Unwritten Rules

by G. L. Snodgrass

  “What now?” Casey asked as she came up next to me. I guess she’d lost her mad.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, give me a minute while I try and think of something.”

  “Maybe we should call the police. Let them take care of it.”

  I laughed, she was serious. The look she shot me stopped my laugh in its tracks. The mad was back. Okay, not smart Austin. New unwritten rule, Do Not Laugh at Girls when they are being serious.

  “The cops wouldn’t show up and if they did they wouldn’t do anything without a warrant, and if they had one, Jeanie might very well run before they could get to her. No, we’ve got to do this ourselves.”

  She bit her lip and studied me as if getting ready to argue. I think she would have tried except at that exact moment the apartment building door opened and Gold Tooth Jerk stepped outside. He recognized us at the same time we recognized him. It was one of those frozen moments.

  “I here you've been looking for me?” He said, his eyes narrowing into a deep scowl. I knew his type. The street was full of them. This is what the school bullies grew up into. They got their start stealing lunch money and turned into royal assholes. The kind of guys who liked pushing people around, lived for the fear in people’s eyes.

  “Yeah…”

  “Where’s Jeanie,” Casey said as she stepped forward. Her words pushed through clenched teeth. “What have you done to her?”

  I gently placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. My lioness was about ready to tear him apart. The Creep glanced at her, running his eyes up her body like a church pervert.

  “I don’t know honey,” he said with the creepy smile as he came down the steps. “But if you want to take her place that’d be fine with me. Your friend’s pretty good, she learns fast. But I’m sure you would too.”

  My world started to turn red. This guy was going down and going down hard. Pulling Casey behind me I stepped into his personal space. “Listen prick, we want her. Now!” He didn’t like it. I could see the worry flicker back behind his eyes. He didn’t have maneuvering room trapped between the steps and my anger.

  I saw the realization reach his eyes, intimidation wasn’t going to work. Without warning he exploded into me. Pushing to get me away and him some room to operate. I took a step back and knocked into Casey. It was all the opening Creep Face needed, his left flew with a quick jab to my jaw. A dozen stars erupted around me but then disappeared as quickly. I’d been hit more than a school- yard baseball. Some of the best had used my face for punching practice. His jab wouldn’t have registered in the top ten.

  Rolling with the punch I answered with a smile and an uppercut to his gut. His eyes sparked, his experience leaned towards drunk johns and scared girls. This was different, this was a street fight. There was a good chance both of us were going to be visiting an emergency room when this finished up. If we were lucky. If we were lucky it’d be the ER and not the morgue.

  The number one unwritten rule in a street fight is that there are no rules. It’s pure combat. The winner is usually the meanest, maddest mother f*****. And right then that was me. Everything around me had narrowed down to the man standing there in that ridiculous jacket.

  Years of hate boiled over.

  I’d lost any awareness of Casey, lost track of time. Nothing mattered more than destroying him. Years of anger, years of being beaten, being used. All of it came burbling out of me.

  Charging, he tried to ram his head through my chest. Wrapping both arms around my waist he tried to lift me. I brought both fists down on his spine and heard him grunt in pain. In answer, he brought the top of his head into my chin then backed off again. We both stood there trying to catch our breath. Circling. Looking for an opening.

  Fainting to his left he threw another right jab. I was ready this time and blocked the blow with me left arm while I threw one of my own. We continued trading punches, looking for an opening that could end it. I’m sure it was only seconds but it felt like hours.

  He landed a few, I landed more. My knuckles felt like raw hamburger. My head pounded and blood kept dripping into my eye.

  “Austin!” Casey screamed.

  “What?” I asked through cracked lips.

  “The police are coming. I called 911.”

