A Broken Crew

Chapter 8

Dakota had to try hard not to vomit at the sight of Grey. He left his face completely neutral for a moment. He forced a smile. It felt like death on his face. "Man, you already busted him up good. Are you sure he's got any energy left for me?" He didn't even glance at Grey, silently asking Grey to forgive him. He tossed the baggie on the counter. "There's your coke." It really was coke. Dakota had been saving it to bribe his Dad, but this was more important. "The coke's the good stuff." He finished his beer and took another one. "It's been awhile since I've had a decent amount." He glanced down at Grey. "Seriously, that kid is messed up!" He forced a laugh, then reached down for Grey's collar. He did it as gently as he dared. "I hear you sell time." He rubbed his fingers together. "Would you be interested in selling me some hours? I can pay you well. Are you interested?". His own words were sickening to him, but that was the part he needed to play. To rescue Grey.

The smile on Reynolds' face was sickening to see. It was clear he liked the prospect- getting high AND making money off his son. He pretended to consider the idea even when his mind was made up, taking advantage of the Coke. After a moment he looks at Dakota. "Yeah, sure, have your way with him. You know your stuff, kid." He raises the bag in salute. "The kid's pretty much useless for anything but to have fun with anyway." He grinned wider and took another drink of his beer, which was clearly NOT his first one within the last hour, let alone day. "Yeah, have at him and pay me later!" He laughs.

Dakota laughed as well. "How do you want me to move the package? He might scream if I move anything, and it'd be rather unfortunate if I got stopped by the cops on my way to a good time."

Reynolds waves his hand absently. "Hey, you pay? You do whatever with it. " He's starting to slur his words more, and appears to be in a very, very good mood now. "Ya know.. It's really popular." He grins, leaning against the counter, taking a drink but sloshing it. "Eh... Might as well get something out of raisin' it.." He tries and fails to take another drink. "So yeAH!! Share it, whe'errrr..."

Dakota nodded, feeling sick from his words. "Sure. Here's a down payment." Dakota set 1000 dollars on the table. *There goes my escape money* he thought *so much for getting away from dad.* He picked Grey up as gently as he could. It didn't matter anymore, the guy was too high to notice him. Thankfully Grey was unconscious, though it looked like he was stirring. *He'll be awake in less than 10 minutes* he thought. *He'll be awake before we get to August's house. Oh well.* He couldn't quite carry Grey, so he leaned him on his shoulders and walked out the door.

Grey wasn't aware of anything as they left the house. It wasn't until they were nearly there that he woke, and, not knowing where he was, starting freaking out. He quickly stilled as the pain hit him and he moaned, biting his lip, old habits kicking in. He stayed as still as possible, not knowing what was going on.  Grey took a moment to try and figure out who was carrying him.  Grey's breathing goes unsteady as he begins to panic.

Dakota heard the change in breathing. They weren't nearly at August's house. "Are you awake?" he asked. It looked like Grey was panicking. "Grey, look at me. Grey!"

Grey immediately obeyed, too scared not to. He looked up at Dakota, squinting against the light, but it was easy to tell that he recognized Dakota as he began to calm.

"You're awake. Do you need to stop and rest for a minute? It's about 5 more to August's house." Dakota paused to help him calm down. "You're safe now." he said. "But we should be getting home. So, would you like to rest or not? I wish I had something to give you but everything is at August's house."

Grey closes his eyes again. "Bright." He whispers, voice hoarse. He relaxes against Dakota, calm now that he knows it's him- even if he doesn't trust him much when he's fully aware, in his half-awake and pain ridden state, he can sense that he cares and does trust him. Not saying he thinks Dakota is a bad person- Grey is just very, very slow to trust people normally.

Dakota let's him rest for a minute. "We should get to August's house," he said. "I know you're in pain but it's not going to get better till we get there. Also I told him to call the cops in twenty minutes, so if I'm not back in the next 5 we'll see cops rushing past us." Dakota said, trying hard to make sure his voice was steady.. "Come on, we're almost there."

Grey nods slightly, even though it takes a lot of effort. He could smell Dakota and quickly recognized the alcohol. "K-Kota..? Beer..?" Even in a broken phrase, the question Grey is asking is easy to understand. He wants to know why Dakota smells like beer.

"Sorry, that's probably not a very pleasant smell for you is it?" He turned his head away. "Do I smell like it? The whole apartment reeked of beer. The smell should air out soon." He turned back to him. "I'm not a fan of beer either. It makes people do terrible things, doesn't it? I understand. I've been the victim of plenty of beatings too." Dakota felt surprised at himself. He'd never talk about this to anyone except for August, but here he was telling someone he just met yesterday. He paused but continued, just so Grey could focus on the words. "August is good at taking care of people though, his mom's a medical student so he's picked up a thing or two. He's patched me up plenty of times over the years." Dakota staggered a little. "Sorry, you're a bit heavy and I'm a bit shaky, but I'll try not to move too much, okay? I see his house. We're almost there."

"Yay." Grey tries to force some cheerfulness into his voice, but it comes out almost sarcastic. He's grateful that Dakota is helping him, and actually isn't really listening to WHAT he's saying but rather his voice, so he can try to ignore the pain radiating through his body. So he focuses on breathing, on what he can feel of Dakota. Anything besides his body. He's been in pain before, but this is the worst yet.

Sorry these past few chapters have been pretty dark. Don't worry they start to cheer up a little soon!