[UNEDITED]
A long pause was heard on the other line, as my heart pounded in my ears. My head was spinning, the room was a blur of darkness and dim lights. Aching with stress, my entire body was quivering and twitching with uncontrollable tremors of shakes that would surely leave me exhausted soon enough.
"It's going to be okay, Gabby." I heard, looking down with heavy eyes at the phone next to me. I had put it there a few minutes ago. I wanted to grab for it; my hands were stiff and immovable, hanging around my knees. All I could do was listen.
"You know what, milkshakes are on the house, for next time, okay?"
He voice was unsure and somewhat shaky, and sent another onset of sobs splintering through my form. Just outside the house, a car door slammed, followed by two more but it all blended into the pounding blood in my ears. A surge of relief filled me, and slowly I relaxed, leaning my head against the wall behind me.
The door slammed open and Adam stormed in, he immediately caught my eye. "Are you hurt?" What happened?" He rushed over, crouching down and gently pulling my arms away from my knees. He grasped onto my hands and lowered his voice. I still couldn't look at him. "Sunshine? Tell me what happened?"
My voice was stuck in my throat and all I could muster up was weak and volatile sobs, with quivering breaths. I shook my head, hiding it behind my knees. I didn't want him to see me like this.
I felt his hands on mine, slowly prying open my fist and I knew in that moment he had found the bullet.
"What the fuck?"
I lift my head up as he stands, only then realising that we weren't alone.
Two guys stand in the corner, and Adam throws the bullet to one of them who easily catches it. "What is on that fucking bullet, Solomon?" Adam shouts, running a hand through his hair and tugging. "Why the fuck does she have a fucking bullet!"
The boy, who I assumed was Solomon, pulled out his phone using it as a torch. From what I could see, he squints, bringing it closer to his face.
"I swear to fucking God, Gabby did someone hurt you?" He moves closer to me, and I watch as his jaw clenches, even though I'm shaking my head, his voice darkens as it lowers in volume, "No one's going to touch a single-fucking-hair on your head. I swear." He paused for a moment before stepping away again grunting out profanities.
I thought back to the last time I had saw Adam, where I was positive I wouldn't see him as intimidating as he was the first time we met, but looking at him now I wasn't so sure.
"Solomon, what the fuck does the bullet mean?"
Adam paces again and the two remain quiet, "Link, go calm him down." Solomon says, moving closer to the window. Link grunted and made no move to go towards him.
Nonetheless, Adam muttered a simple, "Fuck off." And came to stand back over near me, looking me over.
"Gabby, I need you to tell me what happened?" He demanded, squatting down to my level.
I spoke in a quiet, hushed voice. As though one wrong word would send Adam flying off the wall. My voice was sore and my head pounded with unanswered questions. Seconds passed an just as I began describing the man, I was stopped.
"Oh, shit."
We all turned to Solomon, as an eerie silence dawned on us. Adam glanced over at me before striding towards him. They spoke in hushed whispers, every now and then Adam would cast a glance at me over his shoulder.
"It's a clear warning." Solomon mumbled, passing it over to Adam. My bottom lip trembled.
Adam held it to his face, "I can't see shit."
Solomon moved closer, pointing to a mark on the bullet. "It's small but it's there."
Adam's face fell, paling slightly. Swallowing, I wiped at my red eyes. "What is it?" I asked, my voice raw and croaky. Their heads snapped to mine, almost having forgotten I was still in the corner.
"Nothing." Adam declares, his jaw clenched.
"Adam." I began, trying to stand up on my own two feet. The world collapsed around me, tilting dramatically on it's axis, blinking rapidly, I looked to Adam as he dashed towards me as though I would fall. "What's on the--"
"Gabby what was his name? Did he tell you his name?"
The air was stolen from my lungs, "Everett Romano." I whispered, feeling his name taint the very taste of my mouth, installing me with the same everlasting fear once more.
Adam stepped away from me, quickly his calloused hands flew towards his hair, tugging, ripping and pulling at the black strands. I slid back down besides the wall, watching everything unfold.
Adam grunted profanities as he began kicking the walls. He paced, sharply around the room. "Who is he?" I asked, already regretting it the second it had passed through my lips.
He didn't hear me, or if he had, he ignored me and chose to continue with his furious outburst.
Lincoln stepped forward, "What the fuck were you thinking," Lincoln began, "getting involved with a Romano?"
His voice was low, laced with underlying anger. He rubbed his forehead, and only then I realised it was the first time he was said even a word throughout this whole situation.
Adam stood with his back against me, "It was Juvie. I didn't know what I was getting into."
Fear bubbled up my chest, "Who is he?" I repeated my voice high and panicked; it fell onto deaf ears and I was ignored once more.
Solomon turned away, murmuring as he placed his forearm on the wall and leaned into it. Tension prickled at the air, as Lincoln took another step forward, "Everyone know's who the fuck Everett Romano is. Everyone knows," His voice lowered, glancing over to me, "what he's capable of, so why the fuck--"
Adam stormed over to him and shoved his shoulder harshly, "You don't know a single fucking thing about me--" His shove had made Lincoln stumble back, Solomon jumped in between them placing his hands and pushing them away from each other.
They argued amongst themselves, shouting red, furious venom; not before long it was total havoc.
