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🔴 TRIGGER WARNING - DRUG USE 🔴
Before I start this chapter, it had been about a week since chapter 20. Honestly, I don't fully remember what happened that week. I either got so high I couldn't function, or I slept it all off. This chapter is full of new beginnings. Not good ones either, but the rest of my story will include these people I formally introduce in this chapter.
"I don't give a fuck, I said follow them!" Ty yelled as he fumed with anger.
We were driving through a residential neighborhood going almost 70 miles per hour. The small white car in front of us was getting away, but I did everything I could to keep up. Apparently, the person we were chasing stole something from him and he wanted me to go after him.
We fishtailed around curves, hit the sidewalk, and ran into a mailbox, but I never let my eyes off of the car. Whatever happened between them didn't matter to me, but I loved the thrill. Mid-day high-speed chase. It was like being in a movie.
I started to lose sight of them as they made a dangerous turn down an alley to the other side of the main street. I knew I couldn't follow, so I had to improvise. Ty was hitting the dashboard with his fist, cursing at whoever it was. I slowed down to 45 and made the turn on to the main road where we saw that a cap had just pulled them over. I quickly made a U-turn and headed to the other side of town. I didn't know where, but far away from whoever we were chasing.
"Fuck!" he yelled. "I'll never get him now!"
"Chill. What did he take?"
"7 grams of dope and about $300."
"And what makes you think that he has that now?"
"He probably fuckin' doesn't, but I'd get it somehow."
"So you just made us nearly die because of something you aren't even sure about?"
"No. I get revenge, Emily. It doesn't matter if he had it or not. He knows who I am. He knows what I do. He's lucky the cops got to him before me."
"Hm... okay. Well where the fuck am I going?"
"Uh, shit. Go to Montana street. I'll show you. I've got some business to do anyways."
I headed back across town towards the neighborhood we originally saw the white car in. We drove down a narrow street and passed several houses that have been abandoned and taken back by nature. Around a sharp curve, we came to a little brown house on a hill. There were two children outside on the porch sitting down with their backpacks. I stayed in the car while Ty got out.
"Why are ya'll out here?" I heard him ask.
"Momma said she had to do something and she would let us in when she was done."
My heart sank. I knew why those kids were there. Their mom was inside getting high. On one hand, I respected her not doing it in front of her kids, unlike Brick and his wife. On the other hand, I wanted to beat the hell out of her for doing meth in the same house as her kids. Then again, was I any better?
I searched the car for maybe a coloring book or toy the kids may have left behind, but I had no luck. The young girl was sitting down doing her homework, but the little boy just sat there looking at the ground. I wanted to just hug them and let them know everything would be okay, but that was an empty promise and I knew that.
I looked away as tears welled up in my eyes. I started thinking about Aiden and Gavin. I knew they were okay at my grandma's, but God did I miss them. I don't remember when I spent time with them last. I knew I was getting worse now that I was out day and night. I just hoped they were young enough to never remember what I was doing. I never want them to know what I did. The monster I turned into.
Moments passed and I saw Ty come back out and the children were thankfully let inside. He walked out with a short, dark-haired woman in a red mini dress.
"This is Bugg, she's coming with us, I got to get here out of here."
"Sure, okay," I said a little confused.
"Do you mind if I bring my bags? I don't want to come back here," she said in a small, quiet voice.
"Of course! The back is a little full, but put what you've got where ever it will fit."
I had basically put my room in my car. I had make up, perfume, clothes, a lamp, an ottoman and a rug in the back. I was spending so much time in my car lately, I tried to make it like a little home. I even took one of the seats out to make more room for when I was just sitting and waiting for hours.
She came back with 2 black duffle bags, a trash bag, and 3 boxes. We were able to fit them in and put her in the only back seat. I took one last look at the house before we drove away. I said a quiet prayer for the kids there, and we headed out.
"She was being abused and raped. I couldn't let her stay there. We're just taking her to her grandma's house."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm glad I could help you get out."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me."
