Whodunit

Deleted Scene #2

"Then, she made me fly across the room. My head almost hit the ceiling!" Desi shouted at Nell before grabbing his stitched up wound that was getting sorer with all the passionate storytelling he'd been doing since Nell came to the hospital for visitation.

Desi had already cruised over to Dmitri's room with his IV stand in hand after resting enough from his stitches. He didn't want to admit it but being alone in that cold hospital room creeped him out after all the trauma he experienced last night.

"Now, I know you lying," Nell replied, a slight smirk on his face. "You really expect me to believe she had demonic powers?"

Dmitri coughed and sat up a bit in his hospital gown. He didn't feel as pepped up on adrenaline as Desi. "He's telling the truth. Anisa is straight evil now. She left us both for dead and didn't feel guilty at all."

"If she has demonic powers, why didn't she just break out of the police car or escape from jail?" Nell asked from the armchair across from Dmitri's bed. "She could've just killed the police, finished you off, and escaped to hell or some shit." 

Desi and Dmitri squinted at each other before a wave of fear washed over their faces. "I didn't think of that."

Nell shrugged. "Maybe she felt too defeated or didn't want to get shot to the ground. Demon powers don't do much good if you're dead."

Dmitri's jawline tensed, an even darker cloud suddenly raining acid over his head. "I don't know, man. Something don't feel right about her still being out there alive. How am I even gon' be able to sleep at night now? Imma go crazy being paranoid all the time."

"Send a hit out on her," Nell suggested like it was an obvious idea.

"What? How would I do that?" Dmitri asked. 

Desi sat in the corner, quiet as he pondered Nell's realization.

"Get somebody you know in the jail to shank her," Nell replied.

Dmitri chuckled but there was no humor in it. He didn't think he'd ever be able to truly laugh a joyful laugh again in his lifetime. "You're ruthless."

"You said she wanted you both dead. Is it wrong to want her dead, too?"

"Dmitri would never kill her," Desi broke his silence. "He had so many chances, but he just had to grow a conscious while he was in jail. He can't accept the fact that'll she never be the girl who loved him back then."

Dmitri sighed. "I accept it now." He played with his bandaged fingers. "That's what I'm so scared of. If someone who loved me as much as Nisi could turn on me and hate me that much, then who else in this world would ever really love me? I almost wish she would've just finished me off. Surviving don't feel like much of a blessing."

Desi stood from the arm of the chair he was sitting on and moseyed over to Dmitri's bed with his IV stand and crisp, clean hospital fashion. "You gotta really love yourself, son. Not in a narcissistic way like before but like in a way that makes you glad you survived and makes you want to do good after all the bad you've been through."

"Never thought I'd say this, but Desi's right." Nell smirked.

Dmitri nodded as Desi gripped his shoulder in a comforting way as in to say I'm here for you. "Yeah, I guess so."

Tears were forming in Dmitri's eyes when Desi's playful voice startled them away, "You know what this means?"

"What?" Nell and Dmitri asked simultaneously.

"If she breaks out, then we'll just have to have a sequel." he grinned.

"A sequel? What is this fool talking 'bout?" Nell raised an eyebrow.

Dmitri exhaled but relaxed his shoulders now that the room wasn't as tense. "He thinks we're like final guys in a horror movie. Whatever that means."

"It means we survived the first attempt to bring us down and now the killer's going to come back meaner, stronger, and with more twists than our minds can think of."

"I hope not," Dmitri murmured to himself and turned his head on the pillow so that he wasn't facing his friends but instead the bustling, living world outside his window.

"One of us will probably die in the sequel. If it's anything like Scream 2, it'll probably be me. Especially since I came back to life so many times in the first try. But don't worry, Dmitri, I'll tell you everything you need to know to survive at least till the fourth movie."

"Son, this isn't a movie." Nell stared at him in disbelief. "Anisa's in jail. Y'all almost died. Jordan, Nunu, and that other random girl did die. Plus, your coworker at the Jumbo Gumbo, the candy lady, and Dmitri's ole lady."

Desi's eyes closed as his chest heaved up and down. "I know," he opened his eyes, tears suddenly streaming down his face. "But please just let me grieve however I can."

Dmitri tuned their heavy voices out, not wanting to hear anymore about the reality of everything that happened. Desi kind of had a point. If he thought of it more like a role in a movie, it didn't seem so crazy. Everything made perfect sense, even the twists and the dark energy Anisa seemed to grow overnight. He should've realized early on it was all too good to be true. There was no way she would ever love him the same again after all he put her through. 

And maybe Desi was right. Maybe that meant it was time to love himself. The right way. But could he ever forgive himself enough to look in the mirror without hating every pinch of the reflection staring back? Could he ever gain the confidence and hope he needed to keep fighting for himself and a better future? He had no choice if he wanted to survive the next movie: life.