Charles Douglas's Story

Lola counted her tips in the dressing room of the strip club. It was four in the morning and she couldn’t wait to get home. one hundred and forty eight… one hundred and forty nine… one hundred and fifty she sighed as she shoved the stack of ones, fives, and tens in her purse. “Five tomorrow night Lola” a familiar voice spoke she glanced in his direction, it was the owner of the club. He was a mean Italian man, with a perverted and twisted sense of humor. She frowned deeply “Vito, no. Tomorrows my day off and I have to take my daughter to the doctor, she hasn’t been…” he cut her off, grabbing her harshly and pulling her up from the chair she sat in and pulled her close, until they were chest to chest although he towered over her and even if she wanted to move he was to strong. His breath smelled strongly of scotch and cigars, she tried to look away but with his free hand he forced her to look at him. “You think I give a shit about your kid or your life. Your nothing special sweetheart I can replace you in a second. A pair of tits like yours is a dime a dozen.” He said harshly. If this had been any other man, she would have kneed him in the crotch and spit in his face, but this was her boss, the man who had given her a manager’s position at the club and the manager’s position here paid a hell of a lot more than a waitress.

She fought back the tears that begged to escape and tried her best to swallow the knot in her throat. “Alright Five O’clock.” She said softly “That a girl.” He smirked as he let her go smacking her on the ass “Now get out of here I’m not paying you over time princess.” He said laughing to himself. The bitter winter, New York air hit her skin like a thousand tiny needles. It was easily twenty degrees. She quickly unlocked her car and slid inside, forcing the keys in the ignition. After a few moments her tiny beat up Mazda sputtered to life. All she wanted to do was cry, but she hadn’t truly cried since she was a little girl, she was convinced she had to be strong. She let her head rest against the head rest of her seat as the cars heater slowly warmed the car. She took a deep breath wanting a moment of silence. Finally she pulled out of the back lot of the strip club and made her way home. She pulled into the trailer park a place that to anyone else was a place they dreamed of getting out of, but she had given that dream up a long time ago, this trashy, drug addicted, ex-convicted haven was where she called home.

She quietly unlocked the creeky door and hoped it wouldn’t wake anyone up. She immediately locked it behind her. Something she made sure to do, due to some of the other who lived in the trailer park. The small three bedroom trailer was pitch black but she knew how to get around in it like the back of her hand. She made her way into the living room, the TV made dim splatters of light on the walls. James or better known by everyone else as Jimmy was asleep on the couch. Everyone had been busy tonight and he was the only person other than Duke, Charlie or Daisy to watch Tegan. She knew Duke and Charlie wouldn’t be here due to gang related business , they never told her much, but she never really wanted to know. She made her way through the familiar trailer and as she dug threw a few piles of cloths that laid on the floor in her and Duke’s room. Deciding on a pair of black sweats and a tank top she threw her hair into a ponytail and made her way back down the hallway, peeking into Tegan’s room. She frowned a bit seeing that she wasn’t in her bed. She smiled as she saw her daughter lying next to Jimmy, who was practically another brother, who looked like he had fallen asleep watching tv. She didn’t want to disturb the two of them so she tiptoed to the tv and turned it off before finally settling down for the night in her own bed.
“Momma…Momma” she felt the little hands of her daughter shaking her awake. With only two and a half hours of sleep she was exhausted, but never the less she smiled , she had responsibilities, even if they came before her own well-being. “I’m hungry!” Tegan said sitting next to her mom kicking her feet back and forth with a carless smile on her ity-bity lips. “Alright baby girl.” Tyran smiled standing up as she picked her daughter up, Tegan wrapped her legs around her mom’s hips. Jimmy was still passed out on the couch, after Tyran fixed her daughter some pancakes and gave her a sippy cup full of apple juice she made her way into the living room. Kicking the couch “Jimmy, you’re going to be late for school.” She said in a motherly tone.

