The Delinquents

The Delinquents - chpt. 18

The Delinquents

Chapter Eighteen

Keegan reacted faster than I could follow. I heard a loud rattle and an exhale of air and then the kid had his face pressed up against the fence hard enough for his cheeks to fold over the metal.

Keegan had his hand on the kid's collar and was pulling tight enough to choke the kid's air off. "What the fuck did you say?"

"Let him go, man!" another boy shouted, panicked. 

Keegan glared and pressed his face closer to the kid he held prisoner. "You want to know what I did to get in here? You think it's cool? You want to know what a real criminal is like?"

"Keegan," I called sharply. One of the kid's friends had already taken off. Who knew where he was going. We could have the cops here in moments.

Keegan acted like he hadn't heard me. "I broke a kid's nose so bad once, it took three surgeries to fix it. They told me a piece had gone as far as his brain." The kid in his grasp whimpered.

I strode forward and grabbed Keegan's arm, yanking him back and releasing his grip on the other kid. "That's enough," I told him, voice thick with panic and unshed tears. He was scaring even me.

The kid backed up a few paces, bent over and coughing. He glared at Keegan through the side of his eye, lips twisting into a cruel smirk. My gut twisted. "Crazy son of a bitch," the kid spat, "you don't scare me. You're a wild animal but you're still behind a cage."

Keegan glared darkly. "You should follow your friend," Keegan warned, indicating to the missing fifth boy.

The boy rubbed his collar and looked from me to Keegan and then back to me. "What's your name?" he asked me.

I tensed and Keegan moved in front of me. "Don't talk to her," he snapped, "go with your friend before I do something stupid."

The boy looked back at his friends and laughed. The others weren't so confident. Two of them sized up Keegan and took a cautionary step back. The lead boy was still smiling, eyes bright and clear. I felt fear roll around in my stomach. His type was our type. The kind who was enthralled by confrontation, by danger, by risk.

"Go home," I told him.

The boy looked straight at me. "You're far too hot to be with that gorilla. Tell me your name, babe and I'll tell you mine." The veins on Keegan's forearms tightened. "You think that juicehead treats you right? I can show you a better time, I promise."

"Stop talking to her," Keegan thundered, breath hard and fast.

The boy laughed and looked back at his buddies. "Can you believe this? They found love in orange jumpsuits. Unbelievable." He looked at me and smiled. "What did you get caught for? What does a pretty girl get arrested for?"

"Just stop," I demanded.

"Prostitution!" the boy declared, feigning an 'Ah-ha!' moment. Around him, his friends burst into laughter and took a fresh interest in me. Their stares made me want to disappear.

"How much do you cost?" one of the boys in the back yelled. The others roared. My cheeks flared red. 

The boy looked me over. "Mediocre," he declared, "I wouldn't pay minimum―not with that body. But she doesn't exactly look high class, does she boys?"