Brooklyn:
After being forced to spend one summer in Italy with her grandma, Brooklyn always found her way back to the cobblestone streets but not for the feeling of a summer never ending, but for Valentino, a boy who radiates trouble and sees throu...
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POV: Dima "Stay close to people who feel like sunlight." - Unknown A time before Valentino and Brooklyn
There are two things I learned on these streets.
One should always turn a blind eye. If it doesn't concern you, then keep walking. Two, no matter what, never EVER form connections with anyone, whether it's a person or a freaking rat. It will always get you into trouble in the end.
Somehow, I ended up breaking two rules in one day.
"Hey! Hey! Stay away from me you creep!" A girly voice comes from an alley not far from where I'm eating dinner. The light from the streetlamps cast shadows all over the streets, giving anyone the perfect opportunity to do anything.
Even harass little girls in dark alleyways.
Yet I still mind my business. I fought hard for this burger, and I'll be damned if I let it go for some newbie who doesn't know to stay out of alleyways at night. My mouth is inches from my burger before I hear another scream, "Help me! Hel-" The rest of the plea is cut off, I'm guessing by a hand or a gun to the head.
Before I do anything stupid, I close my eyes, but the only thing I can see is my mama and the men who took her. The one lone tear that dripped down her cheeks as the reality of her situation sank in She wasn't going to make it out, and if she did, she wouldn't be the same woman as before.
I stuffed the burger in my jacket pocket and ran into the alleyway before I could stop myself. Like I predicted, the girl is pressed up against a brick wall with a knife right below her neck. One wrong move and it could be over, but the drunk person next to her could care less.
He uses his other hand to trace a path up her thigh, despite the tears running down her cheeks. My heart tightens at the sight, while my anger simmers like it hasn't before. With the precision of a skilled archer, I reach the man in two steps, and before he can realize it, I snap his neck before the knife can do any harm.
Surprise takes over the pupils in his eyes as he drops to the ground with a thump. The body is like an elephant in the narrow room the walls give me and this girl. She hunched over, taking big intakes of air while tears rolled down her dark cheeks. Minutes pass before she can mutter a 'thank you', but by then I'm already at the end of the alleyway.
"If I were you, I would flee the scene. You don't want to get caught by the cops, do you?" With that, I head south towards the club I always visit every Friday around this time. What I don't expect is the sound of the girls' voice again: "Wait!" I keep walking, but she obviously doesn't get the hint.
Her steps start to mirror mine as I turn towards the familiar street where the restaurant's roof I sit on is.
Gosh, you walk really fast. My name is Jessie, by the way," she says, sticking her out in the space between us, but I just regard it with a glare. Her hands are still somewhat clean, so this girl must be a foster child. In other words, too much trouble for me to handle. I just wish she didn't tell me her goddamn name.
"Well, Jesse, you seem to know around here." The nod of her curly head confirms my suspicions. "So there are some things you should know, starting with avoiding dark alleys after dark and leaving people you don't know alone." I amp up the speed of my walk and leave the stupid girl on the sidewalk. I don't need a psychic to tell me that another day with Jesse could be my downfall.
If snapping a man's neck wasn't enough, then I don't know what is. She obviously doesn't know how to stay out of trouble.
"But I don't have anyone else," Only then do I stop in my tracks. I've thought those same words a thousand times but never dared utter them out loud because I was too scared that they would feel bitter on my tongue like sour candy.
I was too scared that it would taste like the truth. I do have other people, really. They just don't know me yet, but they will, and when they do, they will take me in and treat me like their own.
But that could be years from now, and I could use extra help when I'm stealing from the bakery. I can't believe I'm really considering this. I mean, everyone and their mama knows to never form connections on these cold streets, especially with a trouble magnet, but still.
"You can hang with me." As soon as I say it, a high-pitch squeal comes from behind me, followed by an unexpected hug. My body stiffens at the unfamiliar warmth. The last time someone came this close to me was when they wanted to steal my food. Wait a minute.
Jesse stares up at me with her big brown eyes as she takes a big bite out of MY burger. To make it sure, ketchup drips down her chin and onto her white shirt, which makes her brown skin pop under the streetlights. Weirdly enough, I'm not that mad that she took a bite from my burger, but at the smile after.
This girl is going to be trouble. I just know it. 🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮 Present Day
The photograph is old as time with its creases and peeling corners.
A rare moment where the harshness of the streets wasn't so bad. Jesse made it better. Dirt streaked the planes of brown skin, but the smile on her face remained as she threw a skinny arm around my shoulders. My face was stoic, though, and I wished I had smiled in that picture because I didn't know how lucky I was.
She walked the streets filled with brightness, even when I could see the hollow of her stomach. That type of friend was worth more than the 100,000-dollar watch I'm wearing now, and I would trade everything to be in that moment again. With her. To this day, I would rather give her my last piece of bread than see her starve.
It was a rule she was oblivious to, and one day I planned to tell her. When we were under crystal chandeliers dressed in our Sunday best while eating gourmet food, of course. An old joke to laugh at when we reminisced about old times. I wonder if past me would still befriend her if future Dima told him that she was Brooklyn's twin, but I didn't even know Brooklyn at that time, so it doesn't matter. I would still be doomed in the end.
