Val wearily opened her eyes, eyeing the worn out patch of her olive green loveseat she realized she had fallen asleep in last night. How strange, she thought, she rarely falls asleep in a place beside her own bed, especially without a blanket. With a groan she crossed her arms above her head and stretched her legs out.
The night before played in her head like a movie and she cast her eyes around the room as the credits rolled. She quietly observed the futon back in its couch setting, the blanket she gave him folded in the corner under the pillow she had thrown, but where was Rio?
Heart kicking into gear, Val rolled off of the loveseat onto her feet as her anxiety made itself known. What if all of this had been some sort of elaborate scheme to get into her place and rob her? She recalled the very real gunshot wound of his and crossed that idea out. Okay, so this wasn't a ruse to rob her, but what if he had some other sinister reason for being here? She cautiously walked into the dining room area–no dice–she leaned her head to get a better glance into the kitchen.
"You always this paranoid?" A gruff voice says behind her and Val twisted around to see Rio stepping inside from the patio. He's wearing gray sweatpants cinched at the ankle, highlighting the lean yet muscular legs of his, and a blank tank. Her eyes immediately glancing back up to his and then to his hurt shoulder, shrugging at his question.
"Only when local gang bosses get gunned down and choose my apartment to lay low in," She countered, the corner of his mouth twitched and she thought he would smile. His bottom lip jutted out as he made his way towards her and nodded with a pensive look.
"How's your shoulder feeling?" She asked, and he stopped a few feet from her, hand absentmindedly brushing his hurt shoulder.
"Like someone without experience stitched me up," He said with the faintest hint of a smirk gracing his face. She rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen while Rio took a seat in one of the barstools at the counter.
"Wonder who's fault that could be," Val was equally annoyed with his personality as she was attracted to him.
"When will you be leaving again?" She questioned as she opened the cupboard for a coffee cup.
Rio rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket to scroll. He ignored the heated glare from her as she turned back around.
If he was going to be annoying, so would she. Did he even thank her for the stitches? She yanked the ground coffee out of the freezer and bitterly started the machine for them both. As the coffee machine noisily brewed, she snuck a look at Rio and was surprised to see him...sad?
Val watched him, curious, as he rapidly typed something out and she made out the colors of text boxes. His hand reached up and anxiously ran his nails over through his short hair. Whoever he was texting had obviously given bad news, and seeing as he is in charge of a gang, she could safely assume the worst.
"What's wrong?" Val murmured before she could stop her mouth from moving. She pinched one of her crossed forearms, she didn't want to sound like she cared, she did not care. He could get rid of her the second she became worthless, he didn't care about her.
It was hard for him to tear his focus from the phone in his hand, but when he did his face showed no emotion. Rio looked unbothered, save for the tell of his tensed jaw.
He wordlessly shoved away from the counter seat, making his way to the back patio overlooking the lower apartment complexes. The coffee machine beeped as the sliding door was slammed shut.
So he could ask her questions but she couldn't do the same? Val angrily pulled out the pot of coffee and had made herself a cup when she suddenly heard a raised voice. She set down the pot and strained her ears––the voice was from outside. A couple steps out of the kitchen, she rounded the corner of the wall on her left and towards the patio. The door must have not shut all the way when he threw it closed as it was still open an inch.
Rio held his phone in his right hand, his left arm was pressed against his stomach so as to not pull on his shoulder.
"That's it, huh? I get shot an' you decide to dip?" He bit out, the anger was evident. His body twisted to lean against the railing, she now had a side profile, and he was seething.
"That kid is your damn responsibility, everyone knows that, you know that," His voice scraped against Val, she could assume how the person on the line felt. With the amount of patio doors open during the day, she wondered how long until the neighbors became concerned.
"I'on care if you felt like you were in danger, that's the whole fuckin' job," Rio's fist slammed on the banister, momentarily overlooking his shoulder. He groaned and pulled his arm back against his middle, kicking the banister out of spite. Val stepped forward to help but caught herself before he took notice.
Rio may have bobbed his head, but he was far from understanding. His eyes were tight and furious, whoever was on the receiving side of the call had messed up––bad.
"Yeah, sayin' sorry don't mean shit seein' as he's dead," He replied grimley before he pocketed his phone and slumped his shoulders. He leant against the banister with his good arm and sighed. Whoever this kid was, he had clearly meant something to Rio.
Val wondered if Rio actually meant a kid, a literal kid, or just a young gang member. However old he was, he was gone, and it was the fault of whoever was on the phone with Rio. She thought how scary it is to be in charge of people's lives like that, one mistake in that world could be the last one you make.
She walked back to the kitchen and poured him a cup, Val couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Assuming he was a plain coffee type of guy, she walked the black coffee to the patio. With two coffees in her hands, getting the door open was tricky, she ended up sliding it open with her foot.
