Dead Dreams ((Young Adult Paranormal Romance) ( Dead Dreams Trilogy)) (8 page)

“
I’m John and this is
Gary
, thanks for the food man.
”

“
Hey you’re welcome
”

“
How come you’re here?
”

“
I left home, I couldn’t take it no more and I’m not going back!
”

“
Good for you.
”
Summer replied, her mouth full of cake.

He
began to feel
at home with a new bunch of
people
that didn’t
judge him or
make him feel inferior
. They were
grateful that he
’d
brought food.
They didn’t care that he only had
the shirt on his back and not one cent to his name
.
In the company of strangers
he felt he
was
safe and warm for now.

“
Is it okay if I hang arou
nd here for a while?
”
He asked.

“
Sure
,
as long as you keep bringing in the eats
then you can stay.
”
Summer replied
.

“
It’s a done deal.
”
He
said, hoping that she’
d
be
even more
grateful later on.

Chapter 3
.

With the food all gone Adam decided it was time to see how far he could
go with
the girl with big blue eyes.
T
he couch was
only big enough for three
so
he
positioned
himself
on the floor close
to where
she sat in the hope he could
engage her in conversation.
Rone sat on the lone chair, silent.

Adam had been a skilled girl catcher from the age of twelve when he snared his first girlfriend
Amy
who was a year older.
Many others followed and by the time he was fourteen he’d lost his virginity to a girl of seventeen who lived
just
a block away.
As far as he was concerned Summer was
easy to snare
,
in debt for the food,
out of her head on more than weed
and
slightly wild.
Everything pointed to her being
available
.

Before he coul
d go any further the door burst
open to reveal
a tall well built man.

“
Rone
who the
fuck
is this!
”
He yelled
pointing at Adam.

“
He’s just a friend, and he got us food
,
he’s homeless.
”

“
What’s the rule man, run everything by me first!
”
He replied angrily.

“
Sorry I’ll remember next time
.
Adam
I want you to
meet my cousin Nick.
”

All thoughts of getting intimate
were
blown as th
e menacing figure of Nick stood above
him checking out his every detail.
Doing his best to mask his fear he didn’t feel good.
Nick had the look of a
hardened
violent man
that would
slam
you aga
inst a wall at the slightest provocation.
Avoiding eye contact
as much as possible so as not to provoke him
Adam
remained
quiet. But
he
couldn’t
avoid the
tattoo
on
his
neck
or the
long
scar across the top of his no
se
.
Pushing one of the guys off the couch Nick settled himself meanwhile ordering Rone to clear the coffee table.

Adam watched as he
meticulously
and slowly opened
a small packet
.
Carefully extracting
the
white powder
he
set about
methodically creating lines on the only
small table
in the room. Adam
tried not to worry.
The never ending sound of cop car sirens near and far
reminded him exactly where he was and who he was
with
. The noise
served
as a reminder that anything can happen when you’re fa
r away in a place you don’t know
.
Summer
shuffled
herself
closer to Nick
swinging
her hair back
and vying for attention
-
hoping
to get
a line.

“
Go
on then.
”
Nick told her.

She dutifully took
the rolled up
twenty dollar note
and snorted
heavily.
O
ne by one they follow
ed
ignoring Adam
.
He wasn’t sure
whether to just get in there and push his luck, wait until asked
-
or just make a run for it.

“
You
wanna
a hit man?
”
Nick asked.

Not wanting to be a party pooper
he needed
to show the guys that he was no chicken and
that he was
part of the group.
But there was
still
a
feeling
of
inferiority
. Back home he was
the black sheep in the neighbourhood,
the drug taking high school dropout admired by some for his rebellion.
Now he was nothing
,
little more than a greenhorn whose only use was supplying free food from garbage bins.
He
gingerly approached
the line of coke
d
esperate to make a good impression, having watched the oth
ers he was
still
fearful he’d make
a mistake. H
e didn’t
want
any of
them to know
he’d never used it before
so staying in control
he took
the note
,
deeply snorting
the white powder
.

The feeling was
wonderful, a sense of pe
ace and calm as everything slowed
down a little,
he wanted
to laugh but suppressed
it
thinking it might upset Nick.
S
toned as he
was he didn’t
dare
to
blow his precarious situation.

Another girl
breezed through the door
carrying bottles of Vodka
.
S
he
smiled
at Adam
through her drunken
stupor
and kissed Summer
full
on the lips
taking
Adam by surprise.

“
What’s your name little boy?
”
She said.

“
It’s Adam.
”

“
Pardon me Adam but should you be out on a school night?
”

“
I’m eighteen!
”
He said defending himself.

“
Then you’re the grown up, she’s only sixteen, a baby.
”
She replied pointing to Summer.

He was surprised
she was so young. Her life on the streets
had aged her considerably
. His presumption that she was
least eighteen or nineteen
was wrong.

“
I’m Adele and I want you to party with us, can you do that?
”
She said.

Between the cocaine and
booze
Adam
succumbed to his
fatigue
by passing
out on the floor
as
music blared
and
the vodka flowed
.
T
he grind of the day had
got to him, the endless walking
taking
its
toll as he fell into a deep sleep.
H
e woke
early
the next morning
mostly because of
discomfort from sleeping half on a cus
hion and half on the hard wood
f
loor and noticed that a
ll the others were
fast asleep
.
Vodka girl was
still there, sprawled out next to Nick on a dirty old mattress in the corner
naked except for
a large pendant wrapped around her neck.