Frozen Hearts
Two - Gabriel
It was late by the time I arrived in town, a full moon hung bright in the pitch-black sky and the deserted streets left me feeling uneasy. This place had once been my home, but I no longer felt the excitement of driving down the roads or the happiness of knowing that I belonged.
I was a stranger returning to something that I once knew, but everything was different and my place within the system had been erased. A few old bangers drove by in intervals, loud music muffled by wound up windows and faces hidden behind tinted glass that told me that they were patrolling the streets.
The flight had been a long one, followed by a tiresome drive to where I would be staying and the exhaustion was starting to creep up on me. My ribs ached and my head pounded, but that’s what you got for fighting... especially when the odds were against you. Sleep comes quickly as I lay on my bed, but the alarm comes too soon and I struggle to get ready for the day ahead.
It’s strange being back and I haven’t yet decided how I feel about it, but there’s definitely this overwhelming anxiety in my chest. A lot has changed since my family was run out and I’m no longer oblivious to the way of the world around me, though I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t missed him.
The Snakes had once been a small-time gang just like the Spiders, but their link to the Yakuza had seen them grow and the Spiders had been forced to leave the area. I play with the gold ring that sits on my right trigger finger, staring into space and jump slightly as my father speaks.
‘Are you sure you’re up for this?’ he asks, his voice soft and filled with concern.
“I’m sure,” I reply with a shrug, shifting my attention back to the phone screen and smiling, “I understand why I had to come back, dad, I’ve got this...”
‘That I have no doubt about, but there is so much more involved for you,’ he continues, ‘Lucas was a friend, your best friend and...’
“Now we’re enemies by his own choosing,” I finish, although the word itself stirs up a mixture of hurt and anger, “I can’t change the fact that we were born to two rival gangs, but I can make sure that the Spiders thrive and begin to rebuild in the town we once called home.”
‘Very wise words, my boy.’
“I need to get going, but I’ll check in with you tonight and I’ll let you know how it goes.”
The Spiders had spent the last five years strengthening their branches, initiating new members and building a fresh reputation from the ashes of what the gang had once been. I don’t fully know what to expect from my first encounter with Lucas, but I’m not naïve enough to think that it will be all rainbows and unicorns.
Our friendship was... we were close and somewhere along the line my feelings changed, they became something more than just friendly towards him. I liked him, maybe even loved him by the end of it and seeing him again was going to drag all of that backup.
Sat in my truck outside the school a while later, I stare up at the building in front of me and take a deep breath as I climb out. The sight of him standing by the entrance causes me to pause momentarily, but I recover quickly and bow as I reach him as way of greeting.
I was a stranger returning to something that I once knew, but everything was different and my place within the system had been erased. A few old bangers drove by in intervals, loud music muffled by wound up windows and faces hidden behind tinted glass that told me that they were patrolling the streets.
The flight had been a long one, followed by a tiresome drive to where I would be staying and the exhaustion was starting to creep up on me. My ribs ached and my head pounded, but that’s what you got for fighting... especially when the odds were against you. Sleep comes quickly as I lay on my bed, but the alarm comes too soon and I struggle to get ready for the day ahead.
It’s strange being back and I haven’t yet decided how I feel about it, but there’s definitely this overwhelming anxiety in my chest. A lot has changed since my family was run out and I’m no longer oblivious to the way of the world around me, though I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t missed him.
The Snakes had once been a small-time gang just like the Spiders, but their link to the Yakuza had seen them grow and the Spiders had been forced to leave the area. I play with the gold ring that sits on my right trigger finger, staring into space and jump slightly as my father speaks.
‘Are you sure you’re up for this?’ he asks, his voice soft and filled with concern.
“I’m sure,” I reply with a shrug, shifting my attention back to the phone screen and smiling, “I understand why I had to come back, dad, I’ve got this...”
‘That I have no doubt about, but there is so much more involved for you,’ he continues, ‘Lucas was a friend, your best friend and...’
“Now we’re enemies by his own choosing,” I finish, although the word itself stirs up a mixture of hurt and anger, “I can’t change the fact that we were born to two rival gangs, but I can make sure that the Spiders thrive and begin to rebuild in the town we once called home.”
‘Very wise words, my boy.’
“I need to get going, but I’ll check in with you tonight and I’ll let you know how it goes.”
The Spiders had spent the last five years strengthening their branches, initiating new members and building a fresh reputation from the ashes of what the gang had once been. I don’t fully know what to expect from my first encounter with Lucas, but I’m not naïve enough to think that it will be all rainbows and unicorns.
Our friendship was... we were close and somewhere along the line my feelings changed, they became something more than just friendly towards him. I liked him, maybe even loved him by the end of it and seeing him again was going to drag all of that backup.
Sat in my truck outside the school a while later, I stare up at the building in front of me and take a deep breath as I climb out. The sight of him standing by the entrance causes me to pause momentarily, but I recover quickly and bow as I reach him as way of greeting.
♠ ♠ ♠
Enjoy ♥