Just Tonight

Every Story

Chapter 5; Every Story

  Every story has two sides,

 And a he said she said fight.

  Hinder graced my worn out ears as I trudged through the street on the way home from work. Six hours in a coffee shop and it felt like coffee leaked out of my pores. This had to have been one of the busiest nights since I worked at Coco Remay. My bag felt heavy hanging from my shoulder, the contents of it pulling me down as I slumped through the night. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, smiling at a text from James. Ever since that night at the street fair we've been hanging out and texting. We weren't dating or anything, just enjoying each others company.

  James: What's the opposite of two?

  Me: Idk, what?

  James: A lonely me, a lonely you. ;)

  Me: Well aren't you the Casanova. 

  James: I like to think so. 

  Laughing at his message I slipped my phone back into my pocket before pressing play on my music again. The only time I ever felt like a teenager was when I was with Razor or James. They helped me relax and have fun. They brought out the carefree version of me. 

  Crossing the street I snuggled deeper into my jacket, tugging on my beanie. I pushed through the doors of my apartment building and climbed the steps to apartment A9, twisting my key in the lock before stepping inside. Hinder was still playing through my head, the lyrics ringing true. Every story had two sides, the truth and the lie. Some lies were better than others, fabrication holding through to the end; some however, fell apart with the movements of the person, crumbled with the stutter on a certain word. The truth was a rare thing in most aspects, being more blunt of the two. The truth doesn't always set you free, sometimes it shackled you, chained you.

  One might be confused as to which road to take, the safe yet equally dangerous path or the dangerous yet fulfilling. It was obvious the latter was rarely chosen. All people did anymore was lie, lie, lie. Did it matter about the truth anymore? Apparently not. At least I could always count on Danny and Dad to tell me the truth.

  Ethans POV

  "Is it done?" I asked Rudy, taking the small hand gun from him. He gave a short nod before collapsing into a chair and kicking his feet up.

  "Julius' gang must be part of the cross country team at their high school. I've never ran so much in my life." James breathed, busting through the door. 

  "You're just out of shape, Jamie," Danny chuckled following Razor through the door.

  "I can't wait till Julius figures out his number two isn't coming home." I laughed darkly, placing the gun in the safe behind my desk.

  "He's gonna be hella pissed." Rudy muttered.

  "He'll just have to get over it," Danny stated, crossing the floor to me, "can I go home now? Ember's starting wonder about where I'm at all the time." I could see the pain it was causing him to lie to his sister but I didn't feel any guilt. When creating an empire like mine you had to take certain risks, make certain sacrifices. My humanity was slowly becoming one of the things I tossed aside. 

  "Yeah you can go, just be back here tomorrow at ten. Rudy should have everything ready for your next big sale by then." I responded, running my hand over my face. The stress just to make a name for your gang was unbelievable, I'll never understand how my brother did it back in L.A.

  "Yeah yeah, I'll be here." Danny murmured, turning away. 

  Before he could take a step I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Don't mess this up for me, Hanley. I mean it." My eyes searched his as they darkened, the celestial blue turning a strange black. Slowly he nodded his head before turning to leave.