Grape Vine Crew

by Erin Trejo

  “Who the fuck are they?” I ask looking at the one lying motionless while the others run.

  “Sure as fuck not Consuelo’s. Looks more like Brick’s crew.”

  “Fuck!” I roar loudly as I pull at my hair. Blood oozes down my side but all I can think about is how fucked this is.

  “What should we do with that one?” Brody asks nodding toward the asshole that stabbed me. His face is mangled, hardly recognizable.

  “Leave his ass. He can run back and tell them not to fuck with us,” I snap as I reach over and grab my side. Pulling my hand away, I see the amount of blood that coats my hand.

  “You okay?” Fox asks moving toward me. I raise my hand to keep him back but he ignores me anyway. Brushing my hand away from him, he bends and looks down at my side. Lifting my shirt, he hisses.

  “Fuck, bro. That’s deep.” I step back and shake my head.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Don’t look fine.” It’s Cato’s turn. I look up as he wipes at his own blood clinging to his lip.

  “You look worse,” I snarl. Turning on my heel, I move toward the car. Climbing in the passenger seat, I lean back and wait on the others. Fox climbs in the driver seat as the other two get in back. Fox takes off, speeding through the streets as I pull my phone out. I dial Shadow and wait for him to answer.

  “Yeah?”

  “Had some shit happen.”

  “What’s up, Ace?”

  “We got jumped while we were out there. It wasn’t Consuelo’s crew, Shadow.” I hear him curse under his breath.

  “Who you think it was?” I sigh and adjust myself in the seat.

  “I don’t know, man. Could have been Brick’s crew but I didn’t recognize any of them,” I tell him. The lights fly by outside the car window as thoughts race through my mind.

  “Everybody good?” He asks.

  “Yeah. Got stuck but I’m good.”

  “Get home. Let me make some calls.” The line goes dead before I toss the phone onto the dashboard.

  “He pissed?” Fox asks. I give him a look and nod my head but don’t speak another word. The house comes into view but when Fox tries to drive past, I lose my shit.

  “Where the fuck you going?”

  “You need a tetanus shot or some shit!”

  “Fuck you! Drop my ass back at home!”

  “Shut up. We’re just going to get some supplies, cry baby. We used them all last time,” Fox laughs.

  Chapter 8

  Layla

  I sit on the back steps, a lit joint hanging from my lips. The night air is cool. I close my eyes and relax when a hand wraps up in the back of my hair and yanks. My neck bends at an awkward angle, pain shooting through my body.

  “How’s it going my little pet?” Vomit rises in my throat. He reaches over, pulls the joint from my lips before releasing me. I try to stand but the clicking of the gun behind me causes me to stop.

  “What do you want?” I hiss the words before I slowly stand and turn to face him. Him. The man that has ruined my life. The man that has taken more than I could ever have given.

  “How’s the job?” My stomach clenches.

  “Where is she?” I ask as my hands slowly begin to tremble.

  “Where she belongs. Now answer me. If you ever want to lay eyes on her again, you better give me good news!” He roars. I suck in air as I try to keep myself calm.

  “I’m trying, Rico.”

  “You’re trying, huh?” he says shoving himself off the step and moving toward me.

  “They aren’t that easy to get in with, Rico. I’m doing the best I can,” I say stumbling over my own words. I hate him. I hate what he’s made me into. I try to be brave. I’m strong, I know I am but not when he’s in front of me. I’m weak when I’m up against him. He smirks as he comes toward me. I try to control the tremble that has now started to move from my hands to my arms.

  “You’re easy though aren’t you, Layla? Spread those little legs of yours for them. Give them what they surely want,” he says with that hideous smirk on his face. I still remember it. The first time he came into my room. The smell of his cologne.

  “It’s not…they aren’t like that.”

  “They are like that! You better get me what I want, Layla or bye bye baby.” He flicks the joint at my chest and walks away as tears fill my eyes. I don’t think twice. I turn on my heel and run. I run through the backyard until I get into the alley. All the way down until I get to Clar’s house. Knocking on her window a little harder than I need to, she pulls the curtain back as tears fall down my cheeks.

  “Layla? What’s wrong?” She asks as she ushers me in. I grab the windowsill and leap in just to fall into her arms.

