Hoodlum Tragedies (Old Version)

S C A R E D

Curly found himself outside of his house, well his family house around six o clock that evening when he was sure no one would be home. The house looked the same, rundown with no curtains to decorate it, a rusted fence hanging around it with brown grass and occasionally green patches. He wondered how a sight so horrid could give him so much comfort, especially during his time of distress. He wasn't sure why he was there or what made him take a walk over there, he had been set on his "never look back" attitude, but now here he was.

He stepped up the front steps put his key in the lock, turning the knob and stepping in the house. He felt uneasy as he shut the door behind him, it felt odd suddenly stepping into his home. He had grown used to calling Jose's crackerbox his home, but now that he was here he realized that Jose's place we never be home. All his memories were here. No matter if they were good or bad, this house shaped him into what he was. Jose's place had molded him into a murderer. Curly shook the horrid thought and inched in through the house, running his fingers over the table tops and smelling the familiar scent. Memories skyrocketed through his brain like a movie. He never though that he would miss this place but he missed a lot more than he thought he did.

He found his way in his bedroom, which was the same way he left it with only minor adjustments that only Curly would be able to pick out. His floorboards were properly put back into place, a photo was sitting on top of his dresser, it was Curly, Tim, and Angela down at the movies together, Tim had just gone through his first growth spurt which made the height difference significant. Tim had to have been thirteen in the picture and he towered over Angela and Curly. Curly wondered how, or why it got there and who brought it there.

"Curly?" A voice asked from the doorway.

It made Curly jump a smidge but he knew who it was. Jimmy Russo, his best friend. It may have been a bit cliche but he could recognize Jimmy's voice from anywhere. Curly set the photo down and moved to face Jimmy, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Jimmy looked nervous and somewhat confused.

"I thought... um... happy birthday, man." Jimmy stammered out awkwardly.

Curly felt like he could laugh. It slipped his mind completely that his birthday was today because of the stress from the past few days. He was focusing on avoiding Jose and hoping he wouldn't be going to jail. He wasn't completely worried about that, he was sure Jose's boys could hide a body, and good at that. He was waiting for when his name would show up in the paper. He wasn't prepared for that, he wasn't ready to know his name and who he killed. His nightmares constantly drained him and he saw the kid's face every night, that was more than enough reason to forget your birthday.

"Let me guess. You forgot it was your birthday?" Jimmy chuckled.

The young hood moved to sit on half-assed made bed, the sound of springs squeaking as it supported his weight. He fiddled with his thumbs while trying come up with something to say to Jimmy. He wanted to talk with someone about this, how they got over it. He could tell the Jose was ruthless and it was only just an average day for him. He needed to talk to someone like Tim or Antonio about where he should go from there.

"Curly... c'mon man. You're scarin' the shit outta me." Jimmy said nervously as he ruffled his fingers in his heavily greased hair.

The shakiness in Jimmy's voice seemed to snap Curly back into reality. He knew that he was probably putting Jimmy on edge, he probably felt like Curly was close to having one of his outbursts again. He'd have no choice but to call Tim or Angela and he didn't want to start trouble if they found out he was there. Curly took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, jumping up and walking passed Jimmy.

"I gotta get outta here."

"Wait. C'mon man.. Y'know you shouldn't be walking around this neighborhood. Let's just go find us something to eat. Talk a little.."