Street Youth Rage

by IxJustxLaugh

Summary:

Vic Fuentes, is one of the most feared names in all of San Diego, and for good reason. Vic and his cousin Pablo share the title of being head of a well-known Mexican gang El Velo. Their crew Jaime, Tony, and Mike - who is Vic’s younger brother, all hold positions of power as well. When an innocent teenage runaway from Michigan ends up on his streets it changes Vic’s perspective.

Notes:

So someone on Tumblr asked for this and I was like heck yeah it will be fun to write and then when I started actually writing a great plot formed and a very authentic life like character stepped out going by the name of Kellin Bostwick, and it's just so much more than I thought it was going to be. I really hope you all like this as much as I do.

Chapter 1: Prologue

 

            Seventeen year old Kellin fled from his sleepy suburban home, during the middle of a record breaking frigid Michigan winter night, with little more than the clothes on his back and all of the contents he could shove into his Chuck Taylor duffle bag. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but determination radiating off of him all the while, he made his way to the bus station and boarded the first bus that was going anywhere it wasn’t negative thirty-fucking degrees.

            The ride was long and bumpy, but eventually in the wee hours of the night Kellin managed to doze off in a troubled sleep. The scene that led to his fleeing played over and over behind his closed lids, offering him no solace.

            When he awoke he realized that in an attempt to seek comfort for the stinging in his cheek he had leant his head against the dirty ice covered window. He mused that it was somewhat successful because his cheek was now numb to the touch, but a brief glance at his reflection in the dirty glass let him know that the deep cut going across his cheekbone would more than likely start hurting again, and leave a nasty scar at that.

            The seventeen year old suddenly remembered that there were other people accompanying him on the bus. After looking around he realized that he was as good as alone, everyone else was fast asleep just as he had been moments before. He peered out into the steadily lightening sky, trying to determine where he was. Where ever it was, it wasn’t far enough. Not yet.

            Nothing could be far enough from what he had just left.

 

Chapter 2: chapter one

“Shit, shit, shit,” I whimpered falling to my knees, not even caring that I was in the middle of a dirty crowded sidewalk somewhere in San Diego. “This can’t be happening to me,” a strangled whisper escaped my lips as I ripped open my duffle bag and began tossing the contents. Bystanders stopped and stared as I frantically searched in vain.

            “Are you schizo or have you been mugged?” a booming voice asked from over top of me.

            I looked up to see a redheaded frightening looking guy, with a colorful neck tattoo, looking down at me. His expression was a hardened frown, but his eyes told a different story. There was a hint of pity and a dash of concern in them. “Neither, I just left my wallet full of all the money I own and my ID on the bus. Now this is all I have to my name. I won’t even be able to get lunch and I haven’t eaten since Sunday night,” I answered him, half talking to myself. Saying out loud the shit predicament I had just gotten myself into.

            “Holy shit, what happened to your face, kid?” the redhead asked shifting his weight from foot to foot.

            “That doesn’t matter, I lost it all. I don’t have anywhere to go or anything, but a week’s worth of clothes, a couple CDs, and my fucking lyric journal. This can’t be happening, it just can’t,” I rambled fear and anger rising up in me.

            The guy looked at me like he would rather walk out in front of traffic than be talking to me now and I couldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to talk to me either. I’m such a fuck up. I can’t even run away right.

            “Listen,” he said scratching the pattern inked onto his skin, it was still somewhat fresh, “I was gonna sell to you, but it doesn’t sound like you can pay.”

            “I absolutely cannot pay,” I snipped shoving all of my belongings back into my duffle bag. “Besides I’ve never even seen drugs other than in health class before,” I added absently, zipping up my bag.

            “For real? But you look just like you use. H, if I was guessing,” he asked, shock written all over his face.

            “H? As in heroin? Do I really look that shitty?” I asked, the words getting caught in my throat making it sound more like a desperate animal whine. I shook my head. “Who wouldn’t after what I’ve been through?”

            “Are you sure you ain’t a user or schizo?” the redhead asked shifting uneasily.

            “Positive. Do you know where I can maybe get some food or a job or somewhere to stay by chance?” I asked not really thinking about the fact that I was asking a common drug dealer, convinced there is something wrong with me, for advice. I was a little out of it, I hadn’t slept more than about eight hours since I left and it had been three, almost four, days.

            “Uh, listen, if you weren’t so tore up I would have walked away by now, but I feel bad as shit for you for some reason. So I’m going to help you. Find Mullin’s Inn it’s a couple streets over; tell the person behind the desk that JLaw sent you. I would take you myself, kid, but I’ve got to take move product or they’ll have my head.”

            Discomfort was radiating off of him, but he didn’t seem to be lying. It didn’t occur to me that he could be setting me up for something terrible. I just absently thanked him and took off. My stomach was growling, my eyes were threatening to shut on their own, and most of all I ached to be out of the extreme heat and in an air conditioned room. It took me a while and a few strangers to find my way, but eventually I found myself standing in a faux cool in front of a girl with long dark hair behind a desk.

            “Welcome to Mullin’s Inn, how long are you planning on staying with us?” The girl asked in a falsely peppy tone and the closer I stepped I realized her arms were tattooed, poised over the keyboard ready to type my information into the system.

            All of the sudden I started feeling really nervous. How could I trust that guy, or even this girl? For all I knew he could be messing with me and she would have me thrown out or worse. But I was desperate, so I pushed through. “I don’t have any way of paying for a room b-,” I started trying to explain, but was cut off.