"But first we need to go to her brother's house. She has to get something," said Ty as he was loading a bowl in the front seat. He used to make me nervous when he'd do that because I figured we would get caught, but it's become a pretty normal thing now and I didn't even batt an eye.
He took me down a more familiar road, and to an even more familiar house. We parked right outside of the house we were at when he met his ex. It looked different in the daylight. There were remains of an old, rusty swing set, a big wheel that had vines growing over it and a sad-looking sandbox. It was like a graveyard of childhood memories.
Bugg got out and walked right into the house, only to come running out minutes later, chased by a man in a white tank top and dirty jeans. Ty jumped out of the car and ran over to him, one hand on the gun he had in his pants.
"Dude, what the fuck. Let her get her shit and go."
"She don't need to be here!" the man yelled.
"She can get what is hers and leave, or I will get it myself."
"You won't fuckin' do shit, nigger!"
Without hesitation, Ty punched the man in the side of the head. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground.
He looked over at Bugg and nodded as he stood over the seemingly blacked out man. She ran inside and came out with a silver box, followed by another man.
"Can he come? He needs to get out of here."
"Of course," said Ty. She hopped in the back seat, followed by a disheveled looking man with blonde hair. Once she got in, Ty came back and got in the front seat. I drove away quickly before he managed to gain consciousness.
I looked back at the man who was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.
"That's my brother," Bugg said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't really ask."
"No worries! It's totally fine, I'm just sorry I don't have a seat for you."
"Ah, it's no problem," he said with a grunt. "Names Nick."
"Nice to meet you. So am I taking both of you to your grandma's?"
"Yes, she knows we are coming."
"Okay, cool."
Ty passed the pipe back to Bugg and Nick as I drove through town with no actual direction.
"I need you to drop me off at Walmart," said Ty as he looked at his phone concerned.
"Which one?"
"Grand rapids road."
"Got it."
The drive across town was quiet. Ty looked concerned, and Bugg and Nick were quietly consoling each other. I didn't know what happened to them or anything they went through, I just wanted to get them somewhere safe.
I got to Walmart and parked in the back where I dropped off Ty. Bugg, Nick, and I sat together and passed the pipe back & forth until there was nothing left. I turned to look at the time and noticed I was almost out of gas.
"You mind if I drive right over there to get some gas real quick?"
"Not at all!" they both said happily.
I drove over to the gas station across the parking lot and got out to pay. Bugg jumped out right after me and started yelling at someone. I glanced over and looked at a familiar face. It was Gio. He was with a car full of people but standing outside pumping gas.
"Hey girl! I haven't seen you in forever!" He hugged Bugg and I watched out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to say something, but I didn't really know him that well, so I kept to myself.
I got done with the gas and Bugg came over to me with Gio.
"Don't I know you?" he asked.
"I think I picked you up with Ty the other week."
"Maybe that's it. You look familiar. Since you're here, can you give me a ride? These people are fucking crazy."
"Yeah! But I'd have to come back for you. My car is full and there is nowhere for anyone to sit. I just got to drop her off up the road and I'll be right back."
He gave me an untrusting look. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
He stood there in thought for a second. "Alright. Let me tell them."
He walked over and leaned up against the car. He started walking back as they drove away.
"You promise you'll be back?"
"I promise!"
"Okay. I'll be waiting here then."
He walked over to the sidewalk and sat down. Bugg and I got back in the car and I drove right down the road to drop her and her brother off. She thanked me profusely. I helped her get her stuff out as she was greeted by hugs and crying from her grandma. I hoped that this was some kind of new beginning for them. They seemed happily reunited.
I drove back towards Walmart and pulled up next to Gio. He looked surprised to see me. He got up and got in the front seat.
"You actually came back."
"Yeah, of course. I said I would."
"Not many people keep their word. I didn't think you'd actually come back."
"Then why did you wait?"
"Well, I was hoping for the best but honestly I needed to get out of that car. You got anything to smoke out of?"
"Yeah, I got a pipe in the glove box."
"Fuck yeah. If you want to pull over to the end of the parking lot, we can smoke real quick."
"Hell yeah!"
