In my bedroom, I went into the stacked plastic bins I used as a dresser and dug around, pulling out myperiod underwearfrom the back. They were clean, and since they already had little bloodstains on them, it wasn’t too much of a sacrifice.
My hands were in better shape, so I peeled the socks off them. Even in the dwindling light from outside, I could see that the big cut had scabbed over and the smaller cuts were no longer visible.I didn’t dare turn any lamps on to check more carefully. If Chi-chi or any of his guys stopped by, I wanted them to think no one was home.
I wrapped my foot in two pairs of my stained underwear. Looping the elastic around my big toe, I stretched the material over my heel, which put some pressure on the wound. The bleeding had slowed down, but I winced when I accidentally dragged my foot across the bedsheet, smearing blood on it. Awesome.
Something else to deal with in the morning.
After covering my foot, I checked on my mom again, relieved to find that her breathing appeared stronger and more regular.
I pulled the blanket over her. “What happened to you?” I whispered, running my thumb lightly over the purple bruise on her shoulder.
She looked almost peaceful, lying there, and I wondered what kind of life she'd dreamed about when she was my age. I’d asked her once, and all she did was cup my cheek and tell me that Johnny and I were the best things to ever happen to her, that we were all the dreams she needed.
I hoped that was true—that she took joy in being a mother—because, at least to my eyes, it seemed like her life pretty much sucked. Quickly, I banished the thought. She wouldn’t want my pity. Or more to the point, I wouldn’t want it if I was in her shoes.
The flash of headlights invaded through the blinds. Someone pulled their car up in front and killed the engine.
Quietly, I limped to my room. I thought about hiding in my mom’s closet or the bathroom, but if Chi-chi or one of his goons busted into our house, I wanted to have space to run. Or fight. Like I told Johnny, if I was forced to deal with Chi-chi, I’d figure out a way to handle him.
I lay down on my bed, clutching my phone to my chest. It buzzed with an incoming text. I didn’t dare turn it over. The light from the screen would reflect in the window like a beacon.
Three loud knocks sounded at the door. “Johnny!”
I held perfectly still. I didn’t know if the voice belonged to Chi-chi, but whoever it was, he was angry as fuck.
“Johnny!” This time, the shout came from directly outside my window, like he stood underneath it. His speech sounded slurred. “Johnny! Are you hiding in your house like a little bitch!?”
“Yo, Chi-chi. I don’t think anyone’s home.” A different voice this time, although just as close.
My phone shook again, muffled by my hand. I prayed they couldn’t hear it.
“Well, if he’s not here, we need to find him. I want to hang onto him until I’m sure Cruz finishes the job. I don’t trust that motherfucker.”
“He’s gonna be pissed when he finds out you gave the little guy to Bash.”
The one who was apparently Chi-chi chuckled evilly. “Let him. I already warned him what would happen. Told him to tell thatpendejo,Deck, too. Three weeks they made me wait!”
The “little guy” must have been Eliazar. But who was Bash?
“I thought you liked Deck. All those guys,” the second man said. “Felt kinda fucked up tossing Johnny in the garbage. I’ve chilled with him before. Always thought he was alright.”
“I do like them. But not when they act like pussies. I want loyal soldiers, not little bitches.”
“You really think fucking up their friends is the way,jefe?”
“Trust.”
There was shuffling before one of them pounded on the door again, violently enough to shake the wall.
“Johnny!” Chi-chi shouted.
“I don’t think he’s here,” Chi-chi’s far-more-sensible sidekick said a few seconds later.
I squeezed my eyes closed and willed them to go away.
But the banging and Chi-chi’s yelling were loud enough to wake the dead. Or, rather, to wake the half dead.
“Johnny?” My mom’s low moan echoed through the hallway. “Johnny? Baby?”
