How It All Ended

Chapter 4

The man standing on the stairs was wearing a black hoodie, worn-out blue jeans, and he was holding a backpack in his right hand. His shoulder-length black hair was slicked back, and I noticed that in the waistband of his jeans, the handle of a pistol was showing.

Rich and I didn't know what to say. After I saw the gun, I muttered to Rich, "We should go."

As soon as the two of us started to back away from the home, the man on the stairs pulled the revolver out and pointed it at Richard and me, "Don't even."

Rich and I put our hands up almost simultaneously. "Hey, there's no need for that," said Rich. "We're not here to cause any problems."

"Yeah, just Relax," I added.

"Is this your house?" The man asked us.

"No," I answered. "We saw that the door was open and wanted to check things out in here."

"You cops?"

"No."

"Just people from the neighborhood," Rich said.

The man stood there on the steps, studying me and Rich. Then he lowered his gun. Which was a huge relief: I'm not a fan of getting shot.

"Look, there was nobody here when I showed up," The man told us.

"Was that backpack yours?" Rich asked him.

"Mine now."

"What are you stealing?"

"It's not stealing anymore."

"Yeah, it's not like we're gonna call the police," I said.

The man gestured to the pack. It's just a few canned goods from the kitchen, that's it. I was walking along and saw that this place was open."

"Okay, fine."

"You two gonna try and stop me?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Right, Rich?"

"You sure you didn't hurt anyone in here to get that?" Rich asked the man.

The man didn't seem too pleased with Rich's assumption. He brought out the revolver once more and pointed it at Rich.

"Oh shit," I gasped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The man asked Rich.

"Did you hurt or kill anyone for that stuff?" Richard asked the man once more.

"No, I didn't. Do you want to come in here and check?"

"Don't mind if I do," Rich answered, and he started to walk into the house.

"Shit, Rich. What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"What's it look like, Dom?" Richard walked inside the house while I just stood there on the front porch. I think the man on the steps was just as confused as I was: He gave me a confused look and then darted down the steps.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The man asked Rich.

Richard didn't answer. He just looked around the kitchen and then popped his head in the basement stairway.

"The hell, Rich? You thinking of buying the place?" I asked him.

"Well, I don't see any bodies," Rich answered.

"I told you I didn't kill anybody!" The man yelled. Yeah, the man really wasn't pleased that Richard thought he was a murderer.

"He might start if you keep it up, Richard," I said.