© Jojo B 2018

All rights including those in copyright in the content of this story are owned by Jojo B. It's Illegal to steal and/or copy.

______________________________________________________________________

Snakes and Splinters

8

I grinned and cheered as Ario scored the second goal for his team within the last three minutes of the match. His team had won and he'd scored both goals. My cousin grinned and threw his fist in the air as his team shrouded him in praise. They were playing against their own club as it was just an inside game, but I had to grin as they were so happy.

Waiting by the main entrance to the football pitch, I watched as the losing team piled past me towards the changing rooms. They pushed each other, throwing playful jabs as they went and I thought I saw one of Antonia's cousins, but I couldn't be sure. I'd only seen him once before, so it could have been anyone.

I pushed myself off the side of the building I was leaning against when I saw Ario coming in his bright blue football shirt. I grinned and raised my arms to hug him when he knocked my arms down.

"I'm sweaty," he said with a smile, sweat dripping down the front of his neck.

"You were great," I said and shook my head in disbelief. "I should come to watch more often."

"Thanks," Ario grinned and some of his teammates nodded at him on their way inside. "I'm going to have a quick shower and then we can go."

"Sure," I nodded. "I'll wait here."

"There's a bench or something down there," Ario pointed further up the wide path that led to the car park and main road.

"Alright," I said and started making my way down.

It was a slightly warmer winter's day, despite the little cloud cover. The sun heated my face slightly as I sat down on the bench and faced the road. Some of the players walked past me, still talking about the match, with their football trainers tied at the laces and draped over their shoulders.

Ario finished up within good time and he came out in a fresh pair of jogging bottoms and a clean, dark blue football shirt. He had his sports bag over his shoulder and his hair was darker as it was wet and still drying. He sent me a lazy smile when he saw me waiting.

I stood and looked up at him, "So where to?"

"Food," Ario patted his stomach. "ASAP."

"I'm kind of hungry too," I chuckled in agreement. "What are you feeling?"

"Burgers and chips," Ario grinned. "It's customary to eat something greasy after so much exercise."

"Sure," I laughed as we made our way to the shopping complex which wasn't far from the football club.

Not long later, we sat in a foot court eating burgers and chips from Ario's favourite fast food restaurant. He had bought two burgers, two fries and a large drink, whilst I had roughly half of what he was eating.

"I didn't think you were much of a team player," I said to him as I ate some chips.

Ario arched a brow at me, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well I didn't think you'd like working in a team with people you barely know," I elaborated. "Before I knew you, I used to think you were really quiet. Everyone knew you as the silent one."

"Not really," Ario shrugged. "I mean, yeah I don't talk much when me and the boys are out, but at home and stuff its different. You've seen. I'm quite friendly."

I choked on my fizzy drink, causing it to burn my throat pretty bad. I coughed out loud, tears springing to my eyes as the grating feel started to decrease. Ario rolled his eyes at me as I finally caught my breath back.

"You're so dramatic."

"I wasn't acting," I cried at him, wiping the tears away. "Were you serious?"

"Yeah," Ario shrugged again. "I was friendly with you, wasn't I? The only people I'm not nice to are the Simpsons...and well, any guy who pisses me off. Or girl. I don't discriminate. I'm just not as crazy as Diego or the twins, for example. They pick fights with anyone."

"So what about the guys in the football club? You're cool with them?" I asked him.

"They're alright," Ario said. "We're not friends, I don't talk to them outside of football, but they're cool. They know not to cross any lines with me anyway...although there are a couple new people who don't seem to know me."

"What do they look like?" I asked, widening my eyes.

Could it be that I really did see one of Antonia's cousins?

Ario laughed at my sudden enthusiasm, "Why would I remember what they looked like? Is that of any interest to me? Don't you have a boyfriend anyway?"

I sent him a flat look, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what?" he arched a brow at me.

"I thought I might know who they were," I shrugged. "It doesn't really mean anything anyway."

"Alright," Ario sent me a confused-but-not-really-bothered look, before returning to his food.

I watched him munch down his colossal meal with ease and I had to raise my brows. In the end I couldn't even finish my drink and I had a few of my chips left, which Ario gladly polished off for me. If I ate like he did, I'd weigh twice as much.

"You want me to walk you home now?" Ario asked after he finished, he patted his stomach which was still as flat as it was before.

"Sure," I nodded, looking outside.

It wasn't dark yet. Ario would walk me as far as Simpson territory and I'd go the rest alone. Walter was at the boxing club, training. I missed him. Last Sunday had been a great day, it had contained very new and exciting things. I hadn't seen him very often since then and I couldn't wait to see him at home.

