Slowburn

Chapter 74

        Tonight was one of the worst nights of my life. Earlier in the evening Renzo showed up with a chunk of flesh missing from a bullet wound. I had been so scared and worried. I saw so much blood, and I was convinced he wasn't going to be okay without at least passing out from the blood loss. 

I wanted him to stay with me because I didn't want him out in the streets putting himself at further risk or killing anyone. I spent hours with a pit in my gut, and then Dante called and I said yes to cookies. Dang cookies! 

That's the scariest experience of my life. I thought it would be the night the guys robbed the place and they held a gun to my head, but that somehow felt more controlled than this. 

        When I saw that car going over 60 miles per hour coming straight at me I thought I was going to be hit. When I saw Dante's fear when he screamed for me I just let my body's instincts take over and I jumped away and tumbled back. Then I saw the guns. 

That was terrifying because I knew they actually intended on shooting us. I heard Dante screaming for me to run, so I did, but I was so afraid they'd kill him. I pictured him gunned down on the street and I would be running away, leaving him there.

That is how Dante's brother died. He was shot and killed in something like this. They never told me the details, but I imagine it went something like how tonight went. I ran behind the dumpster and it reeked, but all I could do was focus on my heart beat and the sound of a car coming. 

        I had no phone to call Dante or anybody for that matter, so I just hid for lord knows how long because I was afraid. I was so afraid of so many things. Of standing up and walking out from behind the dumpster only to face the barrel of a gun and be shot to death by the waiting men. 

I was afraid if I didn't get shot that I would run back to where I last saw Dante's car and I would see him hanging out of it dead and bloody. I was so afraid that I ended up frozen, and then it was like my brain just turned back on, and I finally stood up. 

I thought Dante would come for me, but it seemed like he had driven away. Probably after the bad guys. I found it to be a good sign that I saw no blood and Dante's car was gone.

        It's well past 3am and I am a female, alone, with no phone or money. I started walking down the street to see if Dante was looking for me, but I ended up just kinda lost and really scared because I saw people in the street, and I felt like I was going to get assaulted or something. 

I looked everywhere for what could possibly be a cab or uber. I don't have a phone to call anyone. I started walking in the general direction that I knew Boston was in, but I had no way of telling how far of a walk that was. 

I was trembling and my adrenaline was keeping me alert, but also buzzing in the most uncomfortable way. I tried not to cry, but after over an hour of walking, and there were no buses running at this hour, and no sign of anyone who could help me, I felt so pathetic and useless and vulnerable. 

I was just so afraid tonight for such a long period of time that I was exhausted. I got lucky after all this torture, and saw a cabi with his light off. I flagged him down and because I was crying he stopped. I told him I was lost and had no money or phone and he was kind enough to drop me at Renzo's building.

        I don't know their phone numbers by heart, and I knew Dante would have told him by now that I was missing, so it was the first place I thought to go instead of my own house. At the doors they wouldn't even let me into the lobby. They said I needed to be on some list, but I argued with them for like ten minutes about just calling Renzo.