Nick Cuarto's Story

Braden must have been on the roof for a good half hour or maybe even longer, because by the time he had finished smoking his bowl and returned downstairs, nearly everyone was back. Brooklyn and Nick were in their area of the warehouse, and as Braden quietly moved down the staircases, he heard Brooklyn unhappily asking Nick where he had been. Braden thought that Nick had left earlier with Brooklyn and the others to go get breakfast, but apparently not. It was odd though, since he had been alone with Hailey at the warehouse, so he must have slipped off somewhere when they were on their way to breakfast. Brooklyn's pissy attitude about Nick doing his own thing was a prime example on why Braden wanted to stay as far away from a real relationship as possible. Brooklyn was angry and bitter and to put it bluntly, a bitch, though, and Hailey wasn't. She definitely had some fire in her but she wasn't the type to get mad at him over nothing. Braden knew that it wasn't fair to write her off as a girl who'd be just as clingy and annoying as the typical girlfriend he envisioned. Still though, he hated the idea of being tied down to anyone.

At the thought of Hailey, he glanced over to her side of the warehouse and found her with Holly, which wasn't a surprise. That was another thing that slowed him from wanting anything more with Hailey. With Hailey came Holly, and even though they were both attractive physically, Holly's personality was seriously off-putting to Braden who couldn't stand the idea of having to entertain and care for someone. All she did was talk and sing and touch things and move around - it was like babysitting a toddler and the last thing that Braden wanted was a kid to take care of.

It was a little strange to see Killens and Robbie talking, but Braden didn't care enough to question it. Killens was Nick's best friend so he usually hung around him, and with that, it also led to him being friends with Brooklyn. Braden wasn't really sure about their back stories or how they met, but he knew that the three of them went pretty far back. Braden didn't especially care for any of them more than another. Besides Hailey, he tried to avoid getting close with any of the others. Sometimes he'd egg Holly on to annoy Brooklyn or he'd drink with Robbie or buy weed from Nick, but that was pretty much it.

As Braden headed towards his section of the warehouse, he nodded towards Nick. "The bud you gave me last night was pretty good," he said, which was the closest version of a "thanks" that he would give. Although Braden was high, he had grown a tolerance to marijuana and from smoking multiple times a day, he was used to the symptoms enough where he could function pretty normally.

He glanced around, noticing that Cara wasn't in sight. He was curious as to where she was, but not really enough to ask, so he proceeded to make himself comfortable on his bed, hoping to fall back asleep after a good smoke.

The once peaceful warehouse was quickly bombarded with tension as soon as Brooklyn, Killens, Robbie and Holly returned from McDonald's. Nick wasn't exactly surprised that Brooklyn was involved, but as she tossed a bag of food at Hailey and maliciously commented on Hailey's past, he couldn't help but to cringe. Even for Brooklyn, that was pretty low. The way that people made money on the streets was right up there with what forced them onto the streets on the things that weren't normally appropriate to comment on. It did seem like Holly had started the conversation though, but even with that, all of them knew that when Holly said something negative, her intentions were rarely of that to offend someone or start a fight. Brooklyn knew that just as well of the rest of them but she was always so defensive and seemed to take things to the next level.

Nick wanted to apologize to Hailey for Brooklyn but his girlfriend quickly approached him and angrily questioned where he had been. Brooklyn didn't normally get upset about them spending time apart but Nick knew that she didn't really want to hang out with the others in the first place, and then leaving her with Holly was probably the breaking point.

"I had to talk to a guy I know," he said, watching as she applied makeup to her face. He glanced back in Hailey's direction and then towards Brooklyn again. "Don't you think that was kind of rough?" he asked quietly, barely noticing Killens and Robbie leaving the warehouse. Braden walked by them and by the smell of it, he had finished off the weed that Nick had given it. That was only confirmed when he commented on how good it was. Nick only nodded, trying to focus his attention on Brooklyn.

Roman nodded steadily once Robbie agreed in his prominent Boston accent. He didn't care if he felt like a cloud or a tree, so long as it took the pain away. He began to step away, thinking the deal was finally sealed, but Robbie continued to talk.

"Listen," he whispered. "“If you’re talking crystal you’re not getting that shit from me. You’re a strong dude and crystal is a dark mistress that will make you her bitch, and i’m not about to take the blame if you lose yourself.”

Killens nodded again, understanding. His goal wasn't to get a high, so not getting meth wasn't a problem for him.

"How considerate of you," Roman muttered.

“I do have pills. Not that weak shit Nick tosses. Strong pills, they’re hard to get addicted to, so you shouldn't really have a problem unless you’re popping them like they’re candy. That good?”

Roman gave him a look when he brought up Nick. It was more instinctive than anything else, but still, just the mere mention of his name during the conversation sent a chill down his back. Roman wasn't sure if Nick had ever supplied Robbie before; he couldn't think of anyone who would promote what Robbie did, but then again that's what he was doing in a way. Going to a drug addict for drugs. That doesn't exactly scream "Say no."

"Yeah," he said as he looked away. "That's fine. Just tell me when you can get them to me, and how much. And there better not be any freaky ass side effects either." Roman stepped away, not wanting to draw the conversation out longer than it needed to be. There was no need to draw attention. More seriously he said, speaking of Nick and Brooklyn "And don't forget what I said about the other two."

With that he went back inside, the tension very clearly having grown since being out there. Even Holly looked nervous as he passed back to his side of the warehouse. Brooklyn had said one thing and managed to make a crossroads war in the whole damn place. Roman was, so far, one of the only ones not tied up in the tension. He lit a cigarette and shook his head.

"I suppose I'll play referee."

