Abel
?Me cago en na!
I didn’t see the guy jump out until it was too late. Now the fucker is wrestling me to the ground because my defenses were lowered.
The small kid who used to get his ass kicked by bullies takes a moment to catch up. I’ve somehow ended up under this guy, taking punches but I don’t feel them as adrenaline takes over. I reach up and shove my balled fist into his Adam’s apple which makes him clutch at his neck. Just as I’m about to push him off me, I see a fist come into view.
Rose, with the car key between her knuckles, hits him in the cheek. Now the guy’s face is fucking leaking and I’m trying to get him fully off of me before I’m covered in the shit. Rose grabs him by his greasy looking hair and proceeds to punch him over and over until I’m up from under him and pull her away by her waist.
“You’re gonna kill him,” I grind out as she fights me, her fists swinging wildly.
She goes limp in my arms and as I look down, I see we’re both wearing this guy’s blood.
He’s not moving, and I’m scared as shit to check his pulse. He might not be as lucky as the last guy Rose attacked.
“I was aiming to kill him,” Rose tells me, her words full of determination even if she’s out of breath.
He looks homeless, from his dirty clothes to the stench coming off his body. I’m sure he was looking for his next meal or his next hit. Either way, the car is far too flashy to be sitting outside a dingy motel.
I turn her around and look her in the eye, watching the anger ebb from her gaze.
Mas problemas. I hear the words mami would say like a whisper in my ear and I jerk my head away from the sound. If Rose catches the reaction, she doesn’t say anything.
A couple blinks and I’m focused on her again. “I need you to go upstairs and lock the door. I’ll be back. Only open the door for me.” I glance at the guy lying on the pavement, his hair covering his eyes as he leaks on the asphalt.
I pray there’s no fucking cameras on the side of the building.
“How will I know it’s you?” she asks, not bothering to wipe away the blood on her skin. Like she loves the shit there, wearing it proudly like some fucked up kind of trophy.
I just need her to move before anyone else sees her. “Go, espinita. ”
This feels surreal as I kiss her forehead and she goes to walk up the stairs. It’s then that I notice she’s still only in my t-shirt and her underwear.
Still, when she turns to look at me before shutting the room door, she looks like my Rose. Like the same girl I saved. The one who just saved me.
It trips me the fuck out as I grab this guy by his ankles and drag him toward the dumpster. I check his pulse and its faint but he’s still alive. With a huff, I take his arm and fireman lift him into the dumpster. It wasn’t like this asshole wasn’t asking for a beating.
But I bet he wasn’t expecting to get his ass beat by Rose.
Being homeless was a fight to stay alive. Mother Nature, other people trying to take from you, it wasn’t easy. But never in my homelessness, had I ever tried to break into someone’s car or attack someone for a fucking payday.
This car is too nice for this area. We’re attracting too much attention.
Time to go.
Walking back to the room, I feel less alone than I’d like to. I catch someone on the lower level peeking through their curtains, but I don’t bother wiping away the blood on my body. When I lift my hand to wave, they move away from their curtains and I know it’s time for us to move the hell on and fast .
I think about this person and what they’ll say when the media comes knocking.
They’ll say that Rose and I attacked a man, unprovoked. They’ll say I then threatened them.
And sure, I think the worst of people. Sure, they might not call the cops and they might not say anything when the cameras come, trying to paint a picture of two criminals on the run.
But I’ve learned that nine times out of ten, people take the shittiest routes.
Fuck people.
It’s us against the motherfucking world.
Them versus us.
And we’d win.
We fucking have to.