  “It’s so hard to be strong, Clar.” Sobs catch in my throat as she holds me to her chest.

  “What happened?” I shake my head as I pull back. I can’t tell her. I can’t tell anyone. It breaks my heart but I can’t. I’m a traitor. I shouldn’t even be here but I have nowhere else to go. I open my mouth about to tell her a lie when the door flies open.

  “Clarissa! We need your help!” Cato’s voice booms through the room as they drag a stumbling drunk Acen in.

  “What the hell did you do to him?” She cries. She doesn’t let go of me and that makes my heart hurt worse. She looks to me and I nod so she knows it’s okay to let go.

  “I didn’t do shit. He got stabbed,” Fox says dropping a bag onto the bed. My eyes shoot to Ace when I see the blood coating his shirt. Dragging my gaze to Cato, then Brody, he just shrugs.

  “Stabbed? What the hell?” Clarissa moves quickly toward her brother but Acen just waves her off.

  “I’m fine. Gimme that pillow,” Ace slurs pointing to my pillow. I watch Clar as she grabs it and lays it on the bed. Ace drops onto his back, blood seeping onto the sheet beneath him.

  “What am I supposed to do?” Clar asks looking to the guys. They all shrug. When I move, they all look shocked. Lifting his shirt, I see the wound.

  “What did you get?” I ask nodding toward the bag. Cato moves to dump it on the bed next to us. I look it over and roll my eyes. “A sewing kit?” I ask glaring at them.

  “What?” Fox asks.

  “Clar, get me a wet rag please so I can clean this up,” I tell her. She stands and rushes out of the room as I tear open the bandages.

  “You going to fix me, Lala?” Acen’s drunken voice pulls my attention. I look down at his face, the soft lines around his eyes. I don’t know what to say so I don’t speak. “You can’t fix me,” he whispers.

  “Here,” Clar hands me the towel. I pull my gaze from Ace’s and begin to clean the blood. It’s pretty deep but there’s no way that I can stitch it. Not with this shit they brought me.

  “Hold this closed like this,” I tell Fox. He reaches down, holding the wound as Acen hisses between his teeth. I grab the butterfly strips and begin to close it up. The guys watch in silence until I’m finished and stand from the bed.

  “You fixed him,” Brody says looking over at me.

  “I need to go,” I say softly but Clar grabs my arm.

  “No. Fox, take him to his room.” Nodding at her brother, the guys move in and pull him up off the bed. He slurs something under his breath as they lead him out of the room. Clar strips the sheets and tosses them in a basket before grabbing new ones.

  “Thanks for that,” she says looking over her shoulder.

  “It’s fine. I should go.”

  “No, you can stay. I’m sorry they just barged in. Do you want to talk about it?” My chest tightens but I shake my head no. Clar nods and passes me the blanket I always use when I come over. Staying at home makes me jittery these days. Now it’s a hundred times worse since I know Rico is around. She tosses my pillow at me and as I lay on the floor, curled into a ball, I can smell his scent. God I’m so fucked up.

  Chapter 9

  Acen

  My body aches as I roll over. My head pounds from the hangover. School starts in an hour and I have no fuck
ing desire to go but I don’t really have a choice either. Shoving off the bed, I stroll out into the hall and down to Clarissa’s room. I shove her door open and stop in my tracks. Curled on the floor is Layla. My heart skips a beat as I watch her sleep. Even with her eyes closed, she’s restless.

  “Stop staring at her,” Clarissa whispers stepping up next to me.

  “How long’s she been doing this?” I ask looking over at her. She shrugs.

  “A while. It’s not every night. Just the bad ones.”

  “What do you mean the bad ones?” She motions for me to follow her which I reluctantly do. When we’re far enough from her door that we won’t wake Layla, she sighs.

  “The bad nights. I can always tell when she’s having one. She comes over and she looks so heartbroken. She cries, Acen.” I can’t see her crying. Not the hardened girl that I’ve come to know.

  “What’s she say?”

  “That’s the thing. She never says anything. Just lays there and cries until she falls asleep. I’m a little surprised she’s still here. She’s usually gone by the time I get up. How’s your side?” She asks looking down.

  “It’ll be fine. Why is she on the floor?”