Brooklyn didn't respond when Nick brushed off her question about him deserting her with Holly, claiming that he "had to talk to a guy". She knew that it meant that he was either picking up a supply or selling to someone, and honestly, that wasn't the part that bothered her. She knew that just like everyone else, Nick had to make a living. His job wasn't like hers, which had set hours for her to come in and go home at, so Brooklyn was used to him being out at different times to deliver things to people across the city. With that in mind, though, she also felt like he had more flexibility to make his deals on his own schedule. It seemed to be happening more and more frequently that he'd disappear right after agreeing to hang out with her and then, per usual, act as if nothing was wrong. She was used to his laid back persona but that didn't excuse it. When someone was wrong, they were wrong. She wasn't like him where she could just pretend that things weren't as bad as they were.

"No, I don't think that it was 'kind of rough'," she said bitterly after finishing her makeup. She stood up, taking a step towards her boyfriend who still sat casually in the lawn chair. "I spent the last hour playing mommy to a seventeen-year-old brat who can't read anything longer than a stop sign and has the attention span of a goldfish. And where were you, Mr. 'Let's go get McDonald's!'?" she paused, brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear before continuing. "Oh, that's right! You were out 'talking to a guy' so you could make some money that I'm sure will go straight into another fucking tattoo or cool pipe that you just had to have, while we're living in this piece of shit place," she continued, her voice growing louder with each sentence. Brooklyn didn't care if she was making a scene or if the others heard. She was pissed off, and although she was directing it at Nick, she was really angry with her life, with herself.

She wanted to continue, to tell him how she couldn't bare to sleep on a dirty mattress on a concrete floor for another night, or how it was fucked up that they had to watch as two little girls wasted their lives away, a boy who could be studying at Harvard was risking his life fighting, a beautiful girl was selling her body, and a boy was literally killing himself every time he used drugs. She was still pissed at Braden for being the source of the comment that made her overflow, so for now, he was still non-existant to her. Still, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she was living this life and it wasn't fair that all of the others, who at one point probably had a lot of potential and excitement for life, had seen their lives crumble in front of them.

Nick stared at Brooklyn as she exploded. Her emotions were clearly built up, but from what? Could one hour with Holly really have pushed her over the edge like this? After she finished ranting about Holly's limited mental capabilities, she started to verbally attack him. She went on about how he spent his money on unimportant things while they were homeless, and Nick realized that this was probably the source of her anger. Although he understood that Brooklyn was only attacking everyone else to protect herself, she couldn't always play that card and expect for it to excuse her behaviors. Nick loved her, he always would, but it seemed like he was the one who was constantly putting up with her flaws while she used his against him.

He waited until she finished shouting at him before standing up himself, now at a more level position with Brooklyn. He waited a moment, hoping that she would apologize, but she didn't, which was no surprise. She always had to be right and although Nick allowed her to be most of the time, he didn't appreciate her degrading him in front of everyone else, especially after insulting Holly and Hailey.

"You've been gone for an hour, Brooklyn! I get it... we all get it... Holly's a little hard to deal with sometimes, but you're not a fucking martyr for spending an hour with her!" Nick doubted that Holly would even take notice to the comment, but he tried to word it as nicely as possible just in case. "Hailey spends all day with her and now she's sick so we give her one hour off, and you've got to be the bitch like usual. All because of what? She made fun of how you make money? And that's totally unfair, right? Because you're the brain surgeon whose work is untouchable compared to all of us peasants who scrounge for money off of the sidewalk," Nick said, shaking his head as he turned away from Brooklyn. He grabbed a cigarette and a lighter out of his backpack and took a few steps towards the door before turning back to her. "You're the one who makes thousands and thousands of dollars, right? So why don't you do something about us living here, huh? Oh wait... that's right... your money will 'go straight into' more booze and clothes, so cut the shit with that 'I'm the victim' act. We've all got problems, Brooklyn, and I love you, I love you so fucking much, but I'm sick of you taking your problems out on me," he finished.

Nick didn't make eye contact with any of the others, although he noticed that Killens had returned inside, and he slowly walked out the door, inhaling deeply with each hit of the cigarette. Part of him felt bad about stooping low enough to fight with Brooklyn in front of everyone else, but at the same time, she was the one who started it and Nick was tired of having to mute himself in order to avoid more problems. He did his best to keep the drama at a low in the warehouse but it was getting tiring, especially when it involved him.

Braden's efforts to fall back asleep were soon crushed when the warehouse erupted in shouts. He tried to muffle out their voices with a pillow over his head but it failed to do much. He could still make out Brooklyn yelling at Nick about everything from Holly's stupidity, to how Nick spent his money, and then about them living in "this piece of shit place".

Even though Braden was still pretty relaxed from smoking, he could feel the tension in the air. Brooklyn was fuming and although Nick appeared to be pretty collected as he sat, watching her scream at him, Braden could tell that shit was about to go down. He was right, too. As soon as Brooklyn went silent, Nick stood up and shouted just as loud, right back at her. It was kind of surprising to see Nick bark back at her. He wasn't whipped or anything, but it seemed like Nick was the type to let things go unless someone did something really offensive or threatened him or something. Fighting with someone, especially his long time girlfriend, didn't seem in his character, but Braden would agree that Brooklyn was being a total bitch. She always was though, and Braden wondered what he had missed while he was smoking that made her go into Godzilla mode.

