“I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Frankie, that’s why I’m fucking here. You shouldn’t have to deal with some forty-year-olds problems. You’re fourteen, not forty.”
“I’m sorry, I was just trying to do the right thing,” she sniffed.
I ran my hands over my head, exasperated. “You better not be lying about how you got a bloody lip, Frankie. I swear if she hit you and you’re covering for her, things are not going to end well for Bev.”
“No, she didn’t hit me. She wasn’t even there by the time I got to her house.”
“What do you mean she wasn’t there? You said she was sick in bed.”
“That’s what I thought, too. When I got there, Jack dropped me off and left while I was knocking. I assume he figured that she was there, that’s why he didn’t stay. Well, she wasn’t, and I knocked on the door for five minutes before I realized she had lied.”
Fucking Bev. I was going to kill her. “So you fucking walked home, didn’t you?” She nodded her head, yes, and I got even more pissed. “Why the hell didn’t you call me? I would have been there in five minutes.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your date.”
“Frankie, if it comes down to me being with Violet or you walking home through the fucking gutter, God damn call me!”
“How was I supposed to know that?!” She stood up, her stool sliding backward. “It’s not like you want me here! I’m just a burden to you since Mom and Dad died. I’m only here because you’d feel guilty if I lived anywhere else!” She stormed out of the kitchen, her tears rolling down her face.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed, slamming my hands down on the counter. How the hell did everything get so fucked up? “What the hell just happened?”
“Um, I think you both let your tempers get the best of you.”
“Violet, she walked home through fucking Skid Row. In the fucking dark. I swear to God she doesn’t have any common sense!” I shouted. I didn’t know what the hell to do. I couldn’t believe my fucking aunt had called her to come over there, and then she wasn’t there. What the hell was going on?
“I think you need to calm down. I know what Frankie did wasn’t the smartest thing, but you need to step back before you say something you’ll regret.” Violet was standing there, the washcloth dangling from her fingertips trying to talk me down.
“I need to find Bev is what I need to do. She can’t keep doing this shit to Frankie. The only reason Frankie clings to her so much is because she reminds her of mom. Except Bev is the furthest thing from our Mom.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, sending a message off to Mitch and Kurt, telling them they needed to come home.
“How are you even going to find her?”
“I know Skid Row like the back of my hand, Violet. If anyone is going to find Bev, it’s going to be me.” I walked over to the door, sliding my boots on and bent over to tie them.
“Luke, you need to stop and think. You can’t go off half-cocked about this.” She walked over and stood in front of me. I looked at her pale pink toes that were peeking out of the bottom of her jeans, sighed deep and finished tying my boots.
She was right, but I needed to get to the bottom of whatever the hell Bev was doing. “Look,” I sighed, standing up. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to me. “I need to find Bev right now.” My phone went off, and I pulled it out of my pocket, seeing that it was Kurt, and he would be here any minute. “Just stay with Frankie for me, will you? Hopefully, this won’t take long.”
“I’ll stay with her, Luke. I don’t have a problem with that. I just want you to think about what you’re doing. I don’t want you, Mitch, or Kurt to get in trouble.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder.
“I’m not going out to kill her, Princess. I just want answers. She needs to stop messing around with Frankie’s feelings.”
“She’s really upset, Luke,” she whispered. “I was the same way when my parents died, except I knew how to deal with it. She’s so young and dealing with things someone her age shouldn’t ever have to think about.”
“I know, Princess. I know.” Violet was right, but I had no idea what to do to help Frankie. But right now I needed to deal with Bev. Not only had she fucked with Frankie for the last time, but she had also managed to mess up my night with Violet. My phone dinged, and I knew it was either Mitch or Kurt letting me know they were here. “I’ll be back. My room is the third door on the right. Make sure you’re waiting in bed for me.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she leaned back to look at me.
“Hurry home and try not to get in trouble.”
“I promise, Princess.” She stepped out of my arms and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Remember I don’t have enough money to bail you out of jail. I would have to leave you in the clink.”
“Clink?” I laughed. She shrugged her shoulders and laughed. “Besides, Mitch did his time in the clink. I doubt he’s looking to go back.” Her jaw dropped, and I knew I had told her something I was going to have to explain later. I pressed one last kiss to her lips, taking advantage of her shock and snuck down the stairs before she snapped out of it.
I walked out the front door, Mitch and Kurt both sitting in Kurt’s idling car waiting for me. It was time to get to the bottom of whatever the hell Bev was up to and get back to Violet before the night was over. I was ready for Bev to be out of our lives and to get back to normal.
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Chapter 24
Violet
I was standing in the middle of Luke’s apartment, and I had no idea what to do. I had no idea if he wanted me to try and talk to Frankie or just let things be. I knew exactly how she was feeling right now, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to me about it.
There were still dishes in the sink from dinner, so I decided to do those while I figured out what the hell I was going to do next. I filled up the sink with soapy water and dunked all the dishes in, scrubbing them clean.