            Real strain on the pep as the tattooed girl spoke, “If you can’t pay, then why would you plan on staying with us, sir. We don’t take charity, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

            My shoulders slumped without my permission and I almost walked away, but then I remembered what the redhead had said. “JLaw sent me,” I attempted hoping I remembered correctly. I was so tired.

            “How do you know JLaw?” the girl asked arching a well-manicured brow in my direction. All pep void, her real accent shown through.

            “I ran into him a couple corners over. I told him what happened and he sent me here. I don’t have anywhere to go. Please can you help me?” I asked pouring all the sincerity I had in me.

            It seemed to work, the girl yelled over her shoulder into the open door of what looked to be a small office. “Beau, call Matty and tell him that Lawson sent a kid to us. If he okay’s it set him up a room. I can’t leave the desk.”

            “Another one? Is this one homeless too? Matty hates it when dip shit sends homeless kids here,” a male voice, presumably Beau’s, emanated from the open door way.

            “You homeless? She asked me. Then the girl picked up a pair of thin black rimmed glasses and put them on, in my opinion they made her look cuter almost took away from her trashy tattoos, and really looked at me. “Fuck. He’s tore all to shit,” she said to the mysterious Beau.

            “I’m not homeless, I’m a runaway. I lost all my money on the bus,” I replied squaring my shoulders in denial about the fact that I probably was considered homeless now.

            A man a little taller than me stepped through the doorway behind the desk, stretching a corded phone with him. “Listen runaway, Matty won’t like you being here anymore than he would a homeless..” Beau trailed off getting a good look at me. “Damn, kid, you really are tore to all to shit. I’ll get you a room, okay? But I think you should just go to the hospital. I don’t even know how you are still up on your feet.”

            “Thank you,” I said not wanting to sound ungrateful. “I can’t go to the hospital; I don’t have any ID or insurance. They’ll make me go back anyway. I can’t go back. I just can’t,” I started rambling feeling weepy, but I was cut off before I got the chance to cry.

            “Hey, hey, hey, kid stop. We won’t make you go anywhere. Lightsy knows a thing or two about taking care of people. Her mom was a nurse. Come on we’ll get you a room and I’ll call Matty in a second,” Beau said dropping the corded phone, plucking a set of keys from inside the doorway, and rushing over to me.

            “Yeah, listen, you can take a nice hot soak and I will take care of your face. See if you have anything else wrong. I’ll make you something to eat and hope that Matty will want to employ you,” the girl, Lightsy or something like that, said following slowly behind Beau.

            “Employ me,” I nodded. I felt if I didn’t get moving soon I was going to fall asleep while taking a nice hot soak. I couldn’t tell what my highest priority was, bathing, sleeping or eating. I had the feeling that would probably be the order in which my needs were met. Not that I could complain if they actually were being met.

            By the look on the girl’s face she must have realized I was crashing fast, I guess it’s because I felt like I was safe for the moment. She cautiously reached for the hook of my elbow and said to Beau, “I’ll take care of him, you just call Matty.”

            “That’s probably a good idea,” he admitted tossing her the key in his hand.

            She caught it with the one that wasn’t holding onto me and then she murmured sort of motherly, “Come on; let’s get you to your room. You need your rest.”

            I just nodded and followed her out of the lobby. The Inn was a drive up, and if I had any other options it would have been my last choice because quite frankly drive ups were terrifying. But I didn’t, because I was such a fuck up.

            She led me to room one, slipped the key into the lock, and let us in. She took me straight to the bathroom, not giving me time to look around where I would be staying. “Put your bag down here, get undressed and then get in the tub,” she instructed walking over to the cleanest motel bathtub I had ever seen and let the water run.

            I let my bag drop straight off of my shoulder and flinched at the sound of it clattering to the tile, it was the CDs that made the noise. I kicked off my ratty TOMs that had cost me a fortune when I bought them, and waited for her to leave.

            “Clothes off,” she ordered sitting on the edge of the tub adjusting the knobs and feeling the temperature.

            “Aren’t you going to wait in there?” I asked backing up against the counter top and crossed my arms so that my hands wrapped around my waist. I was aching to get into the water. I would have protested for a shower, but I didn’t think I could stand through the whole thing if I was being honest with myself.

            “Just get in. It’s not like you’re exactly my type,” she said with less patients then before and turned to face me. “I have to check and make sure you don’t have any broken ribs or any other trauma anyway.”

            “Alright,” I said giving up any fight. It would be better to get this over with.

            I gingerly gripped the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, discarding it on the floor. I heard a sharp gasp and looked over at the tattooed girl. She looked almost as pale as me and had a hand covering her mouth.

            “My God, what happened to you?” She asked.

            “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said firmly undoing my pants and kicking them over beside my filthy shirt.

            “That’s fine. Rest first, and then we can discuss it when Matty gets here. I won’t look until you get in the water,” she said regaining her composure and got up from the side of the tub.

            She stepped over to the toilet where the bath towels and wash rags were folded on the shelving above it. I took that as an opportunity to rush with getting my boxers off and to settle into the water. It was warm, but not scalding. It felt heavenly. I lay back so that the water was lapping at my collar bones and for a brief second I almost fell asleep.

            The girl turned around with a rag in one hand and an unwrapped bar of soap in the other. It wasn’t the small inexpensive bars of soap either. It looked like it was bought from a grocery store. This room must have been for people they brought in for this Matty figure.

            “Here use these when you are ready, just don’t fall asleep,” she warned setting them on the edge of the tub.

            “What about shampoo?” I asked immediately soaking the rag in the water and using it to cover up a very private part of mine.

