Chapter 6

 

I squeezed the blue toy in my hand as I speeded down the road. Tears wouldn’t stop gushing out of my eyes. Fine, I didn’t remember them much, but Uncle Jon and Aunt Rashida were my family, and the Vipers brutally stabbed them to death and left them there to rot.

 

They killed my whole family, and now they were out to kill me!

 

I was angry and heart broken. I didn’t know how to react to what I had just seen. I drove back in the direction of my house. I was tired of hiding from the Vipers. I wanted to find and kill each and every one of them.

 

Cassie was sobbing silently in the back. After what she saw, she was shaken to the core.

 

“Amari, please don’t do this,” she sobs.

 

“Going back won’t fix anything. They’ll kill you.”

 

“Not before I kill them,” I respond firmly.

 

“No. No you won’t kill them Amari. It’s one against a whole gang, armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, and you don’t even have plan. Turn around, get back to school and give yourself some time to breathe and mourn, please.” I stopped the car and rested my head on the steering wheel.

 

“You don’t understand, do you Cassie? Besides Jamila and my mother, I have no one. One day, my mother will be gone too, and then it will be just Jamila and I left in this cruel world. I will be the one responsible for Jamila. How am I expected to give my little sister the life she deserves when we are forced to live in fear? How could so much bad, happen to me, and only me?”

 

I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. I broke down and cried like a little girl. Again, they lied. Real men do cry.

 

Cassie came out and sat in the passenger’s seat. She rubbed my back as I continued to sob. My phone started ringing, but I had no will to answer it. Cassie picked it up from the dashboard and looked at the screen

 

“Summer’s calling,” she says. I took the phone and answered her call, still in tears.

 

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you left your…Mari? Amari are you crying?” Summer asks.

 

“They’re dead Summer,” I sob.

 

“They’re dead and I couldn’t do anything to save them. I failed them!”

 

“I don’t understand Mari. Who’s dead? What’s going on?”

 

I couldn’t answer her. I tried to speak but words failed me. Cassie took the phone back and explained everything to Summer. Cassie then put the phone on speaker for me to hear.

 

“I wish I was there for you Mari. I’m so sorry. Please don’t ever blame yourself for this. You had no idea, okay?” Summer assures me.

 

Summer said she’d give me some space and that I shouldn’t drive in that state. So, I sat in the backseat while Cassie drove usoff. We didn’t say a word to each other, and I ended up falling asleep.

 

I slept for so long that when I woke up, we were already outside my school. I looked around me and saw that it was dark outside. According to my watch, it was 7pm, just in time for dinner. Cassie was silently seated in the driver’s seat.

 

“Uhm… Cassie…” I say tapping her shoulder. She jumps up in her seat, looks at me, and then sighs in relief.

 

“Oh, you’re awake. You kind of gave me a fright there. I thought you were never going to wake up,” she says.

 

“How long have we been here?’ I ask.

 

“Not long, about thirty minutes. I tried waking you up, but you were fast asleep, so I decided to let you rest.”

 

“Oh, well thanks,” I say awkwardly.

 

“I’ll get going now, I’m sure you’re just as tired.”

 

“Nonsense. Look, I heard the dinner here sucks. We could always go get McDonalds or something,” she offers.

 

“No, no. I can’t let you…”

 

“Don’t worry,” she interrupts.

 

“I’m not going to offer to pay for you this time.” I chuckled and got back into the car.

 

“Let’s go then.” The mall was as packed as it always was during the night. Cassie and I sat down with our food and immediately started eating. Both of us were starving.

 

“You know Amari, I’m…I’m sorry about what happened on our way to Detroit. I wasn’t thinking straight, and I really feel bad about betraying Summer like that. Could you ever forgive me?” she asks after a long silence.

 

“I guess I’m in the wrong as well. What happened was a mistake, so I’m sorry as well,” I respond. She smiles and nods her head.

 

“You know, I think Summer’s really lucky to have you, and you’re really lucky to have her too. I hope you guys never let go of one another.”

 

“Me too Cassie, me too.”

 

Cassie dropped me off back at school, where I had to avoid Deshae by every means. I knew he had tons of questions that I was in no state to answer. I went straight to bed and fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.

 

“Wake up Mari, we’ve got a surprise for you,” I hear a voice whisper.

 

I felt tiny hands touching my face….to be specific, they were scratching my face.

 

I opened my eyes while smiling, and Jamila screamed in excitement. She climbed my bed and gave me a tight hug, while screaming my name.

