Never Going Back Again

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this," Valencia said to Adalae.

"Val, come on," she said. "It's just one party."

"I'm not talking about the party," She said. "I'm talking about letting you drive."

"What?" Adalae asked. Valencia looked at Adalae's eyes and noticed how dilated her pupils were. "I'm cool."

"I think you should pull over and let me drive."

"No, we're almost there." Adalae said as she passed up the spot where she scored drugs from just a few hours earlier.

"What kind of party is it going to be?" Valencia asked.

"My kind of party." Valencia knew what that meant: drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence.

"Maybe you should take me home," she said. Adalae shook her head.

"No, you need this."


Valencia always felt out of place no matter where Adalae took her. Tonight was no different. Everyone at this party had something about them to make them stick out. Most of them were pierced and/or tattooed. Valencia had some piercings, besides her ears: her nose, her tongue, and a couple that only a lucky few knew about.

Everyone at this party had this sinister look about them. Even Adalae. The way they all moved, spoke, and their smiles. They were all so intimidating, but no one intimidated Valencia more than Billy Darley. He was sitting there with a group of guys. They were all just sitting there, smoking and drinking.

"There's Billy," Adalae said. "C'mon, let's go say hi."

"But-"

"C'mon Val," she said. "They won't bite." Valencia walked with Adalae over to the group of thugs. One of them whistled as they approached. "Hi guys," Adalae smiled. "Hey Billy."

"I see you still spinning off that shit I gave you," he said to her. Adalae gave off this lazy grin and just shrugged.

"You remember Val right?" She asked him. Billy and the rest of the guys looked at Valencia. Billy had a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. He pulled it out and slowly blew the smoke in Valencia's direction.

"I don't remember much," he said.

"Nice lookin' bitch," one of the guys said.

"I guess," Billy said. "If you're into that." He took another long drag from his cigarette and looked over his shoulder. "You're into just about anything Heco if you're high enough," he said.

"Can we go?" Valencia asked Adalae.

"What?" Billy asked. "You too good for this too?" Valencia didn't bother to answer him. She just looked at him. "I'm feeling a little insulted." He said as he stood up. "You're making me think that you don't like me very much."

"That's because I don't like you," Valencia said.

"Val-" Adalae began, but Billy stopped her.

"You haven't known me long enough to not like me," Billy said.

"All it took was a minute," she and Billy stood there for a few seconds just staring at each other. Neither one of them said a thing.

"You gon' let her talk to you like that Billy?" One of them said. He stood and walked up next to Billy.

"Chill Joe," Billy said. "Sit down." Joe moved back a bit and sat down. Billy just continued to look at her. Valencia was really starting to get scared.

"You think you're better than me?" Billy asked her. Valencia wanted to look away, but she was too scared. Billy had her full attention. "Come on." He said just before sucking on his cigarette. "Let's see how much better you are." He lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door.

"Billy, chill out," Adalae said as they followed them. "She didn't mean anything. She just-"

"Mind your business, Adalae," he said as he opened the door. He pulled Valencia outside and opened his car door. "Get in," He told her.

"Billy-" Adalae said. She was slowly starting to sober up.

"Get in!" Billy said to Valencia once more. She slid into the passenger seat without any protest. Billy slammed the door and began walking around to the other side.

"Billy what are you gonna do?" Adalae asked. Billy just looked at her with this sinister glare that all the people inside seem to have.

"Get in and find out," he said to her as he got inside his car. Adalae hesitated. She looked at Valencia in the front seat. She was visibly shaking. "Come on Adalae," Billy said as he started the car. "Make up your mind." Adalae took a deep breath and got in the back seat. "Good girl," he said just before he sped off down the street.

Valencia mentally beat herself up for letting Adalae talk her into to coming out tonight. If she would've went home like she had planned, she wouldn't be here now. She'd be safe in her home, studying. But she wasn't. She felt like she was at the end of her road.

"There's nothing I hate more than prissy little bitches like you," Billy said as he looked at Valencia for a second. "You think you're so much better than me because you live in another part of town? Because your parents take care of you, or because you make an honest living?" Billy asked. "Huh? Is that it?" Valencia didn't say a thing. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears. That's the last thing she needed was to make herself look weaker than she already was.

Before Valencia could manage to look up, Billy had stopped the car. "Adalae," Billy said. "Hand me that bag back there." Adalae handed Billy the brown bag and fell back into her seat. "Here," Billy said tossing Valencia the bag. "You see that guy right there?" Billy asked, pointing to a skinny guy standing on the corner. Her looked dirty, and beaten. Just like everyone else in this place. "He's a buyer," Billy said. "Tonight, you're the seller."

"What?" Valencia asked as she looked at him.

"Get out and give him what he wants," he said nodding towards the bag. "Go sell."

"I... I can't." Valencia said. She looked back at Adalae before looking at Billy. "I can't fucking sell this," she whimpered.

Billy moved closer to Valencia and got right in her face. He could see her shaking. He could see that she was about to cry. "You still think you're better than me?" He asked her. Hell yes! Valencia thought. "If you were, you could've done this easily," he snatched the bag from her lap. "This is kiddy shit," he said as he pulled something from the bag and slipped it in his pocket. "This is nothing compared to what people do," he said. "You can't fucking do this and you think you're better than me?!" He asked. He opened his car door and began to get out. "Go on Adalae," he said just before closing the door. "Tell her how easy it is." Valencia turned around and looked at Adalae with shocked eyes. Adalae put her head down.

"What's he talking about Adalae?" Valencia asked.

"Nothing Val," Adalae said. "Don't listen to a thing he says." Valencia turned around and watched Billy as he made his way to the dirty looking guy on the corner. She watched him as he slipped him the drugs, while the guy slipped him the money. They walked away from each other without another word.

Billy got back in the car and started it up. He didn't look or say anything to the two girls sharing it with him. He pulled out his phone from a pocket from his trench coat and began dialing some numbers. "Joe," he said into the phone. "Scoop everybody up. We're going to the office." He waited a while for Joe to respond before speaking. "Yea, I'm on my way." He hung up looked in his rear view mirror at Adalae. "I like you Adalae," he said. "Your brother had more heart than some of the people I know," Billy said as he pulled up in front of the house where the party was. "But if you ever bring this girl around me again, I won't hesitate to kill you both," he said. He pulled out a gun from the inside of his coat and pointed it at Valencia. "You hear that?" He asked her. Valencia's heart stopped, and the tears she'd been fighting back since she got in the car spilled out down her rosy pink cheeks. "Don't let me catch you around here again," he said. "Get the fuck out of my car." He put his gun back into his coat and looked at Adalae. "Both of you."

The two girls didn't hesitate to get out the car. As soon as Valencia closed the door she felt like she could breathe. She dropped to the ground and took a deep breath just before sobbing into the pavement. Adalae came to her side and tried to help her up. But Valencia didn't budge. She felt safe where she was. Sobbing on the ground.