Helios Awakened (The Helios Chronicles #1) (15 page)

It took 90 minutes to get into Los Angeles and as Madison made the turn onto the 110 she felt a panic start to rise as she realized that they were heading towards South Central and Watts. She got off on the Manchester exit going east towards Central Avenue and into the city of Watts. There was a lot of activity on the street but nothing that dissimilar to various neighborhoods in New York. She glanced at Andrew whose posture had already changed as had his facial expression. He was eyeing the neighborhood like a predator ready to attack if necessary.

“Why would a parole officer send a white guy into Watts?” Madison asked low and more to herself.

“Because that’s just how he is. Jamal is an ex-guard at county and I’m pretty sure he used to gang bang or something,” he said with a shrug before turning to her. “Don’t worry, Madison. I’ll protect you.”

“I’m not scared or anything. I’ve ridden the subways all over New York and you should see the kind of stuff that happens on them.” She arched her brow for emphasis.

He smiled but then turned to continue gauging the neighborhood. He had been in this part of town once before with some people who were scoring drugs. He eyed several gang bangers and noted a drug deal going down not far from them. His hand instinctually went to his arm. He hated being out here but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. They pulled into the parking lot of the building and Andrew turned to her.

“Stay in the car until I come around.”

He stepped out of the car and a couple of people across the street looked at him. Andrew knew they were eyeing him, assessing him, so he rolled his shoulder and tilted his head first to the left and then to the right before casually looking around with a hard and menacing expression on his face. In the process, he made eye contact with the two men, his expression never changing, making sure they knew he had no fear.

Madison watched the entire exchange with both fascination and terror. The men looked Andrew up and down and finally nodded at him.  Andrew looked different. There was not an inkling of the playful man that she knew. His whole body posture was that of someone willing to do anything, fight, and maybe even kill if necessary. He then nodded at the men and came around to open the door for her.

“Madison, come on,” he said firmly and reached for her hand.

Madison took it and Andrew walked her briskly to the office building. After Andrew checked in, he walked her to the waiting area, not once removing his tight grip on her. By the time she was in a seat, she was starting to lose feeling in her hand.

“Andrew, honey, I can’t feel my hand.”

“Shit!” he said, letting go. “I’m sorry.”

He brought her hand up and kissed it lightly. She smiled and then looked around the waiting room. She noticed a few other people sitting in chairs. She tapped her foot nervously. She wasn’t sure why, but she was definitely feeling antsy. Andrew placed his hand on her leg to steady her movement. She looked up and smiled and then turned when a huge black man entered the room. Her eyes widened as she took in his intimidating presence.

“Harrison.”

“Madison, I'll be back soon,” Andrew said as he stood up to follow the man she presumed to be his probation officer. 

Madison watched him walk out of the room and then looked around again. No one was paying any attention to her at all. She grinned and pulled out her phone to play on the internet. She wanted to go into Hollywood but she wasn’t sure if Andrew would be up for it. She had heard that William Shatner had done the whole hand print thing and she wanted to get a picture of it for her grandmother. She knew that her grans had a huge celebrity crush on him and she was sure that she would get such a kick out of having a picture of his hand and footprints. Since next Friday they would be heading to Lake Arrowhead, this would be the perfect time. She programed the location into google maps and realized it wasn’t that far, only 16 miles. With L.A. traffic that might take about thirty minutes. That was totally doable! When Andrew walked out twenty minutes later he quickly got her to the car and she wasted no time trying to convince him.

“Can we go to Hollywood?” she asked, watching him cringe.

“Why would you want to go there?”

Andrew didn’t like the idea at all. Hollywood was his old stomping grounds. He didn’t want to be anywhere near there. What if he ran into someone he used to know? That would be a nightmare. Something he didn’t want Madison to experience.

“I want to go to that theater where they have all the handprints. I want to get a picture for my grandmother,” Madison urged him. 

Andrew didn’t say anything at first. She really wanted to go and she was giving him those big brown eyes while muttering please, please, please, over and over again. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Madison nodded and smiled excitedly as she pulled out her phone and turned on the voice activated guide. Andrew watched her and grinned as her phone gave her step by step directions on how to get to the theater where the famous and sometimes not so famous were asked to immortalize themselves, well, their hands and feet at least. She found parking in one of the large complexes and practically leapt out of the car before Andrew could get his seatbelt off.

“Have you ever been here before?”

“No, I never got the chance, I guess.”

“Where did you live when you were in L.A.?” Madison asked curiously.

“Lots of places in and around Hollywood and Downtown,” he answered evasively.

Madison eyed him. She knew he was hiding something. Andrew sighed as they crossed the street. He held onto her hand as they zigzagged between the mass of tourists. When they were on the sidewalk again, he glanced at her.

“I was homeless a lot so I was in the shelter for a lot of the time or sometimes I would find people to stay with,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t ask for more information.

“Like people you did drugs with?” Madison asked casually.

He didn’t say anything but nodded as they made their way through the crowded sidewalk towards the theater. It was a popular tourist stop; another reason why he thought going there was a bad idea. He kept a watchful eye on where they were, fully aware that they weren’t that far from some of the more unscrupulous places. But that was how it was in Los Angeles and Hollywood. You could have one street lined with Starbucks Coffee shops on every block and then you could go over just one street and you would see lines of homeless men and women just scraping by, their paths never crossing with the people willing to spend $5 for a cup of coffee.

“Oh my God. Andrew, look at this,” Madison said, letting go of his hand and kneeling down. “It's Ghost Rider!” she said with a wink.

Andrew didn’t want to but he laughed. She then tried to get him to pose with Nicolas Cage’s foot and handprints but Andrew was not doing that so she took a picture of just the square. They walked a little further and just passed the cast of Star Wars was the cast of Star Trek. She immediately started taking pictures. Andrew just stood back and watched her.