            “Got you covered,” she said pulling a bottle of Men’s Dove shampoo from under the counter and handed it to me.

            Yep. This was definitely a special room. I fully submerged myself under the water, reveling in the feeling of being out of those clothes, and when I came back up she was gone. I decided that if I took too much longer getting started I might fall asleep so I knocked the soap into the water to wet it and then lathered it on my rag.

 I hadn’t had a bath since I was a small child so it was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to get all the dirt scrubbed off of my face and body. My face was much trickier because of my cheek. It felt scabby and infected, it probably was. I hadn’t looked in a mirror since it happened. I didn’t want to look at it, to make what happened real. I still felt like I was in a daze.

Washing my hair was a little easier, rinsing it proved to be more difficult, but finally I was clean and I let the water out of the tub. I stood up and grabbed the towel the girl had laid out of me. I had barely got it wrapped around me before she came barging in on me.

“Beau called and said that Matty wouldn’t be here until late this evening which means you have enough time to sleep and then get some food in you.”

“Okay, thanks,” I muttered standing beside my bag, urging her to leave me be.

“I have the first aid kit laid out on the bed. Just put your underwear on and come on. You’re so modest,” she said shaking her head and closed the door behind her.

I snatched a pair of boxers out of my bag and slipped into them. I wasted no time going out there to her though. The quicker I got this over with the quicker I could sleep. And then eat.

“Sit down,” the girl ordered and I listened being careful not to sit down on any of the medical supplies lying on the bed. I was so incredibly tired I wanted to just wait until I got some sleep, but I knew she would never go along with it. “It looks a little better since you washed up, but I’ve got to ask, what did that?”

She reached out and brushed her finger against the cut. I winced thinking I probably reopened it a little when I was washing my face. “A ring, is it really that bad?”

“Harsh. It’s most definitely infected. I’m going to have to reopen it fully to clean it. Are you going to be okay with that?” She asked looking down at the switch blade she had on her lap.

I swallowed. That would probably hurt a shit ton. But what other option did I have. “If that’s the only way, then, I guess. I won’t look.”

“I’m sorry about this, kid, I really am,” she said picking up the blade and barely gave me enough time to close my eyes before she scraped it against my skin. I screamed not really meaning to and she dropped the blade onto the bed. “Sorry, sorry, shit. On the bright side most of the infection gushed out,” she said trying to comfort me.

I opened my eyes to see her wipe away an unpleasant looking fluid that had to be what was in my cheek. She then used a different square of gauze to clean it out with and that hurt almost as bad as her opening up did.

“You are going to need stitches, I’ve got the liquid stitches right here if you want me to do it.”

“Do what you have to. I can’t go to the hospital,” I muttered wincing. Speaking caused the skin to go taut and pull at my wound. I wouldn’t care what she did at this point as long as it would stop hurting.

She nodded and then brushed my wet hair back to make sure it didn’t get in the way before she opened the box and pulled out what looked like a pen. She pulled the cap off and it had one of those rolly ball things to apply it with. She rolled it onto my skin and it stung, but it was the least the least painful thing she had done to me so far.

“Alright, all done. This will stay on your face for about a week and then it will fall off. You can bathe with it, but make sure it stays dry any other time,” she instructed putting the cap back on the stick.

“Okay,” I said really wanting to ask if she would get out so I could sleep, but I didn’t think that would go over very well. I didn’t want to be rude, that wasn’t me, but I had been awake for far too many hours.

She started packing up her things and I felt my vision blur, sleep almost over taking me. It was cool and all I wanted to do was stretch out and sleep until my stomach woke me up. And as if she could sense I was about to pass out she put the first aid kit in the bedside table drawer and said, “Get some sleep. When you wake up hit the first button on the speed dial and we will get you some food. If you don’t wake up before Matty gets here we will wake you up when calls us.”

“Thanks,” I said and stretched out on the bed, resting my head on the heavenly feather pillow. I didn’t even bother with the blankets, I liked it cool anyway. I barely registered the click of the door as I was sucked into the dark void of sleep.

 

 

Chapter 3: Chapter Two

Notes:

I give you all chapter two because I got a comment. Yay <3

There was a pounding on the door and before I could even react or fully wake up someone was barging in. Panic rose in me as I was unsure of where I had fallen asleep for a brief moment until I came out of the fog of sleep. By then the girl from earlier was bringing in a maids cart with food on it.

            “Sorry, kid, you’ve got to eat now before Matty gets here,” she apologized stopping the cart in front of the bed.

            I rubbed my eyes and sat up, my head feeling swimmy. I felt better than when I got there, but it would take a couple more sleeps until I would feel normal again. My stomach gurgled and I was suddenly very glad that she woke me up. “My name is Kellin by the way,” I said softly scooting to the edge of the bed.

            “I’m Valerie, but everyone calls me Lights,” the girl said walking around to sit on the foot of the bed. Somehow, earlier I missed the very visible baby bump popping out from her tight black shirt. I must have been in worse shape than I realized.

            I ate quickly and Valerie occupied herself on her phone until I was finished. I was grateful she didn’t try to make conversion, and that she brought so much food. I was running on fumes when I got into to town this morning and I wouldn’t have made it much longer without it. My stomach hurt slightly when I was finished, but that was to be expected.

            “So,” I started only to be cut off by the door being flung open.

            In marched Beau and a tall redheaded man with matching red facial hair walked in behind him, presumably this Matty figure. I couldn’t help but regret agreeing to all this after seeing him in person. “So you’re the kid Lawson sent?” he asked.

