Gringa - In the Clutches of a Ruthless Drug Lord (57 page)

             
‘Just stop this shit
,
Diago!’ I swing in front of him, desperate to save
Austin
. ‘You’re being stupid
.
’ I say and shove him hard in the chest.

    
             
His reaction is immediate. He grabs a fistful of my hair and I reel in
pain. In spite of the pain, I continue blocking his path.

             
‘He’s drunk for Christ’s sakes
, Diago
. He’s hurting, you’re not. Remember how you were hurting a short while ago, huh? You got drunk and shot at all the stars in the sky, remember? Huh? Huh? You hurt him Diago and I’ll never speak to you again. I promise.’

             
‘Ahhh, so you still care for me then,’
Austin
pipes.

             
‘Shaddup Austin!’ I
hiss through clenched teeth
.  

    
             
Diago shakes his head at me. ‘Why?’ he demands through gritted teeth. ‘You l
ove
him? Eh? You wan
t
him?’

    
             
‘No
! ’C
ourse not
!
’ I say, wincing with pain. ‘Let go of my fucking hair
,
Diago!’

    
             
He releases my hair and glares at me
.

             
‘Don’t
e
ver do that again!’ I s
narl, clutching my head.

             
‘Payton don’t worry,’
Austin
says, standing on one foot with his arms outstretched to the sides
, a
Karate
Kid
move.
‘I can take him. Stand back.’

    
             
Fuck
!         

    
             
Diago stares at him and cocks his head, a look of surprise on his face.

             
Austin
’s
now
adding sound effects to his pose
;
the kind you find in Bruce Lee movies.

    
             
‘That there is
my
Senorita,’
Austin
says and I’ll  ...’

             
He loses his balance and falls on his face
. E
veryone around us hoots with laughter, including Diago
.
Even I laugh and
that diffuses the situation a little.

    
             
‘You were writing about
him
?’ Diago asks
, a look of utter disbelief on his face
. ‘He loco, Payton.’

    
             
I sighed loudly as if
I’m
exasperated. But
I’m
really trying to cover my deep embarrassment.

        
             
Austin
looks like a total idiot lying flat on his face
, his ass in the air
.

             
‘I’ll get my dad to take him home
.
’ 

    
             
Diago says nothing
.
I take it as an
okay
.

    
             
I walk over to
Austin
and kneel before him. ‘
Austin
, i
f you don’t go home now, you’re gonna lose Paris
and
Liam. Want that to happen, huh?’

    
             
Slowly he lifts his
sand-covered
face
and looks at me. ‘But I love you, Payton.’

    
             
‘
Y
ou don’t
Austin
. You married
Paris
. You had a baby with her. That means you love
her
. You think you love me because, I don’t know –
like,
maybe for the first time since you know me,
I’m
in ... I stop and glance at Diago hovering around
looking uneasy. In spite of him hurting me a few minutes ago,
I feel a rush of tenderness
just talking about h
im.

   
             
‘
Austin
,
I’m
with
Diago and I really dig him.
Maybe that’s what you’re mourning - the fact that
I’m like,
moving on. You don’t love me, so
g
o back to
Paris
and
work things out.
’

    
             
Realising my father is not around; I look to Elaine for help.   

   
             
‘Fuck him!’ she scowls. ‘Just look at what he made my daughter do. He loves
you
, so let him stay here. He can rot in this ... this
place
for all I care.’ She jerks her head towards Diago. ‘Unleash your devil on him. Go on.’

    
             
What do I do now?
Although
I find Elaine’s
foul
language strangely fascinating, it throws me off balance each time I hear her curse and I
each time, I
need recovery time.   

    
             
‘He’s ruined her life,’ she sniffs sorrowfully. ‘Should have let him marry you. Now all my friends  ... ’

    
             
‘Awww sha
ddup
!’
Austin
yells
. ‘Stuck up bitch!’ 

    
             
Elaine turns very slowly to look at him, her eyes blazing with such fury and hatred, I wonder if she is going to kick the crap out of him. Considering his present inebriated state, it would be easy. 

    
             
‘Know why
else
I want to leave your daughter? Cos I don’t wanna see your ugly, botoxed mug again. You’re in my face, in my home, in my ... my son’s life smothering ... ’

    
             
‘How dare you!’
Elaine shrieks.
 

    
             
‘It pisses me off, bitch! I wanna get away from you. The only good thing about this family,’ He jerks his head towards me, ‘her.’

    
             
Elaine looks at me and sneers.

   
             
‘Sh
e’s like,’
He smiles at me, ‘sunshine – warm and cheerful, utterly delightful ... that’s why
I’m
nuts about her. Marrying your shrew of a daughter? Big mistake. Humongous. H-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s. I want out,
mom
. Now. Today.
Mom
.’

    
             
With a cry, Elaine
jerks off her shoe and whacks him
several times
over the head with it.
Luckily,
I step in
time to
prevent major brain damage.

    
             
‘Knock it off you two,’ I say. ‘Elaine, back off. He’s drunk, okay?’ I turn to
Austin
. ‘
Austin
just shaddup! Let’s get you to the car. Now all we need is for
Paris
to make an appearance and that really will be the end of her marriage.

             
Elaine suddenly dives around me and
kicks him
in
the head.

             
I yank away and shove her aside. ‘Touch him again and I’ll kick the crap out of you
,
Elaine!’ I warn. ‘He’s drunk
. Stop.’
 

    
             
Austin
lies quietly on the ground. 

    
             
‘Is he dead?’
Paris
yells. She’s
on the balcony with just a sheet draped around her. Her hair is sticking out in all directions, her mascara
has run and she has panda-eyes. S
he looks anything but a beauty queen. 

    
             
‘
Paris
, get inside!’ I
shout
. ‘We’ll talk later.’ I really don’t want
Austin
to see her like this and
I’m
hoping Tongue doesn’t show.

    
             
She ignores me and drags on
a
cigar. Why is she not bothered about saving her marriage?

    
             
Austin
hears her voice and slowly sits up. ‘What the ...?’ He peers at her.