No Such Thing as a Free Ride

by Shelly Fredman

  “This is me and Star at the arcade on Market Street.,” she whispered, handing the pictures to Nick. “They were taken a couple of months ago.”

  Nick held them carefully, giving Crystal a silent nod of understanding. They were more than just pictures. They were her lifeline.

  He stood and walked over to a small copier and placed the picture on the glass. When he was finished, he gave Crystal back the original. Taking the copy, he carefully tore it in half and handed her the part of the photo with her image on it, keeping only the picture of Star. The gesture spoke volumes. He respected her privacy and was doing his best to preserve what little she had.

  “You know, Crystal, there’s a chance your friend may not want to be found. If that’s the case, she won’t be.”

  Crystal nodded, the possibility obviously having crossed her mind as well.

  “We’ll take it one step at a time. In the mean time learning self defense was a good idea. I can help with that if you want.”

  “I can’t pay you,” she said, regaining a bit of her edge.

  “It’s on the house.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  “No catch. No strings. Just trying to help out one of my own.”

  My mind had been wandering a bit, thinking about those Doritos the dog ate and wondering what I was going to make for dinner. But at Nick’s words I tuned back in. “Just trying to help out one of my own”… What the heck does he mean by that?

  *****

  Returning Nick’s truck left Crystal and me without wheels, so Nick offered to drive us back to my place.

  “Could you drop me off at Poplar and Taney?” Crystal asked.

  At the mention of the street corner I did one of those cartoon “double takes” where the guy’s head swivels around and his eyes almost pop out of his head. Poplar and Taney is one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. Even the vilest criminal offenders won’t travel there alone after dark. I opened my mouth to protest, but Nick cut me a subtle warning look and climbed into the truck.

  I got in on the other side and Crystal scrambled in next to me, forcing me to scoot in closer to Nick. My leg brushed up against his, and I felt an immediate surge of warmth spread throughout my belly to the region down below. Oh boy!

  Nick gave my knee a light squeeze. “Everything alright, darlin’?”

  “Great!” I squeaked.

  The ride to drop Crystal off was quiet. Nick had the windows up and the air on, drowning out the street sounds of a hostile neighborhood. He seemed preoccupied. Crystal sat slumped against the door, eyes closed, her head nodding slightly forward. I stole a glimpse of her as she dozed off. The bruises on her cheeks and neck had taken on a purplish hue, but at least the swelling had subsided. If anyone had ever dared raise a hand to me, my mom would have ripped his head off. Didn’t Crystal— hell, didn’t all kids deserve that kind of love and attention?

  A lump formed in my throat which I quickly squashed down with a handful of Hershey kisses I keep in my bag for emergency situations. Chocolate is a major stress reliever. It’s rich in antioxidants, plus it’s friggin’ delicious!

  Crystal woke up when Nick cut the engine in front of an ancient gray brick building. She seemed embarrassed to have fallen asleep.

  “Um, thanks for the ride,” she mumbled, opening the car door.

  Outside it smelled like a frat house after a toga party. The air reeked of stale beer, month old garbage and fresh vomit.

  “Are you sure this is where you want to be dropped off?” I asked. “I mean there doesn’t seem to be all that much going on here. Maybe—”

  I felt Nick’s hand on my leg again. If he meant to render me speechless, mission accomplished.

  “Crystal, come by the studio tomorrow at around three,” he cut in. “We’ll get you started on some basic training techniques.”

  Crystal nodded, grabbed her backpack off the seat and hopped out of the truck. I watched as she rounded the corner of the building. As I glanced down at where she’d been sitting I noticed a small, stuffed bear that had fallen out of a rip on the side of her backpack.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, climbing out of the truck.

  I turned the corner and walked down a narrow alley lined with abandoned tenement housing. The alley dead ended at the back wall of an old brick building. I found Crystal seated cross legged on the cement behind a dumpster, inspecting the hole in her backpack. She stood when she saw me, wiping her hands on her jeans. She looked like she’d been crying but I knew better than to mention it.

  “You dropped this,” I said, showing her the stuffed bear.