I could understand why Luke was so upset, but I didn’t know if going after his aunt in the middle of the night was the greatest idea. From what I had gathered about the aunt, she either had a drug or drinking problem, and that didn’t get fixed by a visit from three angry men. I had a feeling things were not going to go how Luke was hoping.
“He left?” I spun around and saw Frankie standing by the fridge, still in the dirty, ripped clothes she was wearing before.
“Uh,” I didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell her he had gone after Bev. I didn’t want her to think that she had gotten her in trouble. “He decided to go out with Mitch and Kurt for a little bit.”
Frankie shook her head and opened the fridge. “More like they went to find Bev.”
I guess I didn’t give Frankie enough credit, plus she probably knew her brother better than I did. “They shouldn’t be gone too long.”
Frankie grabbed a jar of salsa out of the fridge and set it on the island. “Well, Luke, Kurt, and Mitch should be able to find her.”
“Yeah, Luke figured he should be able to figure out where she is.”
She walked over to the pantry, grabbing the huge bag of tortilla chips Luke had bought today. “You know what really sucks?”
“What, hun?”
We both walked around to the other side of the island and sat down. “I was having an amazing time with Jack before she called. He was finally talking to me, and we were just laughing and having a good time and then she just ruined it. Even after the first time when she called, and I told her I couldn’t help her, things changed. All I could do was worry about her, and I couldn’t enjoy the movie anymore. That’s why, when she called the second time, I asked Jack to drop me off. Luke was right, I should have called him and let him handle it.” She twisted open the jar of salsa, setting it between us and ripped open the bag of chips.
“Don’t stress over it, Frankie. I know Luke seems upset now, but I think that’s more directed at Be
v and not you. She’s the adult and should be making the right decisions, not you. You may be fourteen and think you’re an adult, but you’re not.”
“I wasn’t trying to be an adult, I was just trying not to bother Luke.”
“Well, you being safe is more important than Luke watching a movie with me.”
She grabbed a chip, mounding it up with salsa and shoveled it into her mouth. “I just feel like I’m only here because he has no other choice. I’m sure if Bev weren't such a failure he would have me live with her.”
“That’s not true, Frankie. I know Luke loves you and doesn’t want you living anywhere else. He loves having all of you under one roof. I just think you all need to adjust more. Luke went from being single and only having to worry about himself, and now he has you to take care of. You were used to having your mom and dad and living with them. All of you need to make adjustments, and some take longer than others.”
“Is this how you felt when your parents died?”
I grabbed a chip, breaking it into little pieces and lining them up on the counter. “Yes and no. I was old enough that I was living on my own that I didn’t have to change my whole life and go live somewhere else. But, I did miss them like I was going to die without them.”
“Some days I can go the whole day without even thinking about them and then others I wake up thinking about how my mom used to make breakfast every morning, and she would just sit with me and talk while I ate. I miss her so much it hurts.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks again, and she dashed them away with the back of her hand. “I just wish it would stop hurting.”
I put my arm around her and pulled her close. “The hurt is never going to go away, Frankie, but it does get easier. In those moments where it hurts so bad that it almost chokes you, just think of something good. Think of those moments she made you breakfast and know she did it because she loved you and wanted you to be happy.”
“I just wish that I could talk to her one more time.” My heart broke right then and there. I used to wish the same thing when my mom died. Hell, if I was honest with myself I still wished that.
“How about whenever you need to talk to her, you call me. I know I’m nowhere near as good as your mom, but I’m one hell of a listener.”
“I want to talk to her a lot. I don’t think you understand what you’re offering right now.”
“I’m offering to be your friend, Frankie.”
“Until you and Luke break up and then I can’t talk to you anymore.”
I rubbed her arm and tilted my head to rest on her head. “No matter what happens with Luke and me, I will always be here to talk. Hell, I met you before I met Luke, you have dibs on me.”
“I think if you tell Luke that, he might have something different to say.” She was probably right, but it didn’t matter.
“So, Luke and I were just about to make milkshakes. You want to help me make them and then we can watch a movie until the guys come back?” I wasn’t going to mention that Luke and I had other plans before milkshakes, though.
“Sure. This is probably the only chance we’ll have to get any of the Oreos before Kurt gets to them.”
“Alright, you grab the blender, because I have no idea where it is, and I’ll grab the cookies and ice cream.”
Frankie walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the big blender and started setting it up. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, sending off a message to Luke that the Frankie situation was under control, and he better hurry home.
After the milkshakes had been made, Frankie and I camped out in front of the TV, the opening credits of Sixteen Candles on the screen.
I glanced at my phone, looking to see if Luke had messaged me but there was nothing. He had been gone for over a half an hour and maybe he had already found his aunt and was busy. I hoped that was what was going on, and it wasn’t anything else.
He may have been gone not even an hour, but I freakin’ missed him.
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Chapter 25
Luke
“Any idea off the top of your head where to look for her?” Mitch asked as we headed in the direction of Bev’s house.
