"They're throwing me a little welcome home party." Curly sighed as he rested his hand on his palm and carefully observed Daisy as she worked.
She cleaned the surface of the counter with a rag before flashing Curly a sympathetic look. "I'm sure it'll be a gas, what's worrying you?"
Curly shrugged and sipped on his milkshake. "I'll be seeing everyone and they'll be treating me different."
"How so?" She challenged.
Curly looked around the diner for what must have been the billionth time. Pouring his feelings out like some hung-up poet made him feel vulnerable, but with the diner being near empty, and the sight of a waitress and customer not raising many eyebrows, he didn't mind it too much.
"I dunno." He sighed. He checked his watch and noticed he was more than twenty minutes late showing up at the lot. "I've gotta get going.. You sure you don't need me to walk you?" Curly asked.
"Nah." Daisy replied as she hung her apron on the back hook. "Unless you wanna get better 'acquainted' with Willy." She joked lightly, but the both of them knew they dreaded the situation. The thought of the Shepard Gang and Brumley Boys knowing about their relationship put Curly on edge, as if he wasn't tense enough.
Curly's attention shifted from Daisy to the window, squinting so he could get a better look outside. He noticed that Jimmy's car had circled around the diner a few times. "Ha, it'd be a real blast." Curly smiled before gulping down the rest of his milkshake. "I'll see you later, Dais."
"Have fun!" She said to him.
"Don't miss me too much." He winked before getting up from his stool and walking out the diner, running quickly to flag down Jimmy. He sped over and the screeching sound of breaks filled the air.
"Angie told me you'd be here." Jimmy said through the rolled down window.
"Course she did." Curly grumbled as he jogged over to the passenger side, Jimmy not even waiting for him to close the door before speeding off.
"Man, everyone's here." Jimmy said as he pulled up to Curly's house.
He waited until Jimmy opened the car door for him to do the same, his heart was pounding through his chest as his hand reached the handle. Jimmy motioned for him to move faster but everything felt strange to him. There were strong traces of firewood and joints filling the air. He could hear loud laughing from the back of the house.
He moved closer to get inside the house first, to try to give himself a pep talk before reuniting with everyone but everyone seemed to notice him in that moment. The whole gang circled him and embraced him in a quick hug, he could barely stand his ground with everyone slapping him around like a Raggedy Anne.
"Shit, guys. Ease up a bit?" Curly chuckled.
There were some kids Curly hadn't recognized, rugged and tuff looking, standing a few feet away, carefully keeping their distance. He figured they were the new recruits. His heart rate had gone back to normal but the tense, anxious feeling hadn't ceased. He still felt on edge, like he didn't belong there.
"It's good to have you back, ese." Ed said in a hushed tone once everyone scattered away.
Curly stood in the outskirts of the bonfire, taking everything in and nursing his beer. Surprisingly, he had grown a strong dislike for it but beer was the only thing they had. He needed to have some sort of liquor to get him through the night or else he'd be chain smoking like a fiend.
Curly tried not to stare too hard at Ed's left eye, which he noticed had discoloration and hung lazily. Ed noticed the staring but shrugged it off. "I went blind in my left eye after I got jumped. Must've kicked me real good."
"Geez, man. I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Ed chuckled. "Least I can still see."
Curly never found himself to be a guy of a few words but as the night went on he became even more introverted. He didn't know if it was because he was used to spending so much time by himself or if the feeling was just too overwhelming. He excused himself and wandered off to the front of the house to the porch steps, looking at the sky and questioning his life.
"Welcome home, Charlie."
He knew that familiar, chilling voice belonged to Connie. Ironically, he had grown used to that nickname during their time as partners. Ever since the day of their argument, he hadn't talked to her and attempted to avoid anything regarding her.
"Thanks."
She swayed her hips when she went to sit next to Curly, and despite the temperature, she was wearing short shorts and a tight blouse. He wouldn't of expected anything less from Connie, she wanted everyone to see her. He figured it was because she never got any love when she was growing up.
"Dally skipped town again."
"Oh.." Curly mumbled awkwardly. "I'm.. Sorry to hear that?"
"Don't worry 'bout it." She chuckled and it made him debate on whether or not she was actually hurt over it. "Y'know, you're the only guy I ever had feelings for?"
"Really?" Curly questioned as he looked at his beer, not wanting to meet her icy blue eyes.
She kept her eyes pointed to the ground and he knew that she was drunk. She would have never admitted to anything so embarrassing while sober. Maybe about a year ago he probably would've took this as an opportunity to fuck her and then tell her to get lost. But he had been thinking about how them being partners and selling together strengthened their friendship and he was glad that it did. He liked the idea of them being friends.
"Mhmm." She slurred like a drunken housewife. "There was always something about you.. I guess we were too young to figure what to do about it."
"Nah." Curly said. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about them being together but each time he did the outcome was always the same. On the outside, they may have looked like they were the perfect match. But he knew there was something Connie lacked, and it was compassion. "Our age ain't got nothing to do with it, Connie. Me and you? C'mon, we wouldn't of worked. We're too alike. Rough necked kids who can't find a meaning. We'd be lost together."
