In My Veins

You Want A Revelation, Some Kind Of Resolution

Alana knows she has to do something quick. But it’s nearly impossible since her right arm is burning so much that it’s reducing her to tears. She’s trying desperately not to cry in front of Ricky because that would give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s winning. So she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and tries to knee Ricky in the groin.

“Don’t think so,” Ricky laughs, blocking Alana’s knee with his own.

“Let me go,” Alana tries to yell but it comes out as a tiny squeak. She lifts her left hand to slug Ricky in the face but he catches it and slams it against the wall.

She feels powerless. There’s not a soul in sight and she’s half expecting tumbleweed to roll by just to taunt her.

“I want the rest of my money,” Ricky hisses. He’s now got both of Alana’s arms pinned above her head. “And I want it now.”

“I don’t have it,” Alana admits quietly.

Ricky rolls his eyes and hip checks her violently. “Well you better get it.”

“Okay,” Alana starts to whimper. She closes her eyes in hopes the tears will dissipate quickly. “Just, just let me go.”

“You’re a tease,” Ricky begins angrily. “You were all over the first night we met because you knew I had a hookup.” When Alana bows her head and refuses to look at him, he tilts her chin up so their eyes are locked with one another. “I got you the weed and the pills and this is how you treat me?”

“You duped me, bro,” Alana yelps.

“Do your sisters know what you’ve been up to?”

“No.”

Ricky slips his lips into a taunting pout. “Aw,” he coos. “They have no idea you were looking for some Xanax because you missed mommy and daddy and wanted to go home?”

“I flushed those down the toilet,” Alana admits, trying to pull at least one arm free so she can have some sort of advantage since Ricky’s eyes tell her he’s high as a kite. “I didn’t trust you.”

Ricky’s eyes bulge out of his head. “Do you know how much those cost?”

Alana shakes her head meekly and looks around again for any sign. She tries kicking Ricky again but he slams his boot-clad foot onto hers.

“You’re going to pay,” he threatens. “I don’t like when people waste my shit.”

She wants to give up, knowing there’s no way to break free. She thinks about Este and Danielle and how disappointed they’re going to be in her. The thought of it makes her want to cry. And she does, much to Ricky’s joy.

“I’m going to tell my sisters what you did,” Alana whispers, mustering all the confidence she has to look Ricky dead in the eye. “And they will hunt you down and kick your fucking ass. It’s happened before.”

Ricky just laughs. “I’m not afraid.”

Alana tries fighting back again, managing to break her arms free. She gives Ricky one swift kick in the stomach and makes a run for it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard enough. Ricky grabs her by the hair and tosses her to the ground.

She prepares herself for the worst.

“Hey!”

Alana closes her eyes and braces for what’s to come. But when she opens them after not feeling anything, she looks up to see a guy knocking Ricky to the ground and pinning him down.

“What the hell are you doing, mate?” The guy yells loudly. Then, a few people begin to appear, seemingly out of nowhere. “Huh?” He shakes Ricky’s shoulders a bit, waiting for a response. “You never put your hands on a woman.”