            “His name is Kellin,” Valerie announced somewhat fondly getting up to stand beside Beau. He wrapped an arm around her waist and made it clear that they were in fact an item.

            “Kellin, how old are you?” Matty asked stepping closer to give me a once over. Only then did I remember I was clad in only a pair of boxers. I felt heat rise in my cheeks and I just wanted to leave. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Kellin, we’ve all seen a dick before,” he added apparently noticing my unease.

            “I’m eighteen,” I lied; it was only a tiny lie my birthday was in four months anyway. But they seemed to buy it.

            “Why did you runaway?” he asked reaching out and turning my face so that he could get a better look at my cheek. “Did it have something to do with this?”

            I shut my eyes willing him to let go of me. When Valerie had touched me it was not big deal, but when Matty touched me it made my skin burn and anxiety rose up in me the way it did right before I had a panic attack. “I just had to get away from my old life. I couldn’t have it anymore. I won’t ever be going back,” I choked out.

            “You sure do know how to take a beating,” he muttered and then took a few steps back giving me my personal space. “Alright, you’ll need employment right away. I can’t afford to be giving handouts and neither can Beau and Lights. Which means you can either work for me temporarily, while Lights is on maternity leave, or you can go to work right away for the head honcho himself. What do you prefer?”

            I put my finger tips on my jawline and pulled down, thinking. I had no idea what I was getting into. But I had no choice. “Can you give me a job description?”

            He looked to Valerie and Beau and they were both biting back a laugh. “You guys want to tell him or should I?”

            “I will,” Valerie said leaning even further into Beau. “I mostly work the desk, keep food on hand, and keep this room clean. We have a maid to keep the rest of them clean, but obviously this is a VIP room of sorts so it requires special attention.”

            I could do that, it didn’t seem too difficult, but I was also morbidly curious about whom “the head honcho” was. “What does working for the head honcho entail?” I pressed before really thinking about it.

            “Well, I’m not so sure that would suit you with how modest you are,” Valerie started, but Matty over talked her.

            “Victor only employs kids like you for two reasons, sex and drugs.”

            “Like prostitutes?” I squeaked.

            Matty dissolved into laughter, but it wasn’t the easy going kind of laughter. I immediately felt like an idiot, of course this boss guy wouldn’t be stupid enough to have prostitutes and drugs. “Victor enjoys the company of a man instead of a woman. I wouldn’t think of it as a prostitute, more like an indentured sex servant.”

            I felt panic rise up in me at the thought of that. For some reason being a f****** drug dealer didn’t sound as scary. My only thought was that he must be too awful to handle, if he couldn’t get a boyfriend on his own. He had to pay someone to be at his beck and call. It seemed sick, really, I mean who would do that. Then out of nowhere the wheels in my mind skidded to a halt as I realized that he implied that I would have to work for Victor at some point because Valerie wouldn’t be on maternity leave forever.

            “So, um, I won’t be able to work here after Valerie comes back?” I asked having trouble getting my words out. I didn’t like seeming so young and dense in front of them, but there wasn’t much I could do to help it. My life style was totally different back there, I don’t even think there were any drug dealers anywhere outside of Detroit, and I always heard they were cleaning the city up every time I turned on the news.

            Matty shook his head in almost a solemn way, it made me feel uneasy. “No, I don’t have any real openings, and Victor is very strict about the payroll. Just working for me, in this room especially, will warrant a visit from him. He is a lot more thorough than who was running things when my granddad owned this Inn.”

            “Oh,” I was all I could fathom to respond. As if meeting Matty wasn’t scary enough.

 This was all so much to take in. It almost seemed like this Victor guy was a business man, instead of some gang leader, if he was even the true leader. It all just made me want to go to sleep and wake up on some sunny beach being pampered by the locals, a fantasy of mine that I frequently visited when I was back at home.

“I’ll show you the ropes until he can make it out here, Kellin,” Valerie said, motioning for me, still wrapped around Beau’s side.

“Thanks,” I muttered distractedly stepping over to the couple.

 I was not ready for this, I really wasn’t. I was under the impression that I would be working for Matty and that it wouldn’t be a big deal. They let a pregnant woman do it for Pete’s sake, but apparently they all worked under a bigger head.

“You can stay with us until things are more squared away,” Valerie offered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her give the outside of Beau’s thigh a squeeze when he went to protest. “It’s a small little apartment, but I’m sure it will be better than staying on the streets,” she went on leading me out of the room with no goodbye to Matty.

 

I felt like in the short time that I had known Valerie I was always saying thank you to her, but she was in fact a very helpful person. It felt weird to know that I was going to be taking her job so that she could have her baby. I would much rather help her with the baby though. I didn’t really love the idea of working side by side with Beau and having Matty stopping in and checking on my work.

            She took me through the ends and outs of what I would have to do in her place and then she just had me observe her because there wasn’t really anything else to do with me. Not after we had to clean up the special room that I had stayed in. There was going to be a lot of down time to this job it appeared because in the last half hour we were there she fussed over my face and the rest of my injuries still trying to get details of what happened. Then finally closing time for the office rolled around and I was more than exhausted. My body was aching for more rest and much to my surprise the little apartment she was talking about was a street over from the Inn.

            I felt sorry for them because they literally got no peace from work. I learned that they were on call in case some shadier services were needed in the middle of the night. Meaning in case a new potential client showed up or one of the guests in the VIP room needed something. No wonder Valerie was being so nice to me, and Beau didn’t seem to have that big of a problem with me. I was going to actually let her out of that world even if it was just for a little while.

