July 2038 — Sophomore Summer
Alison Foley continuously had a revolving door of guys, and had dated a range of people. While most were harmless, some doctors, teachers, dancers. But this one in particular seemed to bring a significantly negative effect onto the household. A drug dealer, who Alison had been dating for almost three months now - both benefitting in the way that Alison developed an addiction and the dealer had a regular customer. Lenora Foley had particularly kept her distance from the pair, that had practically inhabited their living room, which was easy with the company of her boyfriend, Enrique Montoya, who helped her escape from everything.
The drug dealer was violent, they knew that. But that didn’t mean Lenora had expected to find him with his hands around Alison’s neck against the wall of the living room, that in which the floor had been covered in shattered glasses, when she came home. “So are you both in on this? This some kind of undercover sh!t?!” He asked Alison as he gestured towards Lenora, who was already advancing across the room to pull him off. “What? In on what?” She said through heavy breaths. While her attempt managed to get him away from her mother, it also resulted in her being pushed to the floor by him, her hands breaking her fall but also landing on a shard of glass.
She didn’t get to pay too much time to her hand before he stood upright between the confused mother and daughter to expand. “Do you think I’m stupid? That I wouldn’t find out that the son of a police officer has been in and out of this place?” Lenora’s stomach dropped. Officer Montoya. Ricky. “He’s not–” She could hear her mother try to explain. “Either get rid of him yourself, or I’ll find someone else to do it our way,” He said, in a way that made it seem that maybe it was preferable for Lenora to be getting him away than one of his people. Lenora looked to her mother with pleading eyes. She waited, she hoped, for an indication that she was going to break up with him and kick him out right away at the threat. For her to get him out of the house, to sacrifice a relationship with an abusive drug dealer for Lenora’s relationship with her first love.
But instead came a nod. Folded arms, and a fearful - but agreeing - nod. Now both adults in the room were stood expectantly waiting for a response from Lenora. Waiting for compliance. “Okay,” She looked down to the ground, realising what she was losing with that single word. Then she looked down at her hand that had been deeply cut from the shard. Lenora looked back up to make sure the conversation was ending with her last word, before turning away to leave. “If I see him in here again I’m doing it my way,” He shouted to the back of her to make her jump one last time.
Leaving the apartment, Lenora couldn’t go to the hospital with no money for the bills. She couldn’t go to Ricky because the last thing she could do is risk him telling his Officer of a father about it. She couldn’t go to Zek or JP as they will ask too many questions about it. “Call me, if you ever need anything,” Elio Esposito had told her when they had met weeks earlier in the mall, after Lenora was almost caught shoplifting. Maybe he could be someone to help her and not ask questions. Or maybe he seemed like the only right choice in this moment. Whatever it was, his house was where Lenora was when she didn’t come back to the apartment that night.
With a bandaged hand and a mindset to somehow get Ricky away, Lenora came back home to the apartment, with the same shattered glass that had resided there the day before. Though it wasn’t long before a knock at the door stole her attention, and she opened to see the person she had been avoiding for the past few days. Becoming hyperaware that Ricky’s targeter was in the room next to them, Lenora quickly pushed him forward- and away from the apartment, shutting the door. “Ricky, hey, hi, how are you?” Lenora asked in a rush, looking up at him and realising how much she had missed him in the longest 24 hours ever, and realising how much she will have to miss him now and for however long she needs him to stay away.
@benitz786 Enrique Montoya