 

“Hey mom,” I say looking at her. She was standing next to my bed smiling. You could tell she was happy to see me. If she was Jamila’s age, she’d be jumping up and down on my bed as well.

 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t make it for your birthday son, but we’re here now to spend the whole day with you,” my mother says.

 

“Can you buy me chocolate Mawi?” Jamila asks, pinching my cheeks. Jamila has got to learn how to be gentle with my face.

 

“Of course, I will Jami,” I say, gently removing her hands.

 

Jamila continued jumping on my bed while my mother and I caught up with each other. Of course, the first thing she asked me was if I had seen any Vipers. I told her I hadn’t, allowing her to be calm again. She also asked if I had found a girlfriend, but I chose to ignore that question. We spoke about school, her job, and her second greatest fear after losing me: sending Jamila to school for the first time. Jamila would be turning 7 the following year, meaning she’d be attending primary school. Now, not only would my mother have to worry about one child, she’d have to worry about two. The worst part about it was that Jamila was still very young. She wouldn’t know a Viper even if one walked right next to her. She wasn’t even capable of defending herself. My mother tried to find a teacher to home-school her, but she found none.

 

Later on, we went for lunch and did some shopping. Summer had already bought me tons of clothes that week after my birthday. After shopping with my mom, I now had enough clothes to last me years.

 

Jamila got a fair share of clothes as well, and a ridiculous amount of chocolates from the candy store. Last borns always get their way. We were on our way back to my school when I decided to ask my mother the question I hadbeen dying to ask her the whole day.

 

“Mom, when last did you see Uncle Jon?”

 

She looks at me suspiciously then shrugs.

 

“It’s been quiet some time, Mari. I last saw him and Aunt Rashida when your father was still alive. We’d visit them all the time.”

 

“Why’d you stop?” I ask.

 

“Stop what? Amari, where is this going?”

 

“Why’d you stop visiting them? I mean, you are their late brother’s wife. You should at least check up on them.”

 

“Mari, you know I can’t do that. Ever since your grandfather killed your father, they hate our whole family, including me,” she says.

 

“That man is not my grandfather,” I argue.

 

“And Uncle Jon would never harm you, not when he knows that you’re the one looking after his nephew and niece. He loved us, and Aunt Rashida did too.” I looked out of the window with tears forming in my eyes.

 

“Mari, what would make you think they don’t love you anymore?” my mother asks concerned. I wanted to tell my mother about what I saw at Uncle Jon’s house. I wanted to tell her that they were no more because the Vipers killed them. But I couldn’t. If my mother ever found out that I was in Detroit, she’d send me away to a school even further away.

 

“Nothing,” I shrug.

 

“I just think it’s wrong for you to shut out Uncle Jon and Aunt Rashida like that.” My mother didn’t respond.

 

She continued to drive while we both sat in silence. Jamila was too busy eating chocolate to even listen to our conversation. My mother and Jamila gave me long, warm hugs with tears in their eyes before leaving again. They would have stayed if my mother didn’t have to get to work the following day.

 

On my way to my room, I saw Deshae walking from his room towards me. I walked faster and pretended like I didn’t hear him calling my name. He eventually started running and before I knew it, he was right in front of me with his hand in my face. “Were you ignoring me?” he asks. Duh, of course I was.

 

“No why would I do that?” I ask folding my arms.

 

“I don’t know maybe because you don’t want to answer all the questions I have,” he shrugs. I knew he had questions.

 

“Questions? How was I supposed to know you had questions? I didn’t know you had questions,” I say sarcastically. He stares at me suspiciously and then nods slowly.

 

“Fine, I’ll take your word for it now. But next time, you should know that I always have questions, about everything!”

 

“Of course, you do Deshae.”

 

“You know it! Now, I’m gonna go take a shower and when I come back, you better be ready to answer me,” he says walking back.

 

“Deshae, it’s almost dinner time and you still haven’t showered? Well that explains why this place stinks” I say covering my nose. Deshaepicks up a stone and throws it at me.

 

“Ow! That actually hurt!” I yell. He laughs hysterically and runs back to his room. You know those types of friends whose laughs are funnier than the actual joke? Yep, that was Deshae. His laugh was somewhere between the laugh of a hyena and a snorting pig. I walked back to the room shaking my head and laughing as well. Kevin wasn’t in the room. He was probably out swimming or already having dinner. I laid on my bed and called Summer. I hadn’t spoken to her since she heard about my uncle and aunt.

