Then & Now [OMB || Cesar Diaz]

now - 11

"Can I️ at least have some water?" Layla complained. "It's been 24 hours, if I️ go any longer I'll die!"

"Shut up!" Cuete shouts. "Tino! Get this bitch some water so she can leave us alone," he orders. "Your boyfriend is taking longer than I️ thought," he comments.

The possibility of Cesar not giving a damn what happens to her has crossed her mind, but she's having a hard time believing even he could be that cruel. "He's not my boyfriend. Even then, my dad will send cops to search for me," she boasts.

Her mouthing off just earned her a good pistol whipping, one that made me yelp in pain and cover her mouth as it bled freely. "If you're gonna open your mouth it better be to put my dick in it," he says crudely, "otherwise, shut the fuck up."

After that, Layla decided not to risk her life by talking anymore.

A couple hours later there were sounds of cars pulling up in front of the house and a couple of the guys and Cuete went outside to see who it was. "Where's Layla?" She hears Cesar's voice ask.

"I️ wanna see the money first," Cuete demands.

After verifying that the cash was there, Cuete nods to his dude and drags Layla outside, who looked frightened, hungry and tired. "Here she is," Cuete announced, grasping her face in his hands, making her wince as he dares presses a mocking kiss on her cheek just to piss Cesar off even more.

"You got your money, now let her go," Cesar demanded, itching to reach for his piece and shoot his hand off.

"Mmm, I️ don't know about that homie," Cuete mused. "I️ heard about her. The Santos slut turned Prophet Princess," he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close, making her cringe. "I️ wanna see what makes her so special."

"We had a deal!" Cesar roars, stepping up to him. Cuete points his gun at Layla's head, "Step any closer pendejo and she's getting a one way ticket to heaven," he threatened.

Cesar falls back, keeping his eyes in a scared Layla. Just then, a couple of green cars pull up to the scene, Latrelle getting out of one of them, pointing a gun at Cuete as well. "Prophets?!" Cuete growls.

"That's right puto, we're back. Now let my girl go," Latrelle demands as he now stands next to Cesar. "His bitch ass might be scared to pull the trigger but guess what? I'm not. And if you want a chance to get right with the Prophets, I️ suggest you back the fuck up from her, now," he says.

Cesar now also points his gun at him. "You're outnumbered," he says. All around them was Santos and Prophets together and they could easily take out 19th Street as soon as those two said the words.

Cuete looks between the two of them before angrily shoving Layla forward, making her yelp as she catches herself. "This bitch isn't worth dying over," he mutters.

"The money," Cesar speaks up after helping Layla up and shoving her behind him. "Give it back."

Cuete looks back at Cesar in rage. He looked like he wanted to say something else but instead, tosses the duffle full of money back at his feet. Cesar slides the money behind him with his foot while still pointing the gun at him. "Layla, grab it and run," he orders.

"What-"

"Do it!" He yells.

It all happened so quickly. As soon as she picked up the bag and turned around to run, gunshots started ringing in the air, making her scream as she ducked behind one of the Santos' parked cars for safety.

Gunshots continually rang as she clutched the bag and cried out of fear. After two minutes of continues pops, it eventually died down and stopped. She dropped the bag and slid it under the car for safekeeping while she pooped her head over the hood to see just how much damage has been done.

The scene was gruesome. Most 19th Street members were lying on the grass, bleeding out and not moving. Only like three Prophets were down and most of the Santos were alright. Cesar was right, they were outnumbered.

"Layla!" Cesar calls out as soon as they see each other.

They smile at each other once they realize they're both alright and she makes her way towards him when she suddenly frowns and screams, "Cesar look out!"

A half dead 19th Street member gathered up the last of his strength to lift up his gun and pull the trigger, aiming right for Cesar Diaz.

Just as they were going to go for an embrace, Cesar falls and topples over forward, bringing Layla down with him as his blood splatters against her clothes. She screams in despair as she holds him in her arms. "No! Cesar!" She cries. "Help! Someone call 911! Please!" She calls out.

"If we do that, we're all going right back to jail!" Latrelle shouts back.

"I️ don't care! Just fucking do it!" She yells. She then turns her attention back to Cesar who was rapidly losing blood and consciousness. "Please don't leave me. Please," She pleads as she cradled his body in her lap. "Help is coming, okay? Just don't go to sleep. Don't close your eyes-"

"I'm...sorry," Cesar trails off, his eyes rolling to the back off his head as his vision starts spotting, his breathing get shallow and everything sounds so far away.

"Help is coming....but we gotta go..."

"I️ won't....leave...him....!
Her screams becoming distant and fading. His face being the last thing he sees.

Cesar always knew he'd go out that way. And although he wished she didn't see him like that, he was glad her face was the last thing he saw in that life.