  Creep’s eyes got as big hub caps. Well at least one of them did, the other one was too swollen to grow any. We both looked at each other, this wasn’t finished, not by a long…

  The chirp of a siren brought my head around. Damn that was fast. The black and white patrol car was rushing through the intersection. This is when Mr. Creep made his biggest mistake, he threw another punch that caught me upside the head. It felt liked a sledge hammer cracking an egg. My knees buckled and I might have gone down if Casey hadn’t caught me under the arms. His mistake was in doing it in front of the cops. They had witnessed an assault, more than enough to press charges. I hadn’t planned it but I’d take it.

  Of course, they were going to pull me in as well. I’d be caught in their net. A cold chill drizzled down my spine. “Casey, we have to get out of here.”

  “What? No, they’re here now.”

  “Come on, I can’t go back. Not now.” I said taking her arm and backing up the street.

  “Stop right there,” A cop yelled as he sprang from his car. He was about two feet above average and at least fifty pounds over the force’s guidelines. The command acted like an electric shock to my body. Grabbing Casey’s hand I started running up the street. I’ve got to give it to her, she didn’t hesitate for long. She looked at the police then back at me. I could see the gears grinding. Safety, authority. Right from wrong. All of it processed and calculated. Making up her mind she smiled and nodded.

  She ran with me step for step. I know she was questioning me, but she’d chosen me and would figure it out later.

  Two healthy teenagers could easily outrun an old, out of shape cop. Hell knows I’d done it enough times. They wouldn’t chase me far. Relying on radios and a dozen cars to try and track me down. But there were too many hiding places.

  Once we were around the corner I ducked into a donut shop. The counter clerk looked at us as if we’d stepped off another planet or something. His eyes growing big and jaw dropping. I ignored him and walked right through the back door. I knew it would be unlocked from the inside.

  As we jumped down into the alley I started to second guess my decision to use a donut shop. The clerk was probably on a first name basis with the cops. Chiding myself I returned and jammed a piece of lumber under the door handle. That should keep them bottled up for a moment.

  We started up the alley, being sure to keep dumpsters and trash barrels between us and the alley entrance. A siren warned us and I pulled Casey into an alcove as another patrol car streaked past. I held her there, trapped between me and the brick wall. Her eyes traveled over my face.

  “We need to get you to a doctor.”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Austin, you’re all beat up.” She said with a hitch in her voice. That hitch of concern sent a warm glow to my insides. The pain and aches melted away. At least for a moment. All I could think about was the way her eyes looked at me. As if I was special. As if I was worth something.

  My heart broke at that moment. I knew that I would be searching for that look the rest of my life. “Come on, we have to hurry. This way.” I said breaking the spell.

  It took us an hour to work our way out of their net. Ducking in and out of shops and alleys. Up over a roof above the Salvation Army meeting hall. Down through an abandoned warehouse. I needed to get her back to the bus stop. No way were we waiting until the last bus for the night. She was getting out of here as quickly as possible. I didn’t want her mixed up with the cops, or creepy gold tooth.

  It was over. Get her home to her parents, safe and sound. I’d find Jeanie on my own and get her back to her friend. It didn’t even matter if I got the money or not. Okay, it mattered, but not as much as getting her out of here.

 
; My insides turned over every time I thought about putting Casey on that bus. I remembered what it had felt like to watch here leave yesterday. And she wasn’t coming back. I wouldn’t allow it.

  It took her a little while but she figured out where we were. She shot me a stare that could have killed a snake. “Austin, why are we back here?”

  “You need to catch a bus home, you need to get out of here.”

  She stared at me for a moment as if I was a lost mental patient then laughed in my face. “Funny, nice try, but forget about it. No way am I leaving now.”

  “Casey, you have to. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Do you think some Ivy League University is going to let you in with an arrest record? It’s called Accessory After the Fact. Even if they don’t prosecute, you’ll still have a mug shot. I’m sure your parents would love that. They can send a copy with next year’s Christmas cards.”

  “Austin, you idiot, Are you going to carry me onto the bus and dump me in a seat? I don’t think so. So no way.” Her eyes had that focused narrowed look that I’d come to see as a hidden determination. “Come on,” she said as she pulled me into the park and away from the bus stop.