 

“I’ve been waiting for you to call,” she says after picking up.

 

“You could’ve just called first you know,” I chuckle.

 

“I didn’t want to disturb you. I wanted you to mourn peacefully.”

 

“Mourning? Well, I haven’t really done much of that. I don’t know how to feel Summer. The memories I have with them are from so far back, that I feel like I have no right to mourn them. They didn’t even get a decent funeral.”

 

“It sounds like you’re still blaming yourself for this,” Summer says.

 

“I don’t know who else to blame, okay? I should’ve known something was wrong. I hadn’t seen them for years, or even spoken to them over the phone. Uncle Jon would never go a week without seeing or talking to me.”

 

“You were only 6 when all of this happened Mari. You were too young to figure it all out.”

 

“I guess you’re right,” I sighed.

 

“I just wish I could get the image of their lifeless skeletons out of my head. There’s nothing left of them Summer, and there’s nothing left of all the moments we shared. Except, of course for this toy I took from the house.” I fiddled with the toy in my hand. It held a lot of value to me…a lot of memories.

 

“Well, then if that toy car is all you have to hold onto, hold onto it tight,” she says. I smiled as I felt calmer and happier. That’s just what Summer did to me. She had a way of making life seem easier and way less stressful.

 

“Is your dad back home?” I ask breaking the silence.

 

“My dad, huh? That’s actually a funny story. He…”

 

“I’m back and I want answers!” Deshae yells, interrupting Summer and barging into the room.

 

“Deshae, not now man. Could you come back after an hour maybe? I’m sure the questions can wait.”

 

“Wrong! The questions can’t wait, and neither can I!” He marches over to my bed and swipes my phone out of my hand.

 

“Hello, I believe I’m speaking to Amari’s girlfriend who I am so glad I finally get to speak to. Unfortunately,” this conversation will have to end because Amari has tea to spill.”

 

“Tea? Bro, why are you calling it tea?” I ask.

 

“Isn’t that what girls call it?”

 

“Exactly! Only girls,” I say disappointed.

 

For a moment there, I thought Deshae was dropping a few signs that he wasn’t straight. It was something I had been suspecting for a very long time, especially after he wore a skirt on the school’s opposite day. Others saw it as him just carrying out the opposite day tradition, but me, I saw it as more than that. “Deshae, all I’m asking for is 5 minutes,” I beg.

 

“It’s okay Mari, I’ll call you back in the morning,” Summer says.

 

After that, Summer hung up. I looked up at the now smiling and satisfied Deshae.

 

“Tell me what you want to know so that I can have my peace,” I say slowly.

 

“You slept with her, didn’t you?” he asks immediately.

 

“Who? Summer? No! Both of us are not ready for that,” I respond quickly.

 

“I’m talking about Cassie, you idiot. Of course,Summer isn’t ready for that, but you my friend…” He raises his one eyebrow and shakes his head side to side.

 

“I’ve seen the way you look at Cassie. It may not be what you feel for Summer, but you definitely feel something for her.”

 

“I don’t, okay? In fact, I have no idea what you are talking about. Cassie and I made it very clear yesterday that she and I are just friends,” I convince him.

 

“Oh, is that so? I wonder why it was so necessary for you to make that clear since you said that you’ve always been just friends,” he says suspiciously. He glares at me waiting for me to admit what I was hiding.

 

“It was just one kiss, and it didn’t even last that long,” I finally say. Deshae jumps up and runs around the room with his hands in the air. He yells in victory and repeats the words:

 

“That’s my boy, that’s my boy!” This is exactly why I wouldn’t consider Deshae as a supportive friend, or at least not one who supports the right things. This is the moment he’s been waiting for, it’s exactly what he’s been wanting to hear me say.

 

“Deshae, I cheated on my girl with her best friend! This is not the time to celebrate!”

 

“What do you mean it’s not the time to celebrate? You finally hooked up with the hottest girl on the planet! You’re definitely still seeing her,” he chuckles while throwing himself on the bed, breathing heavily.

 

“No, I am not. Cassie and I cleared the air and it’s official, nothing is and ever will happen between us,” I say confidently. Deshae laughs and shakes his head.

 

“What are you laughing?” I ask him. “Is that what she said?” he asks.

 

“Did she say that you guys are and always will be friends? Or is that just an assumption you’re making to make yourself feel better?”

 

“She didn’t have to say it!” I defend.

