Beat, chapter 2
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Here we sit, alone and silent at the back of the music store. All four gunmen are at the front, preoccupied with a gunfight. It's almost six in the morning and this has been going on all night. Josh is pissed because he can't get any sleep. Billie, on the other hand, seems to be asleep; it's really hard to tell what's going on with him because of his face coverings. The showdown has quieted down, though, and I'm recounting the number of CDs on the rack. Four hundred seventy five...four hundred seventy six...
"So how'd you get those bruises?" Josh asks bluntly. It's totally silent now, but the gunmen remain at their posts, in case more shooting decides to burst out.
Four hundred seventy seven...four hundred seventy eight...four hundred seventy nine...yep the same as the last time: four hundred eighty.
"Lynn?" he knows I'm avoiding the question, but I don't say anything, I just start to try and unravel the carpet again.
"Hello?" I feel tears stinging at my eyes and before I can stop them, they're rolling down my face, "Lynn, what's wrong?" I almost smile at the worry in his voice, how a person whom I had only known for a few hours, could show more concern than I had known my whole life.
"Nothing," I lie, "I, uh, fell down the stairs at my house. I tripped over one of my brother's shoes. "I was reading and walking at the same time so I sort of brought it on myself." I want to literally kick myself. I am thoroughly against lying in any matter, but I can't bring myself to tell the truth.
"No you didn't." the words came from Billie this time.
I turn around and give him a weak smile, "What are you talking about?"
He lifts his sunglasses and looks me straight in the eye, "You didn't fall down the stairs. Bruises like that don't come from accidents."
I huff out a big puff of air.
"So I got in a fight, ok?" I say truthfully.
"Sweet," Josh says like any guy his age would, Billie just rolls his eyes and places his sunglasses back over them, "Was it with a guy or another girl?!"
I give him a look before following suit and pulling my own sunglasses over my eyes. If I can't sleep for real, at least I can pretend to.
A loud crash comes from the front of the store that makes all three of us jump. "Everybody get down!" we hear an official voice yell from the direction the crash came. I look over at Josh and Billie and they're both following orders. I do the same. Loud gunshots and sounds of scuffling from the front of the store, and in five minutes its all over.
All three of us: Josh, Billie, and myself, are sitting on the back of an ambulance. We have those big charcoal-colored disaster blankets wrapped around us.
"Well that was fun," Josh says, he looks humorously at the store and laughs, "I am so fired."
We all look at the storefront and we have to laugh at his comment because it's completely destroyed. All the glass in the windows is blown out. There are bullet holes everywhere, not to mention half the equipment inside is shot to hell.
No one else laughs, just us three. Everyone just stares, probably "at a loss for words."
I guess its like learning how to read. There are those that are swept away into an alternate universe, to witness an important event in the lives of the fictional characters they live through... others just see words on a page.
So after three hours of going through pairs of cops and giving statements and having our fingerprints taken (which I don't see the point in when they have the guys right there), I am sitting here in the police station, waiting for my "parents" to come pick me up. Billie is over 18 so he can leave on his own, and Josh's are out of town, so he's pretty much in the same predicament I am. Billie insisted on waiting with us so he could ask our parents if he could take us out for breakfast or something like that, but we told him to go home because he was falling asleep in his chair so he got our phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.
"You think he actually will?" Josh asks me, we've been here now for about two hours these cops still aren't getting the hint.
I shake my head, "No, I mean, come on. He's Billie Joe Armstrong, he'll be too preoccupied with keeping the press off his front lawn these next couple months."
Josh leans back in his chair and crosses his legs at the knees, "Good point."
"Miss Loeman?" I look up at a man in a police uniform, "Your brother is here to take you home."
"Shit," I mutter under my breath.
"I'll call you later," Josh calls to me as I get up and leave. I just wave my hand in response. I am literally shaking by the time I see Danny standing in the front way of the police station. The officer at my side turns to leave, "Have a nice night."
"Yeah right," I mumble under my breath.
"I got you out, now go away," Danny says walking back to his car.
"But Danny, where the hell am I supposed to go?"
He looks at me with a gleam of anger in his eye, "Find a homeless shelter."
He gets into the car and drives off.
"But there are no homeless shelters in Oakland!" I yell after it, "I don't fucking believe this!" I say punching the air. I resolve that he'll cool off later I decide to go for a walk in the meantime. I check my wallet and figure I have enough for breakfast. What a glorious day this is for me.
