Making it out alive

Chapter one - Damien

"FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR."
I stopped. I hadn't done anything wrong that the pigs knew about, but I knew this routine all to well.
"Now walk back to the sound of my voice. Do not turn around until I tell you too."
What did I do this time? Nothing. But I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all the time. It never fails.
"Man Maddox. You are always in trouble aren't you."
"Sure seems that way Wells."
"Was that back talk?" Wells asks the other officers on scene. There is about five others. They all have me at gunpoint.
"Yes sir it sure did seem like that didn't it. You just don't know when to stop do you boy?" This voice was unfamiliar.
"What we have new officers now?" That was the end of it. Next thing I knew there was a steel toed boot on the back of my leg. I was knocked to the ground in slight pain and agony. The others joined in with kicking and batons. I could feel the bones crack as every kick from those boots landed somewhere on my body. First it was my stomach. The officer kicked me so hard that it felt like the boot was on its way out the other side of my body. Then my face. I've been kicked before but never quite like that. My vision went fuzzy and dark. My head pounding as my heart sped up. I don't remember much after that. But I do remember waking up in a dirty old cell with the taste of blood in my mouth. I sat up on the rusty old bed frame that I have spent plenty of nights sleeping on. I got real dizzy and almost fell back down to the bed. I more than likely have a concussion. The mattress is nothing but some old blankets laid on top of each other. The cinder block walls showing their age with cracks and peeling paint. This cell was falling apart but at least I got to fall apart with it. Some nights this place was better than home. Most nights actually.
"Hey Wells! The kid is awake. What should we do with him."
"I'll take care of him. Unlock the cell so the captain can talk to him." Wells was always one of the crooked officers. Even when he first joined the force. But nothing can be done about it cause his dad is the governor. Wells grew up as a rich mommy and daddy's boy. Got everything he ever wanted. I will give him props, he did work for this spot on the force. But not very hard. He loves to beat on people. And if you are a hispanic or black male in this town when he is working. You best stay inside or have a camera rolling. Neither of which I had.
Click. The door opens and Wells steps inside. I start to stand up. "Did I tell you to stand up boy because I don't think that I did. Sit your ass back down." I sit back down on the bed and prepare myself for what is next. Hoping but knowing that he won't take it easy on me given the beating that I just had when I got picked up.
"Now you can stand boy. Hurry it up. Captain doesn't have all day." He grabs my arm as I'm working on standing up and forcefully pulls me off the bed. My shoulder popped and I couldn't move my arm. I felt a sharp pain like I had just gotten stabbed and my shoulder was searing with pain. Wells starts to walk me down to the captain's office. When we reach his office we have to sit and wait for the captain to get done with a phone call. Wells orders me to sit down and, not wanting any more pain, I comply. We sit there for a while not saying anything to anyone. It's awkward for a couple minutes, but Wells breaks the silence.
"You do realize that you are just gonna get picked up every time you do something against the law right? And if you would watch your mouth you wouldn't get beat on right? You are just a kid Maddox. And being a hispanic boy in the 'City of Angels' is dangerous. I used to think that the City of Angels was gonna be this great big city with nice people that look out for you. It's not. And if you want to make it you gotta stay tough and don't let anyone see any weakness." This didn't sound like something that Wells would say but he was definitely saying it to me. Maybe he was trying to get me to not tell the Captain what had happened. Or maybe this guy is honestly a good guy. He just needs to get his head on straight. "Maddox one last thing," he stopped for a minute to think. "Just. Don't ever lose focus on your goal. Stay true to yourself. If you are looking away from the direction you wish to be traveling in, then you gonna crash." It was a weird analogy but it stuck with me. Especially because of who it came from. Wells wasn't normally sentimental like that. Especially with me. That man hated my guts and made sure I knew it too.
At this moment the captain had walked out. He took one look at my face and immediately asked what had happened. He knew what happened. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Wells fiddling with his thumbs. Our eyes met and I decided to mess with him a little bit.
