Chapter One: Learning What It Means To Be a Darley

Lyric tossed the wad of green bills onto the table in front of her boss, and muttered, "That's my night." The man looked up at her from his beer. She shrugged and motioned for him to count it. Setting down the beer on the table of the booth, he picked up the wad from off the red plastic table top, and quickly shuffled through it. Lyric gave her boss a once over for the billionth time in her two years of working for him. He kept his light brown hair shaved, a short kept mustache, a soul patch thing and a little beard on his chin kind of. The coal black ink of the tribal tattoo climbing his neck against his pale skin made it all the more menacing. She couldn't believe that she was stuck working for Billy Darley of all the people to be stuck working for. Her parents would have a coronary if they knew she was working for the king of thugs. Hell, she nearly did when she found out that her brother was into drugs, and building a debt the size of China. That was why she was working for this killer. She hated her fraternal twin brother Brendan most of the time, she thought he was so full of it, and a pain in her drop dead gorgeous ass, but she loved her mom and younger brother, Lucas, and occasionally Brendan and her dad. And she would protect them from the Darley's wrath no matter what the cost.

Billy's voice rang out, "This is it?" Lyric gave one nod, refusing to talk more than she had to around the oldest Darley son just because she knew it drove him crazy. The brunette haired girl caught him giving her a glance over and she smirked to herself. She knew she was hot, and she flaunted it whenever she got the chance. Finally, Billy sighed and said, "Sit down." If it had been eighteen months before, Lyric would have slugged him in the jaw right there and then. But she had learned what happens when you did that, and that was why she slouched in her place in the booth of Four Roses. She yawned to show her boredom and disinterest but kept her eyes on the boss. He took another swig of his beer, then called out to the waitress passing, "Can we get a round of JD here?" The blond gave a flirty look and nodded. As Lyric rolled her eyes, Billy sat up more, and commented, "It's a shame your seventeen, kid." Her cerulean eyes glimmered at the knowledge she had turned eighteen three nights ago, but she kept her mouth shut, already aware of what Billy meant by his crude remark. As the trashy blond brought over the drinks she paused at Lyric and asked, "Are you even legal?" Billy chuckled in amusement at what he thought was the answer to that question, but Lyric answered coolly and smoothly, "Eighteen. Since they're drinking, I'll pass. And you might wanna go dye your roots, because they're showing."

The faux blonde's jaw dropped, and Lyric smirked in triumph as the waitress stormed away. Billy slid a glass to her, and toasted, "To the new girl- I mean woman." Lyric internally groaned as she knew the remarks coming, and just sat there ready to bear it. Bodie corrected, "Hey, she's no woman till she's fucked with a real man." Lyric downed her shot without flinching, grabbed Heco's, who was sitting next to her, downed that with a straight face, then retorted, "So that knocks all you losers out of the picture." They fell into silence, and Lyric watched as Billy turned red. The pale girl stood up told her boss, "I gotta go. Call if you fuckers get so god damn drunk you can't drive. I'd hate to see those beautiful Mustangs dented." With that, Lyric grabbed Billy's shot and downed it just as fast as the two before, and headed for and out the door before she had to see Billy's reaction to her stealing his drink and insulting him. She climbed in her own Mustang that she had been forced to take to Bones' Body shop to get the tribal sign done on the front of the car like the other two Mustangs that belonged to the gang. But the design wasn't half bad, and when her parents had asked, she told them it was just a whim, and Brendan had nearly passed out. Lyric flipped on the radio and started signing to 'Getting Away With Murder' by Papa Roach.

Her headache was fading as she put distance between herself and the Four Roses bar. She was about a half an hour from home, which was just another pain for her, and yet another thing she hated Brendan for. Lyric went silent at the thought of her twin sibling. He was the family Golden Boy, and that just made it all the harder for her to gain her father's attention, but she still managed to. Grabbing her phone, she dialed the familiar number of her father, and listened to it ring, until he picked up, yelling at her frantically, "Lyric where are you?" The sound of her father's voice comforted her, and she told him smoothly, "I'm heading home right now, Daddy. I was getting Luke's birthday present. I've been driving for hours looking for a place that had it." She could hear her mom asking her dad what Lyric was saying, and Lucas asking if she was still in one piece. Finally her father said tiredly, "Well, just get home soon. We've been worried sick about you sweet heart. Is Brendan with you too?" A frown crawled to Lyric's pretty face and she replied slowly, "No, he said his friend Mi- dammit, I know where he is. I'm going to grab him right now. Be home in an hour or so." With that, Lyric hung up and tossed her phone in the passenger's seat. She couldn't believe that she had been so stupid and simply taken the 'Mike's giving me a lift home today' excuse without even thinking that Mike was the one who drove her tweak of a brother to get his drugs.

