| Title: The Wonderwall Diaries Author: Priscilla Entry 5 September 27, 1989 In the months that followed that first moment of true intimacy between Mark and I, we became inseparable. It was like he was still my best friend, I could still tell him anything, but now he'd added the role of boyfriend into the mix. He made me push myself, to open up and try things that a year ago I wouldn't have thought twice about backing down from. I trusted him with everything and in turn he trusted me. I wore his prized possession, a rosary that his grandmother had given him around my neck as a symbol of that trust and love. "You're wearin' my beads, that means you got my heart, you're my girl. Anyone who messes with you has to deal with me." He'd said that a lot in the past year. There'd been too many fights to count between guys that tried to push me around and other gangs that tried to take over our neighborhood. Mark had been in the midst of it all, fighting and getting high along with Mike, Jess, and Angel. My heart ached when I found out that not only was he getting into gang fights but that he was selling and using drugs. All kinds, not just weed, but the heavy shit too, like cocaine. Stealing, I can't really complain too much about that because I usually help the guys plan those heists. I understood that I would have to tell him how I felt soon, but it was hard forming the words. He had good reason to be acting out, his family was falling apart. His parents were getting a divorce, there was all this fighting and yelling always going on at his house and I couldn't help think that he just needed to vent a little. Anyways, enough with the bad news and on to the good stuff. Today�s my birthday. I�m finally turning 16 and as I walked down the street with Mark�s hand in mine I couldn�t think of a place I�d rather be than Dorchester. I was so lost in my thoughts of times past that I bumped into Mark�s still form. I was about to ask why he�d stopped so suddenly when I saw the group of guys in front of us on the side walk. Milo Franco and his brothers stood in a staring match with Mark. My heart was pounding so loudly I thought it would explode. "Mark...." I whispered, trying to get his attention while gently tugging at his arm. "Get outta here Jade, go home and get the guys." Mark said never removing his gaze from the fast approaching three. I shook my head in denial to his request. There was no way in hell I was leaving him in a fight with 3-1 odds. "What the fuck are you doin� here DiFranco?" Mark said letting go of my hand and stepping up to him. "Nice piece of ass you got there." Milo said ignoring Mark�s question as he looked over at me and smiled. Mark�s jaw tensed and the muscle found there throbbed. This was going to be bad. I looked around for a weapon of any kind. "Nice tits too." Danny, the youngest of Milo�s brothers said, looking me over with his light blue eyes. I found an old led pipe behind a garbage can and slipped it into Mark�s palm. "Watch your fucking mouth asshole." He said gripping the weapon tightly in his left palm. Milo looked down at it and smiled as he moved closer. "Or what?" His question was left unanswered as a police cruiser came to a stop a couple of steps from where we were standing. Two cops emerged from the front seats, each with nightsticks in one hand and the other resting on the butt of the gun at their side. Mark slipped the pipe into my waiting hand and I, as discreetly as possible, rolled it away from us. "What's going on here?" The younger of the two officers said, pointing his bright as hell flashlight into each of our faces. "Nothing sir, just talking to some friends." Milo said shrugging innocently. "Kind of late for that, don't you think?" The older officer asked stepping closer to us than the other one had. "Nah, its just 11:20 now. We were going home anyway." Danny said smiling up to the cop, making him look like a damn idiot. Mark hadn't uttered a word the entire time. Prison was still fresh in his memory and even though the last time he'd gone he'd been with people he trusted, his friends, I knew he still had nightmares of being stuck in that place for good. "Alright, we've got another patrol through here in 15 minutes. You kids better not be here when we get back." The officer said turning back towards his car, the younger officer in tow. Milo waited until the car lights were tiny little dots in the night and then stepped up to Mark again. "Saved again Wahlberg, how convenient. Next time we meet, you ain't gonna be so lucky. I'm gonna come at you with everything I got." He said digging a long skinny finger into Mark's beefy shoulder. "I'm looking forward to it." Mark said in a voice filled with venom. I smiled inwardly when Milo's eye twitched as if he hadn't expected Mark to react this way. He pulled back and turned back to his brothers. "Let's go home." He said giving us one more dirty look before crossing the street. I let the air I'd been holding go in a gust. Mark looked down at me and cupped my chin so I would look up at him. "You alright?" He asked, concern evident on his face. I nodded my head, but I was scared. Milo Franco had never been one to say empty threats; whether it be a week from now or a year, he'd get it done and make sure you knew it was him that did it. Mark put his arm around me and we started walking home again. I wanted that moment to last forever, unfortunately though, fate had something else in mind. Title: The Wonderwall Diaries Author: Priscilla Entry 6 October 3, 1989 A week later I was sitting up in my room with the door closed. Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet was blaring from my radio when I got the phone call. Usually I'd let my phone ring until whoever was calling gave up, but for some reason I felt like I should get it this time. I think back now, and think that it was probably an omen, because that one call would turn my whole world upside down. "Hello?" "Jade, It's Jess. Listen something really bad happened. I need you to come down the police station." Jess' voice sounded rushed, like he needed to get it all out before he was stopped or he stopped himself. Something about the tone in which he'd said it made my heart begin to pump wildly in my chest. "What's going on?" I asked in a rush; needing to be reassured that the bad taste in my mouth was not some kind of premonition. Like the ones my mom says every woman possesses for three things in life: Her family, the man she loves, and her children. "Angel, Mike and Johnny were just arrested for robbery and Mark's up for Assault." My heart dropped into my feet and I think I forgot how to breathe in that instant. Every fiber of my being was vibrating with fear. Just the thought of having him locked up for any amount of time made my heart constrict. There's not alot of things that I can openly admit that Mark is afraid of, but this is something he just can't deal with. "What?" I asked almost in a whisper. My voice sounded far away even to me. I don't know how Jess even heard me. "I don't know everything, but supposedly Mark tried to take a keg of beer from some Chinese guy, when the guy wouldn't give it to him he took a bat and hit the guy in the head. The guy's eye popped out. He's going away for a while this time, no doubt in my mind. So you gonna come down here or what?" "I'll be there as soon as I can." I said before hanging up and rushing downstairs to my front door. "Jade, is that you?" My mother's voice called after me from the living room. I sighed and turned slightly towards where her voice had come from. "Yeah?" I said more than slightly irritated. "Can you come into the living room for a minute? There's some people that want to speak with you." She said. Her voice sounded weak and defeated. My heart picked up a notch with each nearing step. I was not surprised to see the plain-clothes police officers sitting with my mother; after all it was a well-known fact who I was and what I was to them. They both stood at my entrance into the room and my mother did too, but slower, like she'd been dealt a hard emotional blow. "What do you want?" I surprised myself more than my mother with my tone. It wasn't that I wasn't scared, because God knows I was, but it was more about keeping my cool and learning the facts before flying off the handle. "Ms. Corleone, we're here to ask you some questions concerning some of your friends." "Which friends? I got alot of friends." I said shrugging nonchalantly and tapping my foot to show my impatience. "Mike, Angel, and more importantly Mark." The older of the two said stepping closer to where I was. "It would be in your best interest to cooperate with us in this manner, the rest of your friends' lives depends on it." "In my best interest? You come into my house, corner my mother telling her God knows what about what you *think* I may be involved in, and now you're in my face telling me to cooperate because its in my best interest? You got alot of nerve brother I'll tell you that." I said chuckling slightly. "Did you know anything about what was supposed to go down tonight?" "No." "Where were you going just now?" "I got some stuff I need to take care of." "Well if that 'stuff' was going to see your boys, I suggest you hold back on that. Mike and Angel are going down for robbery and Mark is going down for assault. It's going to be awhile before you see any of them." "What?!" My mom said sitting up in her chair and sending a burning look my way. If looks could kill, I would of dropped dead that second. I think the cops sensed the growing mother-daughter tension in the room and felt slightly uncomfortable bearing witness to what they perceived to be my last day on earth. "Ah, that'll be all for now. We'll be in touch Mrs. Corleone. Thank you for your cooperation." They said getting up and nodding towards my mother as they moved past me to the door. We stayed there in silence for a while, me leaning a shoulder on the living room door frame and my mom staring off into space from her place on the chair. I didn�t need to tell what she was thinking, I knew she was mad that I hadn�t told her anything about the trouble we�d been getting into lately. I didn�t think I needed to, I mean things get around fast around here, I�d thought she�d hear about it from one of our many nosy and gossipy neighbors. "I didn�t want to say anything, but I�d been thinking about it for a while now. I�ve even got any idea on a place." "What are you talking about?" I said moving away from the door frame and moving further into the room, my eyes locked on my mother�s face. "We�re moving back to New York with your aunt. I-" "The hell we are! God, you can�t do this! Didn�t you just hear what those two cops said? My best friends and my boyfriend are going to jail for a long time mom! I can�t just pick and leave everything!" "You can and you will. God, Jade, I did hear what those cops said and I�m sorry about your friends and Mark, but the bottom line is I�ll do anything to make sure you don�t end up like them." "That is such bullshit! Can't you see that I am exactly like them? A fucking outcast, my own father makes pretend I don�t exist." I said almost near tears. My heart was thumping wildly in my chest, making the pain centering there ache just a little more with each breath. "I�m sorry you feel that way, but I love you. I�m your mother Jade, and I�m just trying to do the best I can for all of us." She said and walked away wiping her own tears from her eyes. I couldn�t believe this, moving back to New York after making a life here. But that wasn�t the worst part, the worst part was knowing that I would once again have to skip town when we were supposed to be a unit, stronger than ever so we could get through this together. I would let the people I love down again. |