Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Wasted Youth

Eddie gently prises your fingers open and takes the bottle from you, "Hey, listen to me", he says gently.

Your wide eyes meet his. His expression is entirely calm, "I need you to go back inside, finish up, come back out here, and I'll walk you home. You've slipped and hit your head pretty hard. Understand?" You touch the back of your head and feel a slight wetness.

You nod and do precisely what he says. It doesn't even feel like a choice. It just happens.

You step out the back door and lock it behind you. You brace yourself for the horror in the alleyway, but when you look. It looks exactly the same as always. You reach and touch the back of your head and feel a small dried patch of something.

No broken glass, no blood, no body. Your brow furrows.

Eddie emerges from the shadows. You look at him confused, "Where is the body? The guy, and all the...you know...mess", you say, starting to freak out a little.

He looks at you with a smile, "That bump on your head really did a number on you, huh?"

"I know what I saw. I fucking killed him." You say a little too loudly.

Eddie walks right up to you and puts his finger on your mouth, "Shhhh, Shhhh, Shhhh. Hush now. I was here the whole time. If that had happened, I would have seen it."

Once you are quiet, he removes his hand and steps back from you. The carnival lights illuminate the alleyway, and you can't deny there is no evidence of a scuffle here. You check around. No pool of blood, no body.

"You did a good thing," he says, "A poor thing was getting letched over, you scared him. The girl got away, and then he ran before you had a chance to catch hold of him . You just lost your footing in the dark" he reassures you.

"But..." He reaches into his leather jacket pocket and, held between his middle and index finger, is a money clip, "...he did leave you something, as a thank you for stopping him from doing something terrible."

You look at the huge was of cash. "We have to turn that in, Eddie." You gulp. Your want is eager to betray your own words.

"You sure?" He says, tilting his head at you, "It's not like he's gonna come back for it, especially after what you caught him doing." He says temptingly.

"H..how much is there?" You manage to swallow hard.

Eddie's eyes glisten, "Oh, you know...about $200", he says, using his thumb to flick the edges of the money.

You rush to snatch it out of his hand, but just in the nick of time, he raises it above his head, and your bodies collide. He smiles devilishly, "Where are your manners?" He tuts at you.

"Please, Eddie, I need it." You implore him, staring up at the money.

He slowly lowers the money to his eye level, "What could you possibly be in such a rush for?"

"I have enough now. Mr Harrington gave me an advance." You say not taking your eyes from the money.

You feel cool moisture on your neck, "Good old Steve, always doing the most", Eddie says gently millimetres from your ear.

You hear him inhale deeply, and then he quickly steps back, offering you the money.

You make eye contact with him, your chest heaving as you take it gently this time, and rush over to the closed 2nd hand store.

The light is still on above it. You hammer on the door. Your palms sweating against the money in your hand. The envelope and money clip were discarded somewhere along the way.