           

            “Here’s where you will sleep while you are staying with us, Kellin. I know it’s sort of unfinished, but hey you showing up is actually going to give me a head start on my maternity leave and I’ll actually get some time to finish it.”

            She ushered me into the small second bedroom that was taken up mostly by an unassembled crib and a fold out bed, I always forgot the name of those things. There were a couple cans of unopened paint and rolls of trim. In the corner was a skinny dresser that was specifically made for small children’s clothes or so I assumed and then there was a closet cracked open with other baby necessities stacked up in boxes.

            “It’s got a lot of potential,” I found myself saying softly, truth be told I just wanted to make her happy. She was so nice and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I didn’t know the first thing about putting together nurseries or even if she had all the stuff that she would need.

            “Glad someone can see it,” she sort of mumbled and then turned towards the door. “Well, Kellin, I’m beat. You should probably get some rest Beau likes to hog the bathroom in the mornings.”

            I just nodded and laid out on the fold out bed, she turned out the bright light shining overhead and disappeared down the short hallway. At first I thought it would take a long time to fall asleep in a strange place, but my body relaxed onto the soft cushion and sleep threatened to overtake me in no time. My last few remaining conscious thoughts were of helping Valerie finish this baby room and my meeting with Victor and how that would go, but even as terrifying as that thought was it wasn’t enough to keep sleep from swallowing me up.

 

Notes:

PS. Hold your tits I know Vic isn't in this one, but this is going to be a semi long fic so we are working on it.

Chapter 4: Chapter Three

Summary:

This one is so heartbreaking and nerve wracking.

Notes:

Sorry it took so long to get out. I've been busy and depressed.

I spent a week doing a whole lot of nothing at work. waiting for Victor to get freed up. When the office closed I rushed back to help Valerie work on the nursery. We had finished up putting the blue painters tape on the wall the day before and today it was time to actually paint. She had an interesting paint scheme, red, white and blue, but it wasn't a patriotic thing. She explained to me why she chose those colors, but to repeat them I couldn't. All I know is that it was going to be a bitch to paint and that baby better love it's walls. But I wouldn't have to worry about that until after the work day and that is if I don't get picked for sex. 

 

I tried to focus on my duties, but I kept losing my train of thought because Victor was due to arrive any moment and my mind was hard at work imagining: what he looked like-was he young or old, tall or short, was he attractive (I only wondered because there was a possibility I would be sleeping with him) or was he weathered with age and drug abuse-how would the meeting go, would he want me for drugs or sex, or would he send me packing with a gag order, or would he be kind enough to give me the luxury of working for Matty. 

 It wasn't so bad when I could focus on what I was doing, it was simple. A lot of behind the scenes work and making the guests happy. Sort of like a concierge if payroll called for such a well paying position. I got half of Valerie's salary which was a generous eight dollars which put me right above minimum wage. I didn't mind. She was expecting the baby in a week or two and they needed all the money they could get, I on the other hand was saving as much of it as possible in case Victor decided he didn't want me. And just like that my mind went right back to him and how meeting him would go. Part of me, a morbid part, just wanted to get it over with; the rational part of me wanted to run, something I was very good at now.  

My nerves only got worse when Beau came and found me. He told me that it was time to go to the VIP room and wait (apparently that was where all the shady business was held around here). Once I got the door shut behind me I couldn't decide how I wanted to present myself. Despite my rough past I wasn't very tough, I was too lean-which was a polite way of saying I was scrawny in my case-I'm also not the tallest for my age, so dealing or whatever is not something I think I would be very good at. Soft and flirty was probably the better route, but again do I really want to sleep with a man who keeps his boyfriends on payroll. He must not be a very kind man or maybe it was that he was unattractive, either way I wouldn't have to guess for too long because I could overhear the rapid fire Spanish with English occasionally sprinkled in. 

"No me importa cómo goddam pitiful él es realmente deseo Lawson dejaría de traerme street trash." There was a pause maybe Marry speaking, as if that wasn't bad enough, and then he spoke fully in English, "Well he sure as hell better be my type or else I'm just wasting my goddam time." 

If I thought his voice was softer than my expectations then I really wasn't expecting what I saw when he stepped through the slung open door. He was shorter than me and had these incredible well-muscled arms and a defined chest peeking out from under an off brand burgundy tank. And he had these legs that athletes might kill for tightly wrapped in black skinny jeans-much like the ones I wore, but more curves were hugged instead of the straight legged look mine gave. Don't even get me started on his face, it was framed with a chestnut brown fringe of long locks- or was it just a regular brown, I wasn't sure it mattered -and these gorgeous dark eyes that didn't seem too menacing like I had imagined, more business-like than anything, and then these soft pink lips I couldn't help but fantasize were all over me. 

But that was as far as I got before he spoke either to me, or was it to Matty, or just out loud in general, "Goddam he is my type. Do you know you're fucking gorgeous kid?" 

The thinking I did about how I would present myself went out the window and I went for a third option which was a blushing, bumbling idiot. "Well, I have had a lot of boyfriends, nothing too serious." Fantastic I just made myself sound like a fucking conceited asswipe.  

"How old did you say he was, Matty. He's so innocent like who the fuck would say that?" 

Matty stumbled, no one had checked my ID since I had been here. I wouldn't be here if they had even if it were just a few months. I piped up to save Matty though, "I'm 18, but I left my wallet on the bus so I have no ID or way to get one." 

