“Will you slow the hell down?” I called after him, my voice bristled with annoyance.
But he kept moving, now crossing the street, weaving his way through traffic as cabs honked at his recklessness. A yellow cab came to a screeching halt as I tried to follow, the sound and the lights making me shut my eyes and pray I wasn’t about to die.
“Yo, what the fuck, man?” yelled the driver through his rolled-down window. I opened my eyes, relieved to see he had stopped just inches away from me. I put my hands up in apology, which was met with a vulgar gesture.
God damn, Anderson.
I shook my head and searched for him, spotting his black hoodie moving quickly and fading into the darkening night that surrounded us. I ran to catch up, now careful of oncomingtraffic. I turned a corner and stopped suddenly, surprised to see Anderson leaning against the brick wall of a corner store.
“Finally,” I panted, putting my hands on my knees and shaking my head.
“I should say the same to you,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Come on.” He gestured me to follow him into the corner store.
“What are we doing?” I asked, as he walked down the liquor aisle, perusing the selection on the shelves as if we could afford anything here.
“I could use a little liquid courage,” he said with a smirk.
“Do we have time?” I asked, wondering why the hell I had just ran after him through the city. “Do we have money?”
“Time, yes,” he said, checking his watch. “Money, no.”
He pulled a fifth of vodka from the shelf, tucking it up the sleeve of his hoodie
“But when has that stopped me?”
I looked around the store, keeping my expression calm, like I was just another customer. It was empty, aside from the store clerk who was busy on the phone when we walked through the door.
“Let’s go,” I whispered urgently when I heard the store clerk say his goodbyes and hang up the phone just on the other side of the aisle.
Anderson gave the clerk a nod as we walked out the door, the epitome of cool, and soon we were safely out on the sidewalk.
“Like taking candy from a baby,” smirked Anderson, pulling the fifth of vodka from his sleeve when we were out of sight of the store’s window.
“You couldn’t have stuffed some chips or a sandwich up there?” I asked, raising a brow.
I was starving. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten a full meal, and not just scrounged the fridge of whoever I was crashing with at the time. Last night, it was Anderson’s baby mama’s, who let me sleep on her cigarette-smelling couch, while he slept in her room. Slept wasn’t exactly the right word. They were up all night, either knocking their headboard into the wall or tending to their crying baby.
“We will eat tonight,” he said confidently.
He twisted off the top of the vodka and took a long swig before passing it to me. I took a sip, the burn running down my throat and warming my insides on the cold November night. I felt a raindrop fall against my cheek and looked to the skies, now more violent than before. Flashes of lightning burst through the clouds, making everyone walk a little faster, trying to get to their destination before all hell broke loose.
“We should go,” said Anderson, judging the skies. He shoved the fifth of vodka in the pouch of his large hoodie, and pulled the hood up over his head. I pulled my own hood over my head and tucked my hands in the front pocket as I followed Anderson down the sidewalk. He was, once again, taking long strides as I trailed behind him.
After a few blocks, he stopped and looked to the left and to the right. Both directions housed dark, brick alleys that I was sure held nothing good at the end of them.
He nodded to the right. “This way,” he said, slipping into the darkness.
I followed behind him, the shadows enveloping me like a cool kiss of dread. Rain started falling in large drops, until it was a heavy pour upon us. I could barely see Anderson as he walked ahead of me, until he finally stopped near a blue dumpster against the back wall. There was no one else around, yet I could feel eyes on us.
“This is a bad idea,” I muttered, pulling my hood further onto my head as if it would keep the cold from the rain from seeping into my skin.
“Will you shut up and trust me?” said Anderson annoyed. “These guys are going to help us make a shit ton of money. No more sleeping on couches. No more stealing from shitty corner stores. No more being hungry. No more of living like losers.”
I pressed my lips into a tight line and gave him a solemn nod. I didn’t know what he was getting us into, but a life better than the one we were living was a silver lining to whatever situation he had put us in tonight.
“These guys just need to take a chance on us,” said Anderson, looking around the alley.
Soon, the sound of the rain falling around us was drowned out by the loud rumble of motorcycles. The sound was deafening as it bounced off the brick walls around us, and headlights came into view. Several Harleys pulled to a stop in front of us, blocking our exit from the alley. An uneasy feeling began gnawing at my stomach.
