Our New Story- Riffnardo (West Side Story)

Reuniting With Snowboy

Diesel's POV

I did it again. I didn't mean to, I never do. It was worse this time. I had knocked Velma out. I had gotten even more sexual, even more perverted with Graziella. I'm crying again. I hate myself for getting like this. I pull a small plastic bag of white powder from my pocket and fling it across the alley. I don't know why I left Grazy. When I pushed her, she hit her head really hard on the wall. It was bleeding. I should have stayed with her to make sure she was okay. But the way she spoke...the way she told me to go. She was broken. She lost the love of her life, and I'm just making everything worse. I have to make sure she's okay. I pull myself to my feet and start to trudge towards the apartment. Wind whistles through a fence. A swing creaks slowly in the playground. I'm alone. Everyone I had has either died or turned against me. "Diesel!" At first I think I'm imagining it. But the again, "Diesel!" I look up. A young man is running down the street, holding a girl's hand. I squint through the darkness to look at him. "Snowboy?" He grins. I recognize the girl he's with, too. "Minnie?" She smiles a little. "Hi, Diesel." It's really him. "Oh, my God! You're alive!" I pull him into a hug. He doesn't release Minnie's hand. Snowboy disappeared after Tony's death. Everyone assumed he had been killed like A-Rab and Baby John. But here he is, standing in front of me, and, at first glance, well. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "I had just arrived on Long Island when I realized I had left something very important in my apartment here. I ran into Snowboy. We started talking and..." Minnie smiles shyly at Snowboy, "we're together now. No one could replace John, but Nick is pretty amazing, too." Snowboy smiles at her. I notice now that Minnie is wearing an oversized, worn out gray sweatshirt. I've seen that sweatshirt before. "Baby John wore that to the rumble," I say. Minnie nods and draws closer to Snowboy. "I left it in my apartment...it's the only piece of him I have left." She shakes her head as if to say, 'no more of that'. "Nick and I are going to Long Island." I nod. Everyone has something to move on. Everyone has someone to love. "I have to go, I'm sorry...it's kind of important." Snowboy nods. "Take care." I nod. "You, too." We take off in opposite directions. Inside the apartment, I hover outside the door. What am I going to do? What am I going to say? I take a deep breath and open the door. Grazy is laying on the couch. Her eyes are closed, and her head is resting on an ice pack. She holds another one to her forehead. Velma is sitting on the arm of the couch, shaking pills out of a bottle. She looks at me fearfully. Grazy carefully opens her one good eye. "Hello, Diesel." She takes the pills from Velma and swallows them dry. Carefully, she sits up, wincing. "Vel, this isn't strong enough. I'm going to Doc's to get something stronger." Velma starts to protest, but Grazy shakes her head. "I'm fine." I approach her. "Grazy, I'm so sorry." She pulls on a long coat. "Just go." I get closer. "Please," I say, extending my hands. "Don't," Grazy says. I grab her wrists. "Don't touch me!" She screams, snatching her wrists away from me. "Don't you dare touch me! You will never be allowed to touch me ever again!" Her hair is a mess. Eyeliner is smeared around the corners of her eyes. The bruise swells her eye shut. Blood is encrusted into her hair. She's a disaster. I did this. I destroyed her. She shaked her head. "You asshole." She pulls her coat tighter around her and storms out. Velma lets out a little sob and dashes to her room. I flop on the couch, my head in my hands. I've ruined everything. Grazy has never worn a coat that passes her ribcage, let alone her knees. She feels violated. She has to cover herself around me, and that makes me feel horrid. I never meant to hurt her this bad. I never meant to hurt her at all. I hate this so much. I've upset and hurt my girlfriend, who doesn't trust me to be the father of her child anymore. I can't handle this anymore. Snowboy's in love. He's managed to get away from everything, rather than mess it all up like I did. Nick...I never knew his real name. It makes me feel stupid and inconsiderate. I knew him for six months, and never once did I bother to find out his real name. I knew Action was Roger, A-Rab was Michael, and I even knew that Riff was Alexander, and he only ever told I and Tony that. They're all gone now. Somewhere safer. Happier. Somewhere that doesn't have me.