Outcast
12. Scream until there's nothing left
*Vic’s POV*
As I walked away after leaving Thalia at work, I both cursed and praised her name: we’d had so much fun a few minutes ago, but the damn girl had teased me and had gone and left me with a very bad problem to cover while having to get to my own work place. Damned little freckled demon.
Half an hour and a boner after, I reached the game store where I worked and pushed the glass doors open. My boss and friend, Josh, sent me straight away to the shelves to organise the games. As I worked methodically, the last two days replayed in my memory like old film rolls.
The day after Thalia arrived had been the day of the third anniversary of Mike’s death and I never left my house in that precise day. 14th’s of June were the saddest days for me, full of mourning and remembering. However, this one had been different, because I had felt as if something had pulled towards the beach that morning, almost as if – as crazy as it sounds – my little brother had been beside me, luring me out of the house with the promise of something good happening that day.
At the end of the day, that had been one of the best days of my life thanks to a little someone that had popped into my life like an unexpected Christmas present. I hadn’t only found a wonderful person who I could be with, but I had also found a purpose and inspiration for writing. My purpose was to keep Thalia with me and make her as happy as could be so she could get through her addiction. Yeah, I know it sounds harsh, but it’s just that, there’s no other way around it. Cutting is an addiction, and it is often romanticised by stories, films and shit, but in reality, it sucks ass and it only brings hell home. Despite all the help one has, we all relapse at one point or another and we can only get through it on ourselves. I knew Thalia had done it that morning as soon as I saw her face and her red-rimmed eyes, but I knew the last thing she need was me bugging her about it, so I just let it be until she was ready to tell me.
My purpose was to be by Thalia’s side; on the good and the bad moments, the happy times and the relapses, and support and love her with all I had – as cheesy as it sounds, yeah - and that inspired me for writing my lyrics and my music, which I hadn’t been able to since three years ago.
-
Lost in my train of thought, I hadn’t noticed it was lunch time until I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Josh behind me with what seemed like a voucher for Taco Bell in his hand. Hunger and excitement bubbled in my stomach.
“You in for some Taco Bell goodness?” He asked, flipping the voucher in front of my face. “40% discount!” He said, alluringly.
“Tacos and discount in the same sentence? Dude, count me in!” I exclaimed excited because, hell, who doesn’t get excited when they get a taco with discount?
Josh closed the store until we came back from lunch and we headed to the nearest Taco Bell. Luckily, it only took us around ten minutes.
Once inside, Josh and I headed to the counter and ordered our food. As I waited for my chicken burrito, I watched the news channel on the TV of the establishment. They were talking about some hold up near here.
“A woman has reported seeing four men carrying guns entering the tattoo parlour located on the 3rd street. It has been confirmed that the owner of the place and an employee are inside...” The anchorman said with a monotone voice and impassive face. My heart fell to my feet even before I saw the images of the place – it was Austin’s parlour.
“Vic! Vic, dude, what’s wrong?” Josh asked, snapping his fingers in front of my unmoving face. “VIC!”
“Thalia... My girlfriend. Works there. Hold up, guns... I need to be there.” Was all I could mutter, as I pointed at the TV so Josh could understand what I was talking about. Once he saw, his mouth opened in a wide o shape and a look of understanding washed over his face.
“Of course, man. Come on, I’ll drive.” He left too much money to pay for our food on the counter and he grabbed my wrist, dragging me outside and towards where his car had been left parked that morning.
As Josh drove, I got my phone out and texted Thalia in hopes to know if she was alright, although she most probably had other priorities at the moment, with the armed men and stuff...
In less than 15, we got there and saw that the parlour and the house to its left and right were cordoned off and three police cars were parked outside. Many policemen stood around there, all doing different things and minding their business. But three of them, one holding a megaphone, the other two looking important, caught my attention.
I walked towards them and they directed dry looks. “You can’t be here sir, it’s dangerous and you could interrupt the curse of action.”
I looked at the plaque on his chest and decided to talk to him. Unfortunately, all the desperateness and worry I felt inside was hireable in my voice. “Please sir, my girlfriend is the girl who is inside. Please, tell me what’s going on.”
When I told him that my girlfriend was inside, he gave me a sad sympathetic look and took me by the arm, taking me apart from the other two, who shoot him even drier glares.
“Look, son, I’m not gonna lie: the situation is pretty nasty. Those four guys inside are part of one of the most wanted and violent gangs of the country. The girl and the other guy better be smart and don’t anything stupid like try to be heroes or anything, because they’ll probably end up dead, or worse.”The officer gave my shoulder an encouragement squeeze and then left to continue with his task.
I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk and seemingly I couldn’t breathe until I felt a presence at my side, Josh, telling me to calm down and breathe in and out. Once I started breathing normally again, Josh pulled me towards a bench and sat there with me.
*Thalia’s POV*
“Who the fuck are you and what exactly do you think you are doing?!” Austin was beyond furious, I could see it in his eyes, and it scared the shit out of me because he was such a caring, sweet guy; it was unnatural in him.
