Streetlife

11 - Friends Help Each Other

FRANK POV

"Your place is so awesome, Frank! It really is!" Callie says as we walk into my one room apartment and she sets her guitar down.

Seemed she carried that little thing everywhere and it was cute. It was and I couldn't for the life of me understand why in the hell she was hooking for a living.

She appeared not only bright, well book smart bright not common sense wise, but also too optimistic for this lifestyle. Far too optimistic.

"Aww thanks, honey. But as you can see it needs so much cleaning and work. It's not anything my lil sis is used to. Not that my parents are rich or anything it's just a long way away from how we grew up."

"Well, that's okay. Maybe she will love it simply for the fact that it's in New York City. I always found Alphabet City to be super charming!" I turn to look at her and laugh as she so innocently smiles back at me for she was different.

She really was considering Alphabet City was complete trash and full of crime. "I love these old places. They really are full of charm and old stories. Like imagine the people that lived here before! You know the people that came in from Ellis Island searching for a better life? I wonder if I'll feel like that when I go to Cali? You think? I mean is that how you felt coming here from Boston?"

"Maybe, sweet girl. But tell me, did you really get into NYU on a full ride?" I ask as she grabs a broom and starts to sweep the dirty floor that I had littered with paper plates, pizza boxes and cans of beer in one of my many high dazes.

"I did, yeah. But it just wasn't my calling. Ya know?"

I frown as I strip my sheets off my mattress so I can wash them. "Well, then why did you apply? Seems to me you must have some kind of dream besides Cali, because that sounds better then hooking and getting beat up by Olive."

"Nope. I applied there to please my mother, but what I really wanted was USC or any of the other colleges out there, but didn't get in. I mean, their loss, but I knew that I'd be really uphappy with myself if I just went to NYU. It would be doing once more something else my mom wanted and not what I really want."

She rattles on and on as I see my one room place starting to spruce up as I pull an old brown bucket out from under my tiny kitchen sink and some Spic and Span and head to get some water from the shared bathroom. I pray to the gods that this time my hot plate doesn't go out and that it gets hot enough so that I can boil some water.

By now my head is spinning even more as my stomach turns and I look around to make sure no one is around before pulling out some blow and quickly snorting it off my fist. Hell, half the people smoked dope in this building and mostly in the halls, and bathroom stalls but I didn't like to expose myself like that. I guess not anyway.

Feeling the coke hit me a bit I know I need to somehow figure out how to help Callie. She didn't deserve this life, at all but that was my issue. I was always trying to help everyone around me and not myself which is why I had damn near panic attack at our little party.

Heck, when would I start to value my own life? Had I ever? Considering, I shove shit up my nose every chance I get. I had to quit and I would today. Today would be my last hit, as least I would hope as I shrug to myself and slosh some water over the side of the bucket as I bring it back to my flat, almost running into Callie in the hallway.

"Ohhhhh, sorry!" She giggles as she has a giant trash bag. "I'll find the dumpster then I'll come and help you scrub, Frankie! You'll love your place yet!"

"Oh honey, I got it!" I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand as sweat pours down it and I can hear her laughing down the hallway.

"I'm still helping you!!!!!" She calls out as I sigh and lean against one wall in my flat and look around. Tears sting my eyes. I can only hope my sister isn't angry with me for living here, and for the life I was living. But I never planned on telling her. Ever.