  “That’s not mine,” she replied in the belligerent tone I’d come to know and love. “But I guess I could hold onto it for a while.” She grabbed it from my outstretched hand and stuffed it into her back pack.

  “Well, I’ll see ya,” I told her, having run out of excuses to stick around.

  “Yeah. See ya—oh fucking shit!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  I turned in the direction of where Crystal was staring. A tall, chunky girl in her early 20’s had appeared out of nowhere and was now heading our way. She was about 5’ 8” with wiry, copper colored hair and arms covered in tattoos. She wore a dirty, gray tank top, shorts and army boots, and had a bow-legged swagger that made her look like Popeye’s twin sister.

  “That’s the girl I told you about. Her name’s Bunny. She’s the one who’s been after me. Listen, you should go.”

  “Bunny? Seriously? Boy, is that ever a misnomer.”

  Crystal heaved a frustrated sigh and explained. “As in ‘fucks like one.’ Really, just get the hell out of here before there’s trouble.”

  The last thing I wanted was to make Crystal’s life harder, so I turned and began walking down the alley, sneaking quick peeks over my shoulder as I moved along.

  Crystal didn’t wait for Bunny to approach her. She walked over to the older girl with an air of casual confidence I’d bet money she didn’t feel. Bunny eyed her, carefully.

  “So Crystal, who’s the bitch?” Well, that was uncalled for!

  I slowed my pace so I could catch Crystal’s response, but she was speaking so softly it was impossible. So I retraced my steps a bit and leaned against the wall pretending to tie my shoe. I still couldn’t hear anything and when I looked up again, Crystal had disappeared. Street kids seemed to be especially adept at flying under the radar.

  Bunny stood at a distance, arms akimbo, glaring at me. She was so mad I could actually feel the heat from her rage wafting toward me. What the hell did Crystal say to her?

  Before I could ponder that question, Bunny caught up to me and sandwiched me between her and the wall. She got up so close I could feel her hot breath on my face. It smelled like kosher pickles and I wondered if there might be a deli nearby. Oh crap, Brandy, focus!

  “Have we met?”

  Apparently, Bunny didn’t have an ear for whimsy. I tried to duck out of her grasp, and she grabbed me by the hair, twisting it in her fist.

  “Ow. Let go.” I tugged at her hands, but Popeye’s sister must’ve been eating her spinach, because she held on with an iron grip.

  “Stay the fuck off from my corner and the fuck away from Crystal. You get up in my fucking face again and I’ll fucking cut you.”

  “Wow. Four fucks in one breath. You should really mix it up a little.”

  Okay, I should’ve figured Bunny wouldn’t be up for a grammar lesson, but it just slipped out.

  She raised a meaty hand, all set to rearrange my face, so I jammed an elbow into hers and ran like hell. The one flaw in my plan was that I’d forgotten to retie my shoe. I got about three feet before I tripped over my shoelace and stumbled head first onto the filthy sidewalk. The palms of my hands stung like crazy, but my chin took the brunt of the fall. Dripping blood, I scrambled to my knees just as Bunny tackled me from behind, sending us both sprawling.

  “Are you nuts?” I yelled.

  In a split second that felt like an
eternity, she set her eyes on me, and I could feel her mood shift from territorial to psychotic. Her pale, blue eyes never wavering, she reached into her back pocket and drew out a straight-edged razor.

  Oh god, oh god, oh god. What do I do now? I didn’t wait for an answer. I launched myself off the ground and took off running down the alley.

  With Bunny blocking my exit I was forced to head toward the dead end. Down near the end of the alley there was a gap between two of the buildings. I tried to squeeze through but it was too narrow. Wedged between the structures, I spied a dilapidated wooden door that led to the entrance to one of the abandoned apartment houses.

  I wriggled out and checked the knob. It was rusted shut so I threw my weight into the door frame. It budged, but just barely. I kicked the bottom panel and the old wood splintered, giving me enough room to crawl through the door.

