“You have balls for a woman, you know that?  Big as brass ones chica.  You tell Juan if he messes with my sister again I’m going to ***** him up and then I’m going to ***** up this little one then I’m coming after you Picaro.  I don’t care how good you were when you were Loca, I’ll take you down.”  He pushed Auggie towards Ro, he stumbled and Ro picked him up.  She straightened and nodded to Mario.

            “Your brother Roberto?”  Rosita said and he gritted his teeth Roberto had run this gang when she’d been with the Loca’s.

            “Yeah?”  He spat and she smiled.

            “He’s a good man, tell him Rosita said hello when you can.”  He nodded and she turned and walked away at the sidewalk she turned and said.  “Respect has been earned, and by the way Mario, I’m not Picardo anymore, she’s dead.” 

******

            Tina stomped into the house she was hit with the malodor of something, oh god what had Bette been doing, science experiments?  She felt her eyes watering and she walked to the bedroom.  She kicked aside empty cartons of half eaten food as she walked through the house.

            “Bette?”  She said and Bette laughed ruefully, turning onto her back and seeing Tina.  She was still on the bed, the bottle at her fingertips.  There was dried blood on her hand and Tina wonder how she’d hurt herself, but then she looked around, thinking it might not have been that difficult at all.  The place was a shambles. 

            “Oh for gods sake now what?  You going to tell me how I fucked up again?  Huh?  I know that already you keep telling me!”  Tina narrowed her eyes, what was Bette talking about? 

            “Bette what the ***** are you doing to yourself?”  Tina asked grabbing the bottle of booze and throwing it across the room, it shattered into fragments as it struck the wall.  She saw how bad Bette looked.  She’d lost at least 20lbs, if not more.  She was a shadow of the woman she’d once loved.

            Once.

            “Only thing I am any good at any more ***** up.”  Bette said her words slurred as she sat on the edge of the bed and Tina turned her head to the side.  The smell was Bette, she stank to high heaven.  Between the rotting food and Bette‘s smell, she didn’t quite know what was worse, Tina‘s stomach heaved as she shook her head and was about to bellow at her once wife but she didn’t.