 

“She implied it when she said that I’m lucky to have Summer, and Summer’s lucky to have me.”

 

“Oh please, she obviously said that because she likes you. It’s just like when a girl claims that some couple is her favourite couple. She only says that because she likes the guy. Same with you and Cassie. Cassie only said Summer is lucky to have you because she’d also feel lucky if she had you.” I glared at Deshae with a million thoughts running through my mind. I chuckled and shook my head.

 

“You know what, I don’t have time for this.” I stood up, opened the door, and pointed outside.

 

“Leave, and don’t come back until I say you can.”

 

“What? Why? Because I’m sitting here telling you the truth that you can’t handle?” he asks laughing.

 

“No, because you clearly don’t respect my relationship with Summer.”

 

“Says the guy who cheated on her,” he murmurs. After that, I lost it. I marched towards Deshae in anger and pinned him to the wall. He doesn’t fight me, instead he glares right into my eyes.

 

“What did you just say?” I ask in a threatening tone.

 

“I said, you pretend like you care about Summer when really you don’t. You’re fooling around with her best friend and then you get mad at me for saying it out loud.”

 

“You know what, it’s your fault I kissed Cassie,” I say. He chuckles in disbelief.

 

“You heard me. A day never went by without you convincing me to go for her, what were you expecting me to do? You’re acting like I’m the one at fault when really all of this is on you for planting the idea in my mind.” Deshae pushes me off and pats away the wrinkles formed on his t-shirt.

 

“Look man, I’m not going to do this with you. If you’re gonna use those dumb jokes I made about you and Cassie as an excuse for cheating on Summer, clearly you’re more messed up than I thought.” After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the room.

 

“Yeah, well you’re just as messed up Deshae! I don’t need you anyway so keep walking!” I yell from the door.

 

I slammed my door and went into my blankets. I wasn’t sad. Heck, I had every reason to celebrate. I had just lost one of the negative influences in my life, and life was going to be so much more peaceful without him. Well, at least that’s what I thought three weeks ago. Let’s fast forward to three weeks after Deshae and I had our argument… I had no friends. Sure, Kevin and I would talk but that only happened when he wasn’t with his girlfriend.

 

Yep, Kevin had a girlfriend, who I discovered after I realized he was going to the “lake” more often than usual.

Turns out, most of his visits to the lake, were actually trips to his girlfriend, Ayesha. I had met her a few times when she visited Kevin.

 

On days when Ayesha was around, I’d have to leave the room to study in the library or keep myself entertained somehow. Those are the days that I would wish Deshae and I never fought in the first place. He was annoying, but he was my friend. I now had to eat those saltless, rubbery veggies at school for supper, because the thought of getting dinner alone at the mall was not something I was open to. Deshae was scarce most of the days. I’d only ever see him later during the day, bringing different girls into his room every night.

 

I was worried about his health, but I wasn’t going to tell him that anytime soon. If he wanted to sleep with a million girls during the course of one week, there was really nothing I could do about it. I had become lonely. Some nights I’d cry endlessly over my late uncle and aunt. I’d call Summer, but sometimes her voice wasn’t enough to comfort me. That is how I’ve found myself in the situation that I’m in right now.

 

Laying completely naked with Cassie next to me under the sheets of her bed. It was nothing new, it had started the week after Deshae and I fought. I was a complete mess. I broke a few plates and broke the leg of my bed while trying to release my anger that day. Nothing was working. I kept on going back to that dark and lonely place where all I could do was cry. So, I called Cassie. Look, I…I considered calling Summer first, ‘;but I needed more than a soothing voice and sweet words that night. I needed someone to be with me, not just mentally, but physically too. She was my last resort.

 

Cassie came as soon as she heard my voice break over the phone. We sat in her car as I cried my sorrows away. She whispered all types of things into my ear, but the one thing that caught my attention was when she said, “My mom’s not home until tomorrow. You could always spend the night at my place.” My emotions got the best of me, and I agreed to her suggestion.

 

I was weak and vulnerable, and I guess I still am now. We got to her house and before we knew it, we were already kissing. One thing lead to another, and here we are now, spending every single day that we can spend together under her sheets.

 

“Cassie, what are we doing?” I ask, staring at the black ceiling above us.

 

“Not this again Amari,” she says turning her back towards me.

 

“No, I…I just wanna know what exactly this is. I mean, is it a no string attached type of relationship, or do you actually feel something for me?” I ask. She turns around and looks into my eyes before responding.