Once Nick claimed that he was tired of Brooklyn taking her anger out on him, he went out side, seemingly to smoke. Braden sat up, glancing towards Brooklyn. He wondered what her next move would be and part of Braden hoped she'd go out there and punch Nick in the face or something exciting. Although he took Nick's side in the fight and felt bad that he had to put up with her bitching, Braden would never turn down the opportunity to watch a fight - especially when someone as hot as Brooklyn was in such an emotional state. He was also curious as to what Killens would do. Braden knew that he had known Brooklyn and Nick for a while and even though he was Nick's best friend, he seemed to be pretty close to Brooklyn too.

Cara's location was still unknown to him, but Hailey and Holly were back in their corner of the warehouse. Braden got up and headed towards the twin, laughing to himself. "You know, Holly, I've never really given you the credit that you deserve. You're the biggest shit-stirrer around here and now you're basically a home wrecker too. I always thought you were pretty dumb for me, but man, you just gained a lot of points in my book," he said with a grin, barely acknowledging Hailey as he spoke to her sister.

Holly was surprised when her sister's only reaction to Brooklyn's remark was a roll of her eyes. She remembered that Hailey had been feeling sick though, so she thought that maybe she was too tired to fight. Holly didn't think that they had a reason to fight, though. Brooklyn was being nasty for no reason. They had been having a nice morning until she brought up how she and Hailey didn't even have real jobs and how they should go back to school. Of all places... school! Holly frowned at her own thoughts, only to hear Hailey asking her about her breakfast.

"It was good," Holly confirmed before pointing to the loose change that Brooklyn had thrown down onto the other side of the bed. "I didn't spend all of it because Brooklyn forgot to get the cookie that I wanted at Panera," she explained, "but that's okay because I'm full anyway."

Hailey suggested that they go shower at a truck stop down the road. Holly wasn't a fan of the place, mainly because of all of the other places that they could shower. Keeping up basic hygiene was probably one of the most difficult things to do on the streets. The truck stop was the easiest place to shower but it cost money. They had managed to sneak into the locker rooms at gyms and high schools or college dorm halls before, but that was always risky. It was usually easier to just pay for a shower at a truck stop or drop-in center, even though it wasn't free.

"I don't want to go to that gross place," Holly complained. "The people there are always weird. When me and Brooklyn were walking, we saw an apartment for sale. Why can't we get an apartment so we have our own shower?"

Holly glanced around, unsure of what to do. She then remembered that she hadn't finished painting her nails and quickly fished out the nail polish bottle out of her bag. Painting nails took precision and patience that Holly lacked and when Brooklyn's first shout echoed throughout the warehouse, Holly nearly spilled the bottle on her mattress. She stopped mid-nail and capped the bottle before turning to watch the argument between Nick and Brooklyn play out. The pair were shouting at each other more fiercely than Holly had seen them do before and even though Brooklyn started the fight, Holly didn't like the way that Nick was yelling back at her.

"She's not a brain surgeon," Holly whispered in confusion to Hailey, taking Nick's comment seriously. She didn't even comment on Brooklyn's insult about her being illiterate and having no attention span, mostly because she was going in and out of listening to the conversation and watching the way that their faces looked as they shouted. It worried Holly that they were so angry and when Braden appeared, claiming that she was the source of it, she felt even worse.

"Shut up, Braden," she retorted with a scowl. "They're not mad because of me, right Hail?" she asked, hoping her sister would confirm that none of this was her fault. "You weren't even there, Braden. Ask Roman or Robbie... they'll tell you that I didn't do anything wrong."

Just as soon as he had sat down, all hell broke loose. Brooklyn stirred even more in her fury, and it didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. Knowing her for about the entire duration of being on the streets, he would say he was quite familiar with her ways. That being so, he didn't feel too much reason to worry as she lashed out Nick, once again he noted. Roman began to feel around under his mattress for his special book. The last Christmas present he ever received. Before he could reach it though, Brooklyn began lashing out at the twins yet again. And again, unnecessarily. Before he could stop and say something along the lines of, "Seriously, Brook?" Nick had done the favors, but with much less composure and far more anger than even Killens would have expected. The thing about being not only friends with the two of them, was being, in a sense, their best friend. As soon as they got into an argument, Killens got into an argument too.

Nick wasn't a bad guy by any means. Brooklyn wasn't as terrible a person as she came off to be over ninety percent of the time. In all honesty, it took a while for him to warm up to her personality, or lack thereof, but at the end of the day, what the hell did any of this matter? Kindness was always overlooked, but people wanted to dwell on the shitty stuff others do. It just wasn't worth it. And while he didn't enjoy her dryness a bunch of the time, he figured it was more so her reaction to everything. She was an inevitable snowball effect, which was no excuse, but she was angry. They were all angry, just a bit better at managing it. And Nick was pretty good at managing it. Being the leader of the group sort of required it. Killens was surprised Nick hadn't lost it sooner.

After Nick finished, storming out with a cigarette between his lips, Roman ran his hands over his face. After all their time together, he felt a responsibility to be a sort of catalyst between the two, but even now he wasn't sure if he should get involved or not. Roman stood up peevishly, already in a bad mood because he wasn't in his best state, and began to sort things out when Braden opened his mouth. After getting serious about fighting, Roman had ironically become quite pacifist with the group members. Any anger he let out would lead people to believe it was an immediate result from the fighting, and who knows? Maybe it would be, but he didn't want to find that out. At this point, though, he was fed up with the twins being trash talked, so he started toward Braden without thinking. Holly surprisingly stuck up for herself, clearly scared and a bit confused of what was going on.

Roman stood between the twins and Braden and gave him a warning look. He could tell that Braden was getting a kick out of this, not really seeing that in order to have a place to stay safely, it would be best to not encourage disagreement further. A lot could be accounted for the marijuana coursing through him, but at this point Killens wasn't in the mood for excuses. He stood a second longer and mumbled, "I get you're enjoying this, but don't show your ass because of it. Holly, you didn't do anything wrong," he said as he walked away. "You're smart enough to know not to listen to what that jackass has to say."

