Dangerous Devotion: A Struniolo Fanfiction

Chapter 5

After the heavy discussion with Matt, we left the restaurant to go to his car. When walking down the street, I saw a black Lamborghini and he nodded to go towards it. "Like my ride?" He asked, smiling slyly. I nodded and got in the passenger side. The car had vapes in the cup holders and leather seats. 

"Where do you get money for all of this?" I asked.

He chuckled, "The Leather Straps." He looked to me and put his hand on my thigh, "I told you, we deal  with a lot of stuff - expensive. It pays off." He explained.

We began driving, I had no idea where he  was going to take me, he seemed happy, listening to music through his loud speakers. We actually ended up having a normal conversation.

"So, Harvard? What are you going to do with your degree?" He asked.

"Oh... I want to go to med school, I want to save lives and be a positive change in the world." I explained, looking out the window as the car sped past other cars and buildings.  It felt like he was going well over 100 miles per hour. 

"Thats... really sweet." He sounded like he was in shock, "I feel bad introducing you to my world, even if its only slightly. You don't deserve to be corrupted like me..." he trailed off thinking.

"I'm an adult you know." I said, offended at the idea that he could some how change me, "I can make my own decisions and just because we're friends doesn't mean I am going to change." I stood my ground, avoiding looking at him and looking out the window.

He sighed, "I hope you're right... I'm not sure I-" He stopped, looking at the rear view mirror. A look of concern washed over his eyes. "I think we have to make a change of plans, don't panic okay?"

"Change of plans? What were the plans! You haven't told me anything, whats going on Matt?" I demanded, looking over at him to see his eyes fixed on the rear view mirror. 

He sighed, speeding up his car. "The Black Belts."

"The what?"

"The Black Belts, they're a gang that took issue with the Leather Straps since we've been a gang. We have better connections than them for drugs and sellers, we have more weapons. But they have more men, and they constantly start turf wars with us." He hit his steering wheel while speeding up, noticing the cars behind them following him closely, "I forgot this street was their turf and I  didn't pick a low profile car. Fuck!" He yelled.

"Well what are they going to do to us? Are you safe? Are we safe?" I asked, my mind sputtering out of control. 

"You're fine, I know how to lose them. But you'll have to stay calm - shit!" 

I screamed, holding onto the arm rests. One of the cars behind us bumped the back of his car, it didn't cause an accident, but it jolted us forward and scared the hell out of me. What have I gotten myself into? I thought. 

I could see Matt was thinking, two cars moved up to either side of us, motioning to roll our windows down. "Don't touch anything, put your head down by your knees." He ordered, and I moved my head to my knees. He kept driving, I could hear the car revving and speeding up.

Outside the window I heard muffled yelling, "Who was she Matt? Pretty girl up in the front seat again Matt!" They taunted, I could even hear laughing. 

I heard Matt yell in frustration, "Hold on, I'm gonna make a turn soon, it'll be sharp, okay?" He asked, as if genuinely wondering if I was okay.

"Okay." I said, burring my face in my knees. 

"Hold on!" He ordered, and I felt the car turn so fast I thought it would flip. He sped up, I heard some cars screech and some hit something - probably the rails on the highway - and then I felt the car turn again. 

After a few minutes of driving, I heard Matt sigh a sigh of relief. "We lost them, are you okay?" He said as I rose from my position. "Oh my god, Mae! Are you okay? I'm so sorry." My face was stained with tears, I didn't know what to do but cry out of fear.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I said, laughing in relief, "That was just scary." I smiled, proud of what I just experienced, "I can't believe that just happened! It was scary but... cool? I don't know how to explain it."

He chuckled nervously, "Thats your rush of adrenaline. I'm concerned for you. Here, I'll take you to the spot I wanted to take you to, and we can relax and I'll check up on you - make sure you didn't get whiplash." He explained. 

We drove for a while longer, before he stopped at a large empty abandoned shopping mall. "A mall? When did this close?" I asked, confused.

"I think 2006? Not too long ago, but its pretty beat up. I like it because its far out from the city so hardly anyone explores around here." He explained, helping me out of the car and walking me to the side of one of the walls. "We're gonna have to climb a little, if thats okay." I nodded.

After climbing through holes, on debris, and up run down escalators we finally made it to an area sitting just under a skylight. Everything was broken down and and falling apart, but plants began growing as a result of the sunlight from the skylight. "This looks really cool, why did you want to bring me here?"

"Well right now, I need to check if you have any injuries from the car chase, but earlier I wanted to show you this place because its special to me." He explained, "Can I feel your ribs? If not, you can do it and I'll tell you what to look for but-"

"It's fine."

He felt around my ribs and arms, examining the exposed skin for rashes or red marks. "You'll have to check your chest too, for a red mark or signs of whiplash."

"I can when I get home." I replied, he nodded. "So, what makes this place special to you?" I asked.

He looked down to his converse and started playing with the laces, "Its just a place of peace for me, all the chaos of the gang, no one knows about this mall except me - or at least, I'm the only one who comes here." He explained, "My brothers and my mom and I used to come to this mall, we had fun I guess but that was so long ago - I think it was her place of peace too considering she hated being wrapped up in the gang stuff."

I waited for a moment, taking in the dry air. "It must be a lot of pressure." I said, not sure what to respond with. "Thank you for bringing me here."

His solemn look on his face changed into a smile, almost as if he didn't want to be too serious, "We need to get you home Mae, I think you should get checked out by a real doctor. I can bring you to one for free, he works for us." He smiled.