 

“Would I have drove in the middle of the night to make you feel better if I didn’t feel anything for you? Would I let you into my room, let alone my mother’s house if I didn’t feel anything for you? Isn’t it quite obvious that I’m actually serious about you?” I glare at her amazed. I was honestly expecting her to tell me that there were no strings attached, but it was nothing like that. She was falling for me, and clearly, she was falling hard. It was all strings attached.

 

“Do…Do you not feel the same way about me Amari?” she asks with a pained voice.

 

“No, no, it’s just, I’m with Summer and…”

 

“Then why are you here!? You’re clearly just using me because Summer isn’t here!” she yells with tears forming in her eyes. I pulled her to my chest and wiped her tears.

 

“You know that’s not true. I do feel something for you. Let’s just take it slow, okay?” She nods and I sigh out in relief. I wasn’t even sure if I meant everything I had just said. Did I feel something for Cassie? Or was I letting my loneliness get the best of my emotions. I mean, that happens, doesn’t it? We make permanent decisions out of temporary feelings. We think we want something, or in this case someone, when really, we don’t. We let what we feel at that specific moment change our whole perspective…of EVERYTHING. My phone vibrated on the side desk, disturbing my peace with Cassie. I looked at it and saw Summer’s beautiful, innocent face on the screen. I looked at Cassie who was comfortably laying in my arms, then back at Summer’s picture. I had become a monster.

 

“Uhm, I need to take this,” I say while gently pushing Cassie off me. I wrapped my robe around my body. I kept my robe and some of my bathing essentials in Cassie’s house for times when I’d sleep over.

 

“Don’t be too long,” she says as I walk out of the room. I sat in the toilet and called Summer back. She replied almost immediately.

 

“Hey babe. It’s almost midnight and you haven’t called yet. I was just checking to see if you were okay,” she says. I cleared my throat and began to speak softly.

 

“Yeah, uhm I just got up. I had a really long day and I found myself drifting off to sleep before calling you,” I lie.

 

“Oh, poor thing. What’s got you so tired? Busy day, huh? I wanna hear all about it. What did you do today?” she asks. I struggled to answer her, because I couldn’t come up with a lie fast enough. What I really did was spend my whole day with Cassie.

 

“Oh, I just went to the lake for a quick swim, did some grocery shopping with Deshae…nothing much really.”

 

“Deshae? Didn’t you guys argue over a piece of chicken or something?” she asks curiously. Forgetting a lie you told is the worst situation to ever find yourself in. Now, I had to come up with another lie, to cover up my first lie.

 

“Oh yeah, that. We sorted out that whole issue yesterday. We’re cool now,” I say calmly.

 

“That’s great!” she exclaims. “I mean, I do find it hard to believe that you actually apologised for taking his chicken, but I’ll take your word for it.”

 

“What that supposed to mean? You don’t think I’m civil enough to apologise first?” I ask feeling offended.

 

“Not after what happened last week I don’t.”

 

“Oh, come on Summer, not this again.” I really wasn’t in the mood to argue with Summer over something we had supposedly sorted out a week ago.

 

What had happened created a huge argument between the two of us. I didn’t call her for two days because I was with Cassie. Obviously, I couldn’t tell her that, so I lied, again. I told her that I was with Kevin at a book fare which lasted from morning till midnight. It took so long that when I got back to school, I slept for the whole day with my phone dead. She believed my lie, and everything was perfect between us, until Kevin posted a picture of what he was actually doing on that day on his Instagram.

 

Now, my lie didn’t correspond with Kevin’s “at the mall with my girlfriend” post, and Summer was mad at me all over again. She asked me why I lied, and what I was hiding, but I couldn’t answer her. I was out of lies and I began to fear that Summer would put everything together and find out I was cheating on her. But she didn’t. She simply hung upon me and didn’t speak to me for another two days. I called her a thousand times to apologise, but she never picked up. So, it’s not that I didn’t want to apologise, she just wasn’t willing to hear it. On the second day of ignoring me, she finally picked up and forgave me after I apologised. She didn’t bother asking what I was hiding anymore, all she said was:

 

“I hope you’re not hiding anything Amari, and if you are, I hope it’s nothing that you know would hurt me.”

 

Yet there I was, in Cassie’s house doing exactly what I know would hurt her: cheating on her with her “best friend.” I don’t know what I was thinking. I wanted to leave Cassie, I really did, but the more I thought of being alone, the more I felt the need to stay.

