Page 70 of Ride or Die
I am frozen. Unable to move.
“Layla?! Layla?!” Colt’s muffled screams are frantic, full of distress as he military crawls towards me, keeping low. When he gets close, his hand reaches for mine, pulling me out from under the shelf. “Are you okay?”
His eyes are wild with concern, hands roaming my entire body, looking for wounds. I nod repeatedly, then start checking him.
“I’m okay, baby. I’m okay...Jesus.” He reassures me, and lets out a stressed sigh.
He envelops me in his arms, hugging me close. His head rests on mine while we sit on the floor, stunned and shocked by what just happened. The others are doing the same. Gina is bawling her eyes out, being held by Adam. Daya looks like she’s in complete shock, her hand across her mouth as Axel rubs her back, and Drai is trying to reassure Krissy that it's over.
We were victims of a fucking drive-by. Realization hits and I start crying, the sobs escaping my mouth as sound becomes more clear, the ringing in my ears finally dissipating.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I got you,” he says softly, kissing my head. “We’re getting out of this soon. Four months, babe. Four months.”
Colt rocks me in his arms. We sit there for I don’t even know how long. The gunfire is long gone, and the sound of sirens has now graced The Shores. A fun-filled evening has turned this neighborhood into a crime scene, sobering everyone up.
We all emerge from the garage and look down the street at the activity. Who was it? Why were they shooting up the neighborhood? Who were the intended targets? We hug, we cry, the boys examine the damage to their cars, and we all speculate about what happened.
“Never thought you’d be part of a drive-by, eh?” Daya says, forcing a humorless laugh and wrapping her arm around me as we look down the street. “Welcome to The Shores, babe. You’re one of us now.” She gives me a weak smile.
Those words, while so true, are sickening to hear. A year ago, sound asleep in my bed, I may not have even known that this happened.
"You've been involved in one before?" I ask her. She looks over at me and nods. "Hate to admit it, but yeah, among other things. It's just a matter of time before it happens again."
"I don't think it was a drive-by. There were two cars," Axel adds, coming up beside her. The boys had a different perspective than us being in the driveway. And as it turns out, he was right.
When the police arrive, they note all the damage to the house and cars and take our statements. They believe it was a gang war that turned into a car chase and subsequent shootout between the two vehicles. While thankfully no one at our party was hurt, we can’t say the same for elsewhere. Apparently, three people were killed, all innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Who was at fault remains to be seen. I'm just thankful we weren't specifically targeted.
But this is one of the many reasons we need to get the fuck out of here.
I don’t sleep well, and neither does Colt. We toss and turn, neither of us interested in making love. After tonight, it is all too clear how much more desperate we are to get out of here and move on from this life. We could have died tonight for something we weren’t even involved in, and that is very unsettling.
The next day, we go to the garage to inspect the damage in the daylight. Surprisingly, it’s not too bad. The back bumper of Colt’s car will have to be replaced, as well as the taillight and rear window. There are a couple of bullet holes in the brick of his house, some broken outdoor lights, and damage to a few items inside the garage, but otherwise, everything is okay.
Standing in the yard, Colt is on his phone with his car guy, and I’m looking around at the aftermath, still shocked by what happened. Up the road, I can see yellow tape and a bunch of officers working the scenes. From the other direction, I notice Simone and some guy I don’t recognize approaching, probably from my house.
Simone looks like shit. Her sparkly black party dress from the night before has a ripped strap, her makeup is smudged, herhair a tangled mess, and she looks...dirty. Like actual dirt on her face, hands, and knees.
What the fuck did she get up to last night?
Colton steps up beside me, “That’s the Franky guy I was telling you about,” he says quietly.
And now it all makes sense. From what Colt’s told me, Franky is into everything. Drugs, prostitution, gangs, you name it. As upset as I am with Simone, she's still my sister, and my heart sinks seeing her with him. Apparently, you never get the good end of the deal with Franky, he always comes out on top. So he’s using my sister for sex or she’s already tied up in something, which is really not good.
Colt told me about him, but his description didn’t do him justice. Franky is not an appealing man. He fits the image of drug-addicted pimp to a T. Tall and skinny with wild white blonde hair sticking out in every direction and tattoos everywhere. He looks dirty and sleazy, and has the creepiest grin which tells you he’s up to no good.
“Hey, Hawthorne,” his crackly voice calls out as he approaches us with Simone's hand in his. He’s wearing a blue velour tracksuit and pink sunglasses, this is honestly a sight. He looks like a Kandy Kid from last night’s warehouse rave. I wouldn’t doubt that he was actually there. What do these girls see in this guy?
“Hey, Franky,” Colt acknowledges him with a curt nod, eyeing him skeptically.
This is the asshole who had Bruce attack me. Even though Colt told me that he put him in his place and warned him to stay away from me, I’m not sure I can trust that he will.
Simone is eyeing me suspiciously and guiltily at the same time. I’m starting to get a gross feeling in the pit of my stomach that maybe she had something to do with Bruce attacking me.
“So you and your girl, keep anything you hear about last night on the down-low, ya know what I’m sayin’?” He pushes his sunglasses up onto his head to reveal his red-rimmed eyes and even redder eyeballs. He pulls his hand from his pocket, and in his palm is a wad of cash. “I’m sorry about the damage to your house and car. This should pay for it.”
Colt silently nods and shakes his hand, exchanging the cash.
The buy-off to stay quiet.