He yawned as he sat up stretching his arms and pulling his hood over his head. “Not going, thanks for the offer though mom.” He said in a snarky tone of voice. Lola sighed she was used to his rude, distant attitude. “James, go to school.” She said puling a ten from her purse “Lunch money.” She said tossing it on to his lap. Jimmy rolled his eyes, standing up, sloppily shoving the money into his pocket. “Fuck Fine.” She said heading out. “Bye bye Uncle.” Tegan giggled waving “See you tonight princess.” He said giving a very faint smirk.

Jimmy hated school, simply because he was the oldest student on that damn campus. He didn’t listen to anyone not even his own parents, but something about Lola, made him listen. He couldn’t tell her no even if she wanted to, simply because she was one of the only people he actually respected and who actually cared about him. First period was English, something he wasn’t fond of, he sat down haphazardly in the back of the class room late as usual. “Look, the psychos wearing the same cloths as yesterday.” One of the jocks smirked. “Wanna say that to my fucking face rich boy.” Jimmy said standing up ready to fight. “Mr. Strong sit down, I don’t want to send you to detention again.” The teacher sighed.

Charlie walked back through the streets, heading to the trailer park. He was about half a mile to his house, well as much a house a trailer could be, when a group of kids from across the street gave him a look. They were getting ready to cross the street, looking bored. Charlie smiled for a second, but soon the smile faded away, maybe it wasn't a good time to get in a fight. They had three kids, and he was only one, plus they could have any sort of weapons with them. Instead he gave them an intimidating look, trying to say he wasn't looking for a fight, and they didn't waste their time. Hopefully they weren't following him, but he never looked back to check.

He pulled out a cigarette and popped it into his mouth when he felt safe from the small group of kids. He lit the cigarette with a match and smiled. He walked up to the trailer and sighed, his cigarette still burnt so he leaned against the trailer. He didn't like bringing cigarettes into the trailer, with Tegan around. Yet normally he wouldn't hesitate much to bring one in. He listened for any noise inside the trailer, trying to guess who was inside. Wolf sat panting at him, and Charlie just looked down at him, ignoring him. There wasn't much noise, so Duke probably wasn't there. Tegan was most likely there, she was almost always there. Lola was probably there too by now, her boss usually didn't keep her after 4 or 5.

Charlie sighed as he threw his cigarette to the ground. He opened the door to the trailer and took a step up when he almost fell back. He must be hung over from the night before. Gale regained his balance and walked into the trailer. He saw Tegan first and waved to her, giving her a friendly, childish smile. "Hey Lola." He said to his sister on the other side of the room. Apparently Duke was there, and for once not beating or fucking his sister. "Hey Duke." He walked over to Lola and handed her a twenty and ten dollar bill he pick pocketed from a rich looking guy on the wrong side of town. He walked over to his room and leaned against the wall before entering. He hoped she wouldn't ask or care about the thirty dollars he handed her. "So how was work?" Charlie asked with a sarcastic grin. He started to walk into his small room, but before he could he turned around again to face Lola. "Hey tonight's your night off!" He said excitedly, trying to make up for his sarcastic remark. "You got anything exciting planned?" He asked looking over at Duke quickly then to his pocket. He reached for another cigarette, but then decided he didn't want one.

Charlie flinched as the glass bottle broke. At this point he was sitting on his bed, and had almost pulled out another cigarette to smoke. He laid the cigarette on the bed and walked out of his little room. He had only heard a little of the conversation going on, and wasn't looking outside, so the breaking of the bottle definitely caught him off guard. Luckily, it didn't look like anyone got hurt. With a sigh, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, his last one besides the one on the bed, and put in his mouth and lit it. He watched Duke pace around for a minute.

Charlie remembered Duke talking about a party, then he remembered the party going on tonight. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and looked up to Duke. "Hey, Duke, you need any help setting up for the party?" He put the cigarette back in his mouth and watched him for a second. "You're gonna come, right?" Charlie said looking up at his sister, Lola. Lola or him might get stuck watching Tegan for a while, but maybe they could lie the burden on Jimmy. Charlie looked back up to Duke, and talked through his teeth. "Want me to pick anything up? I'm free today." Charlie enjoyed the parties, but sometimes they got out of control, sometimes to the point where it was dangerous, so he would leave. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that tonight though.