 

“Summer I did want to apologise to you, okay. You’re the one who ignored my calls for two days,” I say.

 

“Oh, so you’re putting the blame on me now? What did you expect me to do Amari? Act like everything’s rosy after you lied to me?!” She was beginning to get upset. I could her it through her breaking voice. Whenever Summer was angry, she’d begin to cry. And knowing that I was the reason she cried like that made me feel like more a horrible boyfriend than I already was.

 

“No, no, no Summer please don’t cry. You know what you had every right to ignore me. I’ve been a terrible boyfriend for not calling you as much as I used to. It’s just, school takes a lot of my time seeing that we’re approaching our final exams. But I’m going to make it up to you, I promise,” I say. She sniffs a couple of times and then begins to giggle.

 

“You can never be a terrible boyfriend in my eyes.” A smile grew from the corner of my mouth. No matter what I did, I was perfect in Summer’s eyes.

 

“I love you, you know that?” I say to her.

 

“I know you do, Mari,” she sighs. “I just hope you always will.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean? You know I’ll always love you Summer.”

 

“That’s just what I wanted to hear, because I’ve compiled a new list of baby names,” she says, quickly and excitedly.

 

“Not this again,” I moan.

 

“Yes, this again! We have to choose a name now Mari.” For some time now, Summer has been obsessed with baby names. She claims our first born is going to be a girl, so she’s been sending me a bunch of lists with more than fifty names that she loves.

 

“Summer, you’re not even pregnant,” I say.

 

“None of us have jobs, our own houses or a car.”

 

“Years go by quicker than you think, Mari. Before we know it, I’ll be the size of a watermelon married to a man who is too busy working to even help me choose our baby’s name.”

 

“I wonder who that lucky man is,” I wonder.

 

“That’s quite obvious! It’s you dummy,” she giggles.“Now there’s a whole list of names but there’s one really simple name that I fell in love with. I don’t know why this wasn’t the first name I thought of.”

 

“Let me hear it,” I say.

 

“Vanessa,” she says sweetly.

 

“Vanessa?” I question. “Yes! Vanessa Williams. Doesn’t it sound beautiful?” she asks excitedly.

 

“It does Summer I just think we should…”

 

“Explore our options before making a decision, blah blah blah,” she interrupts.

 

“I knew you were going to say that so get comfortable because I’m about to share the other 50 names I found after stumbling upon Vanessa. There’s Anika, which means sweet face, Neela which means blue. But it’s not a normal kind of blue. It’s a more sapphire blue, and I love it because…”

 

“Get out of there Amari!” A voice yelled from outside the bathroom, interrupting Summer just as she was about to explain why she loved the name Neela. At first, I feared that Summer would recognize Cassie’s voice, but she didn’t. That’s because it wasn’t Cassie’s voice. It was a man’s voice.

 

“Amari, who is that?” Summer asks worriedly. She had every reason to be worried.

 

The man behind the door was clearly very angry. What if Cassie’s dad had come by to visit and caught Cassie and I in the act?

 

“Uhm, I don’t know. I’m about to find out though. It’s probably the cleaner or something. I’ll call you back,” I say.

 

“You better,” she warns before hanging up. I put my phone in my pocket and stood up with shaky legs. I had no idea who or what was waiting for me at the other side of that door.

 

“Wait, maybe I should call Cassie,” I thought to myself. I dialled her number and heard her phone ring in her bedroom. I called her twice, but she didn’t pick up. Did she leave me in this house with the crazy man on the other side of the door? I tried to peep through the keyhole to identify who the man was, but the hole was too small. I couldn’t see a thing.

 

“Amari, I don’t have time for this! Get out and come with me now!” the man yells frustrated. He continues to bang on the door until I pull open the door.

 

“Uncle Shaun?” He pulls my arm and starts running with me in the direction of the main door.

 

“Let me go!” I yell while trying to force his hand off of mine. He continues to pull me away while I yell for Cassie’s help. This was it. I was going to be brutally killed by the Vipers, just like my father.

 

“Stop being so stubborn Amari! I’m on your side!” he yells while opening the front door. As soon as he takes a step outside, a bullet shoots straight into his skull, and he drops to the floor with his eyes wide open.

 

I gazed at his body amazed and in fear, then looked up in front of me to where the bullet came from. Cassie stood there trembling with a gun in her hand and sweat on her face.

 

“I didn’t know what else to do,” she whispers with tears in her eyes.