  “She won’t sleep on the bed. I’ve tried,” she says with a shrug and heads to the kitchen. I go back to the doorway, watching her. She stirs and slowly rolls over. Lifting her head, she doesn’t see me right away. She yawns loudly before turning toward me. Her eyes widen.

  “Morning,” I say softly.

  “I’m just…I was…” I shake my head.

  “Don’t worry about it. I wanted to say thank you for what you did.”

  “It was nothing. I need to go,” she says quickly. I watch her climb up, fold the blanket and set the pillow with it on Clarissa’s bed. She walks toward me, trying to walk past me but I don’t let her. I put my arm out to stop her, feeling her body pressed against my palm has my cock hardening my pants.

  “You need to be careful, Lala. Someone might think you care.” She huffs out a laugh.

  “That’s the farthest thing from the truth. I just didn’t want you bleeding to death on your sister’s bed.” Lowering my hand, I let her walk away for now. She doesn’t make it far when Clarissa gets to her. I can hear her out there talking in the kitchen. I debate a shower, but I don’t want to fuck up the handy work she did on my side last night. I opt to wash up the best I can before I head into the kitchen. Clarissa has breakfast on the table, forcing Layla to eat.

  “She isn’t hungry,” I finally snap when I can’t take anymore. I love my sister but she can be pushy.

  “She is hungry. Maybe the sight of you makes her stomach roll,” Clarissa laughs. I smirk and shake my head before glaring at Layla.

  “Is that it? I make you sick to your stomach?” Her eyes lift to mine and the fight I always see in her hardens. She starts to open her mouth when the front door flies open. The guys stroll in, taking their places at the table.

  “You look like shit,” Cato tells me.

  “Thanks,” I respond with a mouthful of bacon. The guys all eat but Layla just picks. She shoves back and climbs from the table, placing her plate in the sink.

  “Thanks, Clar. I need to go get dressed.”

  “You can borrow something of mine if you don’t want to go home,” Clarissa offers.

  “Why wouldn’t she want to go home?” Fox asks looking between us. Why indeed. I’m curious to hear the answer to this one too. As I drink my juice, I glance over at her.

  “Fuck if I know.”

  “No one said I didn’t want to go,” Layla snaps. She’s cute as fuck when she’s stubborn.

  “Then by all means,” I say gesturing toward the door. The guys chuckle, Clarissa huffs and Layla bolts for the door. Brody moves from the table to follow behind her, no one seems to notice but me. Layla tries to slam the door in his face but he stops it and follows her outside. I wonder what the hell he’s up to.

  “You sure you should go to school today?” Dragging my gaze to meet Cato’s I nod.

  “Can’t miss. Probation will be up my ass. I don’t need that shit too. Did you talk to Shadow?” He nods his head.

  “He isn’t very happy that you got shanked but he doesn’t think it was Brick’s crew. He’s got guys on it,” he adds. I nod my head and finish my food before shoving out of the chair. I press a kiss to Clarissa’s cheek when my mom stumbles out of her room.

  “Hey boys!”

  “Hey, Miss Kendal,” Fox chirps happily. Asshole.

  “You get more and more handsome, Fox,” she purrs. I reach into my pocket and pull out the baggy for her. Her eyes find it immediately, her tongue darts out to lick her lips. I toss it her way and she’s back in her room before anyone can blink an eye.

  “Fucking junkie.”

  “You make her that way,” Clarissa snaps.

  “Are we doing this again?” I roar. Cato watches us wearily not knowing what to say. Fox just smirks.

  “I’m sick of it, Acen!”

  “You think I’m not?” I ask getting a little pissed at the way she’s talking to me.

  “You don’t seem to be!”

  “I’m doing the best I can, Clarissa!” Something subtle crosses her features when her shoulders slowly relax.

  “I know you are. I’m sorry,” she whispers.

  “Don’t. Don’t do that. You’re not the only one that hates it, Clarissa. I wish it were different.” And I do. I wish my dad wasn’t a prick bastard that went to prison. I wish my mom wasn’t a fucking junkie. Some days I wish I was never even born into this world of hell.

  Chapter 10

  Layla

  “He’s been hanging around you more than usual,” Clarissa says as we walk out of the lunchroom. It’s been a month since the incident in Clarissa’s room. A month since I’ve seen Rico. Not a day goes by that I don’t look over my fucking shoulder knowing that he’s out there somewhere.

