Phoenix Heights, Downtown Las Vistas
“Foul!” Wes shouted as Rider’s shoulder plowed into him sending him to the ground. “Bullshit,” Rider shouted back as the ball left his hands and flew towards the basket, hitting the rim rather than going through the net. “You bumped into me and I’m the one with the ball. If anyone has a foul it’s you.” Wes sat up but remained on the ground, winded from the fall. “Fine, then I call a time out. Take your damn shots.”
Rider stepped up to the line and raised the ball up over his head, squinting a bit to aim at the basket. “Hey,” Wes shouted, intentionally trying to break his concentration. “You going to the party at Marco’s tonight or are you stuck babysitting again?” Rider lowered the ball and glared at him, annoyed. “I told you, I’m not babysitting, just watching Nico’s shit. Sometimes that includes his kid and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll go as long as your girl has a friend or sister for me. I’m not going to sit around like an asshole while you two go at it. ”
Wes laughed as he got to his feet. “I’ll hook something up for you. Trust me.” Rider chuffed at the thought. The last time Wes ‘hooked him up’ he had spent the night ducking one of the most unfortunate looking girls he’d ever seen. The fact that she was nearly twice his height was an insult to injury. “Whatever,” Rider replied. “Make sure she’s not a fucking dog this time.”
“Just take you damn shots,” Wes mumbled. Rider postured again trying to get the line of his arms in sync with the position of the basket. He squinted again, focusing intently on the rim and the net, but suddenly, something else crept into his line of sight; movement across the street, something so familiar but grossly out of place. He lowered the ball and opened his squinted eye to get a good look. “What the hell?”
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Jay's Dinner - Phoenix Heights, Downtown Las Vistas
“I’ll have the cheese fries and a root beer,” Bianca said to the waitress behind the counter. “That all?” the woman asked as she scribbled down Bianca’s order. “Yes,” she replied. The waitress ripped the order sheet off of its pad and slammed it on the counter behind her before heading back into the kitchen.
Bianca studied her surroundings intently: greasy yellow walls, stained counters, and the sickening smell of bacon fat mingling with ammonia. Could her mother really have worked in a place like this? Could her family have owned it in this condition? It was unfathomable. Places like this only existed in the movies as far as Bianca was concerned and the version of her mother that she had conjured up in her head didn’t fit in here at all. As desperate as she was to find the answers to all the questions swimming in her head, she began to wonder if this particular journey had been a mistake.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bianca felt a large hand grip her forcefully on the shoulder. Fear, and the tightness of the clutch, forced her body to turn swiftly in the direction the pain. A wave of relief began to wash over her as she looked up to see that it wasn’t her father or Rook, but just as quickly as her mind registered who it was ,that relief was pushed aside by a flash of anger. Rider stared back at her, just as angry and annoyed as she was, waiting for an answer to his question.
“I’m minding my own business; you should try it sometime,” she spat, jerking her shoulder from his grasp. Rider pulled his hand back and balled a tight fist trying to control his increasing fury. Her whereabouts where very much his business, especially when she decided to walk around in a shitty part of town by herself. A sheltered kid like her didn’t have a clue about hard living. She could’ve gotten herself mugged, or shot, and he didn’t even want to think about the number of dirt bags who would love to have five minutes alone with her in a back alley.
He grew even more livid as he thought about the position she had put herself in; the position she put him in by looking for trouble even if it wasn’t technically on his watch. But more than that he was angry because he couldn’t just look the other way and leave her there, and not because Nico and Rook would’ve killed him if he had, but because there was a big part of him that cared too much about her to do such a thing.
“Let’s go,” he demanded, but she didn’t budge. “You can either come with me now or I can send Nico back for you; your choice.” The two of them stood in a silent stand off for a few more moments before she begrudgingly rose from the stool and pushed past him. As she moved from his line of sight, he came face to face with another intense pair of eyes staring him down.
He had been so focused on Bianca that he only now noticed the man that had been sitting next to her the whole time intensely following their conversation. He unapologetically returned the glare, almost daring him to do something about it, but he didn’t. Instead the man softened his expression slightly and seemed to almost smile at Rider. Confused, yet sufficiently satisfied that he had held his ground, Rider gave the stranger one last fierce look before following Bianca out the door.
*************************
DeSantos Bros. Auto Body - Downtown Las Vistas
Stepping over a puddle of oil or gas or some other mud brown substance that gave off a harsh chemical odor, Isabella made her way to the two men standing outside of Nico’s body shop. They were crouched next to an old pick-up truck, struggling with a lug nut, engrossed in the task, completely oblivious to the sound of her high heels clicking and clacking against the cracked asphalt. She stopped a few feet away from them and cleared her throat to indicate her presence.
The older of the two men looked up at her and a slow smile crossed his face followed by a hint of recognition as he stood up, shielded his eyes from the sun and got a good look at her. Isabella had never seen him before but it didn’t take a genius to figure out how he knew her face. Her desperation to find out what was going on with Nico had clouded her judgment about searching for him publicly. I should’ve worn my sunglasses, she thought to herself. “Can I help you ma’am?” the man said as he wiped his grease smudged hands on his jeans. The younger man stared intently at her, his eyes grazing every inch of her body, but said nothing.