A sinister smile crept onto my face while still staring Wells down. He looked at me with one of those faces he makes. The ones that tell you to watch your back or plan your funeral so that your family doesn't have too. I looked back at the captain and chuckled a little bit, "Well you see captain I kissed one of my friends in front of her boyfriend. He wasn't super happy with me but hey I got to kiss my dream girl right? Oh yeah and she is probably on her way here so if we could make this quick that would be great." The sight of relief that washed over Wells' face was definitely worth the beatings. The captain dismisses Wells and helps me into his office.
"Tell me what really happened out there Maddox. Not the bullshit I kissed my dream girl story."
"Captain believe me when I tell you I kissed her. And her boyfriend actually beat me up okay? I don't understand why you don't believe me cap." I think he knew that it was the truth but one punch from a college kid won't make my face look the way it does.
"Maybe it did happen. But that isn't what made your face the way it does. You look like you got hit by a truck. Now tell me who did this to you." He was determined to find out who did this.
"I ain't no snitch cap. You know this."
"Fine. Don't give me names. But do me a favor. Try your absolute hardest to get out of this godforsaken city. A hispanic boy with a reputation such as yourself has a deathwish staying in this city. Take the money you get from racing and leave. Sell one of your cars. Do something to get out. Because one day it will be too late. One day one of these guys won't stop. And I don't want to have to deal with the governor when it does happen." At this point I stopped listening. Did he really just say that to me? "Maddox you-"
"Stop. Just stop. What the fuck cap?" I was furious at this point. My voice started to raise. At the same time Wells had opened the door. He had Naomi with him. But I was too furious to care.
"You mean to tell me that the reason you don't want me to get beat to death is because you don't want to have to deal with the pressure from the governor?" I shouted. Wells and Naomi walked further into the room. Wells had a look of horror and hurt on his face. I couldn't quite place a finger on why he would be hurt.
The cap stuttered, "I-I- yes. I don't want the governor to think that I would let something like this happen on my watch." I just stood there and stared at him in disbelief. If my hands hadn't still been in cuffs I might have slapped some sense into him. He started again, "Mend-"
"Stop. Don't you dare say another word to me. You don't care about me. You never cared about me. All you care about is your own damn reputation. With the governor, with me, with every officer at this station. YOU WILL DO ANYTHING TO BE LIKED BY EVERYONE. YOU WILL LIE TO EVERY PERSON HERE SO THAT WE CARE ABOUT YOU. But you are nothing but a manipulating piece of shit. I can't believe I ever trusted you." At this point I was furious. In disbelief. I wanted to get angry but it wasn't worth it. I took Naomi's hand and walked out. Never wanting to see his face again. I looked at wells and he looked confused. But concerned. I had a weird feeling about him. I didn't want to like it but I felt like I could trust him. Despite everything he has ever done to me.
Me and Naomi walked back to her house. Her parents were never really home so I just stayed at her house. I didn't have anywhere else to go. My dad was a raging alcoholic and my mom hasn't been in my life since the day I was born. My brothers and sisters were dispersed across the world. I had lived with a couple of them. Mostly in the states. But now I was living on my own in LA. I lived in one of the worst parts of the city when I wasn't staying with Naomi. Which I did most nights now. I'm trying to change my life. I'm not trying to be the classic ghetto Hispanic boy. I joined rotc at my school to keep me off the streets. I did that and sports. And it did a pretty good job of keeping me out of trouble.
The drive home was mostly uneventful. Not much was said. I was in so much pain I couldn't even think straight. Naomi seemed concerned or annoyed. I could never tell with her.
"Are you okay? What happened?" She was definitely concerned. I could hear the tears she was trying to hold back.
"Yeah I'm okay. I don't know what happened. Wells saw me and you know how that goes."
"I wish I could help you babe. The only thing that might help would be to move." No. I couldn't leave. I couldn't lose the one woman I have ever been with.
"No. I can't lose you Naomi. You know I can't. And I won't leave you." I couldn't lose her. She was my rock.
