Chapter 36 - Dorian

When Axel called me to say that he and EVE wouldn't be coming back to the store, I decided to close early. Amelie had always told me that the three of us were responsible for the store, especially when she was away. Of course, if it had been Amelie with Axel, I would have asked beforehand to see if I could, but as it was EVE, it wouldn't have done any good. Anyway, I informed Axel that I would do it, and he agreed. At that time, Lowe's had a slight drop in traffic. Amelie had done this on purpose, precisely because of her issues with EVE. Many changes were made to the store after EVE came along, and the opening hours were one of them.

"Is the job still available?" I said when the phone was answered. While I organized things in the store for closing, I looked ahead to what I would do next. Of course, I was going to feed my addiction to illicit work and hidden smoke. That morning, I'd received a job and delivery offer that I'd turned down because of the store, but now that I'd been free, it seemed like a good idea to chase the loss.

"Hi, Dorian," the supplier said, laughing. "Your whore's got you off work today, is that it?" he asked me. Like every junkie, he thought he was being funny, and he also thought that every woman was a whore. At least, drug dealers like him. Although he wasn't at all wrong when he referred to Amelie as a whore, even if EVE was the real whore.

"Are you available or not?" I asked again while trying not to get angry, still closing up the store. To my misfortune, a group of customers showed up just in time. I'd already dismissed the staff, so there was no way I could attend to them myself. "Hang on, I'll call you back," I said, disconnecting the call.

It took about ten minutes before I managed to convince the group that I was closing the store and that there was no way they could be attended to. I already had a certain amount of experience with customer relations. Working at the checkout gave me a good view of the customers who entered the store, so I could tell exactly who entered the store to look for something to buy, either for themselves or for someone else. I could tell if the person came in with the sole idea of buying something specific, such as groomsmen and bridesmaids or teenagers wanting things for the prom. However, I could also identify those groups who came in with no intention of buying anything. That was the exact reason the group came in, knowing it was closing.

"What's up?" I said this to the supplier after completely closing the store and turning on the main alarms. Amelie had a huge theft complex, even though she paid for every kind of insurance possible and had more than enough money to write it off. In fact, Amelie's whole life was questionable, starting with the fact that she worked as a sales assistant in the store itself.

"It's not; I've passed it on," he replied. It was clear that he already had that answer the first time I called. "But if you want, there are races. There are three going on; do you want them?" he asked me. Racing was both a job and a hobby. There were different types and payments for them. In some cases, we competed against each other, whoever got to the finish line first. In other cases, whoever made the most deliveries in the shortest amount of time won. As for the prizes, sometimes they were cash, and sometimes they were merchandise. Good merchandise. Needless to say, the more complicated it was, the better the prize.

"Where and when?" I asked, wondering. He answered. In a few moments, I finished closing up the store and got into my car. It wouldn't be the first time I'd been in a race, and I had a car for that. Of course, it was discreet and powerful, and it was only used for this. It was kept in a luxury, highly protected garage. I had lost the first version of it in a race when I was still a novice and in my teens. It was at the height of the school gangs. I was an idiot kid and trusted the wrong people.

The racing king was called Stefan, and he had won a good number of underground races. He was already an old man, so he didn't have much left, apart from organizing the races. He had four sons, all men, and all lost in the same shitty world as me. The difference was that they smoked a lot less and focused almost entirely on racing. I knew all of them and had even studied with two of them. Anyway, they took part in the races and even organized them. Of course, other people were helping Stefan, since he didn't have full confidence in his children. Clandestine races weren't always fair. In fact, when I lost my first car, Stefan even tried to circumvent the system, but the rule prohibiting offering one's own car didn't exist yet, so there was nothing I could do. Now, the rules allow only part of the car to be wagered, not the whole thing. Stefan's children preferred the old rules, which is why they hated me. They were sure that the new rule had been created because of me when I cried when I lost the car. I didn't like them either, and I'd already beaten them several times.

"What's the password?" I heard the security guard say as I approached my car. He was another guy who had been working with Stefan for some time. Jay J was his name. A tall guy, about Axel's size, maybe even bigger. He was a good hitter, but no better than me.

"What fucking password, man?" I asked, tapping on the side of the car. "You never needed that," I said. Was it true? What the fuck were they inventing?

"Stefan thought it would be cool to have this system. So what's the password?" he asked again. I said angrily that I didn't need a password, since he'd known me for a long time and I'd taken part in many races. "You haven't run for months," he said, still blocking my passage.

"If you don't let me pass, I'm going to run over you," I said, even angrier. I used to get very anxious about races, but that wasn't all; I was also suffering from withdrawal. If I got in soon, it meant I could smoke soon too. I really needed that. "I'm warning you, Jay J., get out of the way," I warned while showing him the power of the machine. He knew me, and he knew that I was perfectly capable of doing what he was threatening.

"Rules are rules, Dorian," he said, staring at me as if I really wasn't going to do what he was planning. "You require a password, so tell me the password," he said. I got more and more annoyed, and I came to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do.

"You want a password? Here's your password," I said, accelerating the car to full speed. I didn't care; I just wanted to get in. Luckily for Jay J, he was on the side of the car, so he didn't get hit. My car ran hard, and I thanked God that the road was straight, because there was no way I was going to turn that car around. Finally, at the end, I braked. When I got out of the car, Jay J was running towards me. I was sure he was going to hit me, but it wouldn't be too difficult a challenge for me.

"Dorian, Dorian," I heard Stefan's voice calling me. "You haven't been around for a while. I guess you missed something; maybe time?" he asked as he came over to greet me aggressively. I told him what had happened and what I was doing there. "There are a bunch of guys having a nice smoke back there. We've got an hour until the race, so make yourself at home," he said, as Jay J finally appeared at our side.

"Stefan, what's with the password?" I asked, angry. To my surprise, Stefan already knew I was going there and had only made the whole thing up to annoy me and see how powerful my car was. We ended the conversation with him taking my car to the mechanics on duty. All the cars were inspected before the races.

I went behind the groups and found some good weed. It was expensive and I'd already smoked it a few times. I thought about the shit I'd done to Amelie, and I knew it would weigh me down even more than it already was. I shouldn't have had sex with Cindy. It was no big deal, just casual sex, but it would shake up so many things. I could pretend it was almost like what EVE would do, but EVE wasn't Amelie, and even if she was, I'd still be wrong.

So I took the first drag.