Blood On Her Hands

Chapter 25

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. 

The sun was low in the sky, meaning my room remained relatively dark. The hand that reached for me appeared disembodied. I scooted backwards and the back of my head hit my bed frame. The loud ding of the impact echoed as a dull ache formed at the base of my skull. 

"Shh," the figure hushed. They reached over and flicked my lamp on. Curly hair and basketball shorts came into view. Julio was standing over my bed with his arms crossed. 

"Mom and Dad don't want me to go to school unchaperoned but they left early so you have to take me."  

I rubbed my eyes and checked the time on my alarm clock. It was only seven in the morning. 

"Why can't Nancy take you?" 

"She already left." 

I groaned and massaged my temples. It was custom for me to slowly ease my way into my mornings. Being shaken awake and forced to leave the house was not part of that routine. "How long do I have to get ready?" 

"Fifteen minutes," he replied, nonchalantly. 

I gaped at him. "Then, move! I don't have a lot of time!" 

A little over fifteen minutes later, Julio and I were leaving the house. Immediately, I spied my aunt and uncle’s car in the driveway. Tìa drove Tìo to work every morning before diving to her own job. There was no other mode of transportation they used. If they had already left for work, it made no sense for their car to be there.

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked, pointing to the vehicle. 

Julio grabbed my arm and tugged me forward with a guilty wince. 

I had been too sleepy to realize it but Julio had hushed me when he woke me up. If everyone had already left for the day, then why would I have needed to be quiet? I bet that Nancy and his parents were all inside. 

What exactly had he woken me up for? 

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” 

He released me once we were a half a block from the house. He shrugged his book bag strap higher onto his shoulder and I noticed the front pocket wasn’t zipped. I stopped him and zipped it for him, the whole exchange going on wordlessly. 

Whatever the reason for the walk, walking Julio felt nostalgic. I remembered Nancy and I being picked up by Tìo after school. Julio would be waiting in the school yard with him, holding onto his hand so he didn’t fall over like toddlers were so prone to. When Julio would spot the two of us, he’d bounce up and down with a giant smile on his face. Then he would trade his father’s hand for one of ours. Nancy and I would watch over him like hawks, making sure he didn’t get too close to the street or put anything he wasn’t supposed to in his mouth. Tìo would call us his guardian angels. 

Now Julio was only three years shy of being considered an adult and getting into trouble much bigger than licking rocks or not holding onto one of our hands. 

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” I tried, as we crossed under a couple of trees with leaves falling from their stems. The leaves crunched under our feet. 

“You know I’ve always been cool with Darren, right?” 

I nodded, scared that saying anything out loud would scare him into silence again. Clearly, he had lured me away from the ears of our home for a reason. Whatever he was about to say was sensitive information. 

He made a point not to look at me as he spoke. His eyes traveled the streets ahead of us. They’d be empty for a couple more blocks before we got out of the suburban area and into the town.