Taryn caught the bag of coke he throw at her almost out of instinct. She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes close not wanting to start something with him then he spoke again “Or is there something else you want?” she rolled her eyes and throw the garbage bag down. “Your such an ass, why don’t you go fuck yourself.” She said harshly making her way to Charlie’s room, all hell was about to break loose, yet she wasn’t bothered by that. She lend in her brothers door way. “Charlie why the hell aren’t you at school, get your ass up and go now. If Jimmy go his ass up to go you can go to.” She said in a harsh tone a tone she only had when she had a lack of drugs for a long period of time.

She continued down the hall, locking herself in her and Duke’s room which probably wasn’t the best idea, especially because he would have no problem kicking the door down to get to her. She quickly cut herself a line of the white powder on the counter before snorting it. Her nose burned as if she had snorted acid a feeling that only bothered her the first time she tried the drug. Once the feeling had gone away she cut the next line and repeated. It would only be a matter of second before Duke was in here. Her heart speed up a bit and she was prepared for whatever was coming. Five years of this was nothing new to her.

Duke looked up as Charlie entered the heated room. His eyes narrowed as he listened to him. "Yes, I could use some help. You can help by getting your ass out of here. And go find Jimmy. He'll know what to bring." He watched Taryn walk passed him and lean on her brother's bedroom door. Her comment about going to fuck himself struck a nerve and his skin was on fire, his eyes blazing with anger. The combination of methamphetamine and cocaine rushing through his blood was sending his anger through the roof. He no longer had control of himself. He watched her hurry down the hall to their bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. If he wasn't angry before, he sure was now. No one stormed off away from him like that.

He stomped down the hallway and started banging on the door. "Taryn, you open this door this instant!" His fist continuously collided with the wooden door, already weak on it's hinges from all the times he has had to do this. "You fucking bitch, I swear to god!" His voice was deep and powerful, his head a mess of adrenaline and anger. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before kicking down the door. It slammed on the floor and he stood in the doorway, his chest puffed and eyes glazed over. He watched her on the bed, snorting line after line of his coke. He stormed to the side of the bed and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up so that her face was right in front of his. "You do as I say, when I say it." He kissed her roughly, more out of lust than of love, then shoved her to the bed.

Unlike most girls would have been when Duke grabbed her from the bed and forcibly placed a hard kiss on her lips before pushing her back onto the bed, she was not at all scared of him. If fact she was about to make the whole thing ten times worse. It could have been stopped their if she would have just stayed sitting on the bed, even if she would have started crying he would have probably left her alone, but know her beloved boyfriend wasn’t the only one high on drugs. Her fearless blue eyes staring into his ice blue eyes. “You don’t own me. I don’t give a shit what you want me to do.” She said darkly pushing him away from her harshly. Now, the fight had officially started and it wouldn’t end until someone stopped it or one of them left. As she passed by her daughters room she came out with tears in her eyes “Mommy, is daddy mad?” she pouted a bit, scared from the loud sound of Duke kicking in the door. “Tegan, go in your room and turn on a movie okay. Mommy and daddy need to talk.” She said kneeling down to her daughter’s level.

Tegan didn’t argue, she was a smart enough little girl to know that when her mom told her to put on a movie and stay in her room, it meant something was wrong. The little girl frowned gently and hugged her mom’s neck before hurrying back into her room. Lola shut the door making sure her daughter wouldn’t be involved in their argument or accidentally hurt cause they were too high to control their selves, or because they couldn’t think clearly. She wasn't sure if Charlie was still their but she hoped he wasn't.

