by Sadie Savage
“Don’t worry about it man,” Arrow said, standing back up. “I appreciate the offer.”
“We’re going to talk to Plank about the shipment,” Jimmy said. “I want Arrow to get a hit of the real good stuff for his first time back. It’s going to be fuckin’ rad.”
“Hell yeah!” Pinky said, raising his fist at Arrow and Jimmy. “That’s the spirit, man. I bet Plank has something good around here somewhere.”
“No doubt,” Jimmy said. “Come on, Arrow. Let’s get going.”
Arrow nodded, but a knot in his stomach was barely keeping him from throwing up. This was exactly where he had longed to be when he was sweating his addiction out and doing everything in his power to stop using. And now that he was here, all he wanted was to get the fuck out of there and sit in his kitchen with the plant Ari had given him. If she knew who he really was, she would never want to look at him again. He was sure of it.
Jimmy walked a few paces ahead and led him through the warehouse, to the back offices. Plank was one of the guys who worked directly under Hawk. If Arrow could keep his shit together, he would be one step closer to putting Hawk in his place once and for all.
Chapter 12
Ari wandered aimlessly through the house after her uncle left, feeling more lost than she ever had in her life. Arrow had been so warm, so caring when she was in his arms. But as soon as they had finished, he had taken off as if they had just done the worst thing imaginable. And now, he hadn’t even shown up for work. Something was going on, and she was worried that she was to blame for it.
She was lucky that her uncle wasn’t hanging around and getting under her skin, because if he was then she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She was so full of emotion. Resentment toward her uncle for sometimes treating her so badly, and resentment toward Arrow for sleeping with her and then running away like a coward right after. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he afraid she was going to tell her uncle what had happened? Or Mel? There was no good reason.
Ari wandered out to the porch, hoping that Arrow’s hours had simply changed and that he would show up eventually. When she did finally hear a car rumbling down the road, she perked up and stared at it, only to be disappointed when she saw that it was a simple white vehicle that pulled into Mel’s. A scrawny but tough-looking man stepped out and headed inside, and he was in there for a long time. Finally, Mel left to carry out and headed on his way home with the man still inside.
A surge of nausea overpowered her. Did that mean that Arrow wasn’t going to come back? Mel had wasted no time in finding a replacement for him. Either Mel was hiring for different shifts, or Arrow had chosen to quit his job.
Ari stormed inside and slammed the door behind herself, causing the bookshelves near the front door to shape. If her uncle were home, he would yell at her for it, but technically none of these knickknacks were his. All he owned in the world was in his bedroom, and most of it could fit into a little backpack.
She wished that she knew where Arrow lived so that she could give him a piece of her mind, but they had never been that close. All she really knew about him was that he really likes the diner on the edge of town. That was hardly anything to go by.
Her uncle finally came back and handed her a bag of fast food. She looked into it and crinkled her nose. He knew that she didn’t like it, but at least it was better than cooking for the night. She really wasn’t feeling up to it. Not after everything that it happened with Arrow.
“I thought that you would be a little bit more grateful,” her uncle said bitterly, sinking into Ari’s father’s recliner and turning the TV on.
“Oh, I am grateful, thank you,” Ari said. “Do you mind if I go for a drive?”
Her uncle was surprised. Normally, Ari was the type of girl to stay at home and she never really asked to go out anywhere. When they did it was a special treat.
“I guess so,” he said. “Just don’t go too far. I don’t have the money for gas.”
She knew that he was lying about the gas money, but she didn’t say anything and simply took the keys.
“I won’t, I promise,” Ari said. “Thank you, uncle.”
Her uncle nodded and became engrossed in the television program. Ari left him sitting there alone and went out to the car with a heavy sigh. She didn’t plan on trying to find arrow or anything, but she did really need to get out of the house so she would stop thinking about what had happened. She had half a mind to go to the carry out and demand answers from the man who Mel had hired an Arrow’s place, but she knew that that would probably make her look like a crazy person. Instead, she backed out onto the road and, against her better judgment, headed into town.
“Welcome back,” the waitress who had been flirty with Arrow said. “Where’s your arm candy?”
“We’re not dating or anything,” Ari snapped, not wanting to think about Arrow right now. “And he’s not that attractive, is he?”
“Sorry,” the waitress said, though her eyes were mirthful.
Ari scowled. If she didn’t want to think about or talk about Arrow, then what was she doing in his favorite diner? Why was she so desperate to see him, to talk to him and figure out what was going on?
“Do you know where he lives?” Ari asked the waitress suddenly. “He left something at my house and I didn’t know how to find him.”
“I could give it to him for you next time I see him,” she said.
“I could give you a black eye,” Ari mumbled.
“What was that?” the waitress asked.
Thankfully she hadn’t heard her.
“I just want to speak to him about something. How often does he come in here?”
“It depends on his mood. You know what? I see him come in and out of the apartment on fifth. You could hang around there and see what happens with that. But be careful out there. Most of the people are really shady.”
