Consequences

20. remembering

"Dakota!" A fist connects with the front door repeatedly, making the entire apartment quiver. "Dakota, open the fucking door! Please!" He keeps pounding harder and harder as I make my way to let him in. There's no doubt that the door will collapse sooner or later, this entire building is basically a ticking bomb waiting to explode. The walls are paper thin and ready to crumble anytime.

The door flies open as soon as I've unlocked it, Marvin storming inside and grabbing my wrist immediately. His eyes are wide with horror and his breathing is as irregular as it gets.

"Shit, shit, shit," he curses under his breath as he drags me across the room. Even if I tried to get out of his tight grip, I wouldn't be able to. He is three years older than me and much stronger. After nearly an entire decade of knowing him it's obvious that I shouldn't even question his actions right now. He only acts this way when something bad is about to happen.

He reaches over and opens the small closet by the wall that is meant for brooms and household cleaning products, but ours is mostly storing bottles of different sorts of liquor. My father calls it his 'backup plan' for when his drugs don't arrive on time.

We get inside and stand close enough for me to feel Marvin's heart beating rapidly right next to my ear, our height difference having its perks and disadvantages depending on the situation. He closes the closet door and it becomes dark except for the small amount of light seeping in through the crack between the two doors of the closet.

"What the hell is going on, man?" I whisper, not knowing if I'm supposed to or not, but I'd rather not take any chances as I remember last time something like this happened.

"I screwed up, Koda. I screwed up really fucking bad this time," he says quietly, his voice strained, and he sounds like he's on the verge of tears. I silently go over the options of what he may have done, and I'm honestly not sure I want to know at this point. Marvin does something illegal and comes to hide at my place, because the police won't suspect him hiding here. My father used to be a cop before my mother left us, so the police department in New Orleans respects him as if he's still an honorable man. Little do they know, he's become a ruthless addict.

I don't mind Marvin hiding here when he screws up. He's my best friend and I would do anything for him.

"Dakota, look at me," Marvin whispers and grabs my arms as I look up at him, his deep brown eyes filled with worry and tears. "I need you to do me a favor, okay?"

I furrow my brows, but answer without hesitation. "Okay."

He takes a deep breath when the first tears leave his eyes and roll down his dark skin. "Please don't try to cover up for me this time." I have a hard time wrapping my head around what exactly it is he's trying to say. His hands are shaking when he lifts them to wipe his eyes. Marvin and I have been through a lot together in the past, but we've always managed to survive, because we had each other. So what makes this time different?

"Marv, what're you talking about? What's going on? What happened?" My own heart has picked up its pace by now and the temperature in this cramped closet seems to have risen 20 degrees. I can easily feel his uneven breath hitting my face each time he exhales.

"I-I... I fucked up. They'll be here soon. I can feel it, but I'll protect you, okay? I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I just need you to let m-," he whispers frantically, but I cut him off. Who the hell is he talking about?

"Marvin!" I shout, not caring if I'm supposed to be whispering. "Shut the fuck up! Just tell me what the hell happened, we're a team, remember?" My voice cracks at the end and I can feel my eyes begin to water as I hold up my arm and pull back my sleeve to reveal my wrist. The poorly done black horizontal line is etched into my skin, the same way Marvin's wrist looks. "Two negatives make a positive, right?" I lower my voice and grab his hand to look at his equally sloppy tattoo. His is barely noticeable on his dark skin, but it's there.