Deck of Cards

Huit

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖚𝖎𝖙

Daryl walked the busy street by himself. He was full of frustration; he didn't know what to do. If he called up any of his friends, they would speculate on why his hands were bruised or the whereabouts of Apollo. He made a quick stop at the corner store to buy a pack of cigarettes. Daryl knew they were bad for his health, crucial even. But it was the only thing that helped him cool down, efficiently. 

He slumped back at a brick wall full of colorful graffiti near a bus stop that was vacant. He sparked his silver lighter on his cigarette and puffed. After another blow, his phone rang.

Daryl checked the caller I.D. It was his brother, Darcy. Daryl hesitated for a few seconds; he was stuck between the choices of answering the call or ignoring it. 

"Fuck it," he mutters to himself. He taps his cigarette on the wall, making the ashes fall. "What do you want? I'm busy,"

There was a small laugh on the other line. "Mind telling me why Apollo came to me all bruised up in our home?"

Daryl grunted. "He talks too much,"

"Yes his mouth runs quite far, but that does not mean you should hurt him," 

Daryl clicked his tongue as he ended the phone-call. He opened up his messages to text Russo. After his first message sent, Russo's name and picture went on the screen of Daryl's phone. 

Daryl threw the cigarette and stepped on it and started walking. He answered the call. 

"Daryl, where are you?" Russo asked on the other line, "You're lucky it's just Alice here and not Fleur,"

Daryl sighed. "Just busy. Listen dude. Remember the talk about lunch?" 

There was a slight pause. "Yeah- But I don't think it's best for us to be talking about this right n-"

"Darcy was the one to tell Apollo to put his art there. That's only 'cause Spades- Well, Felix to be exact, was the one to tell Darcy," Daryl said gruffly. "I expect things to get only worse from this point on,"

Russo didn't reply back; Daryl could only hear the sound of the car driving in the background. 

"Sorry for spoiling the mood. Tell Alice I said hi," Daryl says before hanging up. He stopped for a brief moment on the middle of the sidewalk, looking down at his shoes. He puts his phone hastily in his pocket. Daryl could feel the vibration of a call in his pocket, but he ignored it. Daryl kept walking on the busy streets, heading to a place to cool him down. 

𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖓.... 

Russo set his phone down after trying to call Daryl for the sixth time. He sighed in exasperation as he laid back in his seat with his face looking upward. Alice glanced at him and felt worried for both of the guys. 

"Russo, is everything okay?" she asks, peeking at the mirror to see Russo. 

Russo shook his head; his hair was drooped. "Stupid Daryl, doing stuff on his own again. Smoking, drinking- He doesn't even care about his health, and he's a full grown adult," 

Alice felt the tension increase in the car. She didn't know how to reply. Alice didn't really know anyone who really smoked or drank as a habit. She did remember earlier that day that Daryl threw his cigarette before meeting her and Jamie. Though, she didn't know it was a problem. 

"Has... Has he been doing this for a long time?" Alice asks slowly. Her tone falters as she didn't want to force Russo to spill anything that she wasn't supposed to know.