• CHAPTER 1: How it Began


    It was a cold, rainy night. Alex wasn’t sure what time it was. They’d left their small, dingy apartment at about noon, but it seemed like hours had passed as they headed to the John Barrels Bar. She figured it was about three by now. There was so much traffic because of everyone going to the Pistons last basketball game. Her two best friends, Kay and Robin, had begged her to go, “It’s the last game you can’t miss this one!” Robin had yelled causing everyone in the cafeteria, to look in their direction. But Alex had to say no. She couldn’t even give them a good reason why she couldn’t go. It was because she didn’t even know why herself. She was told to be back home right after school and now she was quietly sitting on Dan’s motorcycle in a downtown Detroit parking lot. She wondered if it was really necessary for her to be here. Dan wasn’t the type to bring along his daughter to have a drink. Alex took a deep breath inhaling all the smoggy air coming from car exhausts. Dan prized his motorcycle more then he had his own kids. It looked new it was red like fire, and even in the dark city of Detroit it shined like a star. Dan took a lot of pride in his motorcycle he polished and washed it, it seemed to Alex, almost everyday.
    Alex was watching Dan arguing across the street with a large man to let her inside. Only people eighteen and older were allowed in. The large man was standing in front of the door wearing a blue and white stripped shirt. He was also wearing a big apron that was smudged with brown and yellow marks. She smiled thinking of the outrageous reason why he‘d be that dirty. He had a big face and his nose looked like a big red tomato, and Alex thought he looked very mean.
    Alex was fifteen and didn’t really care about going into the bar. Bars always smelled bad and made it hard for her to think. The thing Alex wanted more than anything right now was to think. So much had happened the past few days that Alex wasn’t sure exactly what was going on. Alex looked up at the sky just as the first few raindrops drifted down to the ground, and then Alex smiled. She liked the rain it was calming and would help her to think. As another raindrop fell on her face she began to recall what happened a few days before. It began with her little brother Michel. Just three days ago he died. Alex still didn’t understand Dan's explanation. It was pretty pathetic she thought when she had asked him what had happened, and all he said was the neighbor’s dog attacked him and because he was so small he didn’t survive. She tried to ask Dan why he wouldn’t bother to do anything but he said there was nothing he could do they had no money. Michel was five years old and even thought he was still young he was small for his age. He had beautiful brown eyes and blond, brown hair.
    Just as Alex thought there was no chance the big man in the front door would allow her to come in he gave a look of defeat and went back inside. Dan came walking back to the motorcycle his hair soaked by the rain giving her a weary smile. “You can come in and get out of the rain.”
    “Dan,” She never saw a point in calling him dad and she liked the way it made her feel older and mature. “Can I stay out here?”
    “Alex, you can’t possibly want to say out here? You’ll um. . . catch a cold or something.” Dan came closer to wipe away the rain for her eyes, but they were really tears. She hadn’t realized she was crying, she hardly cried. Dan thought it was a sign of weakness so she never cried in front of him. Another reason to be thankful for the rain. Thinking about Michel was the only thing that made her cry.
    “Please come in.” Dan quietly pleaded.
    “Fine I’ll go in.”
    Dan and Alex walked to the bar in silence. Inside it smelled of smoke and alcohol, as Alex had expected. Though, awkwardly the smell reminded Alex of her mother. Dan would always be drinking alcohol and smoking when he was in a fight with mom. Alex and Michel’s mom had left them when Alex was around ten years old. She and Dan had been fighting a lot more than usual before she left. Because her mom left, Alex always felt that she wasn’t good enough of her mother. Dan didn’t have to tell Alex why her mom left she knew it was because he was an alcoholic.
    The same over weight man was now behind the bar and Dan sat in front of him with Alex following and sitting next to Dan. For the first time Alex could see the tag on his shirt that indicated his name was Buddy. Alex tried to hold in her laughter but she always thought that name sounded fake as if it was just a nickname and not a real name.
    “What can I get you?” He said it in an irritated voice.
    Alex figured he was still mad that he hadn’t won the battle of letting her inside. She wondered what Dan said or did to make him agree to let her in, but she guessed Dan had persuaded him it was only a one time thing and that it would never happen again.
    “I’ll have a Bud Light.” Dan said, not noticing the irritation in Buddy’s voice.
    Dan waited in silence as Buddy went to a small cooler, brought back a bottle of Bud Light, and a glass half full of ice. Dan took the can and poured into the glass. He wasn’t talking and Alex knew not to bother him while he was drinking. Buddy was drying glasses with a small red, white and blue rag.
    “Yo!” Alex waved her hands in front of Buddy’s face. “Can I get a some peanuts, Buddy. She emphasized his name and he must have noticed because he glared at her has he slide the bowl of peanuts in her direction. She just smiled innocently grabbing a handful of peanuts and popping them into her mouth one by one.