I Heard You Crying Loud,
All The Way Across Town
You've Been Searching For That Someone,
And It's Me Out On The Prowl
As You Sit Around Feeling Sorry For Yourself
Don't Get Lonely Now
Dry Your Whining Eyes
I'm Just Roaming For The Moment
Sleazin' My Back Yard So Don't Get So Uptight
You Been Thinking About Ditching Me
No Time To Search The World Around
Cause You Know Where I'll Be Found
When I Come Around
I Heard It All Before
So Don't Knock Down My Door
I'm A Loser And A User So I Don't Need No Accuser
To Try And Slag Me Down Because I Know I'm Right
So Go Do What You Like
Make Sure You Do It Wise
You May Find Out That Your Self doubt Means Nothing
Was Ever There
You Can't Go Forcing Something If It's Just
Not Right
No Time To Search The World Around
Cause You Know Where I'll Be Found
When I Come Around
When I Come Around
The lyrics come over the radio at a local coffee shop. I find it a bit ironic that just a few hours ago, I was sitting next to the man whose voice is ringing in my ears now. It's almost dark now and I suppose Danny's had enough time to wind down, so I decide to go home. I almost laugh at that word: "home" it's not like I honestly have one, but I have nowhere else to go.
Making my way down the street, I take my time; I'm in no hurry to get back.
The lyrics to "Bring me to Life," by Evanescence are blaring in my mind for some reason. Good walking song, I suppose.
Danny has the door locked, and the one thing I forgot to take with me when I left the house yesterday was my house key, damn him. I make my way around the back and climb the tree in the back yard. Its times like these that make me glad the neighbors don't have dogs. I kick out the screen to my open window like I've done so many times before and slide in off the branch. Easy as butter.
I slide out of my shoes and my jacket and plop down onto my bed for some much-needed sleep. My muscles and bones make popping and cracking noises as I stretch out on my stomach, I tuck my arms underneath my pillow like I do every night and let myself drift off.
My cell phone wakes me up, I look over at my clock to find its green digital read-out to be 4:00, and judging that it's still dark out, I'm guessing it's AM.
"Hello?" I mumble into the phone.
"What are you wearing?"
"What?" I sit up in my bed and rub the sleep out of my eyes.
"Are you alone?"
"Who is this?!" I say sharply into the phone. I hear a familiar voice in the background, "What the hell? Tre gimme the damn phone!"
I hear the sound of the phone being wrestled from one person to another. "Hey, sorry about that. I swear; you leave Tre alone in a room for five minutes...so how's it goin?"
"Uh ok I guess." I smile at the wall, Tre Cool just called me.
"That's good, so'd you have dinner?"
"Billie, it's four in the morning."
"I know, but since Tre woke you up, I thought I'd make the best of it."
I let out a big sigh, "Well its five hours too early to make the best out of anything."
He laughs, "That's almost true, well I'll call you in five hours then."
"Good night," I say before pressing the END button on my phone.
3 years 6 months 1 day
"So how'd you get those bruises?" Josh asks bluntly. It's totally silent now, but the gunmen remain at their posts, in case more shooting decides to burst out.
Four hundred seventy seven...four hundred seventy eight...four hundred seventy nine...yep the same as the last time: four hundred eighty.
"Lynn?" he knows I'm avoiding the question, but I don't say anything, I just start to try and unravel the carpet again.
"Hello?" I feel tears stinging at my eyes and before I can stop them, they're rolling down my face, "Lynn, what's wrong?" I almost smile at the worry in his voice, how a person whom I had only known for a few hours, could show more concern than I had known my whole life.
"Nothing," I lie, "I, uh, fell down the stairs at my house. I tripped over one of my brother's shoes. "I was reading and walking at the same time so I sort of brought it on myself." I want to literally kick myself. I am thoroughly against lying in any matter, but I can't bring myself to tell the truth.
"No you didn't." the words came from Billie this time.
I turn around and give him a weak smile, "What are you talking about?"
He lifts his sunglasses and looks me straight in the eye, "You didn't fall down the stairs. Bruises like that don't come from accidents."
I huff out a big puff of air.
"So I got in a fight, ok?" I say truthfully.
"Sweet," Josh says like any guy his age would, Billie just rolls his eyes and places his sunglasses back over them, "Was it with a guy or another girl?!"
I give him a look before following suit and pulling my own sunglasses over my eyes. If I can't sleep for real, at least I can pretend to.
A loud crash comes from the front of the store that makes all three of us jump. "Everybody get down!" we hear an official voice yell from the direction the crash came. I look over at Josh and Billie and they're both following orders. I do the same. Loud gunshots and sounds of scuffling from the front of the store, and in five minutes its all over.
All three of us: Josh, Billie, and myself, are sitting on the back of an ambulance. We have those big charcoal-colored disaster blankets wrapped around us.
"Well that was fun," Josh says, he looks humorously at the store and laughs, "I am so fired."
We all look at the storefront and we have to laugh at his comment because it's completely destroyed. All the glass in the windows is blown out. There are bullet holes everywhere, not to mention half the equipment inside is shot to hell.
