Hallows: Black Death

Can You Hurt Me?

The Neighborhood- Daddy Issues

B.B.:

"Your dad is f*****g crazy," Stacy growls out quietly.

"Yeah," I agree, feeling the tension on the nape of my neck tighten. I have a stress lump forming there and it feels relatively sore. I think it's time to go to a chiropractor to relieve some of the tension in my bones. "f**k, are you guys hungry?"

"What?" they all look up.

"I want to get the hell out of here. He's driving me nuts. Who's in?" I stretch.

"I'll drive," Lucien, Dylan, and Natalie say at the same time.

"Let's go," I wave my hand in front of me shooing them out.

I end up in Lucien's mustang with him and Carson. It smells like leather, gasoline, and Lucien in here. I sprawl out on the back seat doing my best not to damage his leather seats with my shoes. I'm wearing sneakers for once. Classic Vans Lucien got me so that we can and I'm quoting here, "Match" if Carson ever allows it. I relax listening to The Neighborhood on the radio. I sing along so he plays more as we make our way to the Southside. Stacy and Marco want to check in with some of their crewmates.

I look up at when Carson opens the door and pulls the passenger seat forward. He grins leaning in to give me a kiss. I hold him to me for a moment just enjoying it. He pulls away taking my blueberry jolly rancher with him.

"Hey," I try to stop him and end up tangled in the seatbelt.

"Your fault," he chuckles moving away so that I can climb out. I get up and stumble out of the back seat. The matte black car has two shiny white stripes down the right side. I'm not a fan but I have to admit the appeal is there.

"Like what you see?" Luc asks from the other side of the car. I cross my arms over the top of the car and nod.

"Unfortunately," I say with a heavy sigh.

"That hurts my feelings, Blackstone," he smirks, looking down at his hand.

"Really?" I laugh.

"Yeah,"

"That's cool," I mock.

He growls at me playfully before Carson takes my hand and pulls me away from the car to shut the door. He leads us both inside. Luc wraps his arm around my shoulders as we get in line to order. He lets me go so that he can look around the restaurant to see who's here.

Pizza. It's been a long time friend.

Hellbourne High is one of the coolest places I've ever been to. The kids here are "built different". That's a common saying around here. I mean they know how to survive in ways that I an entitled princess can never even imagine. Most guys are covered in tattoos, like Carson. Even the girls and the way they dress is provocative as hell. Mini skirts, tight leather cigarette pants, crop tops, and stilettos.

There's one girl in particular who catches my attention. Sabrina Melbourne. Stacy walks right up to her and they greet each other like old friends. Their hands slide together and they snap as their fingertips pull away. Stacy takes some money and Sabrina takes an eightball of coke. I smile and look up as we step up to the counter. Natalie is talking to a group of guys. They're eating up her attention like hungry dogs. This is the first time I come here without Delilah.

"Whatever you guys get," I tell Luc. "I want a diet, Dr. Pepper, though,"

"Go find a seat," he kisses my head. I take one of the bigger booths for all of us and I take a seat to look out the window.

The Southside is a colorful place. Some call it graffiti but it really is art. It appeals to a different kind of crowd and me apparently. I take my phone out and adjust the camera settings to take a good picture of the street stop sign with tag stickers all over it. It looks really cool. As I edit the photo to post on my daytrip, I feel someone staring at me. I look up when said person slides into the booth in front of me. There is Luis Jimenez. Everyone is looking back at the two of us. I put my hand up subtly to tell them to hold back so I can see what the f**k he wants.

"Hi," I greet him with a smile. "I haven't seen you in a while,"

"Don't do that," he shakes his head. "Don't act like we're friends or have ever been,"

"Okay," I laugh, sitting back. Friends? Us two? No thanks. Not even when I was leading the pom-pom squad myself.

"What f**k are you doing, B.B.?" he asks. His dark brown eyes are completely empty. He looks a lot like his gorgeous brother but there's something else. He's void of everything. Like his sister.

"Getting pizza," I answer.

He has a disgusting wad of gum in his mouth. He flicks it back and forth with his tongue and I get a really bad feeling in my belly. So bad I feel like gagging. I swallow the feeling back and shake it off.