“We’ll start at her house, see if there is anyone around who might know where the hell she is.” We rolled over the train tracks that separated the good side of town from Skid Row. I hated fucking coming here when there wasn’t a race. It reminded me too much of where I had come from when all I wanted to focus on was where I was going.
“What the hell is going on in her fucking head that she keeps fucking around with Frankie?” Kurt growled from the backseat.
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out and put a Goddamn end to it. If she wants to fuck with someone, she’ll have to deal with me from now on.” We rolled up to her duplex and the same group of guys that were outside the last time we were here were sprawled out all over the front yard.
“Feels like fucking forever since we lived here,” Mitch mumbled, shifting the car into park.
“That’s because we all got out of here as soon as we could. If we didn’t, we’d probably be hanging out with these fuckers,” Kurt said, scooting to the middle of the backseat and we all looked at Bev’s house. God damn did she live in a shit hole. I could only imagine how shitty it looked in the daylight.
“Alright, let’s get this shit over with.” I stepped out of the car, and everyone turned to look at us.
“This may not have been the brightest idea,” Kurt mumbled under his breath. Mitch walked around the front of the car and came to stand by us.
“We’re not here to cause fucking trouble. We just want to know where the fuck Bev is.”
“Yo! You’re the Kings aren’t you?” One of the younger guys yelled to us.
This was where I didn’t know if I should admit to being a Skid Row King or not. People either liked us or they didn’t. If these guys backed AZ, I knew they weren’t going to like us.
“Fuck yeah, you guys are,” Another chimed in. “You fucking blew the doors off of AZ last night. Damn prick needed to be put in his place.”
Kurt, Mitch and I all looked at each other, knowing this was a good sign. “He needs to work on his shifting off the line. His reaction time sucks.” Again more truth from these guys. We hadn’t even said a word to them yet, and I already liked them.
“Yeah, you couldn’t be more close to the truth. He’s good, but he’s still got a lot to learn,” I said, stepping up to the curb, crossing the sidewalk into the yard.
“I heard the dumbass challenged you to a rematch; pink slips.” It was crazy how fast word spread. I was sure by the time Friday rolled around, and we were lined up that the track was going to be fucking packed.
“Yeah. He seems to think that he deserved to win, so I’m just going to beat his ass again.”
“That shouldn’t be fucking hard. I’m Havi.” He held his hand out to me, and we shook hands.
“Luke. You don’t happen to live around here and know the woman who lives there,” I said, nodding at Bev’s house.
“Yeah, I live next to her. Chick is fucking crazy. She comes and goes at all times of the day and night. She was running with AZ and his crew for a while,” Havi said.
Fucking figures Bev would run with the one fucking person I couldn’t stand. “You see her at all tonight? She called my sister to come over, saying she was sick, but when my sister showed up no one was here.”
“I haven’t seen her leave all day. You sure she ain’t in there? Her car is still around back.”
I nodded to Kurt, and he headed around the back of the house to check it out. “You wouldn’t by chance have a spare key to her place, would you?” It was a longshot, but I’d much rather get into Bev’s house without having to break a window or kick the front door in.
“Naw, but Chris here has a spare key that will work anywhere.” A guy stepped forward, and I assumed he was Chris. “We can get you in.”
“Perfect. We just need to ask her a couple of questions.”
“Well, the last I saw her, you’ll be lucky to get two words from her that make sense. She’s fucked up on some heavy shit.”
Havi just confirmed what I was afraid of. Bev was strung the fuck out and was probably overdosed, if not fucking dead.
“Her car is around back, and the back door is wide open,” Kurt said, coming around the side of the house.
“I guess we won’t be needing Chris’ special talent,” I smirked.
Havi laughed and shook his head. “I guess not.”
“Has she still been running with AZ?”
“Tell ya the truth, I’m not sure who the hell she’s been with. I think right now she’s loyal to whoever can keep her high.”
I ran my hands over my head. “Thanks for your help, Havi.”
“No problem. I’ve watched you come up the ranks. I got mad respect for you, brother. You managed to get yourself out of this hell and make a name for yourself. We’ll keep an eye out front for you.”
I nodded my head, letting him know I appreciated it and Kurt, Mitch and I headed to the back of the house.
“You guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Kurt asked.
“That Bev is more than likely dead or fucked the hell up?” Mitch growled.
“Yup.”
Mitch was the first to head into the house, “Holy fuck. How the hell does she live here?”
I walked in and was instantly hit with the smell of something fucking rotting. It was hard to figure out where exactly the smell was coming from. The kitchen was trashed with garbage everywhere, and the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
We moved into the house, the smell not getting any better. “How the hell did Frankie not tell us how fucked up this house was?” Mitch asked, knocking over a stack of newspapers that were stacked on a table by the front door.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to ask her when I see her again,” I growled.
We looked up the stairs, hearing something moving around. “I think it’s a good assumption Bev isn’t dead, although I’m sure she’s going to wish she is when we get through with her.” I slowly made my way up the stairs, stepping over piles of junk that littered the stairs. I heard a low groan coming from down the hall and made my way down the hall, opening each door, making sure Bev wasn’t in there.
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