4 fates

Chapter 5

6:30 pm, Friday, 14th of April 2022.

The doorbell rang at 6:30 pm, right on time when I was going to have dinner with my friends. They stood James and Ruby, holding hands. They have been dating for the past week, and they seemed happy and compatible. I smiled and let them in, talking small talk while answering the door 2 more times for Jordan and Melissa. We ordered and ate pizza, then turned on the TV to watch the Football. As we waited, the news came on.... It was a crime scene, I recognized it and looked around the room, everyone was blank, void of expression. The news reporter came on, also serious and slightly frightened. The headline came up at the bottom of the screen. It shook me to the core: BREAKING NEWS: Fast- Food mass shooting, 2 of 3 men arrested. Shit, I was right, it wasn't just a dream. It came true. Fuck, I was right, but still, 3 were dead. I should have saved the other 3 people. I thought

"We are reporting from this fast-food restaurant at Everton hills, where 2 16-year olds and an 18-year-old were killed by 3 men. 2 of the 3 suspects have been arrested. The teenagers that were killed, their names will be revealed soon." The female reporter said seriously. There was dramatic music before they began playing the football game. Then Jordan spoke, "Wow, Ah fuck.... That was meant to be me, I was- I was meant to die. My friends, they- they are gone, ah shit." Jordan whimpered, eyes watering, Melissa caught him as he slouched over, overcome with emotions. He covered his eyes, still sobbing uncontrollably, he wiped under his nose with his sleeve, "I am so sorry for crying."

"It's ok, you lost your friends. You have a right to cry" I said, mournful. We sat in silence, and a few minutes later my dad came out of his office, with a look of great confusion.

"Hi Dad, did you hear the news?" I asked, slowly and quietly. He shook his head.

"The one about the shooting in the fast food?" He said while looking up, I nodded solemnly, and he looked at his phone, his face changed from confusion to sadness and fear. "Wow, oh wow."

"And they were Jordan's friends, and he was meant to go to work there tonight," I explained to my dad, His face then turned to empathy, and looked at Jordan,

"Wow, I am so sorry Jordan." He spoke. He walked to Jordan, who stood up and they hugged for a short time. They then broke away as Jordan's phone rang. Jordan pointed to the phone and asked if he could go into the spare room, but we could hear him

"Hello... Yep, I am safe, don't worry. I am at my friend's house with some friends. Yeah, I heard. I do know those people and I was meant to work tonight." Jordan muttered, bit his lip slightly, "Thanks Keith, love you too, see you soon. Bye! Bye." Jordan hit a button and walked out of the room a few seconds later after a sigh.

"Everything all right?" Ruby asked, this was the first she spoke after the news report. Jordan nodded before answering,

"Yeah, just my boyfriend checking I was well," Jordan said quietly, he looked down sheepishly at the word boyfriend. We all nodded and tried to smile.

"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to go home tonight; I live super close to the crime scene." Asked Mellissa. I looked over at my dad, who was sitting across from us at the dinner table. My dad looked up and I repeated the question to which he spoke,

"Yeah, for sure. You are always welcome to stay. Does anyone else want to stay for tonight?" My dad inquired. The rest of my friends went onto their phones to ask permission from their parents, which they all were allowed to do after hearing what happened. We were up talking late, discussing what happened then playing games together while talking about Jordan's Boyfriend. The next day came along, and everyone went home the next day.