The sun was setting and the street lights were coming on, so I tried to find a place to park that was still in the dark. We passed the pipe back and forth for a while and talked about the crazy people he had to deal with the past few days just to keep a roof over his head. While I was taking a hit, he bent down a picked up a shoe. It was Trevor's. He examined it closely and sat it down. I immediately was full of rage at the sight of it. I forgot it was still in my car.
"Do you know who Trevor Riley is?" I asked without thinking.
"Yes, he's my best friend. How do you know him?" he asked angrily.
"He tried to fucking rape me."
His face went from anger to concern. "You're serious? Trevor? There's no way."
"I promise you! I fucking stabbed him or he would have!"
He looked down for a moment in silence.
"I just saw him yesterday. He had a cut on his stomach."
"Yeah dude, that was me!"
"I can't believe it. I mean, I believe you, but I just can't believe he would do that." He looked up at me with sadness in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I will make this right. I've known him for seven years. He won't get away with this."
Why did I ask, I thought to myself. What was I going to do if I did see him again? I should have kept my mouth shut.
"You've been hanging out with the wrong people. Ty is full of bad news. I've got some people I want you to meet. Do you know where Leeds street is?"
"Yeah, I do actually."
"Go there, the last house on the left."
I was sure I was going to the same place Ty had me go to before, but I wasn't sure. Regardless, I headed down there while he played Janis Joplin on his phone.
I came to the end of the road and hesitated. It was the same place Ty took me. The same place where I had guns drawn on me. They were better people than Ty?
"Take a left here, but be careful, the driveway is a little bumpy."
I slowly drove up the long dirt road until I was in front of the house. Gio got out, but I sat still.
"Aren't you getting out?" he asked.
"Ty took me here before and told me I couldn't go in, so I didn't know..."
"You're with me. It'll be fine."
I got out and walked to the door with him. He knocked and walked right in. We were greeted by several barking dogs. I stood by the door while Gio went in. I looked around and noticed I was in a laundry room. There were piles of old clothes on the floor and a broken chainsaw sitting on the washer. I saw jugs of bleach, flashlights, a pile of torn-up wires and an array of old rusty tools. I heard Gio talking to a man but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
"Come into the living room!" I heard a gruff voice yell.
I slowly walked down the little hallway that lead directly into the living room. There was an older, skinny man with dark hair sitting on the couch with his feet propped up. The living room floor was covered in dog piss and feces. There was a huge round chair piled with more clothes, there was a snake in an aquarium, boxes, and boxes of phones, more tools and a random array of other things scattered all over the place.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I haven't cleaned up the house yet!"
I looked over to see the woman who came out to me that night. She was short, skinny and had long curly blonde hair. She was frantically trying to clean up the living room to no avail.
"Are you Gio's friend?" the man asked.
"Yeah. My name is Emily."
"Emily. Gio, why did you bring her here? You know we don't like people here that we don't know."
I looked down at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact with him.
"Hey, look, I'm Gio! You know I wouldn't bring anyone over that would jeopardize anything. Look. Have you seen Trevor?"
"No! That fucker ain't allowed at my house!"
Gio glanced over at me, and back at the man on the couch.
"Look, I know this is a 'No flex, ZONE' but Trevor tried to rape her. And she's been hanging out with Ty getting into God knows what."
"Ty was here the other night. Were you the one in the car?"
"Yes sir," I said.
"Did you see him walk out with a butane tank?"
"Yes sir."
"He stole that from me! Mother fucker... Wait, did you say Trevor tried to rape her?"
"Yeah! She stabbed him too."
"That cock sucking piece of shit. He tried to rape Autumn too! In my god damn house! Sit down. Both of you."
Gio took a seat on the chair next to the man and I tried to sit on the edge of the round chair without sitting on their clothes. The man sat up and looked at me.
"You? You stabbed him?"
"Yes sir."
"That's some balsy shit. Danielle! Are you hearing this shit?"
There was no response from who I was guessing was the woman I saw earlier.
"She's a badass, right!" said Gio. "I want to get her away from that crowd or she's going to end up dead or in jail. Troy. Listen. I'm sorry I didn't call before I brought her over, but she's good people."