Taryn closed her eyes as he punched the wall next to her, the drugs still coursing through her veins and the words he had just screamed at her fresh in her ears. Had she not been hyped up on drugs she may have asked if he was okay and she probably would have taken care of his new wound. “Yeah, you take care of everything don’t you…that’s why I sell my body every night, your so fucking perfect aren’t you.” She said though she was a bit calmer this time. Her heartbeat slowing down a bit as she slid down the length of the wall the mix of adrenaline, cocaine, and a lack of sleep making her small already frail body weaker. She brought her knees to her chest, hugging them as she laid her head on top. She felt sick, she closed her eyes trying to shake the feeling. She took a few deep breaths in and out before she picked herself up off the floor like she had done so many times before this.

She lend against the wall now standing in the hallway staring at Duke tears rimmed her eyes, but she wouldn’t dare let them escape in front of him, she never did. She wasn’t sure why, it was almost as if she was scared he might actually be nice and she wouldn’t know how to react to that side of him or maybe it would just piss him off more, she wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do, because in all honesty she had never cried in front of him, she had never cried in front of anyone, sure she had teared up but that was as far as it ever went. She made her way to the kitchen pouring herself a shot of vodka and she lend her head back to liquor burned down her throat and made her wrinkle her nose.

Duke sighed, smoke slowly falling from between his lips. He felt calmer, and he could tell Taryn did too. Perhaps their steam was running out, the initial rush of the drugs calming down. He placed the pipe back in his lock box, his private stash full of meth crystals, cocaine, weed, and his pipes and money, and replaced it under the couch. He glanced over at Taryn, sliding down the wall and folding into herself. The comments about her selling her body and how he wasn't perfect sort of stung. "I never asked you to strip. And I never said I was perfect." His voice was at a lack of emotion, not wanting to feel anything anymore. "Some respect would be nice, however." She stood and looked over at him. He could see her eyes were red and tear rimmed. It tore at his heart, but he would never say anything. It was seen as weakness, and he saw it as the cause for his mother's murder. He cared too much for her, so she died in revenge for something he had done. He held his head in his bloody hands and tried to shake the thought. It was constantly eating at him, the reason he never slept. It had been a year, but it still haunted him.

He watched as he made her way to the kitchen and made herself a shot. He stood and joined her. He stood directly behind her, his arms on either side of her and poured himself a shot then knocked it back. He placed the shot glass back on the counter and gently kissed her on the shoulder. He glanced up and saw Charles peeking through his bedroom window, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He left the kitchen and looked out of the window. It was Sam, probably the youngest of the gang. He opened the door, but didn't let him inside. Instead, he joined Sam outside, patting Wolf on the head. He lit up his own cigarette and took a long drag. "What's up, Sam? Why aren't you in school?" It wasn't as if he really cared, but anything to take his mind off of the Hulk-like rage fest he just had and the death of his mother was welcome at the moment.

Duke raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Where do you think Fred is? At school, where you have decided to ditch." He took another drag off his cigarette and rolled his eyes playfully, his mood calming down. The fresh air was clearing his mind. He looked back at Taryn as she peeked her head out of the door, asking if Sam was hungry and announcing that Ms May would watch Tegan for the night. He gave a sigh of relief, hoping that she would be able to medicate her properly, curing her of that cough she's had. He stood, finishing his cigarette before dropping it in the ashtray and returning inside. He could tell that something was bothering Taryn, but he knew it was probably similar things that were bothering him. Besides, they weren't exactly the kind of couple to talk about their feelings, especially with company. He sat at the bar awaiting Taryn to finish making the meal. He wasn't particularly hungry, but appreciated the gesture. He got up to get Tegan to have her join the family for lunch. He slowly opened her bedroom door and peeked inside. "Tegan, honey, lunch is almost ready." He was almost afraid of his own daughter in a way. Afraid she was afraid of him, afraid she wouldn't love him. He gently extended a hand and she came to him, placing her small hand in his. He knelt down and looked her in the eyes and gave her a weak smile, patting her head gently before rising to his feet and leading her to the kitchen. He hoisted her up into a chair just as Taryn was placing plates on the bar.

