The Unpredictability of You and Me

eight - home

"This way," Adrian says, still walking at the speed of light.

"You have to slow down," I call out.

"Trust me, you don't want to stay out in the streets any longer than you have to," he says.

I look around at the South Bronx neighborhood that we're in. So far, it hasn't been bad. There's no big buildings or people in fancy suits in this area like in Manhattan, but I'd been expecting worse.

Adrian suddenly pulls me into him by my hips. He lowers his voice and brings his mouth next to my ear. "Don't say anything and act like you know where you're going."

I look up, confused. Suddenly, my questions are answered. There's a group of men standing across the street, staring at us. More specifically, me. Adrian doesn't let go of me until we turn and they're out of sight.

"Thanks," I say as he slows down.

"Don't mention it," he responds, stopping in front of an apartment building. It's about six stories high, very wide, and has the doors outside, making it seem like a motel. "This is it."

I raise my eyebrows. "This is what?"

"I'm going to show you what the Bronx is like," he says, staring up the stairs. I follow him until he reaches a door on the third floor.

I grab his arm before he knocks on the door. "What are you doing?"

"This is my friend's place."

I bite my lip and breathe in deeply. "I don't-" I cut myself off.

His eyebrows lower. "Are you okay?"

What am I doing? He brought me here to show me his old neighborhood and I'm freaking out for nothing. I nod. "Yeah. Never mind."

He knocks quickly and there's shuffling inside. "Who is it?" Someone inside calls out.

"Open the door, it's fucking freezing!" Adrian yells back.

The door opens quickly. The guy who opens it looks around our age. He's tall, has blond, shoulder length hair, and his bare arms are covered in sleeves of tattoos.

"No fucking way. I thought you died, Perez," he laughs. His gaze turns to me. "Well, hello."

I blush and shift uncomfortably. Luckily, Adrian pushes his friend aside and grabs my hand to pull me inside the apartment.

"Hands off," Adrian warns. I blush.

Inside, the apartment is small and bare. There's white walls, with few picture frames up. There's a sign that says Happy Birthday stringed across one wall. The yellowing on the paper shows it's been up there for a while.

Adrian's friend groans. "Why do you bring girls here and say hands off every time? That's no fun."

"I came to see you, asshole." He turns to me. "Jade, this is Dylan."

Dylan smirks at me. "Hi, Jade."

The way he says my name makes me want to run out of this house right now. I glare at Adrian. He gives me a look that clearly says to relax. He sits down on the sofa. I follow, unsure what to do.

"I just texted everyone. They're on their way right now," Dylan says. He pulls out a case of beer from the fridge and then picks up a bag of green stuff from on top of it. "But we got stuff to do."