He walked over to Brooklyn, not to reason with her. One could only reason with Brooklyn when she wanted to be reasoned with, but one could always call her out on her shit. Although he was clearly fuming by now, against his will--it was hard to restore peace when you yourself also wanted to hit somebody--he leveled his voice, standing close enough to get her attention, but far enough away so that she didn't feel threatened. If anything, he felt that was the one thing that set Brooklyn off even more.

"Look," he said bluntly, just loud enough for her to hear. "Stop talking. You and I both know, more than anybody, that we don't want to live here. What other choice do we have? I get that you're pissed off and everything and Nick was the closest target, but you know damn well he didn't deserve that. Neither of you did. I'm not going to stand here and try to get you to apologize like you're eight years old, but you're wrong. You know it, because that's where you want to be, and now look at everybody else. You said what you wanted to say. You got the reaction you wanted. Now quit being a god damn child," he said. He spoke more gently even though his words grew harsher. If she wasn't looking at him, he moved so she would. "Now," he began. "Am I going to have to go after him, or are you?"

Brooklyn's heart was racing and her hands shaking in the moments following her rant towards Nick. As he stood up and matched her volume and animosity, she felt like slapping him across the face, not even to hurt him, but to let go of the rest of the fury that was coursing through her veins. Usually, shouting and screaming at Nick helped Brooklyn feel better. She'd say what she needed to say and then apologize and have makeup sex with him later that night. This time, Nick got right back into her face which didn't happen very frequently. Maybe it upset Brooklyn even more because deep down, she knew what he said was true. She made enough money to rent out a studio apartment but like him, she indulged in things that flushed her income right down the drain. Even if she could cover the monthly rent, it would be nearly impossible for her to save up enough money to cover the deposit if she was still living in her street-life mindset.

She hated letting him get the last word, but Brooklyn knew that it was probably better that Nick walked out to smoke before their argument got any farther. She was so deep in her emotions at this point that she had nearly forgotten that the others were around. All she wanted to do was lay down, bury face in her pillow and cry until her eyes were dry but she wouldn't do that in front of all of them. She didn't want anyone to pity her or even worse, think that she was some emotionally fragile girl.

Once Nick was out of sight, she took a deep breath and sat down on their bed, dragging a bag to her feet shuffling through it. She was looking for a bottle of water but found a small 50 mL bottle of vodka and knew that it would quench her thirst - and more - better than any amount of water would. She downed it quickly and tossed the bottle to her feet just as Roman approached. He was pretty upfront with how he thought that she was the villain in all of this and although he claimed that he wasn't going to try to force her to apologize to Nick, that he thought an apology was due.

Brooklyn was silent for a good minute, keeping her eyes focused on the wall across from her until Roman stepped sideways into her view. She knew that he was caught in the middle of the fight but in Brooklyn's point of view, it seemed like he always sided with Nick. She didn't necessarily blame him, considering that they had known each other longer, but he was clearly out of his mind if he thought that she would agree that she was as wrong as he had pinned her as being. She meant every word of what she had said. Whether it was an appropriate or kind thing to say was a different story, and Brooklyn knew that she would have to deal with that at some point.

Part of her felt like going out there and telling Nick that they were over. He didn't seem to share the desire to get off the streets at some point, as Brooklyn and even Killens did. Brooklyn couldn't imagine spending her entire life out here, but at the same time, she did know that she really was no better than Nick in terms of finances or status. Besides that, he always put up with her mood swings and inappropriate bursts anger. He had loved her for years, through thick and thin and back again. She knew that this fight wasn't worth ruining everything that they had but she still wasn't ready to take responsibility for her part of the fight.

"I'll deal with it when I feel like dealing with it, Killens," Brooklyn said sharply, although quietly as she leaned over and rummaged further into some of her boxes before stuffing a few items into a drawstring bag. She slipped it onto her back and stood up, her eyes meeting Romans as she took a second to compose herself. "I'm going out. Nick knows where to find me if he wants to talk," she said quietly, taking a few steps past him before looking back at him and the others. "Sorry for causing a scene," she offered, loud enough for the others to hear this time. It was the closest thing to an apology that she could make right now, especially because she knew that the others really weren't to blame in all of this mess. Apologizing to Nick would be a different story, but Brooklyn did feel a little guilty for getting everyone else riled up when they had no need to witness it all.

With that, Brooklyn continued out the door. She didn't even look up as she walked by Nick and headed towards the street. Her next stop would be Finnigan's Pub, a small, grimy old bar that was open 24 hours and was always Brooklyn's refugee whenever she was stressed or overwhelmed. She had been there many times with Nick, and even a few times with some of the others, but today, Brooklyn was happy to be alone.

With a silent nod Robbie popped a cigarette in his mouth, hands slightly shaking, I know how to keep secrets. He waited a couple seconds before opening the warehouse door only to hear Brooklyn going defcon one, Robbie stopped halfway and shut the door again figuring now would be the best time to get Killens those pills, a simple excuse to get away from the conflict.

He rounded the block going down a side alleyway that led to where the warehouse's parking lot was. It was an out of the way location and he could stash a couple things in different areas and no one would have a clue. The only problem was the off chance he forgot where he put something. The drugs, were never something he forgot. Directly behind the building to its right corner was a small shady area thanks to a large tree and a handful of bushes. He had dug a hole in the ground and covered it with a fairly large flat rock. It looked completely natural. Within the hole was a small lock box, the key of which he always wore around his neck. It was a small silver key with a thin piece of black tape around the top.