Ari studied the woman and felt tremendously guilty. Even if she had been with Arrow before or had an interest in him, that didn’t really mean anything. They didn’t have to be enemies.
“Thanks,” Ari said, turning to leave.
“No problem.”
Ari sighed heavily when she got in her uncle’s car. It was about ten minutes until she’d reach third; she recognized it because it was near the movie theater.
Ari’s heart lurched. The movies! That’s where she had known Arrow from. It had been almost impossible to place his face, but he was the beautiful stranger who had been so furious at her uncle. She had always assumed that her Uncle Hawk was paranoid, but something had happened. Was it a coincidence that Arrow was hanging around the ranch? Or was it something more?
Ari sped off down the road and headed to third, turning into the driveway of a rundown apartment complex that matched the waitress’s description. She looked around frowning, hoping that maybe she was in the wrong place, but soon she passed by an apartment with the little succulent plant she had given to Arrow siting in the window.
So maybe he didn’t have a lot of money. That didn’t necessarily mean that he was one of those shady people, right? But when she turned around in the roundabout, she froze. Walking up the sidewalk she saw in the distance a man, who was quite obviously Arrow, with two scrawny, strung out looking men walking on either side of him.
When Arrow neared the car, Ari gasped. His eyes were drooping and he was walking slowly and lethargically. He looked high.
“Arrow,” she said, getting out of the car impulsively.
She didn’t know what she was going to do now that she’d found him, but she couldn’t just let him think that it was all right for him to do that to himself. Not when she cared about him.
“Ari?” he exclaimed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m here because I’m looking for you!” Ari said, doing her best not to shout at him. “Can you give us a moment please?”
The two men gazed at her with slack expressions and then shrugged, walking toward the doorway of Arrow’s little apartment
.
“What the hell are you doing?” Arrow repeated. “How did you know where I live?”
“Your girlfriend at the diner told me,” Ari snapped. “Are you high? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“My girlfriend?” Arrow asked, furrowing his brow. “Girl, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know what? Maybe we should talk about this when you’re not high off your ass on something that’s clearly heavier than weed. I can’t do this right now.”
“Ari, wait! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Really, Arrow? Maybe just sober up and think about that for a minute. I’m not going to deal with this right now. Just forget it. I don’t know why I wanted to see you so much. This is ridiculous.”
Ari stomped furiously to the car and let herself inside. Arrow watched her, his mouth gaping open as she pulled away from the apartment complex, her mind racing. How could she have been so stupid? Arrow was an addict, and she had slept with him. Thankfully he had been the one to cut off contact. Maybe he felt guilty or something. He had mentioned to her that she didn’t really know him. And he had been completely right. How could she have been so stupid?
She did her best not to look back at Arrow, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of his apartment, dumbfounded as the two men he had been walking with emerged from the doorway laughing to themselves. They didn’t care about either of them. How could Arrow frequent with such dubious company? Oh, right- he was an addict. The company didn’t matter nearly as much as the drugs did.
“Where did you go?” Ari’s uncle asked as she walked back inside. “What’s wrong with you?”
Ari sighed. “It’s a long story. Sometimes I just feel…”
She shrugged helplessly and her uncle shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“Well, you’ll get over it. We all feel things sometimes but you just have to think about what you want and take it. Forget the rest.”
“Right…” Ari said. “Thanks.”
Her uncle nodded and Ari disappeared into her bedroom. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself. How could she have fallen so hard for a man like Arrow? What had she done to deserve such horrible luck? She would never know. All she could really do was try her best not to let it bring her down.
Chapter 13
Arrow watched Ari drive away with his heart in his throat. How could he have been so stupid? And of all times to be hanging around with these low-lifes, it had to be now, with Ari looking for him. Maybe he was partly responsible for dealing with things the way he had, but who would blame him? She was practically a child! It was difficult enough with the other circumstances surrounding his feelings. It had just made sense to end things there and try to forget about them.
But seeing the look in her eyes – the disappointment and hurt, and the worry – was probably one of the worst feelings he had ever experienced. But it didn’t make sense. It was just one woman’s opinion. How could it possibly mean that much to him?
“She was pissed dude,” Jimmy sniggered. “Man, you should have been wearing your sunglasses or something.”
“Fuck it,” Arrow muttered. “It doesn’t matter. When do you think the good stuff is going to be back on the market? You know how much I like low-quality shit.”
Plank laughed. “Man, beggars can’t be choosers.”
Arrow looked at him sharply. “I’m not a beggar. I’ve been working. I’ve got money. You’re looking at my apartment. How many other junkies can you say have their own fuckin’ apartment, huh? I pay for it myself, and I’ll pay for the good shit if you ever get your shit together.”
“For your information, there’s a new shipment coming in this weekend, asshole.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it. Everything I’ve gotten my hands on has been shit,” Arrow said, his eyes flashing at Plank, who didn’t like being challenged at all.
“Man, Arrow’s been waiting a while. We should let him in on the first dibs you know?” Jimmy said.
Good old Jimmy. Always advocating for Arrow. Whatever he could do to keep him from being alone when he scored.
