Chapter Forty-Three

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*Not edited* Not proofread*

Chapter 43– let the games begin:

        "I've got a house set up for you. If you go to our arranged spot, there will be an envelope there with all the information you need inside. You know what to do once you get settled."

        I nod despite Jace not being able to see me, hanging up the phone without so much as a goodbye. I know he isn't bothered by my lack of farewell, aware I don't really have the time to stay on the phone for longer than a few seconds. I'll speak to him soon, anyway.

         Not long after the phone call, after a few twists and turns down the street, I find myself in a dead-end alley with a handful of dumpsters lining the wall to my right. A couple of them are spilling over the brim, while the other two aren't as full. Black, white and green trash bags  lay on the ground, cardboard boxes of all sorts accompanying them. It's a mess. A dirty, reeking mess.

        With a frown of disgust, I take the chip out of the cheap Samsung I own and throw it into a puddle on the floor, watching it submerge below the dirty surface. Then, I take the phone and I throw it into one of the open dumpsters, hearing it clank against what I assume is some sort of glass bottle. I ditched the battery in a trash can on my way here a couple of blocks back already, so the phone has been successfully disposed of.

        Wiping my hands against the rough texture of my jeans, I begin to walk away when I hear a small whimper come from somewhere near all trash, and I mistakenly hesitate in my tracks for a few seconds.

        That's all it takes for the little beast to come running at my ankles.

        I jump back in surprise, looking down to find a small bundle of matted grey and white fur, floppy ears and a little pink tongue. It's covered in dirt and I can't work out if the smell in the air is coming from the dumpster or this little furry abomination.

        What kind of alley cat is this?

        I watch with wonder as it rolls on the ground by my feet, belly up and ears down. It looks scared, but if that were the case, why did it come near me?

        I stare down at it for a couple more seconds, the dirty little rat staring up at me patiently before it rolls back onto its feet and sniffs at my shoes.

        I step back. "Keep your germs away from me," I tell it, though the fluff ball doesn't listen at all. It continues its pursuit until it's nipping at my laces. My leg comes out as a reflex and it shies away. I don't mean to kick it, it just startles me.

        I scan the area for a possible owner but I'm alone— no one's here but me. There's no collar on the thing like I'd seen many other animals wear, so I assume it's a stray like me. No home.

        I sigh as I look at it, it's blue eyes staring straight through my own ones. There's life behind them, a knowledge not quite like mine, but still equally as intelligent— maybe even more so.

        "Shoo, mutt." I wave my hands to try and scare it away, but my half-assed attempt doesn't work. It just comes closer, it's fluffy but extremely dirty paws pad against the wet floor and his little nose nudges my leg. I jump back again. "No. Quédate ahí," I put my hand out to its face, backing away the more it comes closer. "No," I try again. "No te acerques más."

        Maybe it doesn't understand Spanish, I wonder as it finally sits down, it's body almost on my foot.

        "Okay, great. Now stay," I raise a finger, keeping my eye on the stray as I round it and finally start backing out of the alley. It watches me from its spot, not moving. I nod, "Good. Keep staying."

        And then I turn my back and carry on down the streets of Boston...

        ...With the mutt that follows me as soon as I take my eyes off it.

        I decide it shall be called Rey.

___

        "Who the fuck kills a fucking puppy!"

        I watch Jace with a blank expression as he paces back and forth in front of me as I sit on the sofa in the living room. He stressfully runs his hands over his face, a habit he's had since I can remember. He's angry, but he's calmed down a lot in the last ten minutes.

        I don't say anything as I stare at the red beneath my fingers nails, my skin crawling with the need to wash my hands, but I don't.

        Jace pauses, I see him though I'm not looking directly in his direction. I want to wash my hands.

        "Do you think they've—."

        "It's not them," I shake my head, my tone blunt.

        "How do you know?" Jace sounds confused, skeptic. I can feel his panic, his worry.... his fear. Though, I'm not sure who it is he's scared for. Myself, or him.

        Or maybe it's for us both.

        "R.A," he warns at my silence. "Is there something you're not telling me?" I bite my lip at his scolding, avoiding his accusing blue eyes. He sighs, coming round to sit on top of the coffee table that is positioned in front of the sofa I'm on. "R.A, I'm tired with all the secrets. You need to tell me what's been going on these past few weeks. Please."

        There's only so many places my eyes can focus on before they have to land on Jace himself. He looks so sad, even though he tries to hide it. He's always liked animals for some reason. Rey was his little bestfriend, or at least that's what I heard Jace call the mutt when they would share an ice cream and watch cartoons on the weekends together. Jace said I should join them on more than a few occasions, but I always had something better to be doing.

        Even when I didn't.

        "Runaway, I'm not playing."

        "It's nothing, Jace. Just..."

        "Just what?" He presses, leaning closer to me.

        I huff a breath. "I may have managed to piss a few people off around here."

        Jace catches on quick. "Mac." He isn't even asking, he knows already. "For fucks sake, R.A!" I don't flinch as he abruptly stands up and swipes at the glass of water than had been placed on a coaster on the coffee table. It smashes against the wall, the water temporarily staining the white a grey colour. I'm not picking that up. "I fucking told you. I told you not to get any more involved! Why didn't you tell me?"

        "Stop shouting, Jace. My head hurts," I grunt as I rub at my forehead, unsure as to why I do that because it never fucking helps. "It's not a big deal, okay? They're not going to do anything, they're just trying to scare me."