Lyric made a sharp turn and sped up, heading back toward the corner she knew Heco worked. It was twenty minutes before the pale eighteen year old pulled up alongside her brother, who looked completely out of place in the projects of Boston. Rolling down the window of the passenger side, she barked at him, "Get in the car, ice head! Now!" Brendan Hume jumped in surprise but stuttered, "I-I'm supposed to pay a guy." In annoyance, she yelled, "Give it to me! I'll pay your damn drug dealer. I know where the fucker is right now anyway." Brendan looked like a whipped dog, and climbed into the car, handing his sister her phone, which she snatched from him harshly, acting more like the Lyric Hume the streets of Boston knew rather than the gentle and sweet Lyric her family knew. The instant Brendan closed the door of her car, she peeled out, and headed toward the bar she had just left. The brother and sister sat in silence, until the dark brown haired hockey player asked, "How'd you know?" For a moment, Lyric softened up, and she told him, "I'm your twin sister, you dummy. Anyway, I'll go pay your dealer for you. You stay in the car. You do not touch anything in my car, got it?" As she pulled up illegally in front of the bar, Brendan held up a few bills folded neatly, and she grabbed it from him quickly, and then slammed her door closed as she got out. Taking a deep breath, Lyric walked back into Four Roses and easily spotted her boss and his cronies.

Billy looked over at her and all the talking between the gang ceased. Tossing the folded bills down at no one in particular, she said dryly, "From my brother." Billy grabbed it and counted then said, "Whatever. Sit down. Now." Lyric looked back at the door and defied Billy, "I have something I have to do." Lyric backed up a couple inches, but Billy stood up and grabbed her by her shoulder, growling, "Sit your ass down." As she looked around and saw that Billy's boys were waiting for her to make a wrong move, she figured she had no choice, and took a seat next to Heco again. Billy slouched in his seat and took the final sip of his beer, and finally told Lyric, "You've proved your good, kid. You bring in cash, weapons, and you know how to make a deal, whatever we tell you to. You're smart for eighteen." Lyric did not like where the conversation was going, and her eyes kept shifting to the door. Billy seemed to notice, but ignored it and continued, "Now, we don't usually do this, but we're offering you an in. No blood required." It stunned Lyric, that the toughest, most powerful gang in Boston was offering her a position without having to kill first. Glancing at the clock, Lyric stood up and said quickly, "Alright, I'm in." And with that, Lyric practically sprinted out of the bar and quickly slid into the driver's seat in her car, and left as quickly as she could. Brendan looked over at her and asked, "What has you so spooked?"

Lyric reached over and smacked Brendan in the arm, and yelled, "Shut up, Brendan!" Of course, her brother was stupid and pushed, "Did some guy hit on you or something, Ms. Prude?" Lyric screamed over her music, "Shut the fuck up Brendan! I get more action than you wish you could get!" Brendan scoffed and told her arrogantly, "Great, I have a slut for a sister." She slammed on the breaks and turned to her fraternal twin brother, then hissed at him, "I'm not a slut, you fucking meth head!" Gripping the steering wheel, she gave him a look that could kill even Billy Darley. Brendan gulped and Lyric hit the gas again, focusing on what was ahead of her. For the next half hour, the ride was completely silent, no radio or speaking. Just as Lyric was turning into her street, her phone began blaring 'Pain' by Three Days Grace, telling her that Billy was calling. Snatching the sleek phone out of her pocket she hit 'answer' and snapped, "What do you want now?" There was yelling and boisterous laughing in the back, but she could clearly hear him telling her, "Meet me at Four Roses tomorrow at eight AM. You're getting promoted from the street collections, kid." Scoffing, Lyric asked him, "What, now am I just collecting in the bar?" She knew she had stepped out of line when Billy yelled at her, "Just be here!" The line went dead and Lyric started swearing under her breath, shoving the phone back into her jacket pocket.