One of the robbers walked towards Austin. The guy was awfully pissed behind his black balaclava and so, although he was almost 10 cm smaller than Austin, he was very muscular and hit him hard on the stomach with the butt of the sawed-off shotgun he was carrying. Austin fell to the ground on his knees with a deep grunt, gripping his stomach.
“You should watch your tone, man. You’re not the one carrying the guns, are you?”
I rushed to his side as fast as I could and helped him sit on the floor, causing more grunts to leave his mouth. I turned to the attacker as I stood up. Although he was much taller, I pointed at him with an accusing finger and raised my voice almost to a scream. “You fucker! You have no right to come here and do whatever the fuck you want!”
The same man approached me and I felt the rush of adrenaline leaving my veins to be replaced with fear, pure terror. The man looked at me up and down once and, before I could even react, his fist collided with the left side of my face, sending me flying to the floor.
“I’m not apprehensive in terms of hitting women, so you better keep your mouth shut if you don’t want that pretty face of yours broken, honey.” The man growled as I fought to sit back up. My lower lip was busted and my left eyes felt hot as hell. I’d probably end up with a bruise there, great. “Now tell me, what’s the code for the safe box?”
“83-94-30-16-57.” Austin growled at the man and two of them left to look for it as the other two watched over us. I crawled over to Austin’s side under the attentive watch of a massive guy with a handgun m9. Austin looked at me with a mix of anger and worry. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah, yeah, are you?” He nodded and turned when he saw the guy that had been looking through the window rush to where the “leader” was. They were away from us, but I still caught some of his words.
“Derk... police is here... fuck we do? Let ‘em out... kill ‘em?”
I felt myself start to shake as I heard those last words but I tried to keep calm. Austin put an arm around my shoulder in a comforting way and it actually helped a lot. That, and the fourth guy leaving too to join the conversation.
Suddenly, I felt a vibration in my pocket and, very discreetly, I pulled out my phone to find a text from Vic.
“ARE YOU OKAY? I just heard on the news. Please, are you okay? I’m on my way and the police is there. Everything will be fine. I love you so fucking much baby.”
I quickly texted him back, trying not to get noticed. “I’m okay, they haven’t done much yet. Love you so much too.”
Just after I sent the text, I felt the phone being snatched from my hands. The “leader” guy read both texts and laughed out loud.
“Yeah, you’re okay NOW. Let’s see if the police gives us what we want, or that situation will certainly change. You can scream until there’s nothing left, but that won’t save you.”
As I walked away after leaving Thalia at work, I both cursed and praised her name: we’d had so much fun a few minutes ago, but the damn girl had teased me and had gone and left me with a very bad problem to cover while having to get to my own work place. Damned little freckled demon.
Half an hour and a boner after, I reached the game store where I worked and pushed the glass doors open. My boss and friend, Josh, sent me straight away to the shelves to organise the games. As I worked methodically, the last two days replayed in my memory like old film rolls.
The day after Thalia arrived had been the day of the third anniversary of Mike’s death and I never left my house in that precise day. 14th’s of June were the saddest days for me, full of mourning and remembering. However, this one had been different, because I had felt as if something had pulled towards the beach that morning, almost as if – as crazy as it sounds – my little brother had been beside me, luring me out of the house with the promise of something good happening that day.
At the end of the day, that had been one of the best days of my life thanks to a little someone that had popped into my life like an unexpected Christmas present. I hadn’t only found a wonderful person who I could be with, but I had also found a purpose and inspiration for writing. My purpose was to keep Thalia with me and make her as happy as could be so she could get through her addiction. Yeah, I know it sounds harsh, but it’s just that, there’s no other way around it. Cutting is an addiction, and it is often romanticised by stories, films and shit, but in reality, it sucks ass and it only brings hell home. Despite all the help one has, we all relapse at one point or another and we can only get through it on ourselves. I knew Thalia had done it that morning as soon as I saw her face and her red-rimmed eyes, but I knew the last thing she need was me bugging her about it, so I just let it be until she was ready to tell me.
My purpose was to be by Thalia’s side; on the good and the bad moments, the happy times and the relapses, and support and love her with all I had – as cheesy as it sounds, yeah - and that inspired me for writing my lyrics and my music, which I hadn’t been able to since three years ago.
-
Lost in my train of thought, I hadn’t noticed it was lunch time until I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Josh behind me with what seemed like a voucher for Taco Bell in his hand. Hunger and excitement bubbled in my stomach.
“You in for some Taco Bell goodness?” He asked, flipping the voucher in front of my face. “40% discount!” He said, alluringly.
“Tacos and discount in the same sentence? Dude, count me in!” I exclaimed excited because, hell, who doesn’t get excited when they get a taco with discount?
Josh closed the store until we came back from lunch and we headed to the nearest Taco Bell. Luckily, it only took us around ten minutes.
Once inside, Josh and I headed to the counter and ordered our food. As I waited for my chicken burrito, I watched the news channel on the TV of the establishment. They were talking about some hold up near here.