Wiping away the dirt the box opened with a light click. Not much was in it besides a couple scripts of people he could hardly remember a small bag of crystal meth. There was a couple of photographs from when he was with the drifters in Rhode Island, and some more when he found himself in New Hampshire from his time couch hopping. Thinking back he had been all over the Northeast. From the boring as hell family vacations to Maine and Vermont. To his hitchhiking days during summer break and of course his truly homeless phase. If anyone were to ask how he got to where he was now, he truly only had himself to blame. He didn't have money problems growing up and he could have stayed in one part of the house that no one would have bothered him, but he was a free spirit and he got taken away. By the time he actually seen what he was doing to himself it was far too late.

Nick’s shout pierced through his thoughts and pulled him back to reality. He quickly grabbed the bottle of pain pills for Killens and slammed the box shut locking it up and putting it back in its spot. He rubbed his brow and let out a long heavy sigh, it sounded too hostile and he’s never been able to deal with arguments. His or someone else’s, so instead of going back inside he stayed, sitting with his back against the wall, looking out to the cars and people passing by through the fence.
It had been quiet inside for a little and he seeing Brooklyn marching down the street had to be a sign that it was all clear to return. Making his way back to the front he spotted Nick on the sidewalk, “You look like a man that could use a drink.” Robbie joked flicking his cigarette butt into the street.

Even after being an avid smoker for at least ten years, smoking still managed to calm him down. If the nicotine wasn't strong enough to wind down his racing thoughts alone, being able to just sit and silently focus on inhaling and exhaling did it. After the blowout fight he had with Brooklyn, being able to slow his mind was essential and it did just that until he heard the creak of the door. Nick didn't look up, but he could tell from his seated position on the sidewalk that the legs that were storming past him were Brooklyn's. Really, he held no resentment towards her. He wasn't lying when he said that he loved her and that wasn't going to change after one stupid fight.

Nick knew that he had done nothing wrong and figured that she just needed time to sort out whatever it was that was bothering her, guessing that it was probably stemming from drama from her job or something. He had always been a little bit dismissive of her desire to better their lives. While he wasn't sure about how the law worked with juveniles and especially considering the situation that Brooklyn had been in, she was still technically a murderer. Part of him wondered about what had ever happened after she left home. Was someone else falsely accused of the murder? Did they claim that it was a murder-suicide or even double suicide? Maybe they had claimed that the person who murdered her parents had kidnapped her. Nick never asked, really, but he still thought that if in the case that she was "wanted", a college or employer would probably be able to find that out.

Nick appreciated the information that she did share with him about her past but because of how turbulent it seemed, he never pried for more information. Her situation was a lot more traumatizing than his had been. In fact, Nick really didn't see his life as being too tragic. His grandparents had died and his parents had rejected him but he could have stayed in foster care if he wanted to. He was never raped, abused or bullied. In a lot of ways, he really was on the streets by choice and while it wasn't the most comfortable life, he was used to it and wasn't ready to give it up. Besides, even if he and Brooklyn managed to rent out an apartment, were they supposed to leave all of the others out on the streets? It just wouldn't be right.

When Robbie approached, joking about how he looked like he could use a drink, Nick looked up. "I could use a lot more than a drink right now," he said with a grin as he crushed the cigarette against the pavement. "I love her more than I've ever loved anyone else, but she's... she can be difficult. I guess that's women for ya," he said, smiling as he looked towards the street where she had disappeared down. In a quick motion, he stood up and lit a second cigarette, offering one to Robbie who had just flicked his to the curb. "Speaking of girls, how've you been in that department, Robbie? I haven't seen you bringing home any ladies lately," he joked, although he was curious about what Robbie did when he wasn't high.

The first person who managed to get on her nerves was Braden. As he came over, and then started talking to Holly, she narrowed her eyes. What in the fuck did he think he was doing? Hailey ran a hand through her hair, trying to ignore the obvious situation, and when Holly shot back a smart comment to Braden, Hailey held back a laugh and ended up halfway snorting instead.

Then, it was Nick and Brooklyn. The loud yelling caught her off guard, even though it probably shouldn't have. First, it was Brooklyn yelling at Nick about how he ditched them at the restaurant, and then, to her surprise, it was Nick yelling back at Brooklyn. Usually, Nick was calm with Brooklyn, and just took what she dished out at him, but that was definitely not the case. Nick was infuriated. Yelling at Brooklyn, with Brooklyn still up in his face. Hailey shook her head, trying to tune them both out, and then Nick stormed out.

"Damn..." She murmured under her breath, looking over at Brooklyn.

"Great job." She yelled over to her, as a petty retort to the comment Brooklyn had lashed at her earlier. She wasn't up for a verbal fight, but she just had to say something to Brooklyn... out of spite, basically. Then Killens got in Brooklyn's face, which, also surprised Hailey. Roman was usually understanding of Brooklyn, or, that's what it seemed like. But, he was probably just standing up for Nick, which made sense. But, after that altercation, Brooklyn stormed out, murmuring an apology, and everything in the warehouse was quiet again. So, Hailey went back to talking to Holly, and eating breakfast.

Holly's question to Hailey of why they couldn't get an apartment and have their own shower made her frown. Hailey didn't really have a good answer for her. A simple, 'you know we can't afford it,' didn't seem to cut it anymore. So, Hailey just forced some wishful thinking into her answer,

"I'm sure we will be able to someday," Hailey said with a shrug, "We'll just have to start putting some money back from every run we do, and you'll have to not spend all the money I give you on things we don't need." Hailey paused for a moment, "Here..." She murmured, getting an empty glass jar she had randomly sitting by her mattress, "We'll start right now. Put the change that's left from breakfast in here. We'll call it... We'll call it the 'Dream Jar'." Hailey offered Holly a smile and then took her words into consideration,

"Well, I suppose we can always find somewhere else to shower. You tell me where you want to go and we'll go, alright?" Hailey paced around her mattress, sitting her backpack on the bed, and beginning to rummage through it, just so she could look busy.