  I waited a beat while my eyes adjusted to the dingy surroundings. There were holes in the ceiling where old plaster had broken away, letting in thin streams of light. Mildew clung to the walls and permeated the air. It was just a matter of time before Bunny found her way in, but if I could just find the front door, I could escape onto the street.

  After a frantic search, I located the front entrance, but it was nailed shut. The windows looking out onto the street were boarded up as well, leaving me no way out.

  I was about to head back the other way when I heard a loud crash coming from the back door area. I shot up the stairs two at a time and raced down the long hallway, ducking into an open apartment. I opened a closet door and settled in. With any luck, Bunny would get bored looking for me and leave.

  Turns out, Bunny had a longer attention span than I gave her credit for. I could hear her creaking around in the apartment next to me, slamming doors and cursing up a blue streak. My heart was pounding so hard I thought she could hear it through the walls.

  The next thing I knew, the door to the apartment creaked open and the sounds of footsteps grew louder. I stood stock still. Any moment now this razor-wielding nut case would rip open the door and slice me like a ripe melon. I strained to listen for the slightest movement but—nothing.

  After what seemed like forever, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know what was going on. There was a crack in the door about four inches below eye level. Without a sound, I eased my way down to look though the crack. An unblinking blue eye stared back at me.

  Holy shit! I hurled myself against the door with all my might, smashing into Bunny’s forehead. The force knocked her off her feet and sent her crashing to the ground. I flew out of the closet and tripped over her army boots. She was out cold.

  I stood on wobbly feet, trying to catch my breath. At that moment, Nick appeared in the doorway. He glanced down at Bunny’s prone body and then turned an appraising eye on me.

  “Thought you were going to be right back, darlin’.”

  “Yeah, well, I got a little tied up.”

  Nick slung his arm around me, smiling. “I see you handled it. That’s the important thing.”

  Less than a moment before, I’d battled a maniac in a life threatening situation, but now all I could think about was the way my stomach flipped whenever Nick looked at me.

  My chin was caked with blood and I had cobwebs clinging to my boobs. Acute embarrassment took over and I raked a hand though my hair, as if that would make me look presentable.

  “Ready to go?” he asked.

  I filled him in as we walked back to his truck. “I don’t know where Crystal disappeared to, and I’m worried about what’s going to happen to her when Bunny wakes up. Maybe I should find her and take her home with me.”

  “I know you want to protect her, Angel,” he said quietly, “but it doesn’t work that way out on the streets. You need to be available, but let her come to you.”

  Driving around with Nick again seemed the most natural thing in the world. It was almost as if that awkward little scene in his apartment three months prior had never happened, and I was just as happy to pretend that it hadn’t. Denying unpleasant memories is an Alexander family tradition… which explains why there are huge gaps in our family tree.

  Still, the sting of rejection can make even the most secure individual (for which I don’t even remotely qualify) act in regrettable ways. So, when Bobby called me on the way home, I may have led Nick to believe DiCarlo and I were a bit more involved than we actually are.

  “Oh, hi, Bobby,” I breathed in a ‘come hither’ tone. “It’s good to hear from you.”

  “Brandy, I just saw you yesterday. Why are you talking so weird?”

  I made a big show of clearing my throat and asked, “What’s up?”

  “Well, I was calling to see if you were busy on Saturday night, because the Phils are playing the Red Sox and—”

  “Saturday night? Let me think… no, I’m not busy. That sounds wonderful! I’d love to—”

  “Oh, uh, Bran, I was actually calling to ask if you could watch Sophia for me. See, I’ve got a date and Eddie’s mom usually baby sits, only she’s got the flu and—shit. I’m sorry. I just thought since you and I decided to cool it for awhile, that—y’know, I’d—Listen, never mind. I’ll ask somebody else.”

  I sat there feeling like an ass and praying Nick couldn’t hear Bobby’s end of this ridiculously humiliating conversation.

  “No! Hey, Bobby. We are totally on for Saturday night. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely! Ta-ta.” Oh, jeez. Did I really just say “ta-ta”?

  I glanced over at Nick, trying to discern an iota of jealousy. Nuthin’. And now I was stuck babysitting Bobby’s kid. Well, that’s just fabulous.

