Dead Dreams ((Young Adult Paranormal Romance) ( Dead Dreams Trilogy)) (6 page)

Turn it up…yep…
keep going
he’ll
fall
for it
even though it’s the
truth I have to lay it on thick
!

The young man’s appearance was
grungy his clothes
were
very
alternative and with
a
shocking
head of white
bleached hair
and
a large nose-ri
ng
Adam
couldn’t stand the way he looked. But he was
prepared to overcome hi
s distaste if there was
a pay off at the end.

He introduced himself as Tyrone, but said he preferred
to be called Rone,
because he hated
his given name. Adam’s first i
mpression was that he was weird-
not normal.

“
I can help you out with somewhere to stay maybe
at my cousin’s place?
”
He suggested.

“
Wow, that’s s
o cool man
but will he be okay
with you bringing a stranger…
I
’ve been through a lot you know?
”
Adam pleaded his case.

“
I guess so
. I
t’s a bit of a mess there,
lots of people coming and going but it’s off the streets.
”

As they were talking a
n older man
came out of nowhere,
stop
ped and attempted
to make conversation
,
much to Adam’s dislike.

“
What are you boys doing here not getting
into mischief I hope?
”
He remarked.

Adam laughed mockingly;
how old does
he think we
are
,
twelve?

“
No, we’re cool.
”
He replied
slightly irritated with the intrusion.

“
Have a nice night then boys and be good.
”

With the
man
still hanging around
Ada
m decided
to push Rone to go to his cousin’s place before
they were seen as
acting suspiciously
.
He
remained
a short distance away
leaning on
his
cane
, smiling
at them both
and
not m
oving
.

“
Maybe he thinks we’re gonna throw stones onto cars like
stupid
kids.
”
Rone said.

“
Whatever he thinks he should mind his old man’s business, let’s get out
ta
here shall we?
”

Followi
ng Rone and unsure of where he was headed it took
a while to reach the
busy run d
own part of the city where Adam hoped and prayed he had a bed for the night.
The
sky had
just
dark
ened
when they arrived.
City night life was
just beginning.

In spite of
his
brav
ado
he wasn’t comfortable with the
foreboding
atmosphere. Everywhere they
were
dealers, junkies and hookers.
The
first sights and sounds took him straight out of his comfort zone as they
pass
ed
by a
myriad o
f life’s rejects
going
about their business
.
Adam was surprised
there was
no objection to Rone’s
extr
eme appearance that would stand
out a mile in the leafy suburbs.
Fortunately
they were allowed to
pass freely without harassment to
what looked like
a quieter area of the neighbourhood.

“
Those guys back there looked like they’d kill you as soon as looked at you.
”
Adam
remarked nervously.

“
Yeh they could, but then they’d be looking for something, like drugs or money and we don’t have either so they’d just beat us up and leave us lying for dead.
”
Rone replied.

“
Great, what a neighbourhood, you
seriously
live around here.
”

“
Yeh, its okay once you get used to it and besides where else you gonna go?
”

Rone was right. W
here else was
there to go as a
feeling of homesickness began
to kick in
.
He battled
with his stubborn refusal to go back to t
he
cosy
bedro
om,
home cooked food on the table and a
safe and decent neighbourhood.

I’m not
going back there no matter what.
I won’t give in
,
they can sweat now wondering when I am
, I don’t care how much shit I’m in, I’m staying put
!’

They arrive
d
at a
building that had
s
een better days where piles of
garbage
bags
littered
the sidewalk and the steps up to the communal door look
ed
like they
hadn’t
been cleane
d in decades.
Close by
a
small group
of dubious character
s hung
around the shabby
night streets making Adam wish he could just be transported back
.
But
it was too late now. He wanted to be tough and proud and that
prevented
him from making the decision to go
home
as he
eagerly
followed
Rone
up the steps
to his cousin’s
apartment. The building’s age and neglect was given away by the musty smell
.
The walls
looked like they hadn’t s
een a li
ck of paint for decades and
each floor came
with
music, shouts and screams
emanating
from closed doors.

Adam was out of breath as he struggled
to follow Rone.
“
How many more?
”
He asked.

“
Just a few
, you
’re outta shape man!
”

His laziness had meant he’d become a teenage
couch potato for so long
that the challenge of six flights of
stairs had
left him defeated. E
ven though he’d
been without
food for a long time he didn’t
feel hungry
at all figuring that he’d
gone past the hunger pains and was
more into
thinking about what to do next while he prayed he wasn’t walking into
a
lions den.

The door to th
e apartment was slightly open.
Rone pushed it to reveal a
small
barely lit
room
with
two guys and a young girl squeezed together
on the one and only so
fa.
There was
no great welcome
-
in fact they barely
acknowledge
d
his
presence
.

“
Where’s J
oe?
”
Ro
ne asked.

“
Out someplace we don’t know
.
”
The girl replied her eyes glazed.

There was
a strong smell of weed
.
Adam hoped that if he was friendly enough
they’d offer him some
to
ease
th
e cracks and creases
in his troubled mind
. He smiled as best he could and
assumed
he was welcome.

The girl got
up
from the couch
and
slowly
drifted
to
ward
a small dirty refrigerator
. She was way too
skinny with washed out ripped denim jeans and a tiny
black t-shirt with the logo ‘tanked’ on the front. Her long blonde hair was wild and
probably not washed for
weeks
and her dirty
fingerna
ils were
bit
ten down to the core. She smiled
sweetly
at Adam as she walked
past
him
but
,
he could see she was high and
in a daze.