Cracked Silver

Chapter 7

JESSE

Boss wants me to deal again. This time, double the pounds of methamphetamine. Great. 

I manage to sell it all in under twelve hours which gives me a wad of cash. Which I don't need. 

I want to get out of this business. I need to. 

CRISTAL 

I go over to Jesse's and we hang out, talking and playing with Finnick. 

'You guys go back quite a while, huh?' I say, stroking Finnick's head. 

'Yeah, we do. He's my best friend.' 

'I used to have a dog but she got really sick and didn't really make it past three years old.' 
Her name was Lola. A blonde golden retriever. She was my best friend when I was ten. 

'Sad.' Jesse mumbled. 

'Tell me about it.' he clears his throat 'Do you have any other relatives apart from your parents?' 

'Yeah. I have an older brother. His name was Mike. He was... everything.' The remembrance of him, strikes me, hard. Thinking of him. It pains me. 

'Was?' he asked with a concerned look on his face.

'Well, my brother was into dirty business, I guess. He didn't know what he was getting himself into. He dealt weed and cocaine. Everything. He even took it, too. Which made him go crazy and... And one night, he came home to my parents, I was in bed and he was high. Like, so high he was violent. 

He attacked my parents. Stabbed my mom. I called the cops but by the time they got there, my brother had shot himself.' The tears started brewing at the brim of my eye. Why was I suddenly blurting all this out to him? Tears started running. 

Jesse looks at me from across the room. He was sitting on a separate couch and so he comes over to me. He sits down close. Finnick walks away as Jesse slips his arm around me. I smile and relax my head on his shoulder. 

JESSE 

Cristal is important now. I see that. 
Her constant breathing is comforting. 
Her hair slightly tickles my neck as her head is resting on my shoulder. 

Her scent. Her presence. 
Her poor brother. She has been through some messed up shit that she didn't deserve. 

She is all I have now.

CRISTAL 

I breathe in and look up at Jesse. He looks at me in return. His fingertip reaches up to my cheek and he gently wipes my tear away.
I kiss him. Harder than I intend to, so I ease it, a bit. Jesse's hand is on my cheek, pulling my face closer. He then pushes my face away.  

'I thought you wanted to take it slow.' He smirked. Holy shit, his lips are practically begging for me.

'Forget what I said.' I say rapidly so I could climb on top of him. 

Like I'm a cloud, he lifts me up and carries me to a different room. His room. 
Shit. 

He lays me down on what I think is his bed and sucks on my neck and collarbone. 
Panic strikes as he starts unbuckling his belt and so I pull away slightly. 

'You okay?' he asks. Damn it, Cristal. Why are you ruining everything? 

'Uh...' I look at him. Then my fingernails. 

'Oh.' he said. Yep, he got it. He got the message. 

IM A VIRGIN PEOPLE. BOW TO MY PURENESS BEFORE IT IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THIS HOT ASS GUY WHO I JUST FUCKING REJECTED. 

'Sorry.' I muttered as he got off me.

'It's fine. Honestly.' he says

'You've had experience. I see that.' 

'Maybe I have but it's not your fault.' he smiled 

I curl up next to him and I sleep.

JESSE

Cristal is asleep. 

I'm trying to, too but I can't stop thinking about her brother. 

So there's been drug use in her family before. She's already been through it.
Guilt flushes through me as my hand slithers around her waist more securely. She flinches and moves her arm around me. 
I need to stop this drug dealing or she's going to leave. She doesn't want to go through this again and I don't blame her. 

If I'm going to be a boyfriend to Cristal, I need to get out. Fast. 

I'll deliver this last bit of meth and I'm going to quit. I have to. I just have to.