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.
Once again, I felt nothing.
No regrets.
Embers POV
"Have you seen your brother lately?" Dad asked, handing me a microwavable lasagna. I scrunched my nose up at the greenish cheese and the rough garlic smell before setting the plastic tray down and grabbing an apple.
"Nope. He's been AWOL for a while now." Biting into my apple the apartment door swung open and Danny walked in, followed by James. I grinned before hopping up from my seat and tackling him in a hug.
"Long time no see Emmy." James laughed, hugging me back.
"Damn right. 24 hours without your presence just drives me insane." I joked, dragging him over to my dad. I held back my chuckles as James practically bowed at my fathers feet, a look of admiration so deep in his eyes. He really looked up to my father.
"You two look weirdly alike." I commented, tipping my head to the side. Looking over at my dad I noticed the color in his face drain as he took in the younger man in front of him.
"You okay, Dad?" Danny asked, concern etching his features.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired. It was nice to meet you." Dad said, nodding at James before walking down the hall to his room. James' face fell as he watched my dads retreating back and I couldn't help but feel bad.
"Hey, wanna go out for pizza? Our fridge isn't really stocked." I said softly, grabbing James' elbow. He brightened immediately, pizza being his favorite food.
"Wanna come Danny?" James asked, glancing over at my brother.
"Nah, you two can go without me. I'm just gonna chill and watch Guy Code." With that James and I walked out, playing fighting all the way down the stairs.
"What have you been up to all day?" I asked James, swinging my hands back and forth as we walked down the street.
"A whole lot of nothing. What about you?" James asked, making weird motions with his hands. I chose to ignore it.
"Work, my darling. Lots of work."
"That's why I smell coffee beans." At that I scoffed, shoving James into a light pole. We continued walking, side by side but miles apart on the inside. I couldn't even begin to imagine what James was thinking about; my own problems washing over every cell in my brain, pouring out every pore in my body.
What was going on with Danny? He was acting so suspicious and withdrawn. It wasn't like him. The feeling of dread, an immense mountain of it, washed over me, almost causing me to stumble. Was Danny lying to me? After everything we've been through, everything we've conquered? He couldn't be. He wouldn't. Danny knew how much the truth meant to me.
I shook my head. No, Danny wasn't lying. He must just have a lot on his mind. Then again, so did I. Was this person me? The Ember I knew couldn't be walking down the street next to a nice, adorable, funny guy who was quickly turning into her best friend and confidant. No, this wasn't me. I loathed social interaction, despised the way teenagers acted. This certainly wasn't me.
But then the question came. If this wasn't me, then who was it? Maybe all this time I'd just been waiting for someone to bring out the carefree side of me; James certainly did that. I smiled. I could be my uptight self with everyone else, and this carefree ninny with James. I glanced over at James to see a look of horror enter his gaze. My eyes widened as I looked in the direction he was gazing, only to see a middle aged man, stumbling drunkenly down the sidewalk.
"What's wrong, James?" I asked, touching his arm lightly. He flinched before shooting me an apologetic glance and grabbing my hand, tugging me into an alley.
Before he could however, the man grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me to his side. He shot a disgusted look in my direction before sloppily shoving me into a wall and stepping up to James. I watched on in horror and confusion.
"Did you think you could just leave, Jimmy Boy?" The man slurred, grabbing James by the collar and shaking him.
"Uncle Sam, we're in the middle of the street," James whispered, attempting to pry the man off him.
"I don't care! Answer my question boy, or so help me God I'll give you a lickin." The man growled, shoving James into the building wall. I wanted to help, I really did, but the only thing I was seeing was my father doing that to many other men; my brother protecting me from rival gang members when I was twelve.
"Yes, Uncle Sam. I thought I could just leave. You're drunk all the time I wasn't really expecting you to notice an empty room," James spoke, his voice growing hard as he drew in confidence.
"You little bastard!" Before I could even blink the man gathered enough sobriety to stand up straight and smack James across the face, a loud sound echoing all around. My jaw dropped before I took a hesitate step forward, only stopping when James shook his head and stood to his full height. He towered over the much older man, a dark look brewing in his dark eyes before he shot his fist out and punched his uncle.
"When I left, I thought I made it clear I wanted nothing to do with you. You can't hurt me any longer, Uncle Sam, I'm not under your control," James spat before grabbing my arm and tugging me down the street to the pizza place.
I gaped as he shoved me into a red leather booth, my mouth open to catch flies. James had a bright red hand print surfacing on the right side of his face and his eyes were puffy. My heart cracked.
"I don't want to talk about it." James spoke stiffly, picking up the napkin dispenser and tossing it around in his hands.
"James-" I started, before getting cut off by the waitress.
"What can I get you to drink?" The slightly overweight brunette asked, batting her eyelashes at James. I glared at her.
"I'll have a Coke please." I said in a clipped tone, eyeing her with disgust. She smacked her bubble gum loudly, sending me a too fake smile before looking at James again.
"What about you, hun?" She asked, shifting her body closer to him. My eyes narrowed. This girl was shameless.
"Same as her please." James said, pinching the bridge of his nose. She was obviously upset by the lack of attention he was giving her as she huffed, wrote down our drink order and left.
I fingered the checkered table cloth, considering my words carefully. Should I make him tell me what that was all about? Or should I just let him tell me on his on? I shouldn't press. Nodding to myself I decided to let him tell me when he was ready.