Robbie gladly accepted the cigarette, placing it behind his ear saving it for later, he wasn’t much of a smoker sept for when he was stressing. Nick asked about Robbie’s love life and boy did that bring back some memories, most of which he wished he could just forget outright while many ended in little to no word, a suitcase, and a bus ride out of town. He was never the best boyfriend, all of his relationships were mainly hook ups and last minute decisions.

There were two girls, not at the same time, that he actually can say he cared about but nowadays, not so much. “Yeah, i've had a few, years back though, one from high school her name was Claire. Then one from my hitchhiking days, I guess i'd call it that, named Bailey. Oh, but they're more of a conversation for when i'm a few bottles in." he joked “Though i’m sure anyone I bring home now will love this place.”

There was a brief moment of silence before he picked up again, switching gears. “Ya’know, being away from home for so long you start to forget what it’s like. You never think you’ll feel like you’re actually there and this whole scene,” he gestured to the warehouse “with Brooklyn. It was one of the first times i’ve ever felt like I was there; your girl’s a lot like my Ma, I hate to say.” he dragged off.

When he was growing up everyone he met put his mother on some grand pedestal, and why wouldn’t they? She was one of the best lawyers in Boston, had her own firm, pretty much the only reason they had money, but she had her flaws; she was a beauty with a vicious personality and of course, nobody saw it. Well, no one that was outside the house. She knew when to throw the first punch and never was one to apologize even if she’s in the wrong.

For the most part, it had settled down after Brooklyn. He accepted her form of apology as just, and stepped back as she stormed out. He sat back down on his mattress with a flop an let out a heavy sigh. His heart was still racing from sheer adrenaline alone. Killens propped his elbows on his legs, his face in hands, and just breathed. It was a phenomenon that none of them had ripped each other's throats out by now, at least not literally. Figuratively? They were probably as throatless as they were gutless, he thought as he heard Braden try to provoke Hailey again. He didn't understand why Braden felt the need to instigate. Roman was tired just being in the same living quarters as them; he'd be damned if he had anymore in him to actually start something. But he let them talk. Brooklyn was gone anyway. Robbie wasn't around and Nick was god knows where. It made him feel like he should go somewhere too, but as was the common result given their situation, there really was no where for him to go. Thinking of that only made him more agitated.

Roman stood up and walked past the other three, figuring he would just walk around. It was nice to just walk today. As he walked down the alley, about to turn onto sidewalk, he saw Robbie and Nick chatting. He quickly stepped back and turned around as more a reaction than a thought. A twinge of fear tickled his stomach. He walked back to the warehouse, past the other three again, his mattress, and went out the back that led to the roof. He climbed a few steps before sitting down and sighed.

It was quite an ugly sight, compared to others in New York, but at the same time it was New York, there were plenty of ugly sights to be seen. He could feel his stomach clench, telling him that it was hungry still, despite eating not even an hour ago. It was something easy to ignore by now. Roman continued to sit on the stairs, for no real reason but to sit by himself. It was an obvious statement to say that they all craved some privacy, but living in a megacity, it was basically impossible. Killens opened his pack of cigarettes, seeing that he was already low. He grumbled as he placed one in his mouth and lit it. He supposed now would be the best time to go get some more.

For the third time, he passed the other three, walked down the alley and turned onto the main street. There was a convenience store not too far from the warehouse, but he would probably go a bit farther just for the sake of going. He spoke over his cigarette when he finally passed Robbie and Nick, giving Nick a slight punch on the should and nodding at Robbie. He made sure to give him a warning look. A look that would have translated to, "Keep your big mouth shut." He continued to walk, wefting through the crowd habitually.

Nick laughed as Robbie commented on how a girl would react to their living quarters. He was right. No girl that wasn't already homeless would give any of them a second glance after learning that they were living in a musty old warehouse. It wasn't attractive to girls, and obviously not even to Brooklyn who was just as homeless as the rest of them were.

"Tell me about it," he said, shaking his head. "Brooklyn's been living with me here since we found the place and all of the sudden she wants me to buy her a room at The Plaza Hotel or something."

He listened as Robbie explained that the events of the last few minutes had reminded him of his home life, more specifically his mother. Nick didn't know too much about Robbie's past. He was pretty sure that he was from Boston and came from money, but beyond that, Nick didn't know much. "Yeah? Your mom have her psycho bitch moments like Brooklyn, too?" he joked. Although he wasn't sure which part of Brooklyn reminded Robbie of his mom, he didn't want to pry. For all he knew, Robbie's mom had died or something and Nick didn't want to ask more than Robbie wanted to share.

It was interesting being able to actually sit down alone with Robbie and have somewhat of a real conversation with him. He didn't appear to be high or wasted, which could be contributed to the fact that it was still so early, although Nick had seen Robbie at some of his worsts in the morning.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you out here, man? I heard you had money back home." Nick knew that poverty wasn't always the factor that forced people onto the streets but Nick couldn't imagine leaving behind a comfortable life in Boston with a family for this unless something major happened.

When Killens walked by, punching Nick on the arm, he glanced up and gave Roman a quick wave, watching as he disappeared down the street. "Roman's a good guy," he said quietly.

