Hoodlum Tragedies (Old Version)

L I F E O F S I N

"Geez, Ang, loosen up a little." Curly huffs out as Angela buries her face in his chest.

She hadn't been crying, which was good because he was sure he wouldn't be able to take it. However, her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing him as if he would slither away from her. They had been like this for a few minutes, he had decided to get a hold of Angela, it had been months since he had seen his sister and he knew that the both of them were suffering from it.

"I miss you at home." She says finally, she pulls herself away so she can look up at Curly.

Curly attempts to play it cool and responds with a sly "I know." Which lead to Angela punching him in the arm. He's trying to remain strong, lately he felt as if he been breaking away slowly, unsure of who he was. He was sure Angela was just as devastated, they had done everything together and she came home one day to his empty room. Curly moves back slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets and slapping a smirk on his face.

"C'mon we don't got all day."

Which was true. Tim didn't know that they met up, she told him she was meeting with her girlfriends and they met over where Jose lived. The two walked around a store, chatting about nonsense before they got to the deep stuff. The things they were scared to talk about.

"Where you been staying?" Angela asks.

Curly chews on his lip as he ties on a pair of Chuck Taylor's. He needed some new shoes and he was always able to get his hands on some when he was with Angela. She was a great distraction, guys and girls loved her. She used that to her advantage.

"With Jose." Curly answers shortly. "Let's not talking about me."

Angela lets out a deep breath as Curly hides his old sneakers. They began roaming the store again, looking at clothes as they tried to get over the awkward silence.

"Fine.." She huffs. "It's a goddamn war zone. Tiber and the River Kings joined up so it's them against us. They took a connect from us so Tim's trying to find more people to sell for us. Of course you're gone so no one really trusts the new guys. He's been thinking about coming over to los barrios to recruit some more kids. Ever since you got jumped we been trying to make a move. But that's all I know, los tios don't tell me shit."

Curly wouldn't of guessed that the war was this bad because he was occupied with his own problems. But he couldn't say that he was surprised, he saw it coming and he was sure Tim did too. Tim must have a plan already and Angela just doesn't know about it, Tim was always three steps ahead of his enemies. He figured Brumley and the Shepard Gang were thinking of ways to bring at least one gang down then they would be able to get some connects back. It made him wonder if Angela and Daisy were safe, girls of family members were main targets to destroy a gang. He'd probably have to talk to his new allies to make sure they were covered.

"So enough about this shit.. Tell me about you and your girlfriend."

The thought made Curly's cheeks red as he moved the clothing rack. Daisy had been the only person besides Jose's amigos that he was talking to. He was always able to talk to her, no matter the situation or the topic. "We just been seeing each other for a little bit." Curly huffs out.

"Aw!" Angela squeals as she holds her hands together. "Curly are you in love?"

Curly rolls his eyes at the question. Surely he felt something but he wasn't completely sure. "Shut up, Angela. And don't go running that big fucking mouth 'a yours alright?! I don't need all of Booker T and Will Rogers knowing my business."

Curly held his cards in his hand with an unlit cigarette between his fingers as he looked over at Daisy. He wasn't able to read her facial expression as she looked over her stack of cards. They had been up passed the hours of the morning playing a vicious game of Spades. It was nights like this that made Curly appreciate his shitty life, it was the moments that were filled with laughter that made him keep going.