“Let’s check out some more,” she said, happily bouncing on her feet.

Andrew snorted out a laugh and placed his hand on her lower back leading her further into the forecourt. Madison took many pictures of hand and foot prints of people he didn’t know. He didn’t watch a lot of movies so he was at a loss, but she was happy and that was all that mattered to him.

“Man, I’m really hungry. Let’s eat before we head out,” Madison said. “Do you want to go to that Mexican place across the street?”

He laughed. “No way, that’s too fancy. If you want real Mexican food there’s a place about eight blocks east of here. They have great food.”

“Alright, lead the way,” Madison said enthusiastically.

As they started walking to the restaurant, Madison realized that they were getting further into an area of town that she hoped they wouldn’t be in at night. Andrew seemed right at home as they walked briskly until they reached a little hole in the wall restaurant called ‘Mi Amigo’. There were a few booths and tables inside and people talking in Spanish behind the counter. There was a couple at the back table and a Mexican lady at the counter visiting with the lady manning the till. Madison smiled as she looked up at the menu with pictures of the food posted on the wall. Madison loved to eat at places like this.

“This is awesome,” she said as she turned to study the menu.

Andrew ordered carnitas while Madison ordered enchiladas and tamales. They slipped into a booth and he kissed her as she looked up at him. They continued to kiss, completely unaware of anyone else around them, until they heard a throat clearing and the word ‘Señor’ being uttered several times by the lady behind the counter. Andrew gave Madison one more quick peck on her now swollen lips before going to get their food.

Andrew had always loved coming there. Their food was inexpensive but good. When he would come down from one of his highs and was actually hungry again he would visit ‘Mi Amigo’. He placed the tray down and gave Madison her plate, then smiled as he watched her devour her food while making sexy whimpering noises after each bite. 

“You’re killing me with those sex noises you’re making,” he whispered into her ear.

“I can’t help it. This is almost as good as you,” she said with a wink.

“I suppose I should take that as a compliment.” He grinned.

“It was,” she said, taking another bite and making an exaggerated noise.

Andrew grinned and turned back to his food and proceeded to eat with renewed energy. They laughed and joked with one another, tasting each other’s food and having an all-around good time. He couldn’t believe how much fun the day had already been. He had been so worried about coming into Los Angeles and then when she wanted to go to Hollywood he had been on the verge of a panic attack. He realized now that he was stressed over nothing. That is until he heard a familiar voice ordering at the counter.  Andrew turned slightly to see the back of a tall and gangly white guy. He was very thin and scratching his forearm.

“What’s the matter, Andrew?” Madison asked; concerned at the way his body posture had suddenly changed.

“Nothing, are you almost done?” he asked with a sense of urgency in his voice.

“Umm, yeah, sure,” she said, pushing the remainder of her food away.

Andrew stood up and reached for her, hoping they could get out of there before the person at the counter noticed them. Unfortunately, just as Andrew touched the door, the man turned and faced them. Recognition hit him immediately.

“Holy shit! Harrison, is that you?” Tyler said, grabbing his bag and walking up behind them.

Andrew took a deep breath and pushed through the door, dragging Madison with him. She turned to the man who looked to be around Andrew’s age but time had not been kind to him. He was tall and skinny; his hair was dirty and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in days. He was wearing a very loose fitting pair of jeans and an old ratty t-shirt. As her eyes roamed over him, she saw that his forearm was red and enflamed, a sure sign that he was a drug user in need of his fix.

“What the fuck, Harrison? Can’t even say hi to an old friend?” he asked, tapping Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew turned and immediately pushed Madison behind him in a protective manner.

“Ty.”

“When’d you get out, man?” Tyler asked as he rubbed on his arm.

“A few years ago.”

“You look good.”

Andrew simply nodded as he watched Tyler scratch at his arm more fervently. He wanted to feel sorry for him because he remembered what that felt like but mostly he was angry. He didn’t want Tyler anywhere near Madison.

“You got anything?” Tyler asked with a slight nod.

“I don’t do that shit anymore,” Andrew said as he turned around and pushed Madison forward.

“Well, can I borrow some money or something? Fuck, man, I need a score. I helped you out loads of times,” Tyler said with a sense of fear and dread.

Andrew didn’t say anything but kept walking. He needed to get away and fast. He didn’t want anything to do with Tyler or what Tyler represented.

“Fuck you, Harrison! You ain’t no better than me,” he said, coming up to them again. He grabbed Andrew’s arm and tapped his forearm. “You can cover that shit up but it’s still you, man. You ain't no better.”

Andrew pushed him back. “Leave me the fuck alone, Ty.”

Tyler then turned to Madison. “Did he tell you how he fucked that girl at that party? She was just a fucking kid. But she wasn’t the first. He fucked all kinds of people. How do you think he used to get his shit? He used that pretty face of his to fuck women and then stole shit from them. You think he’s changed. Fuck that! He is probably fucking you to get something. I’d check your shit if I was you,” he said with anger and disdain.

Now Andrew was pissed. He let go of Madison’s hand and grabbed Tyler, throwing him up against the wall and slamming him against it several times. Andrew drew his fist back but Tyler was unable to defend himself in his weakened state so he slid down the wall, already defeated. Andrew stepped back, his hands clenched at his sides.

“You ain’t no better,” Tyler whimpered as he cried into his hands.

After a few moments, he looked up and Andrew unclenched his fists, immediately running his hand through his hair and stepping back a few more paces. He reached for Madison’s hand but she stepped away from him. She walked up to Tyler and kneeled down in front of him. She dropped a handful of cash on the ground in front of him. It wasn’t much but it was what she had in her pocket. When he went to reach for it she grabbed his hand, stopping his movement.