---

Daisy watched Jimmy paint, each stroke providing more information to what he was creating. It wasn't long before she realized what he was making, an image of her. She smiled. "Yes, Jimmy, it's just about as lovely as watching you make it." She took his hand as he pulled her off the couch and followed him back up the hill. Upon reaching the top, they found Charlie laying next to a bike, all scratched up and bloody. "Oh, my god, Charlie, what happened?" She hurried over to him, examining his wounds. They didn't look too bad, nothing a member of Duke's gang couldn't handle. "We're heading over to Duke and Lola's to see if they need any help for the party. Would you care to join?" She grabbed Jimmy's hand and stood close, hoping that tonight wouldn't be just another anger fueled chaotic mess that it almost always ended up being.

Taryn laughed as she took Tegan from Sam “Why thank you, I’ve been so worried looking for her.” She said as Tegan giggled latching on to her mother. Taryn was a pro at carrying around Tegan and bustling around the kitchen, she was used to having her little girl attached to her. “Hey Sam why don’t you invited that pretty girlfriend of yours to the party tonight, feels like your hiding her away.” Lola smirked “Promise we won’t scare her off.” She teased. She stood at the counter with a plate in front of her not eating very much picking at the food mostly, Tegan helping her eat.

After cleaning the kitchen, she called into, her boss not happy but she played it off as if she was sick. She packed Tegan’s bag with some books, her favorite cloths, her pjs, and a change of cloths. She knew that there was no way she’d pick her up at four or five in the morning and that was about the time their parties always ended. “Alright, I’ll be back I’m going to take her to Ms. May’s.” she said passing the guys on her way out kissing Duke on the cheek, Tegan hugging his leg “Bye Bye daddy.” She giggled. Ms. May’s house was on the other side of the trailer park, which was a bit of a walk, but Taryn enjoyed the walk. After a few moments she reached the house the women greeting them, her home was beautifully decorated and as far as Taryn knew she had no family that came to visit her. She stayed for a bit, Tegan always loved going to the women’s house.

“Thank you again, I really appreciate it. I should be heading out though.” Lola said hugging the old women. “Of course dear, you know I’m always here I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” She said hugging Taryn back kissing her cheek in a motherly way. Taryn exited the trailer and started back to her own home. She had a lot on her mind and was too lost in thought to realize a car had pulled up behind her. “Duke's baby momma all alone, he finally let you out of the tower hu?” the Spanish accent was think and she knew exactly who it was, a shiver ran down her spine as she felt someone grab her hand, with in a moment she was looking into familiar eyes. “Ricky?” she swallowed hard, her breathing picked up. “Looking good these days Lola.” He smirked pulling her close, she was completely stunned. She finally processed what was going on enough to push him always as he was pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ricky, was the son of another local gang lord, the most violent and brutal Hispanic gang in the united states and a rival gang to Duke’s gang. There was something else that Due hadn’t known all these years and right now she was thinking she should have probably told them when they first meet. “Wh…what the hell are you doing on this side of town?” she managed to get out. “Had to take care of some business mi amor, I didn’t think I’d see you. After you fucking took off with that bastard.” He said irritated Taryn glanced up seeing the group of guys he had with him. She knew well enough that he wouldn’t do anything on Duke’s turf in broad daylight that was suicide, half the people in this tráiler park were Duke’s gang members. The slaming of a near by door made her jump and Ricky frowned gently. “Nice seeing you again, I hear your having a party tonight, maybe i’ll stop by.” He gave her one las look over before jumping back in his chevelle and speeding off with the rest of the guys. She stood frozen for a moment, before reality caught up with her and she quickly made her way back home. She lend against her car not exactly ready to go back inside after that, she need to calm down. Her and Ricky had a thing long before her and Duke, in Ricky’s eyes Duke stole her, but Duke hadn’t known about her and Ricky, she didn’t think it was important and it hadn’t been until now.

