_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{JUNKYARDTEEN.}

_{❛     hundred ‘n three,  asswipe.    ❜     the doctors weighed her in at  ninety - four  the day of discharge,  just a couple of weeks before    (    in other words,  she’s reaching,  and he probably knows that.    )}

_{as most of her opponents can begrudgingly attest,  bullet is stronger than she looks,  and puts up one hell of a fight.    a one hit knockout just isn’t her style.    enjoys the adrenaline rush more than she should.    never had to remind herself that  it doesn’t hurt if you’re not afraid  until goldie got ahold of her.    until the pied piper finished what he started,  tying up those loose ends.    she felt  fear  then.   real,  visceral fear when she knew it was the end of the line.}

_{she half - expected not to be found.    holder didn’t give a shit about her.    no one did.    is that how kallie felt ?}

_{after ducking into the passenger seat,  she pauses to serve one of her  looks  before sparking her cigarette,  a lighter she’d pickpocketed from another detective still in hand when she volleys back.}

_{❛     –––––     hell no.    you first.    set a good example.     ❜}

_{a hundred and three isn’t much better.    skinner had to have been    —    what,   five - eleven ?    six feet ?    two hundred pounds easy,   give or take.    bullet hadn’t stood a chance.    none  of those girls had.    he thinks about ashley,   fourteen,   didn’t put up a fight.    and kallie :   kallie looked like a sweet kid.    doe - eyed.    those little star earrings.    fifteen years old,   like bullet.}    

_{except for that one fundamental,   inescapable difference between them :   bullet  survived.}

_{she wasn’t supposed to,   that much was clear.   she’d lost a lot of blood,   flatlined three times between the storage unit and the hospital.    it was the coroner who’d first realized she was still alive    —    i’ve got a pulse,   he’d said with alarm.    four words that changed everything.}

_{holder doesn’t remember much after that.}

_{the memory of their argument at the station isn’t as sharp as it was,   but it aches like an old bruise.    scar tissue.    it still keeps him awake,   sometimes.    knowing she went into that trunk thinking he didn’t care.}

_{he does.    fuck,   he does.}

_{‘     my ride,   my rules.    last bus comes at eleven.     ’}

_{cigarette between his lips,   he turns the key in the ignition and cuts a sidelong glance at her.   reaches to grasp his seatbelt,   making a big,   dramatic show of clicking it into place.    set a good example.    it almost sounds strange ‘til he remembers that she’s his responsibility now    —    she was signed over into his custody,   pending her recovery.    but it’s not just a legal obligation.    not just  guilt,   either.    it’s more than that.}

_{‘     example is  set.    now it’s your turn.    vámonos,   we don’t got all night.     ’}

_{only,   they kind of do.    they’ve got time.}

_{that’s the thing about second chances.}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{‘    yo,   ain’t those the ones you gotta  wash out  every time    —    ?    damn,   girl,   your moms put up with some  shit.     ’       pun intended.       ‘     yeah,   they teach you that in  zoology class  too ?     ’}

_{a half - laugh,  half - scoff.     ❛     yup.    bitch even  stuck me with a pin  ‘cause i wouldn’t stop  kickin’  when she was changin’ me.    pretty sure she did it on purpose.    ‘n don’t hate on zoology !    it’s the  shiznit,  yo.    betcha jelly ‘cause i know more than you.    it’s cool.    you ain’t gotta pretend.    i won’t tell nobody     –––––     ❜}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{their  audience  is barely acknowledged.    the most he does,   as they fight their way down the hall,   is serve a couple of hard looks    —    like he’s daring someone to make a move,   to step in.    but they know better.    they know  bullet,   and they don’t say a damn word.}

_{neither does holder.    not when they board the elevators down,   not when they arrive at the holding cells.    not even during processing when a  knife  is confiscated.    he takes that,   too :   she can have it back tomorrow.}

_{it’s all he can do not to grit his teeth as the cell door clangs shut with her on the inside.}

_{an officer starts to speak.    he cuts him off.       ‘     don’t talk to her.    don’t even  look  at her.    i’ll process her out in the morning,   we clear ?     ’}

_{he waits for a nod and then turns to walk out,   heedless of her protests.    it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.}

_{‘     g’night,   bullet.     ’}

_{this isn’t the  first time  she’s been in a cell.    has to remind herself of that when he forces her in,  feet scuffing the floors and weight thrown back for the  umpteenth time  in one last attempt to resist.    one swift turn and her palms strike the bars.    once,  twice,  three times.    she calls out to him and it sounds more like a half - plea     –––––     a pathetic exploitation of vulnerability.}

_{fingers curl around those bars,  shifting a step closer to the cell door.    she stares him down and tries to ignore the beat of her own heart,  the blood rushing in her ears.    thinks it might just be a  sick game  he’s playing out of spite until the realisation sinks in.    he isn’t dicking around.}

_{and that just makes the balloon of anger inside of her chest swell again.    it climbs into her throat like bile,  spilling out into words when she curses and flips him the bird from in between the bars.}