"Everything okay?" She could be friendly with him without being his friend, Val thought. This was being a decent human––asking the drug lord how he's taking the death of an employee/friend. A casual Saturday morning.
Rio glanced over his shoulder and lowered his eyes to the mug of coffee. He let out a soft sigh again and straightened, taking the extra coffee from her hands.
"Are you okay?" She was patiently waiting for him to talk, while Rio gazed into his coffee, clenching his jaw. She nodded and realized he wasn't going to say anything.
"So, that phone call––" Val gently probed, she wanted to know more relating to last night and what it could mean. Was the kid in Rio's gang? Was the kid the one who shot Rio? Was the kid in a different gang?
Sighing, she realized that he wouldn't answer her, and maybe this wasn't the best time to ask him for details. Knowing how to read a room, she turned to leave the patio. One step towards the door, though, Rio cleared his throat. She stopped where she was and turned on her heel to face him.
"Thanks," He murmured to her, and leaned his back against the railing as he took a sip.
"Yeah," Val shrugged, she was right about the plain coffee––interesting.
"No, I mean thanks for stichin' me up and all," He turned to watch the trees move in the breeze. She stared at him, was he finally thanking her?
"Well, I owed you, didn't I?" Val turned to leave, not wanting to push her luck and end up in a fight about the "favor" that kept on giving. Something in her kept her feet from moving, she needed to offer some sort of comfort.
"I'm sorry, I know how you feel, losing someone is never easy," Val said, not sure what else to say. You can't really comfort a person grieving a friend, nothing brings them back.
"Don't––" He snapped at her, she cocked her head––confused. What was he mad about now?
"Don't what?" She furrowed her brows, she was honestly trying to be kind to him.
"You think I want pity from a girl who's never had to suffer a day in her life? Has her own place, a car and a job?" He said quietly, but she could feel his fury in the air around her.
She was surprised at his outburst, that was the only reason she didn't speak up yet. He took a step closer and she simultaneously took a step back, pressing herself to the brick wall outside.
"You don't know me, you don't know the type of life I have. This is everyday, I lose people all the damn time. Don't talk to me about understandin' nothin'," His voice was scathing and she blinked at him.
The quiet rage that Rio had at nearly all times of the day piqued her interest, but so far she hadn't witnessed him raise his voice. If he were to raise it at any point, it would have been to yell at the one in charge of the kid.
But right now, she wasn't scared by the anger that rested just below the surface, ever waiting to boil over. She wasn't nervous, no, she was infuriated. How dare he assume things about her when he had just barged into her life and made himself at home? Gritting her teeth, she glared up at his dark and brooding self.
"Do you really believe that I've never 'suffered' a day in my life? What, you think you're the only one who has experienced pain, death?" She jabbed a finger to his chest, yet Rio was unmoved, his face like stone.
"You're right––I don't know you," She said with a shake of her head. Val gave him a steady look, he raised one eyebrow and pursed his lips in response. An emotion flickered over him for a second before a wall dropped over his face. She couldn't tell what was going on in his head, and she wished she could.
"But you don't know me either, so don't pretend like you do," Val leveled, and without sticking around to hear his response, she shoved past him into the apartment.
Inhale, exhale, she thought, as she took her coffee to her room. Val could do her school work and then make a grocery list, all while in the comfort of her privacy.
Trying her hardest to focus on Economics, her mind wandered. Val didn't understand why Rio was the way he was. She hadn't done anything to him besides help him––and accidentally steal his product and car––her mind casually reminded. Well, either way, she didn't deserve his anger.
If she couldn't even last 24 hours with him, how could she survive the weeks to come, assuming the healing time for a gunshot wound. His mention of her seemingly fine life had rubbed her wrong, and was bringing up unwanted feelings of the past.
No, Val would not let herself wander down those paths, she was better off without him. Red licorice flashed in her mind and his voice whispered 'Elene' in her head before she crumpled the thought and memory.
All she knew was that Rio was wrong. She has worked so hard to get to a minimally stable point in her life, before him and his gang showed up.
Prodding her laptop off of her lap, she made the decision to talk to Rio. If they didn't hash things out now, the next few weeks would be torture. As she moved to stand from her desk, a gentle knock from her door startled her.
"Yeah?" Val said, the door cracked open and Rio leaned against the threshold. His hurt arm still rested against his abdomen, she absentmindedly thought he should probably get a sling, as she swiveled to face him.
"So––his name was Eddie," She squinted, not understanding who he was referring to.
"The kid. Year outta high school, funny kid, real smart too," He sadly smiled for a second, before it was washed away. She carefully studied his face, the remorse and grief was plain, obvious.
"He was new, took 'em under my wing when he lost him ma. But, I put Dags in charge of 'em, just for drops and what not––training 'em," Rio said, his fingers scratching through his short beard, and her eyes once again trailed after his hand.