Ario and I got up and left, heading on outside. The skies were grey now, but it didn't look heavy enough for rainfall. It was getting chilly already. People were still walking about the shopping centre as we passed through it. I noticed a couple people standing by the playground that held so many memories. The night on the swings with Ario, which was the night I'd started to see him as a brother, long before we even learnt the truth. It also reminded me of the time the twins, Miguel and Manuel, almost had Landon's daughter Melody and Ario hadn't even tried to stop them.

"Isn't that Carlos and Diego?" I said as I looked over at the fence.

Ario followed my gaze to his two older cousins who were talking outside the playground. Both had reserved expressions but it didn't look like they were discussing anything serious.

"Should we go and say hi?" I looked at Ario.

"Okay," he agreed with a yawn.

We made our way over and I noticed that the playground itself was completely empty, most likely because of the Santiagos who were present.

"Hola," Carlos smiled at me when he saw us coming.

"Hola," I replied.

"¿Que pasó?" Ario asked them what was up.

Diego shrugged and switched to English, for my sake, "Nothing much. Where are you two coming from?"

"Football, then food," Ario answered with a half smile. "This kid barely eats."

"I'm the same age as you," I fixed him with a look. "And just because you eat for the whole of England and Venezuela, doesn't mean I don't eat."

Ario gave me that infamous, bored expression, "You really need to work on insulting people. That was weak."

I shook my head playfully at him and then looked at Carlos who had an amused smile on his face. I remembered what I'd said to Phoenix, that I'd ask Carlos if his gang was going up against some dangerous competition. It wasn't easy when the Santiagos never spoke to me about their gang. I wasn't sure how to go about it without being blunt.

"What is it?" Carlos asked me softly in Spanish.

Both Ario and Diego looked down at me questionably and I swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling that my throat was dry, despite what felt like gallons of fizzy drink I'd just downed.

"Stuff has been going on with the Simpson gang," I started, having to cough a little as my voice sounded so quiet. "Bad stuff. Stuff I don't think your gang is responsible for."

Ario was looking at me with an expression that read 'why are you even telling us this?' and Carlos had his thick brows slightly creased in confusion, rather than concern.

"What kind of stuff?" Diego grunted, folding his arms across his chest.

I cleared my throat and went on, "Well I don't know much, but people were killed. Phoenix's men."

The boys didn't look as surprised as I thought they would. Rather, they were looking at me to continue, knowing I had something to ask them.

"I was wondering if anything like that has happened to you guys," I finished with a mumble.

The three of them shared a glance and Carlos sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look Coral," Diego said in a calm voice. "This stuff doesn't concern you."

"I know that," I said quickly. "But...I mean, gangs aside, people are dead. It could happen again and nobody wants that."

I looked between them, trying to find a sliver of hope that would lead to an answer of any kind. They were quiet for a few moments, all in their own thoughts.

"So Phoenix put you up to this?" Carlos asked finally.

"No," I said. "I offered to ask you guys because I could see it was putting strain on him and the gang."

"And what is asking us going to do about that?" Ario frowned at me.

I shrugged, "Well if the same thing is happening to you, we could put two brains together and find out what's going on."

"I'm not working with the Simpsons," Ario shook his head.

"That's not what I said. You're jumping ahead," I said before the others could start agreeing with him.

Carlos shared a look with Diego. I could tell the two were saying something with their eyes. Carlos turned his attention back to me and then he sighed a little. He opened his mouth to speak but Ario cut him off. He gripped my hand and raised it so that Carlos and Diego could see.

"Don't think about telling her anything," Ario argued with them, showing them my gang marks. "She's family, yes, but she's still sleeping with the enemy."

I felt anger bubble up inside me. Ario's choice of words had made it sound like Walter and I were sleeping together, and whether we were or weren't, wasn't any of his business. I snatched my hand out of his and scowled at him, going to push him in the chest when Carlos put his hands down on each of our shoulders, stopping us.

"Calm down," Carlos said to the both of us, and then he looked at Ario and said something in Spanish.

Ario still didn't look happy when Carlos finished speaking, but Carlos wasn't bothered.

"The same thing happened to us a few days ago," Carlos told me. "Some of our dealers got killed."

I widened my eyes. Things were even more serious than I thought. No wonder Carlos had also been looking a lot more tired than usual, both gangs were stressed. I'm sure nothing like this had happened before.

"So now you know, what are you going to do about it?" Ario folded his arms and looked at me with a hard set expression. He was still pissed off.

"Stop that," I muttered to him. "I'm going to talk to Phoenix and the others. I think that you, Carlos, should talk to Phoenix about it."

Diego and Ario looked to the leader of their gang.

"We don't need their help," Diego said to Carlos, Ario nodding in agreement.

"The next time, it could be any of you that's shot dead on the streets," I said, a tiny tremor in my voice. "I'm sure they don't know who's in what gang and they don't care. They're clearly not afraid to kill, so please, think about it. It's not safe for you, Simpson or Santiago."