---

Jimmy smirked seeing Charlie “Always getting in to trouble Char, you ever think you’re going to give your poor sister a break” he chuckled a bit “Sent to get us, or you ran cause Jekyll and Hyde were at it again?” he said offering his hand to help up his friend. He ran his fingers through his dark spiked hair. “Yea I know what the bastered wants, gotta deal with my dad for that shit though.” He sighed “Daisy, why don’t I drop you and Charlie and Charlie’s nice bike off at Duke’s and I’ll head home to talk to the sergeant.” He said referring to his father. The three of them heading to Duke’s. “So Lola tells me this is going to be a pretty bomb ass party, but when aren’t their parties.” He said lighting up a blunt and taking a puff off passing it Daisy, as they sped down the street.

Duke watched Sam swing Tegan around the small living room, Tegan’s smile bright; however Duke’s expression remained unresponsive. He had too much on his mind to smile. Lola took Tegan from Sam’s grasp and Tegan latched on to her mother, just like she did as a baby. She mentioned inviting Sam’s girlfriend to the party they were hosting later on in the evening. “Yeah, you should bring her along. I can’t imagine that if she’s dating you that it would be anything she couldn’t handle.” He gave a small chuckle, knowing very little about his girlfriend. But what “normal” girl in her right mind would date a guy in one of the most known gangs in New York?

After Lola was done cleaning the kitchen, she called her boss. He could tell that he was pissed at Lola for not coming in. “You know I can deal with that prick if you need me to, Lola.” His eyes were narrow, knowing the sorts of things he would say to her, but not knowing the full extent. Lola never shared that much with Duke, probably because he would end up killing the guy.

Lola finally left to take Tegan to Ms May’s house. Duke sat alone in the trailer, other than Sam of course. He plopped down on the couch, and dragged his lockbox from under the couch. Very few people knew of its existence, only those he truly trusted, and he had known Sam long enough to know he wasn’t going to take it or anything. He wouldn’t dare. He pushed in the key and entered the code, and it popped open. He pulled out the bag of meth and his pipe. He loaded a bowl and began to heat the contents. “Want a hit?” He inhaled the hot smoke first, feeling the euphoria sweep over him almost instantly before exhaling and offering the pipe over.

---

Daisy giggled when Jimmy referred to Duke as Jekyll and Hyde. He really did seem to be two people in one body. Calm one minute, then a rage monster the next. It was always a surprise when he flipped, too. You never really knew what would set him off and what wouldn’t. Lola was sort of the same way, but you could usually tell what got under her skin. It was usually Duke or a lack of drugs and sleep, or perhaps more a combination of the three. She frowned when he mentioned leaving her and Charlie and Duke and Lola’s house while he went off to deal with business. She never liked it when he went alone, even though he usually did. She was always afraid that one time, he wouldn’t come back, that something horrible would happen, but she knew that it was pointless to protest.

She climbed in the front seat of the sports car as they headed to the trailer park. Jimmy mentioned how amazing the party was supposed to be, and she knew it would be. She always enjoyed the parties they threw. Full of every drug imaginable, plenty of people to talk to and things to do, however it almost always ended up having a handful of fights, but somehow, that just made it that much more exciting. She knew no one would be seriously injured to the point of hospitalization, and it was always gratifying to walk into school that Monday, both her and Jimmy covered with cuts and bruises and huge smiles on their faces as everyone gawked and wondered what the hell happened to them.

She laughed when Charlie said he hoped it was calm. “Calm? It’s Duke and Lola we’re talking about here, two of the probably worst hotheads in this city. You can expect it to get pretty damn exciting.” She frowned at the mention of other females. She knew Jimmy only had eyes for her, but the thought of him inviting other girls for the party got under her skin. “You know, you should really talk to Sam about that one. He’s the one with the goody-goody girlfriend. I bet she’d have someone to tag along to this party to protect her.” She laughed. She always wondered why Sam had picked to date that bookworm, but she wasn’t about to judge. To each their own.

They finally arrived at the trailer and Lola was sitting outside of the trailer, something obviously bothering her. She got out of the car, kissed Jimmy goodbye, told him to be careful and stay in touch, then hurried to her side. “Lola, sweetie, is everything okay?” She noticed that she was alone and wondered if Duke had finally crossed the line.