  Chapter Eight

  Casey

  Didn’t he know me? How could he think I’d leave now? Like I’d bug out on him. Why were boys always doing that? Thinking because I was a girl I couldn’t handle danger. That I’d go squealing off into the distance, running away before the big bad boogey man got me. Still, his protectiveness was sort of sweat, wrong, but sweat. A girl couldn’t stay too mad at him, I mean if he felt all protective that meant he cared, at least a little, right?

  Stepping into the park I pulled him into the trees, away from prying cop eyes. See I was learning or his paranoia was catching. God he was a mess. I gently reached up to turn his head to take a full inventory. His eye wouldn’t swell all the way shut but it was going to be more black than blue. The cut on his forehead had stopped bleeding but his jacket and shirt, if not ruined, were at least close. His knuckles were scraped raw. I wondered how Charlie was feeling.

  My heart began to slow down. I could feel my breath returning to semi-normal. Everything was going to be okay. Austin would heal, we’d gotten away, and we knew where Jeanie was. Wow what a day. Everything around this boy was dramatic energy. I felt so alive, as if I would vibrate right off the planet or something.

  “We need to get you cleaned up, to a doctor’s.” I said as I pushed the hair out of his eyes, being careful to avoid the growing bruise.

  “No doctors,” he said with a little rise in his voice.

  “Okay, no doctors. But you can’t walk around like this. You’ll stand out like a virgin on the cheerleader squad.”

  He paused for a moment then slowly nodded his head as if accepting the inevitable. “Your right,” he said gently taking my hand and rubbing his thumb across the back of my fingers. Electricity surged up my arm. My heart began to race again. Would it ever get back to normal?

  Turning, he led me from the park, holding my hand. It was different somehow, he wasn’t pulling me somewhere. We were going there together. I sensed some hesitancy, some holding back. He didn’t want to do what we were going to do. It made my breath catch and my chest hurt.

  A few blocks from the park he ducked into a gas station parking lot and pulled a key from his front jean pocket. His head shifted from side to side to see if anyone was watching then unlocked the men’s restroom door. Holding it open he gestured me in. I hesitated for a moment. I couldn’t go in there; it was the men’s room. “Where did you get the key,” I asked, trying to stall.

  “I stole it, a couple of months ago,” he said as if mentioning finding a penny in the street. “It’s okay, I think they know but they don’t do anything because I keep the place clean.”

  The small room was clean. Cleaner than a downtown gas station rest room had any right to be. My stomach knotted up as I stepped in. This was so wrong. Yeah like running from the cops and being forty miles from my parents without them knowing was just fine. Priorities Casey, perspective I reminded myself. Squaring my shoulders I ignored the urinal and started grabbing a handful of paper towels.

  “Come here,” I said to his reflection in the mirror. Wetting the towels I reached up and started cleaning his face. Gently wiping the blood away. Blood that was there because of me I realized. Without me in his life Austin would have been perfectly all right thank you very much. Still, my heart caught as I felt his breath on my hair, his eyes glazed over as he tried desperately not to grimace every time I pulled at the cut above his eye. “You should see a doctor,” I said. “You need stiches, at least three or four and probably a tetanus shot.

  “You have a lot of experience dealing with cuts and bruises?” he asked, his good eyebrow rising slightly and his lips turning up in that deadly smirk. I wanted to kiss him to shut him up. I could feel myself starting to fall towards him when I pulled myself back to reality. You’re in a men's room Casey, with a boy you barely know. Sure, he’d saved you, twice.

  You kissed him yesterday. He needs to be the one to start it next time. Otherwise you could be classified as needy. The fact that you need him desperately is beside the point. The important thing is that he doesn’t see it.

  Taking a deep breath I tried to gather myself. “I spent last summer as a candy striper at a nursing home. Fluffing pillows and bringing the patients juice, you know. But one of the nurses used to show me stuff. She said it might come in handy someday. I don’t think she meant in a gas station bathroom though. Do you?”

