Page 1 of Brick

One

Luna

Talk about a dumb idea.

"Baby girl, I've got a hit for you."

I look over my shoulder at the man slinking out of the shadows in my direction.

"I'm straight." My nose scrunches up involuntarily. His stench is so intense it feels like my nose hairs are burning right off.

"Nah, beautiful. You look like you got an itch." The man moves a little closer to me, and I turn so my back is not to him.

I knew when I stepped into the drug house that it was dangerous, but I didn't have much of a choice.

I have to find Wendy, and that means going where she might be.

I don't care what anyone says. I am my sister's keeper.

The problem is my sister has never wanted me looking after her. Even when we were just little girls, she rarely wanted to hang out with me. She was the rebellious free spirit while I was the take-no-shit sister.

"I said, I'm good." I take a few backward steps, and the junkie in front of me backs off.

My thumping heart slows down in my chest as I turn back around and continue to check all the nooks and crannies of this hellhole.

It's dark, and there are random people all over the place. Most of them are not paying me any mind; they are more interested in shooting junk in their arms.

Slowly, I walk around the next corner. My combat boots crunch on the uneven wooden planks of the room.

My pulse quickens as my gaze falls on a woman huddled in the corner.

"Wendy?" I whisper and walk a little closer to the figure.

My heart drops when the girl lifts her head, and I realize that it's not my sister.

This is the third drug den that I've been in looking for Wendy. I'm starting to lose hope that I'm going to find her. I don't know where else to look for her. I've checked all of her normal friends' houses. I checked around our property; sometimes she likes to camp out in the back by the trees, but she wasn't there either.

These decrepit houses are the last place where I can look for her, and she's nowhere to be found.

"You got anything on you? I can?—"

I stop the girl right away, walking away from her.

I don't need to know what she is willing to do just to get another hit. I've heard that story too many times. Unfortunately, I've heard the same nonsense from my sister.

Dropping my head in frustration, I'm not paying attention to what is going on around me.

Not the best thing to do in a place like this.

It's not until the hairs go up on the back of my neck that I realize just how foolish it really is for me not to stay aware of my surroundings.

I gasp hard as a hand closes around my neck.

My eyes water right away as the person behind me lifts me off the floor with such force that black spots appear in my vision.

"No!" I wheeze.

"You're a sexy bitch, you know that?"

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