Hoodlum Tragedies (Old Version)

D A R K S T R E E T S

The young and lazy hood was leaned back against Jose's couch with one leg hanging off the couch and the other propped up on the arm of the chair. He held a special comic book in his hand in front of his face and although it was a good and expensive comic, he had a question floating around in his head.

"What d'you remember about my ma?"

Jose, who had been sitting at the kitchen table looks over at Curly. He had been eating a plate of food before he turned in for the night. "Your ma? I remember she was a real sweetheart. I mean, til she got hooked but..it happens."

When it came to feelings about his Ma, Curly became puzzled. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to have unconditional love for the woman who brought him into the world or if he should hate her for her mistakes. Because of her awful mistakes, he had mental and physical scars that reminded him of all he missed out on during his childhood. He couldn't help but think and wonder, if she had never gotten hooked, would he be apart of a gang? If his dad wasn't dead where would they be? Gloriana Shepard had to have been crazy, no sane woman could ever do so much wrong to her children.

"We tried to help y'all out but your Ma...she was persistent. You always loved your Ma so we figured you'd come to us when you were ready." Jose explained.

That bit had been true, Curly was the one who stayed attached to his Ma the longest. Always behind her, he had been her shadow when he was a child. They had special moments between themselves that he'd think back on sometimes late at night. He couldn't remember when he had cut the ties between the both of them but it had taken a long time.

"What happened between you and mis Tio's?" Curly asked.

Jose let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head slightly. "They ain't tell you by now? It was over your Ma and that dumb-ass Daddy of yours." Jose snickered.

For most of Curly's childhood and teenage years, he hadn't heard a word about his father. He had been a hushed topic, sort of taboo. He had no knowledge of what he was like and he could on rely on his memories of him which were completely unreliable being that he was only about 8 when he died. And most of those memories had been pushed to the back of Curly's mind.

"What he do?"

"That's a story for a 'nother time. Si?" Jose said as he rinsed his plate.

Curly nodded and his eyes followed Jose as he walked away. The atmosphere had become tense after he brought the questions up, it was obvious Jose didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want Curly knowing about it. It was as if the whole family kept secrets and Curly was the only one left out of the loop. He was sick of them feelings as if he couldn't handle the pressure. Curly shook his head and sat up, tying his shoes and slugging his arms through his jacket. He needed to take a walk, the car didn't have any gas and he knew the air would feel good on his face. And besides, he liked to look at the full moon.

Curly found himself on the other side of town in a small store. He handed some cash over to the cashier for a record. He had been planning for a few days to come buy the record and give it to Daisy. He hadn't intended on doing it tonight but he figured he should do it as soon as possible. He knew she would smile when she saw it, Daisy loved The Supremes and she loved Diana Ross. She always hummed along to the music. Curly thought she deserved something nice for always being there for him when he needed it. He hadn't had Jimmy to lean on, but he had her. And she never judged him when he unloaded his thoughts, she took it and received it.

As Curly walked away from the store, he could hear his feet crunching the rocks below his shoes. After a few minutes, he could hear more footsteps pick up behind him. He felt like the biggest idiot once he realized that his "company" had trapped him in an alley.