To put her mind at ease, Lyric leant over and yanked open her glove compartment, and revealed a sleek metal gun with the black engraving of the tribal mark on her car. Brendan gulped and asked his twin sister unsteadily, "What the hell is that, Lyric?" Jamming the glove compartment closed again, she told him stonily, "Forget it." Brendan frowned, and before he could push it, Lyric added, "You tell, and one of those bullets will end up in your leg." He nodded and went silent as Lyric pulled up opposite the house. They both got out, and Brendan closed his door, then ran across the street and began pounding on the door. Lyric went to her trunk and grabbed out a rectangular box that was wrapped up in an odd design, and jogged over to her house just as her mom was opening the door. She hugged Brendan and tried hugging Lyric best she could and asked them, "Where were you two?" Lyric answered first, "I was getting this," she motioned toward the box, "and getting off work for today. But I have to work tomorrow."

Lyric didn't wait to hear her brother's response, and strode into the kitchen where her dad and brother were seated at the island. Luke saw her first and she gave him a winning smile and half sung, "Happy birthday to you, we live in a zoo! Brendan looks like a monkey, and smells like one too!" Her dad gave her a disapproving look which she ignored and placed the big box in front of her little brother, gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, then rested her forehead on his and told him, "Love you Lucas." Lyric ruffled his hair a little, smiling and as her mom and brother walked in and the brunette dug into her pocket, then pulled out several big bills that were folded in half, held together by a green ribbon, and placed it in the fifteen year olds hand and said kindly, "Have fun with this, ya?" Lucas' eyes went and he gave his sister a huge hug and repeated, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lyric laughed a bit and responded, "Your welcome, Lucas." Her dad raised his eyebrows and asked her, "How'd you get all that?" Glancing over at him, she just shrugged and said, "Work. I do have a job unlike Brendan you know." Before she could say of hear anything else, her phone began blaring 'Pain' again, and she groaned and muttered, "Hold on."

Lyric stepped outside and answered, "Can this wait? I'm in the middle of something." She was shifting on her feet, and glanced back through the window of the back door, seeing her parents and brothers talking, her dad occasionally looking over at her. Billy shot back, "Too damn bad. Time for you to learn what it means to be a Darley!" Lyric growled, "I never said I wanted to be a Darley. I'm stuck with you and your damn gang because my brother is a fucking meth head like Heco." The young woman was shocked to hear Billy laugh at her comment and he just told her, "Meet us at my apartment. Wear something that shows skin." A group of men's laughter broke out before the line cut off and Lyric stomped her foot like a two year old and shoved the phone back in her pocket, slamming the door behind her and ignoring her family as she jogged up the stairs, and into her room. She yanked out the drawer with her camisoles and bras, deciding on a lacy black bra that would drive any guy insane if he got the chance to see, and tossed the garment onto her partially made bed. She elbowed the drawer closed, then dropped into a crouching position, and pulled out the drawer that had all of her pants and shorts. Lyric was all for flaunting her body and then rubbing in Darley's face that he could look but not touch, but she was worried that Billy would prove he was stronger than her.

But there must have been a reason he said what he did, and so she grabbed a pair of cut off denim shorts and tossed them over with her bra. After going through a couple more drawers, Lyric had tossed over a white v-neck t-shirt and a pair of panties that matched her bra. While she was switching her bra, someone knocked on her door, and Brendan walked in. Looking over, she groaned and asked, "What do you want now, tweak?" Brendan tensed visibly but still answered, "Who was that? On the phone, I mean. Who called?" Lyric was thankful that she had already changed panties, and yanked the v-neck over her head, looking in the mirrored closet door and adjusting it a bit, before pulling on the cut offs, and replied, "That was my boss. I have to go to work to pay off your drug debts." Brendan's eyes went wide and he hissed at his twin sister, "You're hooking to pay my debts?" Lyric scoffed and grabbed her leather jacket, telling him honestly, "No you dumb ass. I'm just playing debt collector for the Darley's." Brendan partially blocked her door and said, "I'm not letting you leave." Lyric chuckled and slid past him, leaving her shocked brother in her room. As Lyric trouped down the stairs she detoured into the kitchen.

"Well, my working has been moved to tonight. I'll be home… no idea. But, Luke, I'll make it up to you tomorrow," Lyric said, while grabbing a soda out of the fridge. She then pressed a kiss to her dad's cheek, her mom's, and her little brother's forehead, and then finally yelled behind her as she left, "I love you guys! See you later!"