“I’m looking for Nico. Is he here?” The men looked at each other briefly and then back at her; the older one resuming his duty as the unofficial spokesman. “No ma’am, he’s not here right now. Can I help you with something?” “No thank you, I just really need to speak with him. Do you know when he’ll be back?” Again the men exchanged cryptic glances before the younger one finally broke his silence. “He’s taking care of something important; don’t expect him back for a while,” he said, the tone of his voice stiff and serious. His previously wandering eyes now stared firmly into hers as if he was trying to convey a deeper unspoken message. It came through loud and clear; no matter who she was or how many ways she asked, they weren’t going to tell her anything.
In spite of the silent warning, she parted her lips again to ask another question but thought better of it. There was no use in trying to bang her head against Nico’s well paid stone wall. She simply scowled at the men, turned around and began walking back to her car. “When and if he ever comes back tell him to call me,” she shouted over her shoulder. Trying to get a straight answer from his inner circle had been a mistake. If she wanted to find out what was going on she was going to have to look outside of the box and into possibilities that she’d rather not examine. She gave the men one last look as she got into the car, started the engine and headed to her next destination.
“Foul!” Wes shouted as Rider’s shoulder plowed into him sending him to the ground. “Bullshit,” Rider shouted back as the ball left his hands and flew towards the basket, hitting the rim rather than going through the net. “You bumped into me and I’m the one with the ball. If anyone has a foul it’s you.” Wes sat up but remained on the ground, winded from the fall. “Fine, then I call a time out. Take your damn shots.”
Rider stepped up to the line and raised the ball up over his head, squinting a bit to aim at the basket. “Hey,” Wes shouted, intentionally trying to break his concentration. “You going to the party at Marco’s tonight or are you stuck babysitting again?” Rider lowered the ball and glared at him, annoyed. “I told you, I’m not babysitting, just watching Nico’s shit. Sometimes that includes his kid and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll go as long as your girl has a friend or sister for me. I’m not going to sit around like an asshole while you two go at it. ”
Wes laughed as he got to his feet. “I’ll hook something up for you. Trust me.” Rider chuffed at the thought. The last time Wes ‘hooked him up’ he had spent the night ducking one of the most unfortunate looking girls he’d ever seen. The fact that she was nearly twice his height was an insult to injury. “Whatever,” Rider replied. “Make sure she’s not a fucking dog this time.”
“Just take you damn shots,” Wes mumbled. Rider postured again trying to get the line of his arms in sync with the position of the basket. He squinted again, focusing intently on the rim and the net, but suddenly, something else crept into his line of sight; movement across the street, something so familiar but grossly out of place. He lowered the ball and opened his squinted eye to get a good look. “What the hell?”
*******************************************
Jay's Dinner - Phoenix Heights, Downtown Las Vistas
“I’ll have the cheese fries and a root beer,” Bianca said to the waitress behind the counter. “That all?” the woman asked as she scribbled down Bianca’s order. “Yes,” she replied. The waitress ripped the order sheet off of its pad and slammed it on the counter behind her before heading back into the kitchen.
Bianca studied her surroundings intently: greasy yellow walls, stained counters, and the sickening smell of bacon fat mingling with ammonia. Could her mother really have worked in a place like this? Could her family have owned it in this condition? It was unfathomable. Places like this only existed in the movies as far as Bianca was concerned and the version of her mother that she had conjured up in her head didn’t fit in here at all. As desperate as she was to find the answers to all the questions swimming in her head, she began to wonder if this particular journey had been a mistake.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bianca felt a large hand grip her forcefully on the shoulder. Fear, and the tightness of the clutch, forced her body to turn swiftly in the direction the pain. A wave of relief began to wash over her as she looked up to see that it wasn’t her father or Rook, but just as quickly as her mind registered who it was ,that relief was pushed aside by a flash of anger. Rider stared back at her, just as angry and annoyed as she was, waiting for an answer to his question.
“I’m minding my own business; you should try it sometime,” she spat, jerking her shoulder from his grasp. Rider pulled his hand back and balled a tight fist trying to control his increasing fury. Her whereabouts where very much his business, especially when she decided to walk around in a shitty part of town by herself. A sheltered kid like her didn’t have a clue about hard living. She could’ve gotten herself mugged, or shot, and he didn’t even want to think about the number of dirt bags who would love to have five minutes alone with her in a back alley.
He grew even more livid as he thought about the position she had put herself in; the position she put him in by looking for trouble even if it wasn’t technically on his watch. But more than that he was angry because he couldn’t just look the other way and leave her there, and not because Nico and Rook would’ve killed him if he had, but because there was a big part of him that cared too much about her to do such a thing.
“Let’s go,” he demanded, but she didn’t budge. “You can either come with me now or I can send Nico back for you; your choice.” The two of them stood in a silent stand off for a few more moments before she begrudgingly rose from the stool and pushed past him. As she moved from his line of sight, he came face to face with another intense pair of eyes staring him down.
