Alister didn't expect what came next. How could he expect such an inconceivable experience? The two boys were walking from the cemetery, talking softly as the birds began to chirp. They were walking closely, although they pretended not to notice the occasional brush of the other's arm. Alister pretended not to notice the way Deion leaned down just a little bit, and tilted his head to the side, letting his lips brush Alister's ear when he talked. Yes, he pretended not to notice the way it felt. Deion pretended not to be excited when Alister would angle his head up and they would make eye contact. He would pretend not to notice the way the sun brightened Alister's appearance, the way it made his eyes bluer, his lips pinker, his hair turn golden. Deion would pretend like he didn't love the way the words sounded like silk from Alister's mouth. Yes, they would both pretend otherwise, if only for the reason to do it.
They were leaving through the front gate when the boys were rushed by three very large men. One man grabbed Alister by the back of his shirt and shoved him into the stone wall behind him. The side of Alister's head hit the wall, leaving a jagged gash down the side of his face. The other two held Deion. One was behind Deion, holding his arms back while the other hit him with a metal bat.
"You thought you could avoid this forever, Ortega?" The man who hits him asks before swinging the bat into his stomach, causing Deion to double over and groan in pain. Deion's eyes glow with primal rage, the kind of anger that scares Alister. Deion's teeth were bared, blood was dripping from his mouth and face, he was struggling against the hold of the other guy.
"Don't move, kid," The man holding Alister says and kicks him in the stomach, causing Alister to fall back into the street. The man releases him and walks over to Deion, now stepping behind him to hold him down. Together, the two men shove Deion onto his knees on the ground. Deion spits blood into the man with the bat's face.
"Where's my money?" The man with the bat demands and Deion scoffs, choking on blood.
"I don't have your fucking money, Ric," Deion sneers and Ric hits him again with the bat.
"Well, that's too bad you know because I really need that money," Ric replies before hitting Deion in the face with the end of the bat. Before Alister can really register what he's doing, he's charged Ric and has tackled him to the ground.
They struggle, a gun is pulled, Alister feels a knife graze the side of his face, and suddenly all that can be heard over the screaming and struggling is the sound of police sirens. The men get up and make a run for it, Deion gets up and pulls a very breathless Alister as they begin to run too. They run until they find a pair of motorcycles outside a gas station, they look at each other once, twice, three times-- before grabbing the bikes and speeding off down the city road.
YOU ARE READING
You Make Me Sane
Romance"Sometimes you just know. You just know when you belong with someone. Maybe it's how perfectly you seem to match your imperfect parts. Maybe it's the feeling of being sane for the first time in your entire insane life. Maybe it's all the moments you...
