Dimitris

September 28
All this time, I had been beside the brother of the child who saved my life. All this time, Dimitris had been next to the person who carries a part of his brother within her. The very part that keeps me alive.
...
Since my car accident—yet another one to add to the list—I had no real need to go to the arena, given that I certainly wouldn't be able to ride after fracturing two ribs and my forearm. It was the worst time in my life to be incapacitated in that way, yet I still went to the arena every night. Although, by now, I didn’t need to arrive at the start of the competitions.
That day, it was already past two in the morning when I got there. I had gone after waking up again in a place I didn’t even know how I had ended up in, a house where a party was going on. I had fallen asleep in an office with about five other people, surrounded by drugs and empty bottles.
I was never a model of sobriety. But in recent days, I felt like I was sinking even deeper into the pit I had dug for myself. I had even been breaking the promise I made to Iris to pick her up and drop her off at school and dance class twice a week. Simply because I was ashamed of being seen by her in the state I was in.
Shame and fear. After crashing my car like that, I realized how much I represented a danger in her life.
As soon as I arrived at the arena, I was met with the boos and laughter of the audience at the current performance. Looking at the performer, I understood why.
The guy was somewhat... limited, to say the least. The most ‘radical’ thing he did was pop a wheelie, like any kid showing off on the street. Not here, where it was a place for professionals.
Still, I knew that now and then, some beginner entered the competitions. These people usually paid a hefty sum for it, and we allowed them to feel like a part of the Free Bird for a while. The norm was that, after a few weeks or even just days, they themselves grew tired of being seen as fools by the audience and ended up quitting and leaving.
I went to the backstage area. Sitting around a table were five members of the Free Bird, including Heber and Zoe. They were laughing about something, but stopped as soon as they saw me.
Zoe stood up and came over to me.
“Hey, when do you think you'll be able to use your arm again?”
And she was one of the people who called themselves my ‘friend,’ along with Heber, who didn’t even ask me that.

Well, who could blame him? His face was still completely bruised from the beating I gave him days before. It was natural for him to hate me at that moment.
Anyway, I was the best competitor on the team, so my usefulness was limited to putting on the show the audience expected and stirring up the betting circuit even more. Nothing more.
Not that I expected or sought any depth in my relationships. Maybe the closest thing I had to a friend in adulthood had been Aris. And, in childhood, my brother.
I shook my head slightly, not allowing myself to think about either of them.
“Maybe in about ten days,” I replied.
“Better than nothing. Until then, let’s entertain the audience with these clueless newcomers.”
I looked back at the guy performing just as he skidded and took a spill. The audience was once again divided between boos and laughter.
Then, the rider got up and took off his helmet.
That’s when I recognized him.
“What the hell is this?” I said, furious. “What’s that kid doing here?”
This time, I spoke loudly enough to prompt Heber to stand up and come over to me.
“What’s the problem, Dimitris?”
“The problem is right there. Do I need to draw a picture?” I pointed to the kid, awkwardly trying to retrieve his bike to leave the center of the arena since his performance time had ended.
And he was really just a kid. The kid who worked at the reception of Iris’s dance school.
“Do you know who he is?” Heber asked.
“I do. He’s a kid still in high school.”
“He’s from the Magalos family.”
“I don’t care which family he’s from. We don’t accept minors here.”
“All rules are flexible in a business like ours, Dimitris. The kid offered an irresistible sum to get in.”
I never wanted Free Bird to be just ‘a business.’ To me, it was a form of liberation through risk. Of course, the opportunity to make money in the process was welcome, but it was supposed to be a bonus, not the priority.
“You can’t decide something like this without consulting me.”
Zoe spoke up:
“Consult you? I thought decisions were made by the three of us. And if two of us agree on something, your vote would be irrelevant.”
“I’m the one who created this damn thing. And I’m the main attraction, you know that. Free Bird wouldn’t exist without me, so yes, my vote is very relevant. Especially on a decision of this level.”
“You know what, Dimitris?” Heber asked, furious. “You can go to hell. You’re not the guy we used to know. The old Dimitris wouldn’t even hesitate before accepting a competitor who offered good money and entertainment for the audience.”
“The old Dimitris was a piece of shit. But I always made it clear that minors are not accepted. Under any circumstances. You know well the trouble this could cause us. Especially being a kid from a high-profile family. Or do you think his grandmother knows and approves of what he’s doing?”
“So you admit there was an old Dimitris?” Zoe asked. “Admit you’re someone else since you got involved with that...”

“Shut the hell up, Zoe,” I snapped before she dared to insult Aris. “I’m not involved with anyone, so stop trying to find someone to blame for a change that doesn’t even exist. The issue here is: either that kid leaves, or I do.”
Zoe’s expression changed, showing shock. Heber, on the other hand, reacted with such ease that I could bet he had been waiting for me to say that for a long time.
“Fine. You know where the exit is.”
“Heber!” Zoe protested. “We don’t need to go that far. The idea of Free Bird came from Dimitris. He chose the name.”
“The name and everything else,” Heber continued. “He’s always acted like he owned everything. But I’m not going to lower myself to that anymore. Besides... I always thought that name was kind of crap. We can come up with a much better one.”
“You can’t be serious...” Zoe looked at me. “You’re not thinking clearly, Dimitris. Your eyes are blazing, and it’s obvious you’re high as a kite. Let’s talk about this when everyone’s calmer and you’re less stoned.”
“There’s nothing to think about or discuss,” I declared. I pointed to Leon, who was finally managing to get out of the center of the arena. “I don’t agree with this. And if you’re so insistent on this crap, don’t count on me as an accomplice.”
With that, I turned and walked away, ignoring Zoe’s cries as she called my name.
Once outside the arena, I sat on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette in the hope that it might calm me down a bit. By the time I finished it, I realized it hadn’t helped at all.
I took a bottle of pills from my jacket pocket, tipped a few into my mouth, and swallowed them. After putting the bottle back, I lit another cigarette.
I was halfway through it when I spotted—and recognized—a car stopping right in front of me, across the street. The driver’s side door opened, and Aris stepped out, pausing for a moment to look at me.
What was she doing here?