Trapped In Your Bleeding Heart (Riff x Reader)

Chapter Three - The Underside⚠️

⚠️Trigger warning: mentions of an injury that alludes to domestic abuse.⚠️

As Squinty and I continued down the streets, the air seemed to grow less and less fresh. It held a certain weight. The scent of smoke was thick— and something held a dirty odour.

"Plug your nose, Squinty..." I muttered.

A small girl sat on a bench to the right of me, holding her arm and sniffling quietly. I approached her slowly, holding my hands up slightly when she spotted me. "Hi. I'm Rose." I said, smiling softly to the girl.

The girl sniffled once more. "I'm Lucile." She introduced stuffily.

"How old are you, Lucile?"

"Seven, but I turn eight in June."

"Oh, wow. So you're big now!" I said, taking my backpack off of my shoulders. "Say, Lucile... Would you mind showing me what's on your arm?"

She swallowed and removed her small hand from her shoulder. There were multiple small dark circles of black, certainly left from cigarettes. I looked up to Lucile's eyes. "Does your Dad put his cigarettes out on you?" I asked.

"Sometimes. And they— they don't hurt too bad. They would if I were a baby. But I'm no baby anymore."

"Of course, of course, you're all big and strong now." I said, taking some ointment and sanitary wipes out of my bag.

"Now, I'm a doctor, so I'm gonna heal these up for you really quick, okay? All you have to do is be a tough girl for a couple minutes, okay?" I said, taking out a small bandage next.

Lucile said nothing, but nodded, her focus directed to my medical materials. I took a sanitary wipe and gently attempted to remove the black particles that remained on Luciles skin. She jerked back, but remained quiet as I worked. Next I applied ointment, and then quickly covered the burns with the small bandage I had prepared. I placed a kiss on top of the bandage and smiled. "All done! You were so strong! Good job!" I exclaimed.

Lucile looked at me hopefully. It broke my heart. To think, so many girls her age were likely enduring worse. I stood slowly, unsure of what to say next, but not wanting to leave the girl.

"Did you give her any pain killers?" A voice beside me asked.

I turned to the voice and saw an old woman in pants and a hair wrap, her white hair spiralling around her face and shoulders in tight, fluffy curls. I looked down to Lucile, and then back to the old woman. "No... I don't have any." I admitted.

The old woman hummed and approached Lucile. I took a step back and looked down to Squinty, who sat by my side patiently. "I'm Valentina." The old woman introduced, although I wasn't sure if she was speaking to me or the girl.

After a few minutes of treating Lucile, Valentina stood and turned towards me. "Let's go." She said simply, turning away from me and leading me further down the street.

"I've seen you a few times now." Valentina said. "You heal both white and Puerto Rican people. Why is that?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why would I neglect either? I came here to help, not to discriminate."

She hummed. "People like you are far and few between these days."

I looked down to Squinty. "That's unfortunate." I said.

"Yes... it is."

..

Together, Valentina and I helped many more people. Valentina distributed medications and prescription pills to treat the sick, and I treated any other injuries that were presented to me. After many hours, the sun grew lower in the sky, and we decided to head back for the neighborhoods before it got too dark.

"So." Valentina began. "What is your name?"

She had a strong and unique accent— one that I couldn't quite recognize as a New York accent or a Puerto Rican one. "Rose." I answered, although I was sure she heard me introduce myself many times to the people we had treated.

"I'll call you Sparky. Rose is too hard."

I nodded stiffly. "Okay." I said. She laughed.

"Tell me, Sparky. What are you doing walking around with Riff's dog?"

I looked down to the large black dog. "Who, Squinty?" I asked. Valentina nodded.

"I found him in an alley, tied up with rope. There was an empty paint can taped around his neck- like a makeshift muzzle. It was horrible. He's been following me since I let him free— I didn't know he belonged to someone."

"Do you know who abused him?"

"No, but my best guess would be that group of boys that came through earlier. They were holding paint cans similar to the one that was shoved onto Squinty's face."

Valentina hummed. "No, it wasn't them." She said.

"... How do you know?"

"The group of boys you're referring to are called the Jets. The leader of the Jets is named Riff. You're walking with Cash— Riff's dog— right now." Valentina explained.

I looked down to Squinty—er— Cash. "Riff would kill anyone who hurt his dog." Valentina continued. "None of the Jets would dare do anything like this to him. Most likely, one of the Sharks did it- to send a message."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Sharks..." I trailed off.

Now come to think of it, I had heard Bernardo speak of these groups before. They had always remained quiet around me, though. Was it because I wasn't Puerto Rican? Did they think I would side with these 'Jets'?

"Where do you live, Sparky?" Valentina asked.

Police sirens echoed in the distance. I felt Squinty grow closer to me. "Not too far from here." I replied.

Valentina nodded. "It's smart not to share your address with strangers."

I looked towards the sunset that peeked over the top of Manhattan's tall buildings. Valentina touched my shoulder. "It was nice working with you, Sparky." She said. "I own a place called 'Doc's'. It has medication and drugs. Next time you go to the underside, stop by and I'll provide you with some."

She began to walk across the street, and away from Squinty and I. "Thank you!" I called after her.

She simply raised a hand and lazily dropped it back down.

Authors note: wHat a CoInCiDanCe