Dirt

Handsome

I looked at my brothers and sisters.

At Tulip and Mona and thought about how they some times threatend to kill each other and I'd chuckle and tell them to knock it off, well that didn't seem so funny now.

I vaguely remembered my parents bodies side by side -oh so still- in their matching back caskets.

If you hadn't known how my parents died or actually had been there, then you wouldn't know to look intently and squint your eyes at the slight almost non-existent bruise above my fathers brow, and you wouldn't know that it wasn't a blemish or scar but actually a bullet wound.

You wouldn't know the short line across my mothers neck wasn't a fading tan line it was where her neck was sliced.

You wouldn't know that her hands weren't cramped from natural old age but from holding our hands over the many years.

These were things you just wouldn't know.

And no one would know any of those type of things about Bernard, he wasn't a father or grandfather or uncle or brother, just a kid whose death would only impact use few in this small town.

Right now I was more stunned and sober than anything. Yeah he wasn't part of our gang, and yeah we've had a few scraps, but he was still one of us, a juvenile with no parents and no one who cared, living in this small Arizona town, another person who never got any breaks, I could cry, but I've seen too many things -seen so much worse, it would be pointless to cry and besides I was all cried out.

I searched for my brothers and sisters around the near empty lot. There were a group of Rue's and a few of our boys moving the bodies and calling the police, they would probably put them some where else and lie about the murder -to cover all of our asses- ,the police wouldn't even really look into it because nobody wants to deal with Dirts or Rues or unruly delinquents.

Irvan was the first to go, he was younger and still had tears to cry and no one bothered him -it was his time to mourn.

Andy had Tulip by her arm dragging her along as he jogged towards me

"Handsome we need to go now!" He yelled over the sound of the Rues leaving and approaching sirens

Andy angry was a rarity and I was ready to go anyway the atmosphere was bringing me down. Tulip was angry and Mona Lisa was on the other side of the lot -and if my eyes didn't betray me- in tears, I'd never seen Mona Lisa cry before -another rarity.

"Okay" I said grabbing Tulips arm "lets go", I told Andy to grab any of ours and lets get out.

The boys must have not placed the body far because I could hear the sirens getting closer and very quickly, and I had no room or leeway for run-ins with the law, we'd all been arrested at one point or another -some more than others- and Jake and Jesse weren't exactly the most appropriate guardians and if there were any hints that they'd fucked up or any signs of trouble they'd separated us faster than a shot gun, and the fact that were at a murder scene doesn't exactly help that.

Tulip yanked at my arm trying to get free.

"Get the fuck off me!" She screamed getting attention.

The sirens where getting closer and only my present siblings and I where in the field.

"Tulip lets go now!" I yelled at her.

I'd never yelled at one of my sisters, even hard headed Tulip, but now seemed appropriate.

I never saw it coming.

She slapped me.

Another rarity.

The sirens were closer.

I'd never hit a girl but my sister was pushing me to it. I got in her face.

"Dammit Tulip! We are leaving NOW! I don't give a shit what you want! Lets go!!" I yelled at her louder than I'd ever yelled before.

She stopped struggling stunned, which made it easier to drag her along.

We were running now,and this was some thing we were good at, some thing we were familiar with

Running far away from problems that we didn't know how to deal with.