_{❛     go t’ hell !    ‘n say hi t’ ya momma for me when you get there,  you fuckin’ pussy ass bitch !    ❜}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{‘     yeah,   ‘n you ain’t foolin’  nobody  with all them layers.    you’re like  ninety - five pounds  soaking wet    —    my  lunch  weighed more than you.      ’}

_{delivered as a quip,   but the connotations aren’t as lighthearted.    she’s small enough to be overpowered by someone bigger than her.    stronger than her.    someone like goldie.    someone like the  pied piper,   who shattered the bones in her wrist and beat her senseless before leaving her to  bleed out  in the trunk of a car.}

_{he remembers the expression on linden’s face when she told him not to open it.    you don’t need to be here.    please,   holder.    remembers that moment of soul - crushing realization before he’d lifted the lid.}

_{cellophane crinkles as he draws out his cigarettes,   pulling the driver’s door shut.    lights one,   passes bullet another.}

_{‘     buckle up,   li’l man.    this ain’t a limo service.     ’}

_{❛     hundred ‘n three,  asswipe.    ❜     the doctors weighed her in at  ninety - four  the day of discharge,  just a couple of weeks before    (    in other words,  she’s reaching,  and he probably knows that.    )}

_{as most of her opponents can begrudgingly attest,  bullet is stronger than she looks,  and puts up one hell of a fight.    a one hit knockout just isn’t her style.    enjoys the adrenaline rush more than she should.    never had to remind herself that  it doesn’t hurt if you’re not afraid  until goldie got ahold of her.    until the pied piper finished what he started,  tying up those loose ends.    she felt  fear  then.   real,  visceral fear when she knew it was the end of the line.}

_{she half - expected not to be found.    holder didn’t give a shit about her.    no one did.    is that how kallie felt ?}

_{after ducking into the passenger seat,  she pauses to serve one of her  looks  before sparking her cigarette,  a lighter she’d pickpocketed from another detective still in hand when she volleys back.}

_{❛     –––––     hell no.    you first.    set a good example.     ❜}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{‘     what d’you know ‘bout  real game ?    see,   ‘cause  me    —    i was wooin’ the honeys while you were still in  pampers.    had ‘em lined up ‘round the  block  for this slice of heaven.     ’}

_{❛     joke’s on you,  ‘cause i wasn’t wearin’ pampers.    mom had me wearin’ these stupid  cloth diapers.    …  ain’t you ever heard the sayin’  ‘ you can catch flies with honey but you catch more honeys bein’ fly ’ ?     ❜}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{‘     damn !    uh - uh,   not with  that  attitude.     ’}

_{❛     yeah,  that’s what i thought !    hit me up when you find the balls t’ spit some  real game,  playa.     ❜}

hellish-b0y:

[18+]

_{ORIGINALGRILLA.}

_{she’s relentless,   and five minutes feels more like five  HOURS.    he has to tune it out until it’s white noise    —    even then,   his ears are ringing by the time he gets out of the car.    there’s a rigid,   almost sour look on his face,   jaw muscles taut and tense.    no  shit  she’s holding ;   what did he expect ?}

_{‘     yeah,   you got  stuff  on you ?    where ?    huh ?    where is it ?     ’}

_{fingers still curled in a vise - grip around the fabric of her hood,   his free hand starts to search her pockets.    a few seconds and he’s letting out a harsh scoff as he pulls out an ounce bag.    he’ll flush it later.}

_{‘     the  fuck  were you thinkin’ ?     ’}

_{thing is,   she probably  wasn’t.    not about anything other than making the pain stop.    he’s in no position to judge but he still doesn’t let her go.    doesn’t even break stride as they head for the station’s entrance.}

_{it’s gonna be one hell of a night.}

_{❛     up yo’  momma’s  ass !     ❜}

_{she knows there’s no point in telling him because he’ll find it regardless.    and if not,  someone else will,  then notify her probation officer of the violation.     (    she’d like to think holder wouldn’t throw her under the bus like that,  but he’s a cop,  and bullet doesn’t  trust  cops.    )}

_{it doesn’t matter what she was thinking.    what  matters  is that he appropriated the last of her stash,  and still presses forward to the doors.    as if she’s going to go easy.}

_{the ruckus draws attention from  several  officers.    some she knows,  some she  doesn’t,  and some of whom watch as this  five - foot - three,  ninety - something pound tomboy  is manhandled and kicking up a fuss.    he doesn’t relent and neither does she,  despite the strain it puts on her voice.}

_{❛     where’re you takin’ me ?    huh ?    you gonna put me in a  fuckin’  cell ?    come the fuck on,  quit trippin’ !     ❜}

_{ORIGINALGRILLA :   bugs.}

_{‘     what,   you afraid you might  learn  somethin’ from my infinite wisdom ?     ’}

_{❛     more like infinite dumbassery.    let’s hear it,  punk.     ❜}