The Messanger

Star in the back

A few years go by and I make it to my senior year in high school. My father was getting me in shape throughout the summer to prepare for my final year in football. My goal is to become one of the best Defensive Backs in the country and no flesh or spirit can stop that goal. One day my father is picking me up from practice and we're heading straight home. My mom nurse Anderson calls my dad and wishes us a safe trip home, my father ensures our safety and says he loves her. Who knew that'd be the last time they spoke to each other.

Our usual street home got blocked off by construction, so my father decided to take 56th street. As I stare at the sign, I urge my father that this is a very bad idea and that this is one of the most dangerous hoods in westpointe. He tells me to relax and that everything is ok. We stop at a red light and suddenly a kid with a box of candy knocks on my dads window. The window goes down and the young teenager asked my dad if he wanted to buy for his school but my dad politely declined and rolled the window back up.

This ends up being the longest red light ever like someone was doing this on purpose. Then another knock goes off on my dads window but this time, the kid is knocking with a gun. Before my father could even react, his brain matter was suddenly on my shirt and pants. The kid then opens the car door and steals all the money in my dads pockets and before he could run away he ended up getting a large gash on his left forearm from the shattered glass. I sit there looking at my deceased father, quarter size hole in his head and his eyes are rolled back but are still bloodshot red. I sit there in silence since death is not new to me and I'm waiting for something else to possibly take place.

A few hours go by and paramedics finally show up to take my fathers corpse out of the car. I sit on the curb with a gruesomely stained shirt and a blank expression. The paramedics didn't even bother checking on me as I heard one of them say, " Leave that boy, if he comes in here we'll probably end up like this poor bastard". I ended up walking home as the tow truck takes the car and as I'm walking tears begin to flow down my eyes but I'm not sad. I guess my body is just used to terrible shit at this point.

I get home and my mother is stuck in her room with a picture of my father in her hands while she downs bottles of wine. I take a shower to get the rest of my dad off of me and go to my room and stare off out my window as I end up falling asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night to go use the bathroom and as I finish up, I get a very bad feeling coming from my mothers room. I go inside and she laid out on the bed with open bottles of prescription pills and all the wine bottles are empty. I try to wake her but no response. I look at her body in anger as I ask myself, " Why would you leave me here by myself ?". I go downstairs and sit on the porch outside, I light up one of my father's cigarettes as I tell myself while I see the paramedic lights, " Back to square one"...