He thought about Daisy and in that moment, he felt like she was the only one for him. There relationship had gone farther than some façade of sexual attraction. Daisy made it so she would find a purpose in everything she did. She made it so everyone around her could see a purpose too. Their bond and connection had grown in a short period of time but he was relieved to finally have realized it wasn't infatuation. She calmed him when he needed it, understood him when it felt like no one else in the world could. And she brought him back to the world when he was stuck. He felt confident knowing that Connie could never do it, and she never would, no matter how hard she wanted to. She just wasn't able to, and because of that, he knew they would never work.
"Maybe that's true." She pushed out with slight bitterness hanging off her tongue. "I guess she's good for you?"
"Yeah." Curly smiled genuinely.
"Good." Connie choked out. "I'm gonna get back to the party.."
Curly watched as she walked away, back towards the party and he realized that he, did, in fact love Connie Winston. But it was purely platonic and he'd never love her the way she loved him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Got any plans for today?" Tim asked as he leaned on the counter.
Curly noticed the dark bags under his eyes, it was obvious he hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night due to the intense partying. Curly managed to sneak away around one o' clock in the morning, extremely drunk and exhausted. He hadn't even managed to get out of his clothes, and he hated sleeping with clothes on.
"Nah. Just gonna make a quick run and that's it." Curly shrugged.
Tim nodded and stirred the spoon his coffee, despite it not having any cream or sugar. Tim liked his coffee black and Curly thought it perfectly mirrored his personality. "Bueno.. Cus' me and Angie wanted to go see this new movie coming out. We thought you'd wanna tag along."
Curly had a smile growing on his face that made Tim frown. "Don't look at me like that, ese. Yes or no."
"I get it.. You want it to be like the olden days, huh?"
"Ha!" Tim said dryly. "I'm making sure you end this little 'vacation' on a good note. I'll let you take off from school for this week and that's that."
Curly hadn't tended to his studies the whole time he was away but he was confident in knowing that his math skills improved dramatically. He had always been good at math, but spending his time away dealing and being face to face with it made him feel like a mathematical genius.
"Ah, shit." Curly groaned as he stood up from his seat, dumping out the rest of his water in the sink. "I'm overjoyed." Curly replied sarcastically, which earned a pat on the back from Tim.
He moved his hand once they heard a loud heavy knock on the door. Curly checked his watch, it read 8 o clock. He was never able to get that much sleep anymore, especially with all the nightmares. But getting a guest this early was rare, no one came to the Shepard home unless it was after eleven.
"You expectin' anyone?" Tim questioned.
"Nah."
Curly walked to the front door and open it to four police officers. His heart dropped at the sight and the blood drained from his face.
"Charles Shepard, you're under arrest for possessing and trafficking narcotics." The officer told him.
He looked to Tim and he wondered if he had ever seen him so spooked before. He still had the familiar, composed attitude, but his eyes were wide as he looked at the scene. This wasn't the first time cops had came to the house and rounded him up but they both knew that it was serious this time. He wouldn't be surprised if they tried adding 20 years to his name, it had been a while since they got their satisfaction over the Shepard Gang, and based on the officers look, he could tell.
"No digas nada!" Tim shouted to him. "Vamos a manejarlo!"
Curly sighed and closed his eyes as the pulled him to the ground, pushing his face onto the floor he was sure hadn't been properly dusted in years. He felt disgusting. He felt worthless. He hissed when he felt a knee being pressed into his back, between his shoulder blades.
"Fuck off, ese!" Curly yelled out. "Bet this is the highlight of your day, huh? Finding a chicano to lock up you sick fuck!"
He knew his words would result in some form of violence, so he wasn't surprised to feel a kick to his ribs and an arm around his neck. He grimaced and held his eyes shut tight as he groaned through the pain. He could hear Angela screaming in the background, and through glimpses from his eyelids he could see Tim trying to hold her back.
"Tim! Make them stop!" She screeched.
But he wasn't able to focus on her. Instead, he could feel the weight in his back increase as the heavy cop leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You fucking piece of shit. Look at you. I've been waiting to get my hands on one a' you fuckers."
"What a pathetic piece of scum." The officer said.
Curly gasped once the weight had been lifted off of him but he was quickly pulled to his feet and he was thankful his arm didn't break from the force. As they dragged him out the house, he saw Angela crying into Tim's arm and he felt guilty that it was because of him. Now everyone had to suffer because of his selfish actions.
He wondered how Daisy would react once she heard the news, he was sure she'd cry. As he sat in the back of the car, staring out the window with the sun shining on his face, ignoring all of his nosey neighbors trying to peer through their windows and blinds. He shook his head as the car pulled off with one thought on his mind...
He hoped to God he'd look good in orange.
Well guys, that's the end of Hoodlum Tragedies :(, thank god I'm not finished with Curly's story.
This book will still continue to be edited but the second part is a book titled "Bloody End", this story will be more graphic in terms of violence, sexual situations, and language.
Thanks everyone for reading! Tell me what you thought about it!