I stood up again, shaking away any dizziness and stumbling out of the room, not looking back once. It was too much. Everything. A gaping whole inside my chest was soon filled with crumbling shards of a crippling anxiety. A bitter numbness spread throughout my core and I wondered if I was in shock.
For one thing, I knew I most definitely wasn't thinking straight. It was as though there was a dark, blurring cloud veiling my sight, constraining against my every move barely letting me process a single action.
It wasn't my smartest move, I'll tell you that. And sooner rather than later, I had become all too aware of my rash decision. I was alone, in the middle of the street with a daunting black darkness enclosing around my every inch the only source of light was the dim lamp post above my head casting a endless, stretching shadow across the pavement.
All figures blurred into the cloud of darkness, "Gabby!"
Rapidly, I spun around, looking at Adam's tall figure only a few steps in front of me.
"I'm sorry. I never wanted you to be dragged into this. If I had known that this would happen, I would have never--"
I stopped him, "Who is he?"
Adam came closer, just close enough for the light to bounce off his face beautifully, intensifying the curves and sharp points of his sculpted face. "A powerful man."
I shook my head, angered at the vague answer. "Who is he?" I repeated, stressing each word.
He sighed, bringing a grazed fist towards his forehead and rubbing it. There was a pause before he spoke. "The first time I saw Everett Romano, I was in Juvie, it was about two years ago--"
"Why were you in Juvie?" I asked, suddenly curious.
He threw me a look, and sighed again. "It's not a story for the middle of the road, Sunshine, let's go inside."
Without another moment passing, he scooped me into his arms and began walking away.
I sank into his arms, relishing in the warmth they provided. The short time I was outside only proved the intensity the winter air and the harsh reality that had set in on my numb fingertips. I was placed on my feet, still wrapped in his arms when a door opened. In no time at all, I was placed on the seat of his car.
It was the same car he had picked me up for school in, a few weeks back. It felt like a lifetime ago.
His car was more of a truck than a car. It was flashy, always looking as though it had recently been cleaned or waxed. More importantly, it was obvious t any onlooker that it was most definitely expensive, screaming riches wherever it drove.
Adam grunted and closed the door, grabbing something from the back before opening the drivers door.
"You're freezing." He stated, leaving me no room for arguments before handing me a piece of fabric. It was soft, the kind of softness that you could just melt into. The wool was a mixture of dark colours, and before I knew what was happening, Adam was shrugging it over my head.
He didn't look at me, he only turned away and started the engine up.
I could barely hear a sound, or even feel that it was running. "Where are we going?" I questioned, my house was only a few meters away. Quite literally being next door. "Are we leaving them there?" I referenced to Adam's friends, no doubt, still inside the abandoned house.
"They have stuff to do."
I couldn't help but snuggle into the warmth of the jumper as Adam went to turn on the heater. I looked to Adam again, watching as he gripped onto the steering wheel, this eyes nowhere but the road.
"Why did you go to Juvie, Adam? And who is Everett Romano?"
I'd had enough of all the waiting and vague answers, I could feel my hands trembling, not so much with the cold, but out of the bitterly numbing fear that was infecting my blood stream with every passing moment. I wanted answers.
Adam didn't look at me when he spoke. "I met Everett Romano in Juvie. When I got there, he was just finishing his time. Maybe a month to go? I don't know." He paused, making a left turning. "Anyway, when I got there he was ruling the damn place, he had his team of goons and they would follow him everywhere. Big lads, everyone was basically scared shitless, and I never knew why."
He paused, parking up the truck. Only then I realised we were outside his giant estate.
"Until one day, coming up to the end of his time, there was this one guy. A scrawny little guy who owed him some money, something about Romano trading drugs, I don't really know. And one night I was in the canteen. It was pretty late..." He hesitated, as if contemplating what to say next, "I heard it before I saw it and soon enough, I watched as Everett and his goons held that poor fucker down--"
"Where were the guards?"
For the first time that he was speaking, he looked at me and tilted his head. "I don't know. But they sure as fuck weren't there." He thought for a moment, before speaking again, "Everett Romano pulled out a knife, it wasn't an ordinary knife. He had made it out of his toothbrush and a shard of glass, fuck knows where he got that from. I didn't realise what it was until he started stabbing the fucker."
I gasped, feeling sick to my stomach as my hand flew to my mouth. "What happened to him?"
Adam rubbed his forehead, "I don't know if he lived, but shit went downhill from there. Romano was sentenced to three years in prison." I looked at Adam expectantly, when he stopped.
He reached for the door handle, pausing to glance at me.
"A week later Everett escaped. He's been a myth ever since."
I was glued to my seat, the bitter taste of bile latched onto my throat as I begged myself not to throw up.
This was the same man who gave me a bullet, and 'a clear warning'. It was the same man who stabbed a guy and was sent to prison.
The same man who had been only inches away from her what seemed like moments ago.
"You're in shock." I heard.
I was too involved with my sinking pit of anxiety to notice Adam once again had scooped me into his arms. I panicked for a moment, thinking about his parents watching as he brought me in. Probably thinking I was a prostitute he scraped up from the streets.
"Wait," I managed, "what about you parents?"
He threw me a confused look, "What about them?"
"They shouldn't see me."
He shook his head with a light chuckle. "Good thing they've been away for months now, about six if I'm correct."
I threw my head back, feeling all the exhaustion hit me full force as my eyes rolled into the back of my head, and promised myself to find the time to kill Jimmy.