The Space Between- Riff (West Side Story)

Chapter Three: Take Me to Church...

*slight t/w; sexual harassment and allusions to domestic abuse*

The next morning, Aria awoke with a start. She checked the clock, and to her surprise, it was already 9:45.

"Crap," she whispered to herself, jumping up out of the bed. She rushed around her room, digging through her clothes to find something to wear.

'I'm surprised Tony didn't wake me up,' she thought. 'He knows I always go to church.'

"Tony!" She yelled. "Tony if you don't get your butt out of bed this minute I'm taking myself to church and I ain't coming back for a week!"

She listened for his usual response, a scoff or a sarcastic remark, but frowned when she got neither.

"Tony?" She called more tentatively,  heading towards his room. She took a moment to brace herself. What would he look like after last night's fight with the Kings? Was he even still breathing?

She pushed open the door, and felt both relieved and worried when she found the room unoccupied. His clothes were strewn all over the floor, and a half rotted apple sat on the desk, but his bed was untouched. That was the one thing he did every morning, making his bed. She supposed it was one of the last remaining vestiges of their mother's influence. When she was alive, she had always drilled it into their heads.

'Remember, this is the easiest way to start off your day being productive,' she'd instructed them, fluffing pillows and smoothing blankets. 'That way, as soon as you're up, the first task of the day is done! A little motivational moment, every morning."

Aria went to her room to finish getting ready. She glanced at her own bed which was, as usual, unmade. Heaving a sigh, she smoothed down her blankets and threw her pillow on top.

'There, mom,' she thought.

Glancing at the clock again, she strode to the door and stepped outside, locking it behind her. As she hurried down the sidewalk, she kept an eye out for any Jets, but the streets were quiet. 'A little too quiet,' she thought worriedly. She took a deep breath, shaking her head slightly. 'I'm just being silly. Everything's fine, I'm sure Tony just spent the night with Riff and the boys,' she thought. 

She caught sight of the familiar steeple in the distance and quickened her pace. She rushed up the steps of the church, breathing heavily as she burst through the doors. As luck would have it, the joyful strains had faded out the second she reached the door, and all eyes turned to her as she stood in the threshold, wincing slightly as the doors slammed into the wall behind her. She raised her hand in greeting, her face reddening slightly. Slowly, the people began to turn and face the front again, with raised eyebrows and muttered words. She quickly slipped into a seat in the back row. Before long, the preacher was standing at the pulpit, delivering his message.

"Folks, we have a real problem in this city! This gang violence is getting out of hand. Why, just last night, one boy was almost beaten to death!" Aria shifted uncomfortably in her seat as a few eyes turned to glance at her. It was common knowledge that she was Tony's sister, and that he was one of the biggest causes of gang violence around. The preacher continued to speak on the importance of tolerance and brotherly love, but Aria's attention began to drift. Who was the boy who had almost been beaten to death? Could it have been Tony? Her stomach filled with knots and she felt her palms growing damp.

'I have to get out of here and find him,' she thought. She bit her nails, anxiously waiting for the service to be over. As soon as the last song ended, she bolted from her seat and out the doors. She hurried down the street, her eyes darting from face to face. Preoccupied with her search, she barely noticed as her shoulder bumped into someone.