Boston Blood

Ten

Boston, 1990

"One more second, I've nearly got it." Frankie whispered as she could feel the lock on the door opening. She gave the door one last nudge with her shoulder and then they were in. "Nice one, Frankie. I'll get the register. You get the pills." Frankie stumbled her way to the back of the pharmacy and jumped over the counter. Her eyes lit up as she took in the sight before her. Oxy, Valium, Lithium. Everything. She was going to make so much money selling all of this.

She threw as much as she could into her bag and pockets and ran back to meet Kevin and Joe at the front door. "You got them?" Joe hissed as he pocketed the rest of the cash from the register. "Yeah!" Frankie whispered.

"Good, because there's fuck all in the register. We'll take a few bottles each and sell the rest." Joe replied scanning the pharmacy one last time. The sound of sirens filled the small store causing the youths the panic. "Shit, let's go!" Frankie screamed as they three of them sprinted out the door.

A cop car was speeding down the street behind them and gaining on them, fast. "Split up!" Kevin screamed as he darted to the left, down a lane way. Frankie stayed with Joe. He had the money. She struggled to keep up with him as they tried to get back to the house. Another car was approaching them and Frankie should have been terrified but she felt an odd sense of excitement. She felt alive.

"Frankie, in here!" Kevin shouted and the pair took a shortcut through the park. The sirens grew fainter as they sprinted as fast as they could. Joe grabbed Frankie by the shoulders and pulled her down behind a tree. They waited for a few minutes, listening and trying to catch their breath.

"I think we lost them." Joe smiled as Frankie as he examined their haul. "Not bad for a night's work. Come on, we're nearly home."

Frankie threw the bag filled with pill bottles and needles onto the coffee table. Joe lit the candles and started a fire in the trash can by the window. "How much did we get? Maybe we can afford electricity this month?" Frankie asked, grabbing two warm bottles of beer from the fridge and handing one to Joe.

"Nah, there's only a couple of hundred bucks. What about you? Did you get much?" Frankie flashed a wicked grin as she emptied her bag onto the mattress which acted as their bed and sofa. "That's my girl." Joe sang as he grabbed Frankie by the face and planted a wet kiss on her lips.

She pulled away and went to the bathroom. She lit the small candle that was by the sink and sat down on the edge of the tub. Her adrenaline was still through the roof and she could feel her entire body shaking. But the feeling of elation she felt a few moments ago had left her. She stood up and stared at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes looked black and her long brown hair needed to be washed. She looked skinny, sick.

She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a bottle. She didn't bother looking at the label before popping two big pills into her mouth and throwing her head under the tap to get some water. There wasn't any. She swallowed the pills dry. As the pills began to take action, Frankie crawled into the bath and stared at the ceiling. The candle's light was dancing against the dirty tiles and she tried to make pictures out of the shadows. She raised her arms and tried to touch them. Then she was crying.

It had been over a year since she arrived in Boston. She had put all her money and effort into getting there that she had no real plan on what to do when she arrived. She had enough to stay in a cheap hotel for the first two weeks. She stupidly thought she could find Michael in that time. She first tried to look up any "O'Neills" in the phone book. There were thousands. She started with businesses under the name, thinking that who ever bought Michael had money and might have had a successful business in the area. Before she knew the two weeks were up and she was no closer to finding him. She had asked anyone and everyone she met if they knew a Michael O'Neill. She met hundreds of them, but none of them were her Michael.