marked.

The Exchange

It was only for o'clock, and the California sun was gleaming ever so brightly. You would think beads of sweat would fall down my forehead, and possibly down my neck; but it didn't. Before I could walk over to the gate of my apartment building, a tan figure came about from the other end of the block. The figure was staring dead at me, and I took a moment to see who it was...

This isn't good.

I stopped in my tracks just as he walked up to me. Marco had finally caught up to me; I guess I was going a little too fast for him. He looked down at me, wondering why I stopped walking, but then he glanced over at the figure standing just a few feet away from us.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Jay?"

Jayson stood a respective three feet away from us. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared directly into Marco's eyes. "Hola, Primo."

I blinked twice. "Wait," I interrupted, holding my hand up. "You two know each other?" I turned my body half way so I could be facing both of them. Marco stood close to me, just a centimeter away from my shoulder. I pointed a finger at him, "He's your cousin?"

Marco only took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

"Woah, Dani. Didn't know you were messing with family over here... Well, at least unwanted family." Jayson spoke of clear negativity. The tone of his overconfident voice aggravated Marco, but I was too fast for him; I took a step in front of him, shielding the anger that was in the first stage of blowing up.

But either way, you cannot stop the anger. "Says the one who left his daddy for his deadbeat mommy in New York. Now who's taking care of your old man?" Marco was taking step by step, prying closer to Jayson, ready to pounce. It reminded me of the way wolves hunt... How they close up on their prey, getting closer and closer and closer.

I noticed that Jayson was resisting the urge to take a step back. His coniving smile formed into a thin line, and then tension in his jaw was increasing rapidly. I knew this was going to get ugly soon, but I had to be aware enough when to stop it.

"Whatever, Marco. What about you? You not from here, so why you got stuck with mi papa? He can screw himself for all I care." Once Jayson said that, I knew he pulled Marco's trigger.

I felt Marco's steps about to grow faster. Jayson stood there with a smug smile and held his ground, waiting for the next move. But instead, just about when Marco was about to make his first hit, I shoved my smaller body between the two boys. I pushed Jayson back a few steps and elbowed Marco. He tried maneuvering his arm around my body, but I caught his hand just in time. Jayson laughed.

"Que paso, Marco? You always needing tu novia to help you fight?" He forces a pouty face and glances up and down at Marco, clicking his tongue. "Man, I thought you were better than that."

Now it was me who got angry. "Take it easy, Jay. Or for you, things won't look so pretty. If you came here looking for a fight, I suggest you go find someone else. You used to be my best friend but you've changed... For the worst. So take steps back and get out of here, before you go back to your deadbeat mother with a black eye and a broken arm. Got that?" My anger grew so intense, I was squeezing the living day lights out of Marco's hand. I felt bad at first, but e showed no reaction to the pain I was giving him.

Jayson eyes sparked up a flame. "Okay, Dani," he said, nodding his head multiple times. "I'll leave. But next time you see me, you and me are going to have a problem." He took out his left hand from his pocket and gestures towards my body. "Hanging out with him gets you busted up the way you are. But remember this: you betray a friend, you're going to get it."

"You're not going to do shit to her. Got that, Jayson?! "

Marco spoke deeply and effectively because Jay left a few seconds after the exchange of threats. I held onto Marco's hand as I lead him up to the roof.