It took around ten minutes for Brooklyn to reach the small pub that she was headed to. Finnigan's was your typical seedy bar that was really only ever frequented by old men who were either divorced or cheating on their wives. There was a pool table and a few sit-down tables that were there for people who actually wanted to order food but Brooklyn felt bad for anyone who trusted anything that came out of that kitchen. If she wasn't so comfortable with the place - and the prices - she would have little reason to continue going. It wasn't easy to find a bar in the city that wasn't either filled with asshole guys or charged an absurd amount for bottom shelf liquor or even just a beer.

"I'll take a whiskey on the rocks," Brooklyn said, taking a seat on an empty bar stool. The bartender had his back to her as he poured a drink for the only other patron but she knew it was Finn, the Irish immigrant who had owned the bar since his father passed it down to him twenty years ago. He seemed a little sketchy upon first meeting but after getting past the swearing, wild (and probably untrue) stories about his past and invasive questions, he actually wasn't a bad guy. Brooklyn would never call anyone a "father figure" to her, mainly because the role of a father meant nothing to her anymore, but she did feel like Finn had some of that wisdom that parents or grandparents would normally offer their offspring.

"A little early today," he commented, his back still turned as he poured her drink. He turned around, sliding a glass to her and another to an older man who sat at the opposite side of the bar. "And without Nick?"

"Not early enough," she retorted, not feeling the need to respond to his question about Nick as she quickly downed the drink.

He refilled it without question, pushing the glass towards her. "Is he why you're taking it on the rocks?" he asked, his glassy eyes examining her. He knew that she was normally one to drink it neat and would only have it on the rocks when she wanted it to go down quickly, to get drunk.

"It's nothing Finn. I'm just tired, you know? Being out here all the time, it gets to be a lot and he doesn't even want it to be any different. I don't know, I'm just tired. Tired, that's all, I guess," she said, her second shot disappearing after she finished speaking.

"Yeah? Your mom have her psycho bitch moments like Brooklyn, too?"

“More so.” Remembering back to this one time around thanksgiving, they were having a small get together. Some of his parents friends, they brought their kids aswell, nothing like family friends. When halfway through, his parents had disappeared to the other side of the house. It was one of the first times he seen them arguing. At some point his mom threw a bottle at the door taking a piece just above the eyebrow. Nothing serious, a minor cut that left a minor scar.

Nick asked why Robbie was on the streets if he had come from money just as Killens walked by with a playful jab to Nick and an intense glare to Robbie who did nothing more then roll his eyes. Yes he came from money, On the subject he didn’t have a good answer for his question “To be honest i’m out here because at some point I simply stopped caring. Picked up drinking, moved in with a friend and then it was a spiraling shit fest from then on. I’m not gonna lie though, I had a lot fun times on the road. Met a lot of people, learned new things.” It wasn’t all he had to say on the matter but he figured it would do.

"Hey, how'd you two meet? You and Roman, I mean." Thinking back to Nick's comment, genuinely curious.

Nick nodded as Robbie explained his situation. It didn't sound too bad but sometimes stories like his, where there was no death or poverty or brick wall that left you with nowhere to turn but the streets, were the worse. Nick had a lot of questions that he could ask Robbie: You got any siblings? Would your parents take you back if you sobered up? Do you think they still give a shit about you? Do you miss them, your life back home? He didn't though, thinking that it might be too deep for a sober conversation, and just continued smoking.

"I feel you," he agreed after Robbie spoke about how leaving home hadn't been totally bad for him. Nick could agree with that. Even though it sucked sometimes, being homeless wasn't as bad as he felt like people pinned it to be. The winters were always brutal but there was a freedom in all of it that kept Nick feeling upbeat. He didn't have to report to anyone, no parents, no bosses, no family. He knew that he could be robbed, beaten or killed any day when he was working but it didn't matter, it seemed to be worth it to him a lot of the time.

Nick took another drag of the cigarette before responding to Robbie's question about Killens. "I met him a while back, maybe seven or eight years ago. I was involved... well, more involved with the drug community than I am now and the guys I was working with basically needed to shut another group of dealers down to keep making money. It was really just luck when I spotted the head of their group trying to beat the shit out of Killens one night in an alley. It was one of those 'kill two birds with one stone', or bullet in this case, kind of situation. I wiped out that fucker and saved Killens' ass too. He wasn't as much as a fighter back then as he is now but yeah, long story short, that's how we met."

Nick finished the cigarette and crushed it under his foot as he turned back towards the warehouse door. "Thanks for talking, man," he said casually as he walked inside.

Braden was in his area filling a bag with things, but Nick didn't care about him right now. He headed towards his own area and pulled out a few bags of weed and dropped them into a Forever 21 shopping bag that he'd taken from Brooklyn after one of her many shopping sprees. He shuffled through one of her boxes of clothes and found a dress with a tag still on it and dropped it in on top of the drugs. It wasn't a great cover up but especially being held by a teenage girl, it was enough to make it look like it was just a bag holding clothes from the popular store. Nick walked over to the twins and placed the bag next to Hailey's bed. "There's six quarter ounce bags and a dime bag in there for Dom. He said he's having a bunch of people over this weekend so he bought for his crew too. He should give you $360 for that and then there's three dime bags in there for JR. Take $100 and then you can leave the rest for me under the mattress if I'm not here. I already sold to David today, so he's cool, and I might have another run for you later," he said in a hushed tone to Hailey. He didn't really care if Braden heard but he was used to keeping it as under the wraps as possible. He looked down and saw the bag of food at her feet and remembered that she had been feeling ill before breakfast. "If you're up for it, I mean. I don't have much going on today so I can deliver it if you're still sick."

