she was cut off.

The green eyed one quietly laid a pistol on the table, and the leader took her hand and pulled her close to him.

“You’ll be a good girl no one will get hurt. Now get those two out of here and fast.” He snarled.
“Y-Yes sir.” She stuttered and made her way towards the couple that was still standing at the door.

Johnny was restless. He hadn’t slept at all the night before and he couldn’t sit still today either. He felt antsy like he had down way too much coffee. He couldn’t explain it, but when his sister’s picture popped up on his phone his heart was doing summersaults. Something wasn’t right.

“Johnny!” She was speaking in a hushed tone, but the panic was evident in her voice.

“What’s wrong?” Johnny grabbed his car keys.
“They’re here at Rick’s. It’s just me and Hannah.” Andrea was terrified. It was ripping Johnny apart.

“Where are you?” Johnny started beating on the door of his guest rooms. Charlie, Danny and Funny were still there asleep.

“Get the fuck up now! Call Da Kurlz and J-Dog.” He yelled.

“I’m in the back, Hannah’s out front with them. I – I didn’t know what else to do. I was too afraid to run. They’ve got their cars surrounding the place.” Andrea was in tears.

“Fuck! Just stay where you are. We’re on our way. Don’t fucking move until one of us get to you.” Johnny jammed his phone in his pocket. He punched the wall.

Funny, Charlie and Danny were at his side immediately.
“The Huntington crew at at Rick’s. Hannah and Andrea are there alone.” He practically yelled.

The four of them were damn near running out the door. Charlie called J-Dog and Da Kurlz who were meeting them there.

Unfortunately for Hannah the couple just needed directions to the nearest interstate. She took as much time as she could giving them directions. But it wasn’t long enough. They were gone quickly.

She made her way back to the corner booth and tried to force herself to smile.

“Good girl.” The leader cooed at her. It made her sick to her stomach. Flashes of her past ripped through her mind. She did her best to shake them off.

“Who all is in the back?” He asked.

“The cook and I don’t know if the other waitress is gone yet or not.” She lied.

“Tell them to go out back and take a break. You have tables to clean and there isn’t anyone here.”

Hannah nodded and made her way to the back.

“Hey guys, it’s pretty dead out here go ahead and take a break. I’m gonna clean the tables while I can.” She yelled too-loudly.

Andrea grabbed her by the wrist.

“Johnny and the boys are on their way, when they get here get your ass behind the counter and stay on the ground.” She whispered. She had tears in her eyes.

“Okay.” Hannah hugged her quickly and then made her way to the front.

“Everyone is outside.” She told them.

“Good girl.” He repeated himself.

“Now be a dear and empty the register out for us.” He patted her head like a dog. Hannah’s heart was pounding out of her chest as she walked behind the counter. Her hands were shaking and she kept dropping the key.

“Goddamnit! Am I gonna have to do this for you?” The green eyed one sneered.

“N- No I’ve got it. My hands are just slippery.” She finally got the key in the lock when she heard the leader yell out.

“What the fuck?”

She looked up just in time to see six men in masks rushing the door. She screamed and hit the ground. She could hear gunshots and glass breaking. She crawled under the counter as far as she would fit and pulled her knees up to her chest.

She could hear yelling and more gun shots, as three of the first five guys ducked out the back. She had to stop herself from screaming again. Three of the masked guys followed behind them guns in hand. She buried her head in her chest as she heard more footsteps running towards the back. All she could do was pray that Andrea was safe.

Heavy footsteps rushed towards her. A masked man in all black with a gun in his hand stood in front of her. She almost screamed until she saw the “3” on his neck. Hannah burst into tears as Johnny tossed his gun on the ground and grabbed her into his arms.

He didn’t say a word as he lifted her off the ground and onto the counter. He pulled off his light blue mask and pressed his lips to hers. Hannah kissed him back passionately. He broke the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I’m so sorry baby doll.” He told her as he held her.

J-Dog appeared then, mask in one hand and gun in the other.

“Andrea, is Andrea okay?” Hannah asked suddenly. She could hear herself yelling.

“She’s fine. Everyone is okay. I think we hit the little one of theirs though.”

“Lets get the hell out of here. I want to find Rick and have a little conversation with him.” Johnny helped Hannah off the counter and wrapped an arm around her body as he led her out the back.

Andrea was sitting in Danny’s lap. Her cheeks were stained with tears. She jumped up when she saw them and grabbed both her brother and Hannah in a hug.

“I was so fucking scared.” She cried.

“It’s over now.” Danny said pulling her away from them and towards the door. They all loaded into three solid black SUVs and headed for Johnny’s.

**

Hannah sat Indian-style on Johnny’s couch still wearing her uniform from Rick’s. Hours had passed and she was still processing everything that just happened. Johnny and the others were giving her some space, they were all pretty sure she was in some sort of shock. Kurlz was betting that she was on the verge of running away. But she wasn’t. She knew that the smart thing would be to pack her shit and leave, the world was a big place and it wouldn’t be hard to find another town a few hundred miles away from all of this. But Hannah didn’t want to run away from Johnny and his masked gang. Strangely enough she felt safe with them.