Victor frowned and gave Matty a look that made a tough guy like him squirm and then said, "I don't like that you haven't checked ID, but no one would be stupid enough to lie to my face. I'll take him for myself. Just so happens my current housekeeper has decided a different career path. I have a few people helping him get settled in his new position and I will come for him once I hear all is taken care of at home. I have other people to visit." He didn't wait for a response he seemed pretty pissed at Matty, but then he remembered something and added, "Please cut him loose to get his things and prep him for me. The last one wasn't nearly as clueless as this one and he had trouble adjusting."  

Matty just nodded and then Victor disappeared on to more pressing matters. I on the other hand stood there feeling like I was going to simultaneously going to piss myself and vomit. This didn't go neither as well or as horrible as I hoped and I wasn't sure how to feel other than nervous as hell. I remembered Matty was still there when he suddenly snapped out of his own fear induced mini-comma and said, "Alright, you can go back to Lights' and gather your things. I'll send for you when the time comes. She will help you prepare for Victor." Matty looked like he was deciding something and then added, "It was nice having you around. Lights was crazy."  

I felt like that was all the goodbye I was going to get when Matty started out the door so I followed him. I was going to stop in the office and tell Beau, but I could see that he was nowhere to be found and continued on to their home. Valerie was sitting Indian style in the nursery floor mixing paint with a box fan blowing the fumes out the open window. "Hey, Val, I guess today is my last day with you all. Victor decided I was good enough," I said in a snide sort of way. I still wasn't crazy about the idea of being his quote housekeeper. Funny name for a personal prostitute, but that was my life now and I was going to have to get used to the idea so I wouldn't have to go back.  

"I know. Beau told me. He also told me that Victor's cousin put a hit out on Jesse. He doesn't even know it. Apparently Pablo decided that he was too much of a liability," Valerie explained in that calm voice before a storm of tears hit.  

It made me want to run for cover, and then the information sunk in. My legs gave out from under me. That's why Matty was so quiet. It was suddenly apparent as to why he seemed upset. Jesse was going to die and it was because he helped me out. He was friends with everyone around the hotel and now he was going to be in a pine box because he took pity on me. It didn't make any sense though, Victor wanted me. Why did Lawson have to die. Is there the possibility that she meant Victor didn't know, instead of Jesse. And suddenly I felt myself crying. Crying for a person I didn't even really know and crying for myself because of the person I was going to be living with forced to fuck. There was nothing I could do about it, it just wasn't fair.  

 

Chapter 5: Chapter Four

Notes:

I'm sorry I went so long without updating and I'm sorry this doesn't have a lot to it, but it was already written so I thought I would post it. I'm going to try to start updating regularly.

 

We cried until we were disgustingly snotty and I felt like I was hollow, and I know that Valerie had to feel the same way, but she left to go to the bathroom and came back showing little evidence from before. I went and cleaned up feeling like I probably looked like the male version of Kim Kardashian, not that Valerie would judge. I ran the tap and held my cupped hands under the cool water. I splashed my face clearing away all the mess and gave a good hard look at myself. My cheek was mostly healed up, I would always have a thin scar more than likely, but at least I didn't have to go to the hospital for infection. It could have been a lot worse. I just hoped that I would fair well with Victor, it made me sick to think about the many possibilities of how the next twenty-four hours would go.  

I sighed and decided to go check on Valerie and get my things together, I had made myself comfortable with the Bokens and didn't want to leave so soon. I didn't know if I'd ever get to see them again, Valerie felt like family and I found myself really wanting to see the little brat their baby was sure to be. I wanted to hang out and watch movies and eat pizza, but we couldn't exactly do that. We all had obligations to Victor. I already hated him and I had just been around him a few moments. 

Valerie had already started on the wall with the crib and had one section already covered in it's first coat. I wasn't sure if she was the world's fastest painter or if I had just stayed in the bathroom for a half an hour. Considering how I felt about the whole situation it very easily could have been the latter. But I asked anyway, "Was I gone a while?" quietly in fear my voice might sound like I had gargled rocks for a few hours.   

“You were gone for a while, but I'm also a fast worker when I’m stressed. The second coat will take longer. You should probably pack, I'm sure I can get Beau to help.”  She said dismissively, continuing painting. It occurred to me that Valerie had started to think of me as more of a house guest. I thought of her as the sister I always wanted, maybe she thought of me like a brother. Or maybe it was a certain kind of feeling that all people felt towards each other that worked for Victor. I imagine only his cousin must have had any friendly feelings toward him. 

I sighed knowing she was right. I had no idea how much time I had. I wordlessly turned and left the nursery to get my duffle bag from the laundry room. It was resting on the rack above the machines, from where Valerie had washed it up for me. She had done all my laundry, something about 'boys not knowing how to make fucking laundry smell right' and they 'always add too much detergent' and never 'make sure the clothes are actually dry and folded'. I had to stand on my tip toes a little to get it down and I shook it out from being folded up for space and headed back to the baby’s room. Valerie had made progress but was nowhere to be found. She must have taken a break and went into her bedroom. I walked over to the small dresser meant for the baby and pulled my small wardrobe out of the top few drawers and also took my CDs and lyric journal and the wad of cash I had obtained from work and stuffed it all into my bag.  

I zipped it up feeling extremely numb, all of my worldly possessions could fit into a promotional bag that I got from working at the CD store back there. I had almost a thousand dollars saved from that job and it all vanished. Now I only have a couple hundred. If I had more I'd be running again, but I couldn't start over again. I might get myself into even more trouble than I already have.  I couldn't imagine what would be worse, but I also never imagined this would happen so that's a testament to my fucking ignorance I guess. I was never one to curse so much, but something about this experience has made me more cynical. 

