I’m not some douche dude with a guitar and feelings.
Or some fucking punk like Barr, smoking and playing piano, trying to look edgy.
If you don’t know who Barr is, you might want to figure that out too.
I’m on my way to the music hall for a specific reason.
Walk with me and you’ll see why.
This side of Brooks Crest is older than the other side. It’s got a nice feel to it. The place was built for all the bad people to work on their lives. But I’ve been working on my life my entire life. And everything has worked out just the way I wanted.
The great music hall is a massive theatre.
I go in through the side door and pull it shut.
I let out a whistle.
“Anyone home?” I call out.
My voice echoes all around.
I walk through the back of the theatre, where all the leftover instruments and sound equipment is. I flick the keys of an old piano.
“Taz!” I call out. “Where the fuck are you?”
“Over here!” his voice calls back to me.
I follow his voice and find him sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette.
There’s another chair next to him and I see our good buddy Jared with his hands tied to the chair. There’s a sock in his mouth and he’s shaking his head at me.
I look down and see that Taz is missing his left shoe and sock.
“You used your own sock?” I ask.
“Fuck yeah,” Taz said. “Little prick put up a fight.”
I hear a burp and know it’s Aric.
He and Les push through a curtain.
Jared tries to scream but can’t.
“Hey,” Taz yells. “Shut up.”
He kicks the chair and Jared winces.
I drop my cigarette to the shiny wood floor and step on it.
“I’m going to take the sock out of your mouth,” I say. “Actually, Taz is. I’m not touching his fucking sock. But if you scream once, I’m going to cut your tongue out.”
“And I’m going to eat it,” Aric says.
“Bro,” Les says. “What the fuck?”
“I’m just trying to scare him,” Aric says.
“He’s already scared,” Taz says. He looks at me. “And he doesn’t know why we want to talk to him.”
I smile. “Did you take care of the other thing too, Taz?”
“Of course I did.”
I nod. “Take the sock out of his mouth.”
Taz pulls the sock out of Jared’s mouth. He shakes the sock open and then proceeds to put his sock and shoe back on.
Kind of gross, but hey, whatever works for him.
“I’m going to untie you now,” I said to Jared. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Jared said. He licked his lips. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Mac. If I did something to you… I’m sorry. Just let me know. I can fix anything.”
“Can’t fix your dick, can you?” I ask.
“What?”
“The toothpaste is out of the tube,” I say. “Or your dick is in the tube…”
“You can fit your dick in a toothpaste tube?” Aric asks.
“No,” Jared says. “What the hell is going on?”
I untie Jared and grab the front of his shirt and stand him up.
“Let’s take a walk,” I say. “All of us. We’re going to the main stage.”
We walk from the backstage area to the front.
The main hall easily seats a few thousand people.
It’s a fancy as hell theatre, that’s for sure.
Meant for music, plays, that kind of thing.
Not for what’s about to happen.
“The problem I have here is that you’re wasting my time,” I say to Jared.
“Just tell me what’s going on, Mac. I’ll fix it.”
I turn and face him. “You can’t fix it. You fucked her. You did your thing, man. And I get it. It’s hard to resist. Sometimes it just grabs you and…”
“Boom,” Les says into Jared’s ear.
Jared winces and yells.
I look at Taz and nod.
Taz hits Jared in the ribs as hard as he can.
There’s a crunching sound that bothers me for a fraction of a second.
Jared screams and falls to his knees. He grabs for his side and looks up at me, gasping for air.
“I can’t… I think he… I…”
“Relax, man,” I say to Jared. “I’m done with you. That was it. One punch. Okay? You took the punch.”
“That wasn’t even my best one,” Taz says.
“You getting weak, Taz?” Les asks.
Taz makes a move and I put my hand out. If he hits Jared again - and in the face - he’ll knock him out.
That’s not why we’re here though.
“We’re good,” I say to Taz.
“Thank you, Mac,” Jared says. “Now just tell me what’s going on. Who did I fuck? What did I do here?”
“Go take your seats,” I say to the guys.
They walk away.
I look down at Jared. “Sometimes in life you have to take a beating. So take it like a man, Jared. Okay? If you move from this spot, we’re going to come after you. Got it?”
“Got it,” Jared says. “But what…”
I see the curtains move and I smile.
Rex is here to get his piece of Jared.
As Jared pleads for his life, I work my way to the second level balcony of the theatre. I sit just to the left of the stage, next to a wooden angel statue that’s hanging off the wall.
The seats are a blood-red cloth and they have been kept in perfect condition.
I lean forward and watch down to the stage as Rex hobbles with one crutch, curling around Jared like a shark about to attack its prey.
“This is good for him,” Taz says to me. “Rex needs it.”
“I just don’t have the time to hear him complain,” I say. “I thought taking him down would start a war with us. But he just took it and stepped aside.”
“Which meant he never had power to begin with,” Les says.