My relatives looked at me with impassive expressions before Diego and Ario sighed. They already knew Carlos was going to agree with me. He had reason to. If anything, I was right about the last thing I said.

"Tell him I want to arrange a meeting," Carlos told me.

I bit back a smile, knowing it would anger Ario and Diego more.

"I'll tell him," I replied.

***

I got to the house shortly after and luckily Phoenix was right there in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table drinking coffee and Eli, Severn and Giovanni were there too, looking for food it seemed. It was almost six in the evening.

"Hey everyone," I greeted with a smile.

"Hey, wassup?" Severn turned and gave me a grin.

"I'm good," I replied. "How are you guys?"

"We're hungry," Giovanni replied.

"Which is the usual for him," Severn added and then rubbed his stomach. "But I'm feeling it too this time."

I chuckled, "I just ate."

"Thanks for sharing," Gio rolled his eyes and turned his back on me as he raided the cupboards another time.

"Where's everyone else?" I questioned, hoping Phoenix would say something.

"Everyone, except Walter, is home," Eli said to me. "Gomez is in his room and Landon is working out."

"Alright," I said, sitting at the table, keeping my distance from Phoenix. I knew he liked his space and I didn't want to get him in a bad mood. He looked at me when I sat down and he nodded politely. I smiled back.

"I spoke to Carlos," I said in a low voice as Severn argued with Eli over whose turn it was to cook.

What I said seemed to spark Phoenix's interest and he raised his eyebrows a little bit.

"What did you say?" he asked me.

"I asked him if anything has been going on with their gang and after a bit of convincing, he told me that yes indeed, some of his men were killed a few days ago. I'm surprised I haven't heard anything about it. It's as if no one knows about these deaths."

"The police don't care when it's just another gang related shooting," Phoenix muttered with a dismissing wave of his hand. "They know there's a lot of gang activity in the area and they know that no one cares enough for them to investigate."

"But they could have at least said something in the local news," I was so appalled. "People are dead and it's really not safe for others either."

"I know that," Phoenix snapped at me and then he sighed. "Sorry."

Phoenix's tone of voice seemed to catch the other boys' attention and they glanced at us. I kept my eyes on the table top, knowing that to involve the others right now would irritate Phoenix.

"It's alright. I know you're stressed," I said to him quietly. "I actually got Carlos to agree to talk to you about it."

Phoenix looked surprised, "You did?"

I nodded, "It's up to you two to arrange a time. The sooner the better, I suppose."

Phoenix blinked in disbelief, "When do you suggest?"

I was shocked that he was actually asking my opinion. I didn't think he'd ever done that before, not about such a serious topic anyway.

"How about at the Dartfish tomorrow? It's a Saturday so I'll be there, working," I told him. "Midday?"

He nodded, rubbing the dark stubble across his jaw, "Alright."

I smiled at him, "I think it will help. With both your minds, you'll work out what's going on and how to stop it in no time."

Phoenix rolled his eyes, but had a small smile on his face, "Sure."

Just then, Landon walked into the kitchen in boxers and a pink t-shirt. His hair was wet from an after workout shower and Severn, Gio and Eli looked at him.

"I swear I'm cooking tonight," Landon said, rubbing his hair.

"Why were you taking so long then?" Eli shot at him with an intense scowl.

"I bet he's gonna cook shit too," Giovanni grumbled.

"Relax," Landon raised his hands and sent them a chilled smile. "I've got a plan."

"And what is that?" Phoenix looked over at him with a questionable gaze.

"I'm making wraps," his brother replied. "They're quick, easy and healthy. Don't you agree, Coral?"

"It depends what you put in them," I said with a grin, just to be difficult.

Landon blinked at me, having expected my full support. I grinned at his expression and he turned back to his younger brothers.

"Stop looking at me like that and sit down if you don't want to help," he told them as he padded over to the fridge, rubbing his muscular arm. "I'm feeling worn out as well, someone else should be doing this."

"Shut up," Eli muttered darkly. "You knew it was your night and you still chose to work out just before."

Landon looked at Eli over his shoulder, "Are you really that hungry or is it you just being a bitch, as usual?"

"We're starving," Giovanni answered before Eli could answer.

"I'll help," I stood up and started getting a couple pans out to cook the fresh veg that Landon was taking out of the fridge. Over a year ago, such items were very rare in the Simpson household.

"Thanks," Landon said to me.

Eli, Severn and Gio really did sit down and halfway through the cooking I heard Walter enter the house. I grinned when he came to stand in the doorway and left the folding of the wraps to go and hug him. Walter hugged me back tight, even though I knew he was tired from hours of intensive training. He pulled away and rubbed my hair.

"I'm going to have a shower, I'll be right down," Walter said.

"The food is almost ready," Landon turned and said to him. "You should eat first or there won't be any left."

"Good point," Walter murmured, frowning at his younger brothers accusingly.

