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my
bed.

Chapter Five
    I woke the next morning to bright sunlight streaming
in through my bedroom window and Calvin pounding his fist against
my door.
    “Wake up, punk! Where’s my money?” Calvin
shouted.
    I sighed and sat up in bed. I was still dressed and
my alarm clock said it was 3:52 in the afternoon.
    I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair,
taking in a few breaths before opening the door and releasing the
mad-man pounding behind it.
    “I’m getting ready to bust this damn door down, you’d
better open up!” Calvin screamed.
    I reached underneath my mattress for the wad of cash
I’d stashed yesterday. I slid off my bed in no hurry; Calvin was
still going to be a jerk no matter how quickly I opened the
door.
    I unlocked my door and Calvin burst through, pushing
it open as hard as he could. I jumped back in time before being
smacked in the face with it.
    His hands gripped the shoulders of my t-shirt as he
got in my face. “I said, where is my money?” he annunciated each
word carefully.
    I flashed the wad in his face. “Right here.” I wanted
to add, now get your hands off me, but knew better.
    Calvin released me with a little shove and snatched
it from my fingers while glaring at me with a wicked grin. “It
better be two thirty.”
    “It is,” I muttered, straightening out my shirt while
Calvin counted his money.
    “Two thirty, all right. Do what you need to and be at
the car in five minutes,” he ordered.
    Now Calvin had gotten all of his money, it was time
to go to dope man’s house and drop off what he owed, which meant my
presence was required. I didn’t argue, I knew it would do me no
good. The last time I’d told him I didn’t want to go, I’d gotten my
ass beat all the way to the car.
    Apparently, being brothers meant I had to have his
back in such situations, even if he never had mine.
     
    I was at the car in five minutes, like Calvin had
said, climbing into the back. Calvin slid into the driver's seat
and tossed his backpack beside me. Brent climbed into the passenger
seat, a huge grin on his face. I already knew Calvin had sent Jade
home. He didn’t allow her to go to dope man’s house. Probably too
afraid dope man would reel her in for himself by flashing her a
bigger pile of meth than what Calvin had.
    “Hey, little dude. You ready for this?” Brent smirked
at me, putting an unlit cigarette to his mouth.
    I nodded. “Yeah. Give me one of those,” I said,
pointing to his cigarette.
    Brent handed me one and I took it, hoping neither of
them noticed how badly my hands were shaking.
    I hated going to dope man’s house, especially to drop
off money owed. These people were straight up Tweakers with a
capital T. You never knew what might happen and there was always a
good possibility of someone getting shot.
    Calvin started up the engine, Drowning Pool blared
from the speakers.
    “All right boys, here we go,” he shouted over the
music.
    I grinned, but it was forced because I could see
Calvin eyeing me in the rear view mirror.
     
    Thirty-three minutes later we were starting down the
long gravel driveway which led to a rundown single-wide trailer
surrounded by woods. Dope Man’s house.
    Three vehicles already sat in the driveway when we
pulled up. My heart rate spiked and my palms became slick with
sweat.
    This could only mean one of two things.
    One, we were intruding on someone else’s pick up or
drop off. Which, in either case, wasn’t a good thing because it
added more paranoia for everyone in an already tense situation. The
possibility of someone being an undercover cop was always real.
    Or two, dope man had been partying and these were the
vehicles of his guests, which meant we’d be surrounded by strung
out people who could snap at any moment.
    I didn’t much like either scenario.
    Calvin parked behind a beat up red Jeep Cherokee and
cut the engine. He reached over the seat and pointed to his
backpack beside me. I handed it to him with tense arms. My