No one else laughs, just us three. Everyone just stares, probably "at a loss for words."
I guess its like learning how to read. There are those that are swept away into an alternate universe, to witness an important event in the lives of the fictional characters they live through... others just see words on a page.
So after three hours of going through pairs of cops and giving statements and having our fingerprints taken (which I don't see the point in when they have the guys right there), I am sitting here in the police station, waiting for my "parents" to come pick me up. Billie is over 18 so he can leave on his own, and Josh's are out of town, so he's pretty much in the same predicament I am. Billie insisted on waiting with us so he could ask our parents if he could take us out for breakfast or something like that, but we told him to go home because he was falling asleep in his chair so he got our phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.
"You think he actually will?" Josh asks me, we've been here now for about two hours these cops still aren't getting the hint.
I shake my head, "No, I mean, come on. He's Billie Joe Armstrong, he'll be too preoccupied with keeping the press off his front lawn these next couple months."
Josh leans back in his chair and crosses his legs at the knees, "Good point."
"Miss Loeman?" I look up at a man in a police uniform, "Your brother is here to take you home."
"Shit," I mutter under my breath.
"I'll call you later," Josh calls to me as I get up and leave. I just wave my hand in response. I am literally shaking by the time I see Danny standing in the front way of the police station. The officer at my side turns to leave, "Have a nice night."
"Yeah right," I mumble under my breath.
"I got you out, now go away," Danny says walking back to his car.
"But Danny, where the hell am I supposed to go?"
He looks at me with a gleam of anger in his eye, "Find a homeless shelter."
He gets into the car and drives off.
"But there are no homeless shelters in Oakland!" I yell after it, "I don't fucking believe this!" I say punching the air. I resolve that he'll cool off later I decide to go for a walk in the meantime. I check my wallet and figure I have enough for breakfast. What a glorious day this is for me.
I Heard You Crying Loud,
All The Way Across Town
You've Been Searching For That Someone,
And It's Me Out On The Prowl
As You Sit Around Feeling Sorry For Yourself
Don't Get Lonely Now
Dry Your Whining Eyes
I'm Just Roaming For The Moment
Sleazin' My Back Yard So Don't Get So Uptight
You Been Thinking About Ditching Me
No Time To Search The World Around
Cause You Know Where I'll Be Found
When I Come Around
I Heard It All Before
So Don't Knock Down My Door
I'm A Loser And A User So I Don't Need No Accuser
To Try And Slag Me Down Because I Know I'm Right
So Go Do What You Like
Make Sure You Do It Wise
You May Find Out That Your Self doubt Means Nothing
Was Ever There
You Can't Go Forcing Something If It's Just
Not Right
No Time To Search The World Around
Cause You Know Where I'll Be Found
When I Come Around
When I Come Around
The lyrics come over the radio at a local coffee shop. I find it a bit ironic that just a few hours ago, I was sitting next to the man whose voice is ringing in my ears now. It's almost dark now and I suppose Danny's had enough time to wind down, so I decide to go home. I almost laugh at that word: "home" it's not like I honestly have one, but I have nowhere else to go.
Making my way down the street, I take my time; I'm in no hurry to get back.
The lyrics to "Bring me to Life," by Evanescence are blaring in my mind for some reason. Good walking song, I suppose.
Danny has the door locked, and the one thing I forgot to take with me when I left the house yesterday was my house key, damn him. I make my way around the back and climb the tree in the back yard. Its times like these that make me glad the neighbors don't have dogs. I kick out the screen to my open window like I've done so many times before and slide in off the branch. Easy as butter.
I slide out of my shoes and my jacket and plop down onto my bed for some much-needed sleep. My muscles and bones make popping and cracking noises as I stretch out on my stomach, I tuck my arms underneath my pillow like I do every night and let myself drift off.
My cell phone wakes me up, I look over at my clock to find its green digital read-out to be 4:00, and judging that it's still dark out, I'm guessing it's AM.
"Hello?" I mumble into the phone.
"What are you wearing?"
"What?" I sit up in my bed and rub the sleep out of my eyes.
"Are you alone?"
"Who is this?!" I say sharply into the phone. I hear a familiar voice in the background, "What the hell? Tre gimme the damn phone!"
I hear the sound of the phone being wrestled from one person to another. "Hey, sorry about that. I swear; you leave Tre alone in a room for five minutes...so how's it goin?"
"Uh ok I guess." I smile at the wall, Tre Cool just called me.
"That's good, so'd you have dinner?"
"Billie, it's four in the morning."
"I know, but since Tre woke you up, I thought I'd make the best of it."
I let out a big sigh, "Well its five hours too early to make the best out of anything."
He laughs, "That's almost true, well I'll call you in five hours then."
"Good night," I say before pressing the END button on my phone.
3 years 6 months 1 day
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