She struggled to spit out her next work. "Dame. I-I don't know if I can do this anymore. My parents are giving me shit about dating a criminal. And we aren't even happy anymore. I think I need some time for myself." She turned on a road that I hadn't been down in a while. The road to my house.
"No naomi no. Please don't do this. I can't lose you." I could feel my heart starting to ache. And I could feel everything spinning. She was the one good part of my life. But we were struggling. We were fighting a lot lately. And I could feel her drifting away. I was on my way to pick up flowers for her when I got picked up.
"Dame we've only been together for 6 months. And we took it really fast. Yes it has been amazing. You are amazing. And I love you. But I can't do this right now. I was on my way to Harvard and then you came along and now I am off track. I don't even know who I am anymore. I lost myself trying to fit you. I wanted you to be with me so I changed myself. Damien I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry." She stopped the car. And there it was. My fathers house. I haven't seen him in almost 2 years. "I'm sorry Damien. I love you so much. We can still be friends but I can't be with you. I hope you understand." She was holding back tears. I could see the pain in her face. She didn't want to do this but she had to.
I wasn't angry. I was hurt. I grabbed my stuff and got out of her car. I started walking up to the house. My stomach dropped. I heard her car drive away. But I couldn't look at it. I opened the door to the smell of stale beer. And there he was. Standing in front of me with his arms crossed.
"Hey dad. I hope it's okay that I come home." Hoping he wasn't going to get angry.
"Yeah. It's okay. Naomi called me. Are you okay?" A rare moment when my father was sober. And he actually cared.
"I will be. Thank you dad."
~
A couple days passed and I still wasn't okay. I hadn't gone to school but I didn't care. My dad disappeared the night I came home. Which was good for me. I was playing some video games to get my mind off things when I heard the front door fly open.
"Damien you sorry fuck. Guess who I just ran into. The captain of the police force. And you wanna know what he said. That you cussed him out and embarrassed him in front of one of his officers." I didn't want to answer. Anything I said would set him off. He was slurring his words. I was secretly hoping he would trip and fall onto the ground and forget about the captain. "You better answer me boy"
"Dad do you even know what he does to me? No. So back off"
He stayed silent for a minute while he went and got another beer. I kept playing my game when all of a sudden a beer bottle went flying by my head. It hit the wall besides me and next thing I know he laid his fist into my chin. I blacked out after that and woke up in a jail cell. Wells was looking down at me.
"Hey bud. I just thought I'd stop by and let you know what's going on. You have court today at one for drug possession. My guess is your dad planted it on you right before we got you. But with your past it isn't going to go over well. I will testify for you and hopefully the most you will do is 30 days." He was actually being nice.
"What drugs was I caught with?"
"Weed and LSD. But I know that you've never dealt any of that."
I didn't know what to say. That son of a bitch planted drugs on me. "Thank you Wells. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome buddy. I'll see you in court."
~
It took me forever to get dressed because of the beatings I had gotten the last two days. But I was on my way to court to convince them that it wasn't my drugs. Hopefully.
Court had started and I testified innocent. They asked if I had any character witnesses and my attorney said yes and called wells up. He did as promised and testified that I had never dealt those kind of drugs. I was changing my life and he hadn't seen me on the streets in a long time. I'm hoping that helped my side cause I didn't want jail time. The judge asked for another witness and to my surprise my attorney said yes again. I waited for the witness to come into the courtroom anxiously. There she was. What was she doing here. She had no reason to defend me. Naomi. The love of my life. She didn't even look at me but said I wouldn't have done that with how far I'd come. Thank you. Not much more happened but I was sentenced to thirty days in a federal penitentiary. I was put in max because of the amount of times I've been in there.
~
I only ever had one visitor. And it was my neighbor who was always looking out for me. She asked how I was doing. Asked how max was jokingly. And then she said it. And I needed her to say it.
"Honey I think it's time you moved."
I didn't oppose. And now I was onto yet another new place. It was perfect timing actually. I needed a fresh start. "Thank you."