Chasing the Streets

Chapter 5

"Everyone? Hey, g-guys?" I said quietly. Everyone was chatting and laughing, horsing around. There were only five of us in the living room for the meeting, but they still made enough noise that no one heard me. Garrett stood up.

"Hey guys! Shut up!" he yelled. They all stopped talking and looked at me.

"Thanks." I said. Garrett nodded and sat back down. "Okay, so, first things first, what's everyones name?" They all looked at each other, probably expecting someone to stand up. One person rolled his eyes and stood up. His hair was long and curly, light brown. He had brown eyes and tannish skin. He was pretty skinny for being part of a gang. I giggled and he looked at me funny.

"What?" he asked. I shrugged and he sighed. "Well, I'm Darek. Garrett put me in charge of the spies. We spy on the Knifes over one the other side of city hall. They haven't really been doing anything lately, but we still keep a watchful eye." He sat down and I nodded, looking at the guy next to him.

 He stood.

"I'm Wyatt. I'm in charge of all the members that have jobs. Lately, Cardwell has been keeping his tribute to himself. He hasn't been paying enough." He said. He had piercing blue eyes, kind of like Garrett's, except he looked really apathetic. I guess he was only hear for the money. He sat down and Daniel stood.

"I'm Daniel. I'm the head and only doctor around here that will have anything to do with gangs. Just warning you, Emily, I'm not loyal to anyone, so the moment you do something I don't like, I'm gone." He smiled at me and sat down. I let out a breath and then looked from Garrett to Darek.

"Okay. Darek, I want you to keep watching the Knifes, and make sure that you watch out for the other spies, too. I don't want anyone getting cought by the police." Darek nodded and I looked at Wyatt. "Wyatt, you and I are gonna have a talk with Cardwell when he's supposed to turn in his money." Wyatt grunted and I looked at Daniel. He smiled at me expectantly. "Listen, I know that you just said you aren't loyal to anyone, but I'm the leader here, and you have to do as I say, or you're getting butted out. I am CPR and first aid certified, so if you leave, we're not hurting. But, it would be nice if you would stay with us, so if there's anything you need, come talk to me and I'll get it settled." He nodded slowly. He always was the dirty one. No kidding.

~

"Emily?" Garrett said, grabbing my arm before I could go into my room. I looked back at him.

"Yeah?" I replied. He bit his lip and looked away. "Garrett, if you're not going to say it, let me sleep."

"Let me sleep with you." he said quickly. I stared at him wide-eyed and he looked at me in the same way. "I didn't mean it like sleep in the same bed, just in the same room." I held his gaze.

"Garrett, I don't know if you know this, but that still sounds creepy." I said, curling my lips in slight disgust. I didn't want to be rude, but what he was saying was really weird.

"Please! I haven't seen you in a long time and I missed you. Please..." he said. He was staring at me with his eyes, cutting into my brain, looking for signs of a yes. I sighed and he grinned.

We went into my room and he immediatly pulled a mattress pad and a few blankets from the top drawer of the dresser, setting them on the floor next to the bed. I watched as he made his bed. If you didn't know that it was him making the bed, you would think it was a mother. He put the blankets on in layers so delicately, like he was frosting a cake. His expression was completley serious, not a peek of a grin or a smile in his eyes. I always used to call him 'Mother Bear'. I see why.

"Mother Bear." I said. He looked up at me.

"What?" he said.

"That's what I used to call you, isn't it?" I said. He nodded and finished the last blanket. As soon as he was donel, he sat down next to me on my bed.

"You used to have nicknames for everyone. Excep Cardwell, we just call him by his last name. I was alway Mother Bear, Kenai was Wolf, Darek was Bat, and Wyatt was Snake. When Snake first joined, you thought that he wasn't trustworthy, so you kept a real close eye on him. And then he nearly threw out Ape because he didn't turn in his tribute on time." Garrett laughed.

"Must have been good times." I said. He nodded and we sat in silence. Garrett didn't seem to talk much, but it seemed like everyone respected him. He was always your right hand man. Kenai was left, so he always felt a bit jealous. Kenai was left, really? Why that guy? I can't remember. Guess we'll have to find out together. I lay back onto the bed, closing my eyes. Garrett stood up and laid on his bed.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" he asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll do what ever we need to do." I replied. He grunted in response and we both fell asleep.