  “And?”

  “And they never travel outside their pack,” she adds with a smirk.

  “That means what exactly?” I ask raising an eyebrow. She’s right though. I’ve seen the guys, seen them in action. They travel and act as one. But that day Brody walked me home, his concern seemed genuine even though I told him I was fine. He’s been coming around ever since and I find that I enjoy him being there.

  “He likes you,” she blurts out.

  “He doesn’t. He is just getting bored with not being able to play with the new toy,” I remind her.

  “You’re delusional,” she says with a laugh just as an arm flies around my shoulders. I look up at who the arm belongs to and smile.

  “What are you two talking about?” Brody asks keeping his signature smile in place.

  “How you like my girl but you can’t have her,” Clarissa chimes in. I almost laugh but the look on Brody’s face says not to. Does he like me?

  “Is that such a bad thing?” He asks looking concerned. I don’t have an answer for him and when I don’t answer he looks to Clar. She just shrugs as we all head outside. No one says much as we head toward the cars. Clarissa grabs me and pulls me into a hug before I head toward the sidewalk.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Brody asks grabbing my wrist and dragging me back toward him.

  “Uh, home?”

  “Are you?” He asks leaning into my space. His breath smells of mint and weed. I know he’s been smoking in the bathroom, not that anyone would say anything to him.

  “Yeah. I have stuff to do.” Like finding a way to kill Rico. Or any of the other bastards that have touched me.

  “You could do me,” he adds with a charming smile. I laugh, press my hand on his chest and lean into him.

  “I’m sure half the female population has done you at some point.” He laughs and steps back when I see Ace. His eyes are dark as he assesses us. His eyes move between me and Brody swallowing so hard I can see it.

  “The fuck is this?” His deep voice vibrates around us like a clap of thunder. Som
ething deep inside of me shivers.

  “Just seeing what Lala is up to. Figured I’d invite her to the party tomorrow,” Brody adds.

  “She isn’t coming.”

  “I just invited her.”

  “And I said no!” Ace roars. Brody chuckles.

  “She doesn’t care who is hanging off your cock, bro.” Acen’s eyes darken even more as he looks between us.

  “You want to come hang out with us, Lala? Want to get all personal and up in our business?” Acen moves closer to me, stepping in between me and Brody. Brody just chuckles but I can feel the heat radiating off him. His eyes bore into me, digging deep into my soul. I want to crack in half. I can’t handle the look in his eyes.

  “I don’t give a shit about your business,” I remind him. What a fucking lie. I should jump at the opportunity to get in the middle of them but I don’t. Just because Rico promises something doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen. He wants information. Information on the inner workings of the Grape Vine Crew. Information that I can attain if I just get into their good graces. The problem is, I don’t want to. I don’t want to know them and I sure as hell don’t want to be involved in their shit.

  But I have no other choice. If I don’t want a death on my hands, my conscience, my heart. I have to do it. Acen smirks before lifting his hand, grabbing my chin roughly between his fingers.

  “I think you like being in our business. In fact, I think you like the idea of being there with Brody.” Each word is said with hate. Hate that I will deserve in the end. My cell pings in my pocket when Ace releases his hold on me. I pull out my phone and look at the picture. All the blood drains from my face. My stomach cramps and my eyes begin to blur. I can feel my chest rise and fall almost painfully.

  “Lala?” Brody says but I ignore him. He steps closer, his presence overwhelming me. I fight for air as the picture in my hand blurs further. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t have done that! I feel numb. So fucking numb.

  “Layla?” Clarissa’s voice tries to break through the haze but there’s no use. Everything is wrong. Everything is ruined. How could I have been so stupid? I should have done it. I should have ruined them when I had the chance. “Layla?” Her voice again. I shake my head slowly as I slip my phone back into my pocket. When I drag my gaze up, they are all there. Worry is etched in Clarissa’s gaze. Brody looks ready for a fight if I say the words. Fox and Cato watch me intently but it’s his stare. His dark fucking stare that pisses me off. Anger courses through my veins. Red hot hatred rushes my system as I lunge for him. Screams tear from my throat as I swing.