"I know you're thinking about f*****g me over next," he leans in tapping the table with his index finger to the pace of his bouncing leg under the table. The table itself is shaking a bit.

The scent of mint and skunk fills the small space between us. I smile leaning in so we're only inches away from one another. He smells like soap. The generic kind. The way his skin pulls around his mouth tells me he doesn't know what the f**k lotion is. Gross. I expected a little more from a Jimenez. His brother isn't like this, is he? No. I met him and he looked like he takes a personal interest in all of him. This one has things weighing over him heavily enough to forget he needs to take care of himself.

"Now, why would I want to hurt you like that Luis?" I ask softly, c*****g my head a little to the left so I can make eye contact with the guys. They're fuming. All of them, not just Lucien and Carson.

"Because I f****d your little virgin friend," he answers nonchalantly. "I rubbed her f*****g blood all over my c**k and I swear to you she f*****g loved every second of it,"

"Seconds huh?" I laugh. "That speaks for itself,"

He reaches out to grab my jacket. I put my hand up again as the two of us stand up to face off. The others are all on their feet now.

"You have no idea who you're f*****g with little girl," he sneers. I look down at his hand.

"Do you know who the f**k you're f*****g with?" I ask raising my voice just a little so he knows I'm not playing with him. "I think you want a demonstration, Luis. I think you want all my attention,"

"I want you to f**k off," he shouts in my face.

"Do you really think you're scary?" I laugh. "Does this work on people?"

"This does," he pulls out a gun and points it at my face. A lot of people stand up. My laughter becomes a little cynical.

"Really? You're going to shoot me, Luis? Do it," I step into him pressing my face to the front of the gun. "Do it, Jimenez. You're so f*****g desperate to be Rigo. f*****g do it!" I shout grabbing onto it. He's looking around nervously now. "You can't, huh? Because you're a two-pump b***h,"

"Oooo," some of the Hellbourne High kids bait.

"I will f*****g kill you, B.B.," he growls.

"Yeah?" I grin, lowering my voice an octave. I rubbed my face on the tip of the gun. "You're not going to get another chance, Jimenez. The next time I see you, I'm snatching your soul,"

He steps back, looks me over, and lowers the gun. Our eyes stay on each other. He's scared, that much I can smell on him. It's a sour stench. Something putrid like the dry piss stains on an alley wall next to a commercial trash bin. That's what Luis Jimenez's fear smells like. Piss.

"You're f*****g nuts. Just like your crazy ass sister," he shakes his head. "Do us all a favor and hang your-"

He doesn't get to finish that statement. A tattooed hand covers his mouth. I take a step back feeling the heat surrounding us now. Rigo Jimenez steps out from behind him to greet me. I smile at him. I know what he is and I can't believe it. I didn't catch it last time because I wasn't looking or rather, I didn't realize what it was that was sitting in front of me then. The danger Carson and I could have potentially been in.

"Go wait in the car," he whispers in his little brother's ear. Luis turns away and walks out of Jeno's Pizza Parlour without asking questions. "Bonita,"

"Mr. Jimenez," I greet him with a courtesy nod.

He motions to the booth. Carson doesn't hesitate to come over and sit next to me when I slide into the booth. Another Crow. How is that possible? James said there wasn't another stone nearby. Just Hellbourne and Daemon. Does he even know what he is? I take a moment to look around. Everyone has once again settled down. They're glancing over at us but that's it. Welcome to the Southside, I guess.

"You're on my territory, princess," he sits back making himself comfortable. He's wearing black fitted slacks with a dark blue button-up. The two buttons at the top are unbuttoned. His sleeves are rolled up to show off his tattoos and jewelry. Yeah, Luis is a f*****g mess.

"I'm just getting pizza with my friends," I shrug. "Didn't know that merited getting a gun shoved in my face,"

"I apologize for that. To both of you. Luis has a bit of a temper. I see now that you do too," he nods.

"You have no idea," I prop my elbow up on the table and look out the window to see Luis Jimenez sitting in a black Maserati. "Your brother seems a little unhinged,"

"He's convinced that you're the one putting those little rich kids in the hospital," he taps his fingers on the table one by one pinky to index finger. The motion is making Carson uneasy. I kind of want to reach out and play with the two rings on his fingers.