  Nick pulled up in front of my house and cut the engine.

  “Thanks for the ride, Nick,” I said, looking down at my lap. The adrenalin rush I’d felt when I was fighting for my life had slipped away, and I was left with an indescribable feeling of loss. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the girl in the hospital or Crystal’s fate out on the streets or even the circumstances that drove Bunny to the other side of sanity. But it hit me now like a punch in the face and I swallowed hard to keep from crying.

  “Okay if I stick around a while?” Nick asked. He opened his car door and hopped out, not waiting for an answer. I hopped out too and felt a searing pain in my ankle as I stepped down.

  “Hang on there a second,” he told me, and lifted me up in his arms.

  “Nick, really, this isn’t necessary. I’m fine.”

  “You’re more than fine. Indulge me.”

  I made an involuntary noise, a cross between a sigh and an orgasmic moan and let him carry me up my steps.

  My across the street neighbor, Heather Koslowski was just getting out of her car with Mr. Wiggles. Mr. Wiggles is her dog, but she refers to him as her ‘boyfriend.’ Swear to God. Ignoring the fact that I was being carried “Windswept” style up to my house, she called over to me.

  “Hi Brandy. I haven’t seen you for a while. Want to come over and watch What a Girl Wants, tonight?” Normally I’d take her up on it, seeing as it’s one of my favorite movies, starring perky Amanda Bynes, but I already had what a girl wants, at least for the moment.

  “Um, thanks, Heather. Maybe next week.”

  Nick carried me over the threshold and deposited me on the living room couch. I took a quick look around. I’d left my bra draped over the banister. Great. And over in the corner was a box of old Barbie dolls I’d found in my bedroom closet and thought about donating to Good Will, but then Janine came over and we dressed them up and had a fashion show, and when I remembered how much fun they were I decided to keep them.

  “I’ve got an Ace Bandage in the truck,” Nick told me, heading out the door again. “I’ll be right back.” He glanced over at the box and grinned. “Barbies. Nice.”

  “Those are my brother’s. He’s really into fashion.”

  “Uh huh,” Nick said, and went off to retrieve the bandage.

 
The instant Nick left tears welled up in me and began spilling haphazardly down my cheeks. Oh Christ, where’s this coming from? Okay, so the day’s been a little rough, what with watching a kid die and getting the living crap beat out of me, but things are looking up now. Stop being such a baby.

  I sucked in a deep breath and swiped my eyes with the back of my hand. Nick came in at that moment and sat down next to me on the couch. He was holding a small first aid kit and some bandages.

  “You okay, Angel?”

  “What? Me? Pfft. I’m fine.” That’s the Alexander spirit. I flashed him a big old smile and split my chin open again. “Ow.”

  Nick carefully lifted my chin and inspected the damage. “You could use some stitches.” He opened the kit and extracted an antiseptic wipe and dabbed at the cut, covering it afterward with a butterfly bandage. Then he reached down and pulled my legs up onto his lap. Easing off my shoe he began cuffing my pants.

  Oh shit! How long has it been since I shaved my legs?

  Thank God he stopped at the ankle. Nick slowly rotated my foot. “There’s some swelling, but nothing’s broken,” he decided, only I wasn’t really paying attention. His touch was sending electric currents straight to my crotch.

  Too soon my ankle was wrapped and my legs back on solid ground.

  “You’re going to be feeling those bumps and bruises, if you haven’t started already,” Nick told me. “Where do you keep your aspirin?”

  “In the kitchen, above the microwave, only I really think I could use some chocolate. Studies have shown it helps in the healing process.”

  While Nick was getting the medicinal Hershey’s I put in a call to the hospital. Nurse Morrison was still on duty.

  “It’s Brandy Alexander,” I said, when she got on the line. “Listen, I know you’ve got rules against giving out patient information and I totally respect that. It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about the girl who—” I stopped, choking up.

  “Who died.” Nurse Morrison supplied. “Dr. Sanchez vouched for you. She says you’re one of the good guys. What do you want to know?”