“A woman has reported seeing four men carrying guns entering the tattoo parlour located on the 3rd street. It has been confirmed that the owner of the place and an employee are inside...” The anchorman said with a monotone voice and impassive face. My heart fell to my feet even before I saw the images of the place – it was Austin’s parlour.
“Vic! Vic, dude, what’s wrong?” Josh asked, snapping his fingers in front of my unmoving face. “VIC!”
“Thalia... My girlfriend. Works there. Hold up, guns... I need to be there.” Was all I could mutter, as I pointed at the TV so Josh could understand what I was talking about. Once he saw, his mouth opened in a wide o shape and a look of understanding washed over his face.
“Of course, man. Come on, I’ll drive.” He left too much money to pay for our food on the counter and he grabbed my wrist, dragging me outside and towards where his car had been left parked that morning.
As Josh drove, I got my phone out and texted Thalia in hopes to know if she was alright, although she most probably had other priorities at the moment, with the armed men and stuff...
In less than 15, we got there and saw that the parlour and the house to its left and right were cordoned off and three police cars were parked outside. Many policemen stood around there, all doing different things and minding their business. But three of them, one holding a megaphone, the other two looking important, caught my attention.
I walked towards them and they directed dry looks. “You can’t be here sir, it’s dangerous and you could interrupt the curse of action.”
I looked at the plaque on his chest and decided to talk to him. Unfortunately, all the desperateness and worry I felt inside was hireable in my voice. “Please sir, my girlfriend is the girl who is inside. Please, tell me what’s going on.”
When I told him that my girlfriend was inside, he gave me a sad sympathetic look and took me by the arm, taking me apart from the other two, who shoot him even drier glares.
“Look, son, I’m not gonna lie: the situation is pretty nasty. Those four guys inside are part of one of the most wanted and violent gangs of the country. The girl and the other guy better be smart and don’t anything stupid like try to be heroes or anything, because they’ll probably end up dead, or worse.”The officer gave my shoulder an encouragement squeeze and then left to continue with his task.
I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk and seemingly I couldn’t breathe until I felt a presence at my side, Josh, telling me to calm down and breathe in and out. Once I started breathing normally again, Josh pulled me towards a bench and sat there with me.
*Thalia’s POV*
“Who the fuck are you and what exactly do you think you are doing?!” Austin was beyond furious, I could see it in his eyes, and it scared the shit out of me because he was such a caring, sweet guy; it was unnatural in him.
One of the robbers walked towards Austin. The guy was awfully pissed behind his black balaclava and so, although he was almost 10 cm smaller than Austin, he was very muscular and hit him hard on the stomach with the butt of the sawed-off shotgun he was carrying. Austin fell to the ground on his knees with a deep grunt, gripping his stomach.
“You should watch your tone, man. You’re not the one carrying the guns, are you?”
I rushed to his side as fast as I could and helped him sit on the floor, causing more grunts to leave his mouth. I turned to the attacker as I stood up. Although he was much taller, I pointed at him with an accusing finger and raised my voice almost to a scream. “You fucker! You have no right to come here and do whatever the fuck you want!”
The same man approached me and I felt the rush of adrenaline leaving my veins to be replaced with fear, pure terror. The man looked at me up and down once and, before I could even react, his fist collided with the left side of my face, sending me flying to the floor.
“I’m not apprehensive in terms of hitting women, so you better keep your mouth shut if you don’t want that pretty face of yours broken, honey.” The man growled as I fought to sit back up. My lower lip was busted and my left eyes felt hot as hell. I’d probably end up with a bruise there, great. “Now tell me, what’s the code for the safe box?”
“83-94-30-16-57.” Austin growled at the man and two of them left to look for it as the other two watched over us. I crawled over to Austin’s side under the attentive watch of a massive guy with a handgun m9. Austin looked at me with a mix of anger and worry. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah, yeah, are you?” He nodded and turned when he saw the guy that had been looking through the window rush to where the “leader” was. They were away from us, but I still caught some of his words.
“Derk... police is here... fuck we do? Let ‘em out... kill ‘em?”
I felt myself start to shake as I heard those last words but I tried to keep calm. Austin put an arm around my shoulder in a comforting way and it actually helped a lot. That, and the fourth guy leaving too to join the conversation.
Suddenly, I felt a vibration in my pocket and, very discreetly, I pulled out my phone to find a text from Vic.
“ARE YOU OKAY? I just heard on the news. Please, are you okay? I’m on my way and the police is there. Everything will be fine. I love you so fucking much baby.”
I quickly texted him back, trying not to get noticed. “I’m okay, they haven’t done much yet. Love you so much too.”
Just after I sent the text, I felt the phone being snatched from my hands. The “leader” guy read both texts and laughed out loud.
“Yeah, you’re okay NOW. Let’s see if the police gives us what we want, or that situation will certainly change. You can scream until there’s nothing left, but that won’t save you.”
@Turtle I've updated! Go read!! c;
2/5/14