"Now why would he think that?" I ask turning to face him.

"You tell me, Bonita. What did they do to you? I'm sure we can resolve this together,"

"If he had done something to her I would have delivered your baby bro to you in pieces myself," Carson scoffs.

"Come now, Diablo. We don't throw those kinds of words around do we?" he grins. He has gold and diamonds lining his teeth. Jesus. Why do I find that kind of sexy? What the hell is wrong with me?

"He's right," I answer when Carson doesn't. "Think about it. Why would I want to hurt your brother if he didn't do anything to me? You've been watching me. You see who's around me. My people. Tell me why I would want to hurt him,"

He leans forward in the booth and looks back at the others. His eyes scan them until his eyes meet Stacy's who is trying her best to hide behind Sabrina and Natalie. She doesn't meet his stare and I think that's all he needs to know. He turns back to me.

"No," he shakes his head.

"You're calling my friend a liar?" I ask him. "You really think I'm gullible? I picked her up that night. They f****d her up pretty badly. There are a couple of things I can overlook. A temperament, I know how some girls can be. How they like certain things. But this is not one of them and she's not his first and she hasn't been his last since then,"

"What are you going to do to him?" he asks.

"Don't ask questions you know the answers to, Mr. Jimenez. I've recently walked down that path and let me tell you. It doesn't feel good,"

"If you kill him, I'm going to have to hurt you," he shakes his head.

I tap Carson on his thigh and push against him. He stands up. I scoot over to be directly in front of Rodrigo. He smells amazing. Rich tobacco over his expensive cologne. Something dark, inviting. I can taste him on my tongue. I have to swallow the saliva rushing into my mouth.

"Can you hurt me?" I ask low enough so only he can hear me.

He removes his glasses looking me over like he's seeing me for the first time. Does he feel that too? The Reaper. She's standing right outside the window. Her attention is on him. His hazel eyes are dilated. Coke I think. That's what's being pushed hard right now. It doesn't surprise me. The guys would be doing it as well if they didn't already have the poison our familiars provide.

"What the f**k are you?" he whispers. I beckon him forward with my finger motioning him to lean in.

"A nightmare," I whisper in his ear when he's close enough. "I don't want to kill your brother. I need to. For all the little girls and the little boys he defiled. I'm sorry, Rodrigo. Pero esto no es algo que puedes impedir,"

"You don't have any family left, Bonita. Pero tienes dos diablos," he turns his head slightly to look at me. I can feel his warm breath on my cold skin. It's not a normal kind of heat. It's a little like Lucien's but hotter. A lot hotter.

"I do," I nod. "They know how to take care of themselves. Just like you, cutie. I like you. You smell like danger. Did you know that?"

"What?" he grins letting out a low huff. "Are you hitting on me in front of both your boyfriends?"

"Why not? Are you scared?" I challenge.

"You're f*****g nuts," he grins showing me more of the jewels in his mouth.

"That's pretty," I brush the tip of my thumb on his lower lip to get a better look. I sit back pulling away from him. He's in shock. I have to admit that I am too. Just not in the same stunning way he is. The reaper, however, has her complete focus on him and she's marveling in the heat of his familiar. "Perdoname, pero tengo que termiar lo que empense. There is no other way. I've marked him and his soul belongs to me now,"

"I'm not left speechless every day, Bonita," he put his glasses back on. He reaches up touching his lip where I did. "Give me some time to fix him,"

"You can't fix him. You've tried already. We both know that. Forgive him for taking what might have belonged to you one day. For everything, he's done. Everything you've had to clean up. Don't kill him. He doesn't belong to you anymore,"

Rodrigo Jimenez stands up without taking his eyes off me for longer than necessary. When he turns around Stacy is there. Her eyes are intently on his. He let out a heavy sigh, reaching up to tip her chin. She lets him. He walks out without saying a single thing to her. I watch him get into his car and say something to his brother before starting the engine. Luis says something and then the car roars when he puts it in reverse. He peels out of the parking lot spraying some of the cars with debris from the broken pavement.

"What the f**k was that, B.B.?" Lucien demands. I look up at him and smile.

"That was a crow," I answer. "I don't think he knows what he is or that he knows how to feed on his own. He's burning up,"