Chapter 15
I sat outside of Cole's apartment on my bike, watching, and waiting. I was deciding how I was going to handle whatever he'd gotten himself involved in. I could hear the music banging, and the smell of marijuana permeated the air as usual. Locking up my bike, I made my way up the steps and knocked loudly. I could hear shuffling, and muffled voices, as I banged harder. I thought he was going to ignore the door all together, until it swung open violently, the door knob breaking into the drywall.
I was face to face with a man I didn't recognize, he was tall, and built, with a beard larger than his fucking head, and he didn't look like he was very happy to see me. “What d'ya want?” He asked, tipping his head in my direction.
“Lookin' for Cole.” I said, looking the meat head directly in his eyes.
“You got an appointment?” He grunted.
“Appointment?” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me?”
Clearly unamused, tall, dark, and brooding, growled at me, before taking a step out of the apartment, and towards me. “Mr. Stephens is busy.” He gritted out, reaching for my shirt.
I pulled back, pissing him off more, and before I knew it, I was in a fist fight with whoever the hell this guy was. He dove on me, and the breath was instantly knocked from my lungs as he attempted to pound my face in. Luckily, I was able to block his blows, and managed to get one in of my own. He was bigger than me, but he didn't know how to use his weight to his advantage, and I had him on his back a few seconds later. My fist connected with his nose once, twice, three times before I heard Cole's voice from somewhere behind me.
I turned in his direction, giving Bluto the distraction he needed to land a punch directly to my jaw. I grimaced in pain, before turning back to him and delivering another blow to his already bloodied nose. Cole yelled in the background for us to break it up, and even though I kept punching, Bluto put his hands up in surrender, taking the beating. He was obviously more worried about pissing Cole off than what my fists were doing to his face.
Slowly climbing to my feet, I spun in a full circle, facing Cole. “What the fuck?” I asked, wiping the blood from my lip on the back of my hand. “This how you greet family?” I spat out onto the pavement.
“I'm sorry man, he didn't know.” Cole said, gesturing towards the man still slumped over on the ground. “I had to beef up security around here.”
“What do you mean? Why?” I asked narrowing my gaze. “What the fucks going on Cole?”
“Not out here.” He said, nodding his head towards the apartment door, which still stood wide open.
I followed him inside, and was surprised by what I saw. The furniture was gone, including the television, and refridgerator. It looked as if someone had cased the joint and left nothing but the damn windows. When we were upstairs, behind his bedroom door, Cole let out a deep breath, and fell back onto his bed. “I fucked up.” He said rubbing his hands over his face.
I took a seat on the end of the bed quietly, just waiting, giving him the time he clearly needed to get his shit together. After what seemed like forever he cleared his throat.
“Apparently, I'm California's new drug kingpin.” He said, without humor.
“What?” I asked, with obvious confusion.
“I got wind of a large score, and I swooped in and took it before anyone else could. Problem is, the guy I took it from wants it back.”
“Where is it?”
“Gone.” He said, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a wad of cash. “Here's your five grand back.”
“What the fuck did you do?” I asked, a little harsher than I intended, causing Cole to finally sit up and look me in the eye.
“I met this girl at the bar, and she told me about a shipment her boss had coming in. I wanted to impress her. So I did.. I impressed her on the boat the shit came in on, and then I hauled it off, split it up among some dealer friends, and sold the shit out of it.”
“So that's what the body guard is for?”
“I don't know how he found out who took his shit, but he's pissed. He's even offered a reward for my head.”
“He found out, because you fucked his girl, and she ratted you out. What the hell do you think she meant by her boss? She was his fucking side piece!” I half yelled. “Do you have a death wish?”
“No, I have a life wish!” He yelled back. “I want to fucking live man! I want to feel something, anything! This is it, this is how I do it. This is the only god damned thing I'm good at.” He said, angrily trying desperately to justify his choices.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“I don't need you cleaning up my messes anymore Wes. Just go, do you, be happy, and enjoy that beautiful woman. I'll figure my shit out, I always do.”
“You have a fucking bounty on your head Cole!”
“No worse than being in the army right? You've put your life at stake for far less.”
“I'm going to pretend that you didn't just compare fighting for your country, and selling drugs.”
“Oh come on man, you know what I mean.”
“No Cole, I don't.” I said, turning away from him and heading down the stairs. I needed to leave before I punched the little shit right square in his jaw. Everyone else may be calling him Mr. Stephen's, but he'd always be just Cole to me. A kid who was terrified of the dark, and made me check for monsters under his bed every night. A kid who I promised to protect, and take care of. When the hell did it get this bad? I wondered, starting my bike, and heading for the beach.
I arrived a few minutes after noon, and Zoe was already sitting at one of the outdoor tables. She had a black and gold bikini on, peeking out from under her white bathing suit cover, and her hair flowed freely down her back. I smiled when I saw her, the sun dancing off her dark skin in the most delicious way. After placing my helmet on my seat, I headed towards her. The look on her face when she took me in however, was the complete opposite of mine.
“What happened?” She asked, reaching across the table, to brush her thumb over my split lip. I had forgotten all about it, the pain numbed by the sight of her.
“Long story.” I sighed, pressing my lips to her palm. “Did you order?”
“Not yet.” She said pulling her hand away, her eyes searching mine questioningly.
I nodded, signaling the waitress over and ordering for us both, before telling Zoe about my morning. She was genuinely concerned, and since she'd lived here her whole life, she was able to give me a little background on the man that Cole stole from. His name was Robert Drake, and he had his hands in just about everything illegal in California. He wasn't someone to be fucked with, which only made me worry about Cole more.
We tried to enjoy our breakfast, but my mind just kept going back to my brother, and what was going to happen to him if he kept going on the way that he was. Maybe it was time to talk about the army again? He needed something, or someone, to pull his head out of his ass. He was only twenty years old, and had his whole life ahead of him. Being a drug kingpin wasn't something to be proud of.
Our childhoods were woven together, we were both hit with the same blows, and yet we had both come out completely different. I'm not saying that I'm perfect by any means, but I found something to help me cope with what I've done, and what I've been through. I found support among my brothers in the army, and I found that it was alright to ask for help when you needed it. Cole wasn't built that way. He needed a push to know that he was better than this life, and if I was that push, I would spend every day, for the rest of my life pushing him to be better. It's what Jake did for me, and I now knew, I had to do it for Cole.