“Come on,” Aric says. “Get the fucker. Get him…”
Jared is begging. Saying everything possible to Rex.
That he and Kerri were drunk. That she came on to him. That she said she was single. That he was afraid she was going to run off with someone else.
That’s my favorite excuse.
I fucked your girlfriend so nobody else would.
Brilliant.
Jared’s back on his feet.
Rex tosses his crutch to the side.
“Oh, come on,” Aric says. “He should have beat the shit out of him with the crutch. What a waste of a beating.”
“We should have brought popcorn,” Taz says.
Les leans over my right shoulder. “How long, bro? We have to talk about something.”
“One minute,” I say.
Jared and Rex are still circling around each other.
Jared won’t stop talking and Rex is just jumping on one leg, waiting to make a move.
Finally, Jared gives in.
He stops moving.
“Okay, fine, Rex. I fucked her. I’ve been fucking her for a while too. Okay? She doesn’t fucking like you. She doesn’t love you. She never has. I have more than you do. So just accept it for what it’s worth. She’s not yours. So fuck off.”
“Shit,” Taz whispers.
Then it’s silent.
Then Jared takes a swing.
Which I didn’t expect.
He punches Rex in the mouth.
“Fuck me,” Taz says.
I point and nod.
That’s when Rex explodes.
He jumps forward and slams his shoulder so hard against Jared’s face, he flies back and falls to the stage.
Then Rex drops down and is basically on top of Jared like he’s going to dry hump him. But he has no choice. He can’t use his fucked-up leg.
Sorry, bro.
He starts
punching and doesn’t stop.
I turn and stand up.
“So, what’s up, Les?” I ask.
“Skate park,” he says. “There’s an issue down there. You remember Stimmy?”
I curl my lip. “What about?”
“He’s back,” Les says. “Got a text from Hanky. He’s down there with his skateboard, selling.”
“Selling…,” Taz says. He cracks his knuckles.
“Get Raf,” I say. “Where the fuck is he anyway?”
“Still in bed,” Aric says. “He fell in love last night.”
“Well, it’s now tomorrow so tell him to pack up his heart and his dick,” I say. “We need to get down to the skate park and figure this out.”
I turn and look down to the stage.
Rex is still having his way with Jared.
I cup my hands around my mouth. “Careful you don’t kill him!”
Rex stops and looks up at me.
I give him a thumbs up.
He goes back to work on Jared.
Hey, at least I tried.
I paid for my own car with my hard-earned cash.
My first goal had been to never call someone for cash ever again in my life.
That was an easy goal though.
After that, it was just cash.
Cash to spend.
And I love to spend cash.
I drive alone.
The way I like it.
Les drives my SUV behind me.
I trust him with it.
Now if we need to go somewhere as a crew, then I’ll drive the SUV and everyone is with me.
But today… it’s just so nice out.
The bright blue sky, few clouds, blaring sun, and I’m heading toward the beach.
See, I don’t need to go down to other areas to take care of business.
As far as I’m concerned, the world of BFH and HCH mean nothing now. Time’s gone by and things move forward. I know they know what I’m capable of if things get touchy.
Now take the situation I had with a guy named Liam.
He was meant to be a protected kind of guy.
Leave it at that.
He did some time for a car accident that killed someone.
That someone’s son started to push back on the situation when he learned Liam had gotten out of jail.
I never cared for Ash or his crew called Them. On the other side of it all was the Rulz. Now, as I said, you should by now know about Barr and I. If you don’t, that’s your problem. But anyway, back to Ash. I had to step in. I kept it cool enough and I let Liam sort of dig his own grave. He swore up and down he was forced into getting drunk and had some bad dreams.
Blah, blah, blah.
Let’s just say Liam isn’t a problem for anyone now.
And I don’t need to talk about it to have anyone know how it was handled.
I park my car a little bit away from the skate park and the beach.
It really is a bad ass place.
The park is right up against the beach.
It’s always full of people.
And for me, people are money.
And it all works out beautifully.
Even when little assholes like Stimmy show up to fuck with me.
His little bag of treats as he calls them.
In the shape of dog bones too.
Like he’s some funny motherfucker who thinks he can keep showing up to do this shit.
I lean against my car and study the park.
The usual’s are skating like always.
Different songs and music mix together as more than one person brings wireless speakers to jam and skate to. I’m talking everything from rap music to metal music sung in a different language.
I fucking love watching the skate park.
“Get Hanky over here,” I say to Les without looking at him.
A minute after I say that, I see Hanky pop up behind a half pipe.
He’s tall and skinny, fucking bony as hell even though he can eat a full pizza pie in one sitting. He’s the fattest skinniest dude I’ve ever met.
His hair is always messy and in need of a haircut. He wears muscle shirts that are oversized and he doesn’t have any muscles. But he’s skinny strong. The kind of guy that looks like he’s seen some scary shit in life and isn’t afraid of anything.
I respect Hanky.
And I appreciate the business he gives to me.