The slutty waitress brought us our drinks and we ordered a large stuffed crust pepperoni pizza with breadsticks before settling back into a thick silence. I didn't like the awkward tension slowly filling the booth but I was to afraid that if I opened my mouth, something stupid would come out. We sat in silence as our food was delivered. This was painfully awkward, if you ask me.
Just as I took a bite of my pizza, James opened his mouth to speak.
"My dad went to jail when I was five. My mom died when I turned eight," He began, taking a giant gulp, "that man you just saw took me in. At first I thought he was the best person in the world, I respected him in every way. But all that changed when I turned fourteen." James stopped there, a deep look of pain in his eyes.
"What changed?" I prodded softly. James sucked in a breath.
"He started drinking. First it was just on the weekends, but then that turned into every night. Soon he was getting smashed by eleven in the mornings, drinking his sorrows away. He lost his job, lost his friends, took up with the wrong kind of people. People even worse than gang members. I was afraid of what he was doing to himself so I tried to help him, but that only made him mad. Soon enough he hit me and after that, the beatings just kept coming. I begged him not to hit me, I begged him to stop drinking; he never listened though, chose the bottle over me. Before that, I always saw him as a father figure but soon that image I built faded away.
"He was just some man. Some evil man who found joy in my misery. I hid my bruises from everyone, covered the cuts and scars. One day though, I was walking through the park when I ran into Ethan. I didn't know much about him then, except that he was the leader of the Downtown Saints. To say I was apprehensive around him would be an understatement. It was hot that day though, and since no one was around I pulled my hoodie off, leaving only my white t-shirt. Sam had been worse off than usual the night before so I was covered in bruises. Ethan stopped me on the trail, grabbed my arm and raised my shirt.
"He asked me where I got the bruises and I told him they were from a fight, but he didn't believe me. He followed me home that night and had me pack my bags. We left before Sam got back. I was fifteen at the time. I've lived with Ethan ever since." James finished. There was a ghost of a smile on his face, under the sadness in his eyes. He obviously respected Ethan. My heart hurt for James, but I was stuck on that last part. Ethan saved him? Ethan Warren?
Badass, gang leader, all around jackass took in someone? Someone he wasn't inclined to take in? That was a little hard for me to wrap my mind around.
"Ethan took you in?" I asked, shaking myself from my thoughts.
"Yep. It's a little hard for you to believe I'd say. Trust me though, you don't know him like I do," James said, picking up his pizza. I nodded.
"I'd say. I'm sorry all of that happened to you though. You didn't deserve it, James." I whispered the last part, surprised to find tears surfacing in my eyes. James just smiled and continued eating.
An hour later we waltzed through my apartment door, laughing between each other. Danny was on the couch, asleep and my dad was nowhere to be found. I sat our leftover pizza on the kitchen table before skipping into my room, James hot on my heels. We crashed into my small room and sat on the bed, swinging our feet back and forth at each other.
"How long have you guys lived here?" James asked, flicking his hair out of his face.
"About three years. We used to live in the gang house when I was little," I said, laying back on the bed.
"Seriously? You lived there?" James asked, laying down beside me.
"Yep, I practically grew up there. We moved out after Dad stepped down," I said softly, closing my eyes.
"What is it like, having Buddy as a father?" James asked hesitantly.
I thought about it for a second. When I was little, Dad wasn't always there. Sometimes I'd wonder if he really cared about us, but that didn't last long. The main thing that got to me was everything he taught us, everything he told us. My dad was wise, but he was also barbaric.
"It was different, I guess. He wasn't there a lot until he stepped down. He taught me and Danny a lot though, and I know for sure it'll always stick with us," I said quietly, drumming my fingers on my stomach.
"I wish I was your brother, Ember. Not to sound creepy." James said.
"I wish you were too, Jamie. Since you're not though, I'll just adopt you as my brother."
I didn't hear what he said after that. Drifting off to sleep, I dreamed of death.
"What the hell is going on here?" A voice screamed, interrupting my peaceful sleep. Groaning, I rolled over onto my back.
"Ember Davis Hanely, why is there a boy in your bed?" My brother asked as I opened my eyes and sat up.
I looked from him, to my dad, to Jamie. This definitely didn't look good. I opened my mouth, only to be cut off my a peachy, I'm-a-morning-person James.
"We fell asleep last night, Sir. Nothing happened," James said quickly, sending Danny and Dad both a reassuring smile.
"Nothing better have fucking happened." My dad hissed before storming away. I just sat there, stock still. That was a first. Dad never yelled.
"James, why don't you leave?" My brother suggested, moving out of the doorway. James nodded before hugging me and walking out the door.
"That was rude." I said, flipping back over onto my stomach.
"Why was he here, Ember?" Danny asked.
"Like Jamie said, we fell asleep."
"Are you sure that's all that happened?"
"Yes, now get out," I spoke harshly, lowering my head to the pillow again. I listened as Danny left the room and shut the door before closing my eyes and going back to sleep.
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Awh, feel bad for James? I sure do! Are you getting my hints? I hope so. I'm thinking of switching actors for James... Vote, comment, fan. Happy reading!! Oh, and the A Trophy Fathers Trophy Son is in the external link. It's a song by Sleeping With Sirens I thought went sorta well with James story. Check it out!
AH! Question: Ethan and Ember chapter next, or Ember and James?? I want YOUR opinion!