“What’s so fuckin’ great about this guy anyway?” Plank asked, scowling at Arrow. “I don’t care if he’s got his own place. I got a place too, man. I get paid good money for what I do out here!”
“What? Riling people up and doling out shit heroin?” Arrow asked with a grin. “I’m sure you get paid well to be the man you are.”
“Let Hawk hear your ass say that and you’ll be cut off, not invited to the premier of the next best shit ever sold in this god-forsaken place,” Plank said, his eyes hard.
Arrow grinned inwardly. He could play Plank easily; guys like him were easy to read. They craved dominance and had very little of the actual control they were seeking. That meant that if that little bit of control they had was challenged, they would be certain to react negatively. Arrow could use it to his advantage.
“Man, I’d tell Hawk that to his face. You’re useless man. I bet you couldn’t even get anybody in at the premier of the new shit.”
“How did you know about the premier?”
Arrow hadn’t, but he did know Hawk. He was a cocky, pretentious kind of guy who always wanted to make a big deal about everything he did that he thought was noteworthy. He had taken to trying to score the best shit in the nation and having parties where the stuff was given to only the worthiest of recipients. That meant that it was given to and sold to people who already had money, prestige, or a place in Hawk’s extensive social circle and the leftovers were doled out to the lowly street urchins who would do just about anything for a high.
“Of course I know about the premier, man. Who the hell doesn’t?”
“I’m impressed,” Plank said. “You were invited, huh?”
“I’ve been around a while,” Arrow said. “Just because I had to go to rehab doesn’t mean that I lost my connections.”
Jimmy and Plank nodded thoughtfully. They had both been forced to get clean; it was usually a condition of probation.
“Well, no shit,” Plank said. “But I could seriously get someone into the Premier. More than one person actually. Even fuckin’ Jimmy over here. You wanna go to a party, Jimmy?”
Jimmy looked as if he had just been given the best Christmas gift in the world. “Fuck yeah I do, Plank!”
Plank didn’t seem surprised by the news and squinted at Hawk. “You gonna go with us or you gonna go with someone else.”
“I don’t know, man,” Arrow mumbled. “Nobody seems to know anything around here. Who knows if the Premier is even going to matter if the good shit doesn’t make it to the streets. Hawk is going to lose his clientele.”
“You know that ain’t true,” Plank said, raising a brow at Jimmy, who was standing on the sidewalk with his eyes closed.
He was high as fuck. And he probably would have taken anything he could get his hands on. Plank was right.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
“Come with us, Arrow, man. I’ve missed you,” Jimmy said.
Arrow felt a pang of guilt. Guys like Jimmy didn’t have anybody. Not really. They alienated people to get what they wanted and did everything they could to make sure they had the drugs they needed. Still, what the hell else was he going to do?
“All right, man. I missed you too.”
Arrow wished he was lying but the truth was that Jimmy tended to make Arrow laugh, and it had been nice to have someone around while he was in the throes of his addiction.
“All right then, I guess it’s settled. Shit, you guys are going to be eating your words. I can’t wait to see you and Hawk going at it at the premier. Good luck scoring any good shit after he hears what you have to say.”
“Looking forward to it,” Arrow said coldly. And he had never meant anything more in his life.
***
“Are you sure you can handle this, man? There’s going to be some really good shit there. You don’t have to do thi
s. It’s enough just to bring us to the location. You don’t actually have to go in.”
“Actually, you know as well as I do that I do have to.”
Thatcher looked down at the ground, concern in his eyes. “Well, Boa is going too, man. We can’t risk this. You’ve worked too hard.”
“If I can’t handle myself now, then I know I won’t be able to handle myself for the rest of my life. This is going to be the true test, you know. It’s a world full of temptation, and this is the epitome of that.”
“All right, man. I just want you to know that the rest of us are there for you. Even if you can’t see us or you don’t feel like it, you’re our brother man. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Arrow sighed. Stupid seemed like his middle name lately. But he nodded.
“I won’t.”
That night, Plank and Jimmy showed up at Arrow’s door. Jimmy’s eyes were shining in a way that made Arrow’s stomach knot.
“Come on, you guys.”
“Wait!”
Arrow froze, his stomach fully in knots.
“What the fuck, Ari?” he growled.
“Whatever you’re planning on doing, don’t do it!” Ari exclaimed. “Please, think this over.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Arrow shouted.
“I don’t want you doing anything you regret,” Ari said firmly. “I know you’re better than that. I’ve seen it.”
Arrow glanced at Plank and Jimmy, who were sniggering.
“Trust me, he’s not,” Plank said.
Ari frowned.
“Where are you guys going?” she asked, standing directly in Arrow’s path.
“To a party.”
“Take me with you,” Ari demanded.
Arrow sighed irritably. “What the hell are you trying to do? No!”
“Take me with you!” Ari cried. “I know you have feelings for me, Arrow. And if you can’t take me to this party then I’m never going to even look at you again, do you understand me?”
“Ari, you don’t understand…”