  Austin laughed then giggled when I tried to wipe the blood that had dripped down into his ear. Austin was ticklish. I found the idea unbelievably endearing. Big, bad Austin was ticklish.

  He frowned and pushed my hand away when he realized I had discovered his deep dark secret. “Okay, that’s enough. I’ll step outside for a moment and let you uh … Where we’re going doesn’t have a bathroom close.”

  What? Where are we going? Why wasn’t there a bathroom? I started to question him then realized that if I complained he’d point out I still had time to catch the last bus home. Back off Casey; do not let him see you’re nervous. Anything he could do I could do. I was starting to build my own list of unwritten rules. Rule number one, don’t give Austin reason to feel all protective and stuff. If I did he’d try and manage me and send me back to my world.

  Austin stepped outside and I did what I needed to do then gave him a few moments inside. As I stood there I looked around. The street lights were coming on. The red and green neon sign over the pizza place was brighter. Several people passed on the sidewalk, their hands in their pocket as they bent their way against the cold wind. No one saw me; no one cared, all of them involved in their own problems, their own lives. It made me feel small somehow. As if I was a very small jelly bean in a giant jar full of jelly beans.

  Austin stepped outside and locked the door behind him then took my hand as we started up the street. He kept looking everywhere at once. I knew now he was worried about the police. But I think he was searching for someone. I wondered who.

  “Can we stop somewhere so I can get some Neo-sporran and band aids for that cut.”

  “I’ve got some at home.”

  At home! Is that where we were going. To his home. My heart jumped and my pulse began to race. Was I going to be spending the night there? What did he mean by home? Did he mean under some bridge somewhere or maybe curled up behind a dumpster. My skin crawled as I thought about rats. Their scurrying around with those long naked tails would be enough to send me into a screaming fit. I knew it. Maybe I could get a hotel room somewhere. But that would take all my money. My insides clenched up, it was important to me that I pay Austin. He’d never accept the money just because he needed it. He had to earn it. I knew how some men could be. My dad was the same way. It would have killed him to accept a helping hand.

  We turned down an alley only a block from the gas station. “There you are,” Austin said to an old
man leaning up against the building. It was the same man from the alley yesterday. The man I’d seen Austin helping. Had it been only yesterday that Steph and I had been on the school bus?

  He smiled a semi-toothless grin when he recognized Austin. His smile dropped a little when he saw me, then dropped a little more when he saw us holding hands.

  “Billy, I’d like you to meet Casey. Casey this is Billy. The one person besides me you can trust.” Billy’s eyes grew a little bigger at Austin’s compliment.

  The man smelled of sour sweat, dirt, and cheap alcohol. He examined me for a moment then held out a grime encrusted hand in greeting and looked me in the eye to see what I was going to do. Without hesitation I dropped Austin’s hand and took Billy’s. He didn’t squeeze too hard like some men do but it was firm enough. Coming to some kind of decision he nodded his head before he turned to Austin. “The cops are looking for you. Now I see why,” he said looking up into his bruised face. “Who were you fighting?”

  “Charlie Dover, White guy with a gold tooth, do you know him.”

  “Charlie? Charlie? Charlie’s a little brown man, kill you in your sleep.” His eyes lost all focus. Just like that Mr. Billy had left us and drifted to a different world, a different time. I’d seen those glazed eyes on patient faces in the nursing home. They weren’t aware of this reality. A fearful frown creased his brow and he took a step back as if a terrible threat in his new world was standing right there before him.

  Austin swallowed hard and gently placed his hand on Billy’s shoulder. The old man flinched for a moment but the eyes where still lost. “Sorry Billy, don’t worry about it. It’s me Austin, you’re okay,” he said over and over calming Billy. “Are you going to the shelter again tonight?”

  I could see how worried Austin had become. He shifted from foot to foot, his brow creased in concern. Billy started to pull himself back. I don’t think he got all the way there but it was enough to nod his head. “Yeah, shelter, sure I’ll go to the shelter, it’ll be safe in the shelter.”