Too Far Gone (Urban)

43.5| From ___, With Love

"Talk about what?" Chenelle asked, sitting up in her bed. She moved her magazine from off her lap and placed it on the serving table besides the bedside. Pierce's eyes drifted to the floor, and he scratched the miniscule hairs of his chin.

"About us, Chenelle," He replied. "I went to see Trinity earlier..." His seat let out a loud groan as he pushed himself off of it and began pacing the room. "While you were in here and they had her held up in the other room checking on the baby, I had them run another test for me to see if I really was the father."

Chenelle slowly crossed her legs Indian style, feeling a slight pain in her abdomen as she did so. The anesthetics they had given her seemed to be wearing off.

"The results came out negative," He continued, "That baby isn't mine. The only other person I know she's been with is Rascal... I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch when I see him," Pierce growled, his fist bawled up at either side. Chenelle felt her heart skip a beat. He didn't know.

"Um, Pierce... About Rascal..." She waited for him to look at her before continuing. "He's dead, Pierce. He died saving me."

Pierce stopped mid-step with his back facing her. His body felt cold and rigid. "Dead? What do you mean, 'dead'?"

"Because, I'm your best friend. When have I ever misled you?" Rascal replied. Pierce frowned, his head quickly snapping towards his direction. Rascal's eyes were locked onto one of the girls, but Pierce's silence was word enough to make him look over. Pierce's look caught him by surprise, and he laughed, his perfect teeth glistening in the stream of sunlight. Pierce couldn't hold his look much longer, and after a couple of seconds, his serious composure broke away and he, too, joined in on his laughter.

"Dead. Deceased. Extinct. No longer living. Deprived of-"

"Okay, Chenelle," Pierce interrupted. He leaned against the wall, staring at something on the opposite end of the room. He shook his head. "I can't believe it..."

Chenelle couldn't find any words to say to comfort him. He was hurting - this much she knew. Multiple footsteps coming down the corridor alerted Chenelle. Pierce was still stuck in his daze, staring real hard at the ground. The footsteps grew louder, and eventually, he snapped out of it and stepped off the wall. The boss entered the room slowly, his face harder than usual.

"Boss?" Chenelle called out to him. She anticipated his arrival, but not this early; visiting hours had just begun. The boss greeted Pierce first with a tilt of the head. Going over to him and leaning into his ear, he whispered something Chenelle couldn't hear. Pierce frowned, then his face softened, then he peered at Chenelle with a sorrowful expression. Afterwards, he nodded and exited the room without another word.

The boss walked over to Chenelle's bed and sat on the other side adjacent to her. He let out a sigh, peering towards the door before looking back at her. "You can't be a Saint anymore," he stated. Chenelle's face scrunched up.

"W-What?"

"I can't allow you to be in the Third Street Saints anymore. It's too dangerous for you."

Dangerous? "Bull-fucking-shit! Just because I get stabbed I have to go? What about Gat? He got stabbed, too!"

"Gat is a different case, Curly, you know this. Gat's been down with the Saints longer than you and I combined. He's used to this shit. But you, you have people that really, really care about your safety that you take for granted." He seemed saddened by his last statement.

"But what about the code? 'No way out except through Hell'?"

"Fuck the code, Chenelle. I'm not going to kill you."

"Oh," she frowned, "So you're soft now, pussy?" She uncrossed her legs and swung them over the side of the bed. Her bare feet shivered once they made contact with the cool tiled floor. She stomped her foot childishly. "Am I not good enough? Is that why you're getting rid of me? Do you pity me that much to just, let me go instead of killing me off like you would with any other member?"

"If you really want to die, jump out the window right now," the boss challenged. To show he was serious, he got up and tore the curtains off of their rods, shoving the windows open and letting in the frigid air of late autumn. He motioned for her to come over. "C'mon, jump!"

When she expressed her hesitation, he stormed over to where she stood and ripped the electrodes off of her body and needles out her arm. She writhed in pain, her screams precisely mirroring what her body felt. He snatched her off of her feet and brought her over to the window.

"Boss!" She shouted. He wrapped his hands over her neck and held her out the window. She kicked around but only managed to beat the air. "Please!"

"You listen to me, and you listen good," the boss snarled, "If I catch you anywhere in my turf, I won't hesitate to kill you on sight."

He pulled her back inside the room and tossed her towards her bed. "You're gonna move in with Raul and Shaundi. They're gonna make sure you follow my rules."

Chenelle's heart leapt rapidly in her chest. She said through ragged breaths, "Why should I take orders from someone whom I don't work for anymore?"

The boss leaned down until they were at an even eye level. His brown eyes gazed coldly at hers as he replied, "Because I can kill you, sweetie."

"B-But boss," she whimpered. The boss's face softened slightly, and for a second, she saw a glint of guilt in his eyes, but just as quick as it came, it left, and his face reverted to his earlier hostile demeanor.

"I'm not your boss anymore," he mumbled. Turning his back to her, he began to walk out of the room. Chenelle felt a rush of hot tears stream down her face.

"T-Then what do I call you?"

He paused, then peered at her over his shoulder. A frail smile broke the hard barrier of his face once more as he responded, "Call me Niqo," and walked out, leaving her standing in a puddle of confusion.

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