| Chapter 1 Two years later.... Slender shards of sunlight slipped in through the high barred windows. The same bitter coffee was served, luke warm, as usual. The same tasteless paste, they dared to label oatmeal, had filled their bowls to the brim. The same mediocre affair that stole an hour of every morning of his life, transpired, without incident, as breakfast came and went. The quiet tick-tocking of his small alarm clock seemed to echo in the tiny room, mingling with the soft sound of laughter, and the unidentifiable words of various conversations, that emanated from the concrete courtyard just below his open, but barred window; and quietly he noted, how icy to the touch, the bars seemed to be, as he lazily, laced his fingers through them, leaning forward to let his pale green eyes search the controlled chaos below for his face. Various groups of boys, huddled around each of the courtyards four goals, played various games of basketball, shouting out every once in a while, their voice�s echoing off the tall brick walls around them. While other boys, not to into the game, seemed to drift to the courtyards shady corners, to conversate with their friends, or to read, or to simply be alone like him. Blinking he leaned back slightly, unaware he�d been staring for the past few seconds, as his eyes seemed to have sought him out without his knowledge. He wore the same plain gray, sweatpants and shirt every other boy out there did, but he�d been easy to find, huddled in the courtyards farthest corners by himself. Unlike himself, he hadn�t made any friends, as distant, and moody and worried about keeping the one friend, who wanted nothing to do with him, he�d been, making friends had surpassed him. The sigh that escaped his lips seemed to be swallowed almost immediately by the heavy silence of the room, and dejectedly, he glanced back over his shoulder at the small duffle bag that sat packed in the center of his tiny twin bed, before finding him again out in the courtyard. Despite himself, he leaned back, away from the window, when as usual he glanced up, staring wistfully for only a few moments before returning his attention the plain marble notebook on his lap, and decided almost immediately after he looked away. That there was something they needed to discuss. *** The heavy gray clouds, threatening rain, seemed heavy, and appeared to make even the sunshine that lit the sky, as gray as them, soon fat rain drops would fall but he�d barely notice until then. He�d scribbled the numbers with out a second glance, or thought, to caught up in the frantic ramblings of his mind to realize the significance of them. At first. A few unnoticed moments crept by, before the numbers seemed to blur in the line of his perception, caught up in the flourishing and fading of the memories they�d brought. �Break his finger� His voice, a harsh sneer, seemed to echo off the alleyways slimy walls, and merge with the almost palpable smell of garbage, stagnant water and blood. And for a moment there was silent, despite the passing cars, oblivious passerby�s, and snickering, from the group of men that surrounded him, before the audible crack of his index finger shattered it. His face flushed, paling a deathly white, and his mouth opened in an �O� of surprise, his deafening pain filled scream caught just beneath the hard lump in his throat that had formed after the first wave of fear flooded him. And his hazy, wide blue eyes were forced to focus when harpers meaty fingers clutched his chin, and jerked his head so that their eyes met. �Where is my money?� Lucky�s lips moved, his words dying somewhere between his vocal cords and his lips. Harpers top lip curled up in disgust and he pushed him away, gritting out as he walked away, �break his f****** neck�. A low pathetic whine, somewhere between a whimper and a scream escaped Lucky�s lips when he felt one of Harpers boy�s place one hand at his temple and one at his neck. The sound of his racing heart seemed to blur into a deafening buzz in his ears, drowning out all the sounds of the world around him, and catching his breath, he waited from the neck of the breaking of his neck. Fortunately, he glanced blankly around the bustling courtyard; or rather unfortunately the sound had never come. Blinking startled his eyes focused and pulled him from his thoughts when a shadow was cast across him. Like that day in the alleyway, he opened his mouth to speak, but couldn�t find the words. �Sly� he finally offered quietly, squinting to make out his face in the bright glare of sunshine, and frowning confused when Sly sighed and took a seat beside him on the warm pavement. Both frowned uneasy in the silence that had quickly developed between them, and Lucky relaxed slightly when Sly began to speak, tensing back up almost immediately after he had. �Shocked much?� Sly chuckled, eyeing Lucky�s startled and slightly suspicious face. Lucky chuckled nervously in reply before replying seriously, �what would you expect, we�ve been here two year and you haven�t spoke a word to me since we arrived� Sly tensed and looked away from Lucky�s face and shrugged heavily. �I haven�t spoken to you since the day we arrived because you�re the reason we�re here, or at least that�s how I see or�saw it�. A frown creased Lucky�s lips, and wanting to change the subject he asked, �So you getting outta here today huh� Calmly, Sly nodded, still refusing to meet Lucky�s eyes. �Going back to P.C?� �Probably� Sly sighed, then asked, his voice changing abruptly from calm and devoid of emotion to soft and almost sad,� I needed to ask you something, that�s why I�m down here. I need to ask you something?� Lucky eyes him for a moment before turning his eyes back to the oppressive gray building he�d be forced to return to until lunch. Gulping, Sly began to speak when he realized Lucky wouldn�t.� I need to know why?� �Why what?� Lucky asked quietly in reply. �Why we�re here. �Sly replied, his voice equally as quiet as Lucky�s,�Why we were at Deception that night� �I�.I can�t�.�Lucky�s voice faltered, and he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth to worry it nervously, and stands when Sly jumps to his feet and angrily replies,� Yes you can. I�ve spent two years of my life here because of you Lucky, two years. You owe me an f****** explanation�. �I can�t. I�m sorry� Lucky replied quietly, averting his eyes from the pained, angry expression that Sly now wore.� I�m sorry� A bitter burst of angry crept through Sly�s body, as he watched his cousin shoulder slip dejectedly, and his feet shifting nervously against the hard concrete ground. He owed him this, he knew it, so why didn�t Lucky. His frown deepened and he turned abruptly and began walking away, back to his room stopping abruptly when Lucky grabbed his elbow. �What do you want from me? I want to tell you, I do but I can�t Sly? And I�m sorry� he ground out, his voice whispered and mournful, �isn�t that enough?� Eyeing his cousin, his best friend, his brother, Sly swallowed hard forcing down the wave of bitter angry words he wanted to shout back in Lucky�s face, the blame he wanted to make Lucky see he deserved, and the violence he wanted to use to make sure he never forgot that he was the reason Sly had lost two years of his life, but replied quietly instead before walking away,� no�. Chapter 2 Back to Thin Line |