        "Not going to do anything?" He repeats with disbelief. "Runaway, they just killed your fucking dog. Actually took a life. A little innocent life."

        I roll my eyes. "It was just a dog, Jace." Lie. "I'll deal with it."

        He laughs, I cringe. "Oh no, no, no. You won't be dealing with anything, R.A. You couldn't even fucking deal with the first fucking problem you caused."

        "Only because you won't let me kill the fuckers," I defend.

       I've never seen Jace so frustrated and stressed out as he is now. He keeps laughing, then making this weird groan at the back of his throat like he doesn't know what to do. He rubs at his face, tugs at his hair and mutters curses under his breath.

        I think I've broken Jace.

       "We're not— we're not doing this right now, R.A. This back and forth is not happening right now. You're going to sit here, and other than telling me everything's that's been happening, right down to the last detail, you're not going to say another word."

        "But—."

        "No," he cuts me off with a snap to his tone. "You're not going to defend yourself, you're not going to blame someone else, and you're not going to try and get yourself out of this. It's just not going to fucking happen."

        I huff petulantly before I sit back further into the sofa, my arms crossed. Jace raises an eyebrow to see if I'm going to put up any sign of a fight, but I don't. I'm not trying to piss him off more than he already is.

        So I tell him. I tell him everything that's been happening and I don't leave anything out. I start with Lilah and the reason she was hurt, following up with who hurt her and how I know. I tell him about Mac and the way I just want to rip his fucking head off, and finish with the events that took place tonight.

        I tell him everything. And then he leaves without saying a word.

        I think I've broken Jace.

___

        "Are you okay?"

        "Why are you even here?"

        I stuff my hands in the connecting pocket of my jumper, the air around me cold and bitter, but there's no rain. Not tonight.

        "What do you mean why am I here?" Dakota questions, standing too close beside me. He has my whole back yard and yet he chooses to be almost shoulder-to-shoulder with me? Of course.

        "I mean it's two o'clock on a Monday morning. Shouldn't you be back at your house asleep?" I counter, staring down at the hole I'd just dug. It's smaller than all of the other once's I'd made in the past, it takes less time and effort, too. But it has more meaning than the others ever did— ever would.

        "Jace called, told me that Rey had died and that you needed a friend." I can't help but scoff as the explanation leaves his lips. "So I'm here."

        I don't do much but nod my head slowly, too exhausted to argue. I don't need a friend, I don't have any friends, but I guess I can dispute that statement tomorrow when I feel better.

        But for now, with Dakota's help, I bury Rey.

        The tattooed blonde picks up the mutt's little body that is wrapped up in his favourite blanket that was ironically washed today for him to sleep on later tonight, and he gently lays him in the hole that fits his size perfectly. He grabs the shovel that lays untouched on the ground and holds it at his side as he watches me stare down at the light blue lump in the ground.

        "You good, Kody?"

        "He pissed in all my shoes," I mumble as I adjust my feet, shifting my weight. "After chewing them all up, he pissed on them and buried them in my bed. Then when he was finished with that, he'd rip all the trash apart and just leave it scattered all over the kitchen floor. Didn't even fucking tidy up after himself. He used to bark a lot, too. When I first got him, he used to bark every time he was alone. Know how annoying that was?"

        Dakota smiles softly, shaking his head. "I've never had a dog before."

        I nod, exhaling a small huff. "Neither had I until Rey. He ate everything and always needed a fucking bath." Dakota laughs quietly next to me. "But he wasn't all bad, I suppose. Jace liked him, and it seemed that whenever I was in a bad mood he always used to bring me this little stuffed animal that I bought him months ago— like he knew.... he was smart. I didn't hate him."

        "I'm sorry, Kodes."

        Dakota's apology floats through the air and drifts away with the blowing wind, his voice seeming so small and distant. But I know he's sincere, I know he means it.

        "It's whatever," I shake my head and brush away the memories the little mutt left. "Just pass me the shovel, it's getting cold."

        Without a word Dakota does as he's told, and before I start collecting the dirt that sits in a pile by the hole, I bend down in front of it and pull Rey's favourite toy from my pocket.

I squeeze the soft animal in my hand, the once smooth fur now rough and dirty as I examine it in my hand. I wonder why he liked it so much, I think to myself as I place it beside his covered little body with care.

It's about twenty minutes later when Rey's finally buried in the back yard and Dakota is in my kitchen enjoying a hot chocolate. Jace still isn't back from wherever it is he stormed off to, but I don't worry. He wouldn't do anything I would do, so I know he's not out there getting himself into any trouble.

As much as Jace is all about being open and talking about people's feelings, he has a hard time dealing with his own. I guess that's why he's always so annoyingly smiley. Whenever things get a little too real for him, he leaves to go and clear his head. I never question what it is he does, that's his business, but I trust Jace not to fuck anything up.

"Do you think it was..." Dakota doesn't finish his sentence, leaving it open for interpretation. I shake my head. With furrowed eyebrows, I know Dakota is silently wondering what happened.

"From his injuries we think he was run over. The person must have picked him up and left him on my porch before driving away," I shrug. It's a blatant lie, of course it is. I've told both him and Jace different stories, but what was I meant to do? Show Jace the note? Tell Dakota the truth?

No.

That can never happen. It's for the best that I keep the note that was found on the porch steps that Jace thankfully didn't see hidden.

Let the games begin.

Yeah, it's best it stays hidden.

___

Author's Note

If something doesn't make sense, point it out please. I forgot where I was going with the storyline, lol. It's been years since I started this, so I made it up on the spot.

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