Troy looked over at me. "I've never seen you before. How long have you been in the dope game? I've been doing this shit over 20 years and I've never even heard of you."
"Just a month, maybe a month and a half."
"A month and you are hanging out with Ty? How the fuck did you manage that? Do you even know who he is?"
"I mean, I guess not. I met him through a few other people."
He shook his head. The other woman came into the living room and sat down next to him.
"Oh! You are the girl Ty brought over here! It's nice to meet you. I'm Danielle, and this is Troy. Gio, God, what do you want?"
Gio and Troy caught Danielle up on what was going on and why I was at their house.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," she said. "Ty isn't a good person. I guess none of us are, but he's not the person you need to be hanging around, especially if you're new to this. He's very manipulative. He will take everything from you and you won't even realize he's doing it."
Troy chimed in, "He's not really allowed here, but he owed us a gram we fronted him a few months ago. Told him I was going to send someone after him if he didn't pay up so his sorry ass ended up here."
"Thank you for telling me. I didn't know. I don't really know anything about all of this. He's been pretty good to me so far."
"He might be now, but it won't last long. You need to stay away from him." He took a sip of his drink and sat it back down. "Gio is a goofy-ass, but he's harmless."
I looked over at Gio dancing around the living room with a smile on his face. Goofy was definitely a good way to describe him.
"Gio, can you go to the station and get us a refill? We've got some change." Danielle handed him two large cups and some quarters.
"I've got it. Do you all want anything else?" I asked.
They both looked shocked at my question.
"You're going to buy is something? You don't even know us" said Troy.
"No, but you welcomed me into your house unexpectedly. It's the least I can do."
"Can you get me some cigarettes?" Danielle asked.
"Of course! Just tell me what you want. Make a list if you need to."
Troy smiled and nodded. "I like her."
They gave me a short list of candy, junk food, cigarettes, and drinks. I left Gio behind and headed to the gas station down the road to get what they requested. If they were better people than Ty, then I wanted to be on their good side. That wasn't my reasoning behind getting what they wanted, but I thought it might help.
I brought the stuff back to a very happy couple. I was happy that I could make other people happy, even if I didn't know them. They got up from the couch and walked into what I was assumed was their room and closed the door.
"So, you wanna smoke?" Gio asked as he got up from the chair.
"Always."
"Cool, they have an extra room over here we can smoke in. This is where I usually stay anyways, so I just call it my room."
We walked into a white room, filled with more clothes, tools, broken computers, and another chainsaw. He cleared a spot on the bed and pulled out a pipe and bag of dope. As he was lighting it to get it ready, Danielle came in.
"Hey, sorry, do you guys mind smoking outside? We're trying to quit."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said as I got up quickly.
"It's no problem, we just stopped today. You all didn't know."
We shuffled out of the room and went outside. Gio and I sat on the stairs and passed the pipe between us while we looked at the stars. Hanging out with him was a much different experience than it was with Ty. He never once asked me to help him hit a lick, chase a car down, or shut up and look pretty. It was a nice change of pace.
We finished what he had and I left him there for the night. I drove back home, looking forward to hopefully getting some sleep. I was high, but I could feel my body trying to shut down on me. My arms and legs were weak, my chest hurt, my mouth was dry, and I actually felt sleepy even though we had just smoked. I drove home happy that I didn't have any expectations of having to pick someone up from anyone's house or anything.
It was a long day, but I finally got home, laid in bed, and fell soundly asleep.
To be continued...
Troy and Danielle are the two main people in my story as it progresses. I can't say much on it now, but you'll see in the chapters to come. I never did see Bugg or Nick again, so I'm hoping that they got away from everything they had going on and never returned.
I actually had to go back down Leeds the other day to drop something off to a friend. I got a short video of the driveway. I had to slow it down, so it's not the greatest quality. Looking at that driveway gives me so many flashbacks. I remember the last time I drove down it too... That was actually a sad experience for me, but I'll get to that way later on.
I said I may add a bonus story to this chapter, but I think I' going to make it an off the record post. There's a lot more I want to add to it.