 I hadn't realized I had gotten so lost in thought when I heard someone come in behind me. I expected it would be Valerie since she was the only one home last I checked, but when I whirled around it was Beau looking solemn. If he the situation had been any different, he might have given me a heart attack. I started to speak, but he beat me to it. “It's time,” he rasped. He seemed to have been crying too, and if it made me feel even worse. It was all my fault and I never chose any of it.  

Still, I couldn't help that my eyes flew wide open with panic. I wasn't ready, Valerie was supposed to prepare me. I hadn't even had lunch yet. I was not ready. “Are you sure? I'm not ready,” I questioned, but it came out more like a squeak. I was panicking and I was also sure this wasn't the demeanor that Victor was expecting. I also feared it would not be tolerated and I wasn't sure how to numb my fucking emotions or else maybe I wouldn't have had to runaway in the first place. I felt like I was going to have a fucking break down. 

"You better get ready quick Victor should be arriving shortly; he's coming for you himself, you should feel lucky. He usually just sends for his boyfriends." I could feel the sarcasm dripping from his words. The way he talked it made me feel the same way Valerie did, like he'd grown to care for me. I can't imagine why, I've never had people care for me like this; especially not complete strangers. 

I felt the need to protest, but I had no fight really. I felt so many emotions all at once all I could say was, "Okay." I said my goodbyes and then I walked over alone. They needed to be together they were losing two friends. I mean I wasn't exactly dying, but a part of me probably was going to; being someone's faux boyfriend could do that someone as soft as me.  

I sat in the VIP room with my duffle bag on my lap, using it as a writing surface I began to write out some lyrics in my journal. At first I thought that I would have writer's block, but with my head filled with so many thoughts and my heart feeling so many emotions I just had to write.  

           Is there somewhere I could go? 
          Oh, I would go there 
         Take me anywhere  
       Cuz this person I don't know  
      The one that's staring back at me  
     It's not who I wanna be 

I was trying to work out more when the door flung open. It was time, there was no more time to prep or try to psych myself up. The beautiful bastard was standing in front of me and I had no more time to think about it. I was going to be his quote unquote boyfriend from now on. Well, until I became boring to him, that is. I put my journal away and stood up, ready. "I guess it's time to go," I murmured to myself in an attempt to settle my nerves. 

Chapter 6: Chapter Five

Notes:

Hey so its been years and idk if anyone will still read this, but I decided to get back into writing. I don't remember what I had originally planned for this story but I have ideas. I'm going to try to finish it because so many people seemed to like it. Please comment and leave kudos if you like it and want more.

Victor stood in front of me, dressed in a shirt cut into a tank and camo shorts and dark sunglasses. He looked so normal, not like someone who was in charge of something even worse than I could imagine. I didn’t let that change how I felt about him though. He was a monster. He crossed his arms and I could tell he was looking at me through those shades. I didn’t like how it felt, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking without being able to see his eyes, his expression was neutral, his mouth was in a hard line.

I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder in the same motion. I asked myself if this was better than being back there, and the stabbing feeling in my chest let me know that it was. He wordlessly turned on his heels and walked out the door. I followed him as he led me out to the parking lot. There was a nice town car with a man sitting in the driver seat and Victor stopped beside it and opened the back door. He slid in and motioned for me to get in too, so I did. I put my bag on my lap and looked down at my lap, but I couldn’t help but look at him out of the corner of my eye. He had pulled out his cell phone and was speaking hurried Spanish into it.

I wondered what he was saying, but I just tried to look out the window through the dark tint. We drove for a while, but I had no idea where we were going. I hadn’t ventured far since I got off the bus here. I already missed Valerie and felt bad I couldn’t give her a real break and I wondered if Jesse was dead yet. If Victor was bad Pablo must be even worse. I was afraid of ever meeting him and hoped that I would be able to stay far far away from him. I didn’t want piss him off and end up dead, if that were the case I wouldn’t have bothered running away.

I was lost in my thoughts when the car lulled to a stop. I looked up to see what looked like a mansion in front of me. There was a pool and a guest house and then the house itself was massive compared to what I was used to. It was all sleek lines and the paint looked brand new, it didn’t have the sun baked quality some of the other houses I had seen had. Victor unbuckled and opened the door and I took that as my que and got out behind him. I followed him past the pool and into the sliding glass doors on the back of the house. The inside was immaculate, it didn't look like anyone lived there, it looked like a house out of a magazine. I was taking it all in when Victor finally hung up his phone. I turned to look at him to see what to do next.

“This is the kitchen, I’ll show you to your room and let you get settled in and then at seven o’clock I want you to come back in here and meet me for dinner, okay?” He spoke very fast expecting me to keep up, I just nodded and he started walking again.

He led me through the living room and down a hallway and opened a door at the end of the long hall. He didn’t say anything, just slid past me and left me alone. I walked through the doorway and saw that it was a pretty large room, it had a queen size bed with a black duvet and black pillow shams, a desk, a dresser with a tv on it, and a big white shaggy area rug. It was simple yet elegant, a lot nicer than what I had back home. I decided to unpack my bag to give me something to do. There wasn’t a lot there but Beau had given me a few extra shirts, even though they were big on me I took them because I only had a few days worth of clothes with me. I put my CDs and lyric journal on my desk and noticed it already had pen and paper on there.

I sat down and thumbed through my journal glancing at the clock on the desk. I had several hours to kill. I wished that I would have bought a phone with my first paycheck but I had no one I wanted to contact until now. I would call Valerie and see if she could calm me down. I was all nerves. I didn’t know what to expect being here. Valerie was supposed to prepare me, but she didn’t have the chance before I had to leave. I wasn’t sure I could let some stranger fuck me just to have a roof over my head and food in my stomach, but I just knew that anything had to be better than home. I don’t even think I should call it that because it never was safe and welcoming like a home should be. I couldn’t take it anymore, it was either I leave or I end up dead.