"What?" Giovanni shrugged with a grin on his face. "We like to eat."

"Correction," Walter said. "You like to eat. The rest of us just do it to function."

The others nodded in agreement and Giovanni rolled his eyes, "Fair enough."

"Where's Gomez anyway? He's going to miss this," I said after a chuckle.

"Maybe he's sleeping," Severn shrugged.

"Nah," Gio clapped an arm across Severn's shoulders. "That's your job."

"I'm calling him," Severn said, digging his phone out of his pocket and putting it to his ear. "Get down here, food is ready."

By the time Gio came down, everything was prepared and we all ate together, well the boys ate, I just sat and talked with them as they did so. Landon did pretty good. If I had to pick a favourite cook out of the boys, it would be a close one between him and Walter.

Once we were finished, Walter went up and took a shower and I waited for him in his bed. It wasn't late yet, but we just wanted to lay down together before we got caught up in the business that the next day would throw at us. We kept the desk lamp on, bathing the room in a soft glow. I lay with my head resting on Walter's shoulder. Thoughts about our date in France came back to me. This time they were the thoughts I had mixed emotions about.

"Walter, tell me about your first time," I said to him.

I felt him tense in surprise more than anything and he shifted his body so he could look down at me. I felt like I needed to tell him why I wanted to know.

"After what happened in France," I smiled, feeling a blush paint my cheeks. "I've been wondering about your past experiences."

"Experience," Walter corrected me in his deep voice. "There was only one."

"Really?" I raised my brows.

"What?" Walter smiled faintly. "You thought I was like Landon?"

"No," I laughed quietly. "I just thought you'd have done it more than just once."

Walter shrugged, "Nope. Just once."

"With who?"

"One of Landon's exes," Walter shocked me by saying. He noticed my round eyes and quickly added, "Let me explain."

I waited silently for him to keep going.

"Landon had just broken up with her and she drove to our home one night," Walter started, looking up at the ceiling with one arm behind his head as he spoke. "I don't know why he even brought her to the house in the first place if he knew he was going to dump her. Phoenix had a go at him after that and it was the last time Landon did that with any of his dates. Anyway, this girl was outside the house and we had been playing a drinking game earlier and I was still quite drunk."

"Wait," I interrupted. "How long ago was this?"

"About six months before I met you," Walter told me. "The triplets didn't play. I was seventeen at the time. I know Eli and I were drinking underage, but do we really obey the law?"

I smiled. Of course I knew the answer to that.

"I was the one who went to answer the door when she knocked," Walter went on. "I remember her asking about Landon, wanting him to take her back. I told her it wasn't going to happen. I was pretty harsh, but it was because she was annoying me. I don't know why, but then she started coming onto me instead. She was so forwards and even though I knew it meant nothing and that I didn't even like her, I followed her out to her car anyway and that's where it happened."

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," I sat up and looked at him. "You can't just skip everything. What did she look like? How old was she? What was she like with you?"

I had more specific questions, like how many times did he do it? Which positions? Did he still see her around? To be honest, I didn't really want the answers to them. I knew Walter loved me and no one else, but I would still feel a little bit of jealousy to know that some other person he still knew, had been with him in a way that I hadn't. And the fact that it was just one other person, who had experienced that side of Walter, made it worse. It made it sound intimate.

Walter chuckled at my questions and sat up to face me, "I honestly don't remember much. She was older than me, I don't know how old. I never even told Landon. If I had been thinking straight, I would've never slept with a girl he'd already had sex with. It's disgusting knowing that my brother had been there before me."

I laughed a little bit even though it wasn't really funny, "I guess I see what you mean."

Walter looked at me closely then he took my hand in his, "You're not satisfied."

I shrugged, "I know it doesn't even matter anymore, but do you still see her around?"

"No," Walter pulled a face. "I never even knew her name. She tried to get my number but I didn't give it to her. When we were done, I left her car and she drove off. My head was hurting so much afterwards, I went back into the house and was sick."

"Walter," I cried. "I didn't need to know that."

He grinned at me, "I could tell you wanted more details."

I laughed and pushed his shoulder.

"Thanks for sharing anyway," I said, looking down at the sheets as I tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

Walter stroked my cheek which had been covered by my hair. I looked up from the sheets and met his hazel eyes. He had a smile on his lips, a shadow of a bruise forming already on his right cheek from his training today. I leaned in to kiss Walter and he kissed me back hungrily. I parted my lips and his tongue entered my mouth, entwining with mine. Walter knotted his hands in my hair and I ran mine down his sculpted chest. I could feel myself running out of air, but I didn't want to pull away. I didn't break away from his lips until I absolutely had to and I smiled breathlessly.

"You're the person I love, Coral," he pressed his forehead against mine, cupping my face. "No one else."

"I know," I smiled even more, knowing he was saying nothing but the truth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thoughts on the chapter?

J

X