There was something graceful about him, Val thought as one of his rings glimmered in the sunlight from her window. Maybe it was the anger, hidden of course, though that much was evident even with the little time she's known him.
What stuck her in awe was the quiet and calm that settled above the rage. She had to admit, he hid it well, until it coursed just below the surface. It was virtually invisible too, but Val recognized it because the same uneasy, hot temper laid inside her as well.
"What the hell happened last night?" She asked softly, moving to sit on her bed. Rio took a deep breath before motioning to her chair, asking if he could sit. She nodded and watched as he took a seat and rested his elbow on her desk, head in his hand.
He took a moment to collect his thoughts as he ran his hand over his scalp again. He lifted his head with a sigh and she caught his eyes. A short moment passed as they stared at each other, but it felt like an eternity to Val. So much emotion swirled in the brown eyes he had, and it stroked a flame inside of her. With the smallest jerk of his head, he cleared his throat and looked away, the moment gone.
"So, Eddie, he had gone quiet. Usually pops up every day or two, sometimes more. Was gettin' kinda worried when I missed a call from 'em," He bit his lip as he gazed out her window, as if remembering the night.
"He was supposed to be makin' a drop on Friday, but he didn' show up," Rio sighed, his chin rested on his palm and he covered his mouth.
"I got a call from the client, he was real angry thinkin' he had been stood up, so I called Dags," His hand clenched at this and she could tell that he was restraining himself from breaking something of hers.
"Dags said he was lettin' Eddie drop it by himself––fuckin' idiot. So I drove to meet the client and told Dags to get his dumbass out there too," He exhaled, and he's glum as he tells the next part.
"Dags an' I walked into the warehouse we were meetin' at and the first thing I saw was Eddie and the client, strapped to their chairs and beaten pretty bad. A few guys stepped out, we didn' know 'em, and I'm not really sure what really happened, but––"
His brows furrowed while he took another deep breath and pulled his bottom lip in his mouth. He chewed on his lip, lost in thought, and his hand lightly grazed his hurt shoulder.
"You don't have to tell me it all, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a small bit traumatized from it," Val offered, losing a friend and the trust of another––not to mention being shot––could do some damage.
"Nah, s'all good," He swallowed and nodded, pulling himself back together.
"It was all jus' some trap, so me and Dags went for our guns but one of 'em put a gun to Eddie's head. Said 'we'll be in touch' and then they shot Eddie," A short groan left his throat and he covered it up with a cough.
She didn't know Rio personally, so why was her heart broken by this story, by his hurt? Why did Val's chest tighten at the thought of Rio witnessing the death of this kid? She tried to compartmentalize her thoughts of Rio and what his emotions were doing to her, she focused on the story at hand.
"I don' remember pullin' out my gun but once I had shot his two guys, he shot me. The guy took off and I was lookin' for Dags and then I saw his taillights as he drove off," He shook his head scornfully, and leaned back in the chair.
"I'm sorry," She softly said, his eyes slowly found hers and said nothing. The power that his dark eyes held over Val was insurmountable. She found herself speechless as he gazed into her eyes. A horn honking outside snapped the tension and she continued on like nothing had happened.
"I know what you might think about me and that it looks like that I'm doing okay, but––" She paused, how much was she willing to share? Val decided to tell him something personal, he had trusted her first and she could do the same. He looked at her with intrigue, and she wasn't sure why that made her heart beat fast.
"It's not––it took a long time to get here, years couch surfing while waitressing at trashy bars. Saving every penny I made to get that 'old as hell honda', as you so kindly put it––" Rio chuckled at that, and she paused one more time. Telling him what she was about to say would surely cast a look of pity from him, but she wanted him to know that she truly understood him.
"I've lost my Mom and I've lost my Brother. And my Dad, he––I just––I don't have any family left." Rio pursed his lips at her words and glanced down at his feet. When he looked back up at her his eyes were kind, and they didn't show pity, they showed sympathy.
"M'sorry, Valentina," Rio says, his voice low and smooth, her stomach flips at the use of her full name. He nibbles on his lip and takes another glance out of the window.
"I wasn' in my right head sayin' what I said, and I'm sorry," He said, blinking at her, she nodded and looked away. Val couldn't handle his gaze on her again.
Rio stood and stretched a little before walking to her door, he looked over his shoulder.
"'Ey mami, you hungry? I make a mean taco," He said with a playful glint in his eyes, and she laughed.
Val followed him to the kitchen and realized that she didn't find him nearly as annoying as this morning. With a small smile on her face, she watched him as he pulled the ingredients out of the fridge. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she originally thought, it would be fine.
As the word fine floated around her head, the red licorice and the whisper of his voice entered her thoughts as well. But she was fine, he was gone, and it was fine now.
--sorry this chapter took so long, but, you know, quarantine and all. (ignore any grammar and spelling, i'm sure i probably missed some) hope you guys enjoy!! let me know what you think!