San Diego didn’t seem so sinister when I picked it. I just wanted somewhere warm and sunny, far away from Michigan. I couldn’t spend another winter there. Here it seemed to always be summer. I would have liked it more if I hadn’t stumbled into all of this. I should have just packed up and ran again, but I didn’t have much money and who knows if I would have found somewhere else to stay and work, especially being underaged. They would have just sent me back, so for now I would have to stay here. Once I legally turned eighteen I could pick up and go again if I needed to. I didn't have a lot of options. I just wished I could have stayed working at the Inn, but Victor needed a new quote unquote maid and decided he wanted to meet the runaway who had stumbled into a motel that was a front for his sketchy doings. I guess I can’t blame him, anyone who even knew a fraction of what he was up to was one more person he had to make sure didn’t step out of line.

I looked at the clock again and it was almost seven. I had been lost in my own world, thinking and writing lyrics and lost track of time. I closed my journal and tucked it away into one of the desk drawers and stood up stretching my legs. I wondered if I should change for dinner, but then again I didn’t really pack anything nice and it’s not like I had anyone to impress. Me and Victor both knew what I was there for, there probably wasn’t any need for pretenses. I took a deep breath and opened my bedroom door, the house smelled amazing. It was just then when I realized I hadn’t eaten all day and felt how hungry I was. I wondered if Victor had made dinner himself, he didn’t seem like the type.

I walked down the hall and back through the living room into the kitchen and saw that the dinner table was set and a nice older woman was adding plates of food to the table. So I guess he had a cook to prepare all his meals. At least he didn’t expect me to cook for him. I didn’t really know how. I guess I really only had one job. I took a seat and waited for Victor to join me. The woman kept adding food and dishes to the table, working around me. I was sure it was 7 already so I wasn’t sure where Victor was since he had made it a point to tell me exactly when dinner would be done and instructed me to be there.

The woman was keeping the food warm on the stove and keeping herself busy and after what seemed like an eternity the sliding glass door creaked open and I looked up to see Victor standing there. He was wearing different clothes, form fitting black slacks and white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black tie which now hung loosely. His brown hair hung around his face looking a little wind blown. He didn’t have shades on this time and I could see how young he was. He didn’t look very much older than me. He looked amazing and I had to remind myself what a monster he was.
He said, “Sorry I had some business to attend to, thank you all for waiting on me,” and then crossed over to the table. He sat at the head of the table. It wasn’t like we had much of a choice to wait for him. I had a feeling starting dinner without him would piss him off. I was surprised by how formal things were. When I imagined drug dealers I didn’t imagine nice cars and nice houses and wait staff. It was just a little too much for me.

The woman served us and it was some sort of Mexican dish but I wasn’t sure what it was. We didn’t have a lot of authentic Mexican food in Michigan. Whatever it was it smelled delicious and it had been killing me waiting on Victor to get here to eat it.

“Do you like Mexican food?” he asked, taking a delicious looking bite.

It took me a second to find my voice and I replied, “I haven’t eaten a lot of it, but it smells really good.” I felt awkward and didn’t want to speak in front of him. I didn’t want to sound foolish or give away my secret. I was close enough to eighteen anyway, right?

“Maria is a great cook, you will like it,” he said around another forkful of food.

I nodded and used that as my cue to dig in. I had to keep myself from eating fast. I was starving and a little surprised I was so hungry despite my nerves, but I hadn’t been eating the best lately. Valerie tried to make sure I ate, but I had been more focused on other things. Victor was right though, Maria was a good cook. So far things weren’t as bad as I thought they would be, but I had no idea what was in store after dinner. That thought slowed my eating way down. I hadn’t really thought about after dinner yet, I was nervous enough knowing he wanted me to join him for dinner. I looked over at him and he was consumed with eating and not paying attention to me. I felt a pit in my stomach and suddenly I couldn’t take another bite of the excellent dish the cook had prepared.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and prayed that Victor wouldn’t ask why I didn’t finish my meal. I didn’t want to insult him or Maria but the thought of what might happen later had shut down my appetite. I had fooled around a little before, but I had never gone all the way before. I had watched porn before but that was no substitute for the real thing. I couldn’t imagine the depraved things someone like Victor would want to do. I didn’t think I was into anything kinky, I mostly just liked vanilla stuff. I had a feeling that wouldn’t satiate someone like Victor.

I couldn’t help but stare at him while I was thinking. He was so handsome I don’t know why someone like him would have a hard time getting laid. He could have his choice of men or women if he was into that. Why did he need to keep someone at his house to fuck. What was wrong with him? He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked up from his plate and his eyes met mine. They were so pretty, they were dark brown but not as dark as mine. Mine were nearly black.

“Are you full?” he asked, his eyes venturing down to my plate. I had eaten maybe half of my food.

I shook my head. “Yep, it was good.” I sounded so stupid. I just didn’t know how to talk to someone like him. I felt like no matter what I said I would feel stupid around him.

“Good I’m glad you liked it. You may go once I’m done,” he said and returned back to eating.

He was finally done and I couldn’t take it any longer. I didn't know what he’d want to do with me, but to my surprise he just told me that I could go back to my room. I didn’t waste time hurrying back there. I wondered if he’d be visiting me soon as I sat on the edge of my bed.

Notes:

Comment your opinions my lovelies!