He carries his skateboard over his shoulder and runs toward me.
“What’s up, shit breath?” Aric asks.
“Fuck off,” Hanky says.
We all laugh.
There was a rumor once that Hanky was dared to eat a piece of dried dog shit. In return one of the pretty girls agreed to take him behind the one half pipe and handle a little of his business.
Again, it’s a rumor, so who knows what the fuck is true.
“What do we have here?” I ask Hanky. “I was busy.”
“Sorry to bother you,” Hanky says in his drawn out, surfer voice. “But that motherfucker is back. Look.”
Hanky digs into his pocket and takes out a pill.
“Oh, fuck no,” Les says.
I look at the pill. “What’s it like?”
“It’s bullshit. Nothing good,” Hanky says.
“How many did you take?” I ask.
“Three,” he says. “I barely feel anything. They’re like fucking candy. That’s why he’s charging so little. I think he wants people to think they’re getting a better price.”
I look at Taz.
He cracks his knuckles.
Shit is about to hit the fan.
And I mean big time.
Stimmy wants to come in here and undercut me? By offering up something cheaper and less quality? Thinking I’m not going to find out and do something about it?
“Anything you need, my brah,” Hanky whispers. “You take care of me, I take care of you. One call and I can have him in the ocean. For good.”
I stare across the beach and look for Stimmy.
He’s hiding now.
But he’s out there.
My eyes scan right to left.
And then they stop.
Not on Stimmy.
On someone else.
I grab the front of Hanky’s shirt.
“What are you looking at, Mac?” Les asks me.
I curl my lip.
I’m looking at the girl I want to spend the rest of my fucking life with.
3
She’s walking the beach with a friend.
Her hair’s blonde with little curls, everything let down to flow behind her as the breeze runs its fingers through her hair. My nose twitches as I demand someone tell me what the fuck shampoo she uses so I can tell my brain to make me smell her.
I can’t look away.
I can’t talk, or even fucking breathe for a second.
She’s in a white shirt that’s opened and dances behind her, showing off her bikini top. It’s a baby blue color. Fucking pure innocence. Her jean shorts are purposely cut up and rest on her hips as she walks without knowing I’m devouring her.
Her friend is okay. Dirty blonde hair pulled back in a messy, post-ocean swim bun. She has a towel around her waist and her bikini top’s black. She points to the skate park and they both stop.
Their eyes light up with excitement.
“Who the fuck is that?” I ask Hanky.
He looks over his shoulder. “Those girls?”
“Yeah. Those girls.”
“Ah, man, don’t worry about those girls.”
I pull Hanky closer to me. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Hanky clears his throat. “Sorry, Mac. Shit. They’re fucking uppers, okay?”
“Uppers?” Raf asks.
“Yeah. Upper class. I’m talking money, lives, appearances, all that bullshit. They come down to this part of the beach to walk and gawk. To take a look at the other side of life. They’re all stuck up too. The kind of girls that will flirt with y
ou, get you hard and then leave you hanging with your mouth open. Just for fun. And there ain’t shit you can do about it because of who they are.”
I suck in a deep breath.
All I hear is the word challenge.
And all I see is beauty.
Fucking perfect beauty.
“Mac, let’s beat the fucking shit out of Stimmy,” Taz says. “Get his supply. Figure out what he’s doing here. Then we can see what the uppers are all about.”
“Taz, fuck off,” I say.
I push Hanky out of the way and cross the street without looking.
I stop at the edge of the skate park and my eyes haven’t left her for a second.
Her and her friend are just standing there, watching the punks skate.
There’s Jakey, Winston, Peg Leg Mikey, plus a few others who are quiet to me but good for business.
I watch as her eyes marvel at the tricks being done with the skateboards. The park goes way down the beach too, with room for the rollerblade skids and the bike bombers. And all of it is part of my greater plan in life. The control I have outside of BC.
She then looks down to the other parts of the park and points.
Her friends grabs her hand and starts to move.
So my girl likes the skateboarders. And her friend is digging the bladers.
I nod, taking some mental notes.
But then she starts to walk away from me.
Before I even meet her and tell her I love her.
I stick my fingers into my mouth and whistle.
She looks at me.
And it’s not fucking stars exploding between us.
It’s the fucking universe shattering.
As I walk toward her, her friend looks more shocked than she does.
She holds her hand, fingers interlocked, almost as though she knows who I am. I am not the kind of guy you want to get involved with. I know that. I’m okay with it. I’m not the kind of guy you brag to your parents about and can’t wait to bring me home for a dinner or fucking game night. Again, I’m okay with that.
But I am the guy you sit there on your bed with your friend, hugging a pillow, chewing on your lip until it starts to bleed, begging your friend to convince you to stay away from. But the second you hear a noise at the window you jump toward it, wishing it was me throwing little pebbles at the window to coax you outside…
The difference with me is, if I want your attention, I’m not throwing little pebbles at your window.
Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1) Page 2