Double Jinx (Wattys2017)

Chapter 25

Quick heads up, there is a little Spanish in this chapter but only a little!

Enjoy :)

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We reached Creston's house in a little under five minutes, I wasn't even fully dressed when the truck skidded into his driveway. No other cars were here, Creston's parents must be elsewhere.

"Stay here." Ace ordered but my door was already open before he had time to finish. Then we were both charging towards Creston's front door, hand in hand, ready to face whatever trouble Creston had gotten himself into this time.

But we weren't prepared.

Not even close.

Ace practically kicked the door open, calling out for Creston the moment we stepped inside. The house was dark, every light was off except for one to our left in the kitchen. Ace pulled us towards the light, his hand ever increasing pressure on my own. We entered the room, expecting the worst.

And we got it.

We found Creston in the kitchen, sitting on the floor with his back braced against a wall in front of a table where two men sat. Their bodies were hidden by shadows but one look told me they were the ones responsible for the fresh cut on Creston's lip. I expected these nameless figures to be Vic and Roman, who else could they be?

However, I noticed several foundational differences that ruled out the possibility of these two men being our friendly neighborhood gang bangers. For starters, both these men were taller than either Vic or Roman. And their entire posture was different, they sat with a certain authority. Vic and Roman, though they'd like us to believe otherwise, know their place in the hierarchy. These two men sitting before me appeared to not belong in the hierarchy at all.

So who were they and why did my instincts tell me to run?

Ace froze mere steps into the kitchen, forcing me behind him. My hair, still wet from the pond, was starting to curl into natural waves that fell into my eyes, hindering my sight only moderately. My heart was pounding, my blood was rushing, sweat coated my skin, and in any other circumstance I'd be having a panic attack.

But in this instance, I wasn't fearing for myself alone. I was fearing for Creston and Ace as well.

"Who the hell are you?" Ace's voice thundered throughout the kitchen, causing me to jump in fright. Neither of the men seemed surprised to see us, in fact, by the way two empty chairs were pulled out from the table, I'd say they were expecting us. They looked calm, relaxed. Not at all bothered by our presence or intimidated in any way.

When no one answered Ace, Creston rose to his feet. He dabbed a finger to the cut on his lip before he started towards us, "I'm sorry. I fucked up, man-"

"Shut up." One of the men ordered. His voice was deeper than Ace's.

The man who hadn't spoken pushed away from his chair, moving to the front of the table where part of his body was met by light. Now I could see that this man was relatively young, only a few years older than us by the look of it. His dark brown hair was buzzed cut and his chocolate eyes were actually quite friendly. But from the glare he gave us, I felt the way his stare carried poison beneath. He was tall, fit, and when he spoke, I heard a slight Mexican accent.

"Word on the street is that you're looking for us?" He said this more as a statement though the question was implied. He crossed his arms over his chest, a soft grin on his face, leaning backwards against the table, "So kids, I hope you have a good excuse because you're in some deep shit."