Guns and Roses

Nineteen ~ Quinn

Rya parks up on some random street in the middle of nowhere and starts to empty her pocket. It's dark outside now - Kira had band practice and Reggie was at the pool.

Kira and I have gotten pretty close since I got to the school. She was my tour guide and now I guess I could call her a friend.

Matthew gets out of the car and throws his bag onto his back. We're only dropping him off here at the bar. Mika has been left at home due to there not being enough seats.

Kira starts to get out of the car and Matthew stops her "I really think you guys should stay in the car" He says looking over at Rya.

Reggie laughs and stands beside him. "They won't ID us right? We're only picking up something"

Rya laughs. "If you're coming then you should listen to a few rules" We start walking down the street and I can start to hear the music. "When we go inside you're going to see some shit. If any of that shit gets reported to the police, someone's going to get hurt. Keep all valuables close to you. If someone grabs you, call for me - byt it's loud, so stay close. Don't take a drink off of anyone. Try not to talk to anyone. Got all of that?"

I watch fear grow in Kira and Reggie's eyes. They obviously didn't expect this and honestly, I didn't either. The said that this was separate from everything else so I thought it would be completely different.

We turn the corner and I see the bar. It looks like any normal pub with old posters on the walls out front and a girl sitting on the curb with a cigarette in her hand.

One of the windows is covered in cardboard and a sign is on the floor. Shouts and screams echo down the street and music is blaring. Matthew kisses Rya goodbye and then darts down an alleyway beside the building.

Rya turns and grins at the three of us "Ready?"

I severely doubt it.

The smell is what hits me first. A mix of booze and the coppery tang of blood. We step inside and immediately, a girl is thrown into the side of me. She straightens herself up and then throws her glass at whoever pushed her.

Rya is already halfway towards the bar and I have to jog to keep up with her. Kira screams and I spin to see a tall man with a beard with his arms around her waist, grabbing at her.

"Johnny!" Rya shouts and she shoves past me. "I swear to fuck Johnny, get your hands off her before I cut them off!"

The man backs off with his hands in the air "I thought she was a stripper. I mean, she's wearing a uniform"

"Cause she goes to school Johnny" Rya says exasperated "Now fuck off!"

She grabs Kira and pulls her along close behind her. Reggie rushes past and we all wait by the bar that isn't being attended to. Rya climbs over the top and jumps down at the other side. I watch as she pours herself a shot.

"You going to pay for that?" A man asks her as he emerges from a back room.

Rya sticks the middle finger up at him as she knocks it back. "You going to pay for me? Where's Crow?"

The other man gestures up with his chin and then goes back to serving drinks. Rya then gets out from behind the bar and runs over to the black metal spiral staircase. I follow close behind her as she steps behind it and into the office.

Inside, is a desk and not much else. A man sits in the chair in front of the window and Rya drops herself into one of the two chairs facing him. Kira, Reggie and myself shut the door behind us as we go in.

The man rubs his temples and then starts rummaging through drawers looking for an envelope. "Where you off to then?" Rya asks him as he finally finds it and fills it with her wage.

He rolls his eyes "Away to see Thea's parents. They want to see Wes and apparently I have to be there too" He hands over the envelope "Who are your friends?"

Rya introduces the three of us and then introduces the man as Crow. Crow laughs "You brought them here?"

Rya sighs "Thought it'd be funny. Johnny just ruined it though"

Crow shakes his head "Thank fuck I get to stay back here"

They say their goodbyes quickly and we head back out into the bar. Reggie and Kira are clinging to eachother and I'm making sure I'm right behind Rya.

We pass two girls on a table and one of them looks ready to keel over. A boy lies on the floor by their table and Rya picks him gently as we pass. That's when I see the needle in his arm. She sees my shock and crouches down to check his pulse. "Alive" she says and then leaves him there on the floor.

We step outside and I've never been happier to leave somewhere. The cool air on my face is so different to the stifling heat of the bar. Kira and Reggie don't stop walking until they're about twenty metres from the bar.

"Cousin!" A voice shouts and I watch Rya's face drop. From the alleyway, Rafa stumbles out and falls.

She watches him lie there and takes a deep breath. "Rafa" she says coldly "What are you on?"

He rolls onto his back "Why do you care?"

She kicks a puddle at him and he moans like a child "Because I'm trying to work out whether or not I'm going to leave you here!" She screams and kicks at him again "I'm not your fucking mother Rafa and I'm not going to scrape you off of the floor every time you end up here!"

He picks himself up and growls at her "Fine then. Fuck you" he shoves her back and then something flashes across her face. Her leg snaps out and hits him right between the legs. He doubles over and she grabs the back of his head, slamming his face against her knee. He hits the ground a second time and she steps away.

She comes over to us and puts a smile on her face "Sorry about that"

Reggie pales "Are you just going to leave him there?"

All four of us turn to see him rolling about on the ground clutching at his face. "He's not my problem" Rya says and starts walking towards the car.

****

I'm curious as to how many of you know where Crow comes from...

Until next time,
Elle