He looked over at Holly and Braden and when he spotted them both not paying attention, he leaned in towards Hailey. "I rolled a joint for you on the house too. It's in there with the rest. I know you don't smoke and all of that and I respect that, but would you at least consider letting your sister try? I've got pills if you don't want her trying that. Adderall, Ritalin, Dexedrine, all of that stuff that she should be on anyway. It could help her. No pressure, just give it some thought?" Nick felt horrible asking Hailey to even think about doing it, not because it wouldn't actually help her since he truly did think that either the weed or the ADHD medications would help Holly, but because he knew that he really wanted something to mellow Holly out enough to keep the drama at a low. It was selfish and messed up but if keeping Holly at a lower energy level would make Brooklyn less agitated, it might help them all.

Holly watched as Hailey pulled out a wad of cash and counted it out to be over three-hundred dollars. "Can you count this too?" she asked, holding the container out for her sister. Holly knew how much each bill and coin were worth. She could identify a dollar bill, a quarter, a nickel, and so on, but when it came to adding or subtracting numbers, she was lost. When she purchased something when she was alone, she would normally give the clerk the largest bill she had and hoped that he would give her back the correct change. It was easier than trying to figure out the exact amount- how many dollar bills and change she would need to give to be more accurate, since she never ended up giving an amount that was even remotely correct.

"The YMCA is nice, right Hailey? Let's go! Let's go!" she pleaded after Braden offered them guest passes to his gym. It was unusual for Braden to suddenly be acting so generous but Holly didn't put much thought into it. She was excited to be going somewhere new that was also free and even though gym showers were sometimes a little skeevy, anything would be a sink shower. Holly turned to find her shower bag which held basic bath products as Nick approached, handing Hailey drugs that they needed to deliver today.

"Can we do it on the way to the gym?" she asked Hailey, still focused on finding everything she needed to shower. She searched through her bags for a pair of flip flops that she wore in the showers. You never knew what type of bacteria and fungus were growing in public showers and it grossed Holly out to even consider touching the floors of the showers with her bare feet. She was oblivious to the conversation that Nick and Hailey were having about her as she began to sift through Hailey's belongings in search of her shower shoes.

Three or so blocks down, Roman arrived at a rinky dink convenience market. It smells of sour pickles and gasoline, humid despite the chill spring outside, with two nondescript Middle Eastern men speaking in a language he was unfamiliar with. The youngest one raised his hand passively in greeting, mumbled a quick "Hello, how are you" in English and just as easily continued his other conversation in his first language. Roman walked around the market, eyeing the sweets and chips in the aisle. He never really had a big sweet tooth. Growing up, he wasn't allowed a whole lot of junk food, so he figured he just naturally never really had a taste for it. He had about twenty dollars with him. He went to the back and grabbed two gatorades, then went to the front and grabbed a bag of chips. As he went to the counter, waiting for the cashier to step away from his conversation, he noticed a small pack of cookies. He recalled Holly complaining about Brooke not getting her any at Panera, so he walked over and grabbed them. He tossed them on the counter as the young man began to ring him up.

"This is all for you today, sir?"

"Give me a pack of Marlboro."

The man did so and he rung up his total. Roman had already pulled out the $8.27 he owed before the man told him what was due. Slightly taken aback as he read out the price as Killens gave him the money, the man nodded some and took it.

"Very impressive, sir." He gave him the small grey bag with his things. "Have a good day."

"Thanks."

Roman left and walked back towards the warehouse, enjoying the time alone. He opened his bag of chips and munched on them along the way. He restricted himself from indulging in buy two hot dogs from one of the stands. There was no need to spend all of his money if he didn't even know when his next payment would be. If those pills Robbie had for him didn't work, he didn't know what he was going to do. Along the way, he passed a large park, an easy source for extremist to pass out their creepy pamphlets. He managed to get stopped although he swore he had somewhere he needed to be. The woman gave him a doubtful look upon seeing how he was dressed.

"Do you know what the bible really says abortion?" she asked as she went to her small booth with her other fellow extremists and grabbed a pamphlet. It had a black background with eery green writing on it. Roman took it cautiously.

"I can't say I'm all too familiar with the ways of the bible."

The woman looked astonished until she nodded, seeming to understand something she should have picked up on to begin with. The sudden comprehension confused Roman, making him think he missed something until she said to him, "Where are you from, young man?"

"England."

"Do they read the bible in England?"

"No. We're all virulent atheists who burn ungodly children at the stake."

He put the pamphlet back down on the table as the woman stared at him wide eyed, speechless. Roman chose this as the time to walk away, making sure to steer clear of anymore so called prophets or bible propagandist. When he finally arrived to the warehouse, needless to say somewhat worn from the heat and his muscles feeling like they were burning, Nick had returned, talking to Hailey as he handed her a Forever 21 bag. He saw Holly scrounging around for something, remembering the small treat he had picked up for her. He dug in the bag and pulled out the cookies, leaning down and tossing them in front of her as he passed.

He sat down on his mattress and opened a bottle of gatorade that was thankfully still cold enough to drink. He looked over at Nick, who seemed fine now. Roman figured there was no need to ask him about Brooklyn then, but he was curious as to where she was. It seemed unlike him to go look for her after a while, but then again it also seemed unlike him to yell back at her. At the end of the day, he was dating her and probably knew her better than Roman himself did, so he left it alone. He took out a cigarette, now down to three in his old pack. He figured when he was at the market that he should have gotten two more packs instead of one. Killens looked back over at Nick and Hailey, not able to resist finding it funny that Nick was holding a shopping bag from a girl's clothing store even though he could guess what was in it and why he was handing it to Hailey. As he lit his cigarette, his tone already having a hint of a laugh in it he called over and said, "Cute bag, Nick."