T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,54
how hard life had been for them both. Jack had been on his own since he was fourteen, doing everything he could to simply survive, and Tony had grown up in foster care. He’d spent most of his teens bouncing around from family to family until he met up with Jack, and now they were forging their own life together. Even though it wasn’t always easy, they worked hard to make it something they both could be proud of. I smiled as I turned my attention back to the road and said, “What kind of project?”
“He’s been wanting to paint our bedroom furniture. Says we need consistency or something.” He chuckled under his breath. “I don’t know why he even bothers. We found all that shit sitting on the side of the damn road. It was someone’s trash, but he thinks we can make it look like something he found in some magazine.”
“From trash to treasure.”
“Yeah.” Jack chuckled as he said, “Something like that.”
“I think that’s really cool. I have this old antique dresser my mother gave me that really needs some love.” Just thinking about the scratches on the wood and the broken handles made me groan. “I bet Tony could do wonders with it.”
“I’m sure he could.” He glanced over at me and said, “We could come by sometime and check it out.”
“That would be great.” When I came up to a red light, I asked, “I turn here, right?”
“Yeah. You’ll make another right a couple of blocks down, and then the house is on the left.”
“Well, how about that. I actually remembered,” I replied proudly.
“Mm-hmm. Sure ya did.”
It was odd how different the area seemed at night. All the gang graffiti painted on the different businesses and homes along with the various people lurking at every corner gave me an uneasy feeling. That troubled feeling only grew stronger as I continued towards Jack’s house. With only a few random streetlights, his neighborhood seemed so dark and dreary, like something you might see in a movie, and although it wasn’t so bad while he was in the car with me, I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of driving home alone. Feeling a little apprehensive, I pulled up in his driveway and parked. After he gathered his things, he looked over to me and asked, “You gonna be okay getting out of here?”
“I think so,” I answered hesitantly. “I have my GPS if I happen to get lost.”
“Don’t get lost. One wrong turn and you’ll find yourself in some real trouble,” he warned. “Use your GPS and use the shortest route to get home.”
“Okay, I will. Don’t worry.”
“I am worried.” His voice was filled with concern. “I don’t like you driving alone out here, especially at night. I should’ve never asked you—”
“Jack, stop. It’s fine.” I hated that he felt bad. It wasn’t his fault that he had car trouble and didn’t have a way to work. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder as I tried to assure him, “I’ll be fine. I’ll even text you when I get home. How about that?”
“That would make me feel much better.”
“Well, consider it done.”
As he reached for the door, he said, “My car should be ready tomorrow afternoon, so you don’t have to worry about coming to get me on Thursday.”
“Okay.” He got out of the car, and before he closed the door, I shouted, “You and Tony have fun tomorrow.”
“We’re gonna try!”
After he closed the door, I waited for him to unlock the door and step inside the house, then I put the car in reverse and started to back out of the driveway. I was just about to pull out onto the road when I noticed a car slowing down in front of a house with a crowd of people standing in the front yard. It looked like they were about to park when suddenly two arms extended from the windows. Even in the dark, I could tell they had guns in their hands. My heart started pounding in my chest as I watched bursts of light explode from the barrels of their weapons. Horror washed over me as the sounds of gunfire and terrified screams echoed in the darkness. I sat there completely stunned as the car sped off, leaving death in its wake.
“Oh god. Oh god,” I muttered to myself, over and over again.
I simply couldn’t wrap my head around what I’d seen. I couldn’t comprehend it. I’d never experienced anything even remotely