He had been so focused on Bianca that he only now noticed the man that had been sitting next to her the whole time intensely following their conversation. He unapologetically returned the glare, almost daring him to do something about it, but he didn’t. Instead the man softened his expression slightly and seemed to almost smile at Rider. Confused, yet sufficiently satisfied that he had held his ground, Rider gave the stranger one last fierce look before following Bianca out the door.
*************************
DeSantos Bros. Auto Body - Downtown Las Vistas
Stepping over a puddle of oil or gas or some other mud brown substance that gave off a harsh chemical odor, Isabella made her way to the two men standing outside of Nico’s body shop. They were crouched next to an old pick-up truck, struggling with a lug nut, engrossed in the task, completely oblivious to the sound of her high heels clicking and clacking against the cracked asphalt. She stopped a few feet away from them and cleared her throat to indicate her presence.
The older of the two men looked up at her and a slow smile crossed his face followed by a hint of recognition as he stood up, shielded his eyes from the sun and got a good look at her. Isabella had never seen him before but it didn’t take a genius to figure out how he knew her face. Her desperation to find out what was going on with Nico had clouded her judgment about searching for him publicly. I should’ve worn my sunglasses, she thought to herself. “Can I help you ma’am?” the man said as he wiped his grease smudged hands on his jeans. The younger man stared intently at her, his eyes grazing every inch of her body, but said nothing.
“I’m looking for Nico. Is he here?” The men looked at each other briefly and then back at her; the older one resuming his duty as the unofficial spokesman. “No ma’am, he’s not here right now. Can I help you with something?” “No thank you, I just really need to speak with him. Do you know when he’ll be back?” Again the men exchanged cryptic glances before the younger one finally broke his silence. “He’s taking care of something important; don’t expect him back for a while,” he said, the tone of his voice stiff and serious. His previously wandering eyes now stared firmly into hers as if he was trying to convey a deeper unspoken message. It came through loud and clear; no matter who she was or how many ways she asked, they weren’t going to tell her anything.
In spite of the silent warning, she parted her lips again to ask another question but thought better of it. There was no use in trying to bang her head against Nico’s well paid stone wall. She simply scowled at the men, turned around and began walking back to her car. “When and if he ever comes back tell him to call me,” she shouted over her shoulder. Trying to get a straight answer from his inner circle had been a mistake. If she wanted to find out what was going on she was going to have to look outside of the box and into possibilities that she’d rather not examine. She gave the men one last look as she got into the car, started the engine and headed to her next destination.
Rider knows damn well he is not interested in any other female! Or at least that's what I want!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for him being at the right place at the right time!
That guy was good looking but creepy!
Short and sweet is right! Izzy is brave as hell going down there!
oh I love this! Absolutely perfect length, and your shots are stunning! Every single detail...and I love the banner.
ReplyDeleteBianca. I feel so sorry for her, and I really understand her confusion, her determination, her resentment, and the disconnect between what she imagined she would find and what she is finding.
Rider and Wes absolutely crack me me. Not a dog like that last one...LMAO. It's so cute the way Rider denies any 'babysitting' when he's with Wes, but there's a real understanding between him and Bianca.
And the last strange encounter in the diner - you really captured the elusive expressions.
One of these days Isabella is going to realize that Nico is keeping a lot of secrets, and they are not girlfriend secrets. Like Bianca, she has an image she just does not want to give up.
a jewel of an update!!
Hi Qui. Rider does know deep (way deep) down that Bianca is the only girl on his mind, but he's certainly not ready to admit that, even to himself. Boys tend to be stubborn and slow and he's not exception.
ReplyDeleteCross definately = creepy. And I don't know if Issy was so much brave as she was mad as hell and determined for answers, but she certainly took a foolish chance being seen at Nico's garage. And she was definately seen..... :)
Thank you Beth! Bianca has a lot to figure out, and while foolish, this was the best way she could think of to start. Rider has things to figure out as well but he's not actively looking for an answer, it just keeps forcing itself on him whenever he's around "the kid" as he calls her.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't even pick up on the similarity between Issy and Bianca with regard to holding on to idealized images. But Issy really is determined to see Nico as the boy she knew years ago rather than the man he is now. Denial.
An those long last looks at the diner definately mean something.
Thank you.
It was interesting to see both Bianca and Issy in places they shouldn't be. And it looks like they both drew the attentions of people that can't be up to any good. Of course we know Cross isn't but that last shot looks ominous.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful update, not too short, just enough to whet the appetite for more!
Thank you Gayl. Issy and Bianca are certainly in paralell situations, neither one of them leading to anything good especially now that Cross knows who Bianca is. And that last look of his definately means something...interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Oh oh... looks like Nico's girls are looking for trouble!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Rider showed up on time... but maybe he ended up saying way to much.... I know there must be at least 100 Nicos in that neighborhood, but the way you described Cross smiling at Rider.... makes me thing he is way to smart to let a comment like that slip by... maybe he already knows Bianca is related to Nico... and that's not good at all!!!
beautiful shots and awesome writing like always!