Ride Or Die

Five - Xavier

I lean my head against the door, my heart racing. I close my eyes, which is a bad idea. All I can see is her. Her face turning bright red. The way her body felt pressed up against mine. Which makes it way too easy to remember other things… It really is bad to be thinking about the enemy like this.

As I begin walking down the hallway, I hear a crash. Before I’ve realized what I'm doing, I am back inside their house and standing in the door to the kitchen. I hear coughing. Not a small cough, but one that sounds as if someone is choking. Evelyn’s sister is on the floor, a bowl of soup spilled on the ground next to her. Her hand is covering her mouth, but it slips when she coughs again. Blood splatters on the ground. I take a step forward, thinking that she’s been poisoned. Evelyn gets there first, dropping down in front of her sister. She holds her as violent coughs wrack her body, sounding as if they were being forcefully dragged out of her.

Evelyn strokes her hair, comforting her sister. After a while, the coughs subside. Evelyn pulls out a piece of cloth from her pocket and wipes off sister’s face. It comes away bloody as Ariana reaches up a shaking hand and touches her face. Evelyn's entire body is trembling.

“I’m so sorry. I lost the money. My boss took it all. But I'll get it back tomorrow. I'll get the tips and work an extra shift. I promise I’ll get enough money to get you the best doctor. You’ll be okay. Just hang in there. I’m so, so sorry Ari.”

“I’ll be okay, Eve. Stop worrying about me so much.” Evelyn gets up and offers her hand to Ariana. She grabs it and helps pull her to her feet.

“You go lay down. I’ll clean this up.” Evelyn waits until she sees Ariana leave the room and then she falls to her knees. She cries quietly, not a single sound escaping her lips. She buries her face in her hands as if she is trying to hide her pain from the world. I feel an ache in my chest as I walk away, not wanting to bear witness to this moment of weakness. I stop for a moment to place something where I know she will find it, and continue on my way, the door closing silently behind me.

I walk down the stairs and into the night, memories resurfacing as I walk through the dark.

* * *

The sky is gray and the rain hitting the window is a constant sound in the background. Overall, it's dark and gloomy outside. But the warm lights of the house make it seem warm and cozy. Laughing, I run down the long hallway as Evelyn’s brother counts upstairs.

“Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty! Ready or not, here I come!”  Evelyn follows closely behind me as we get to the grand staircase. I look back at her just as my foot catches on the carpet. I am airborne for what feels like a long time as I fall. I see Evelyn's scared face as I hit the stairs. I tumble down the last few until I come to a rest at the bottom.

My entire body hurts and my head is ringing. I hear someone shout for help and someone runs down the stairs. I am aware that someone is shaking me. I slowly sit up, with help from someone. The dizziness goes away and I see that it was Evelyn that helped me sit up. Her brother has the first aid kit open and is sitting next to me. I feel a stinging sensation in my knees and on the side of my face. There is blood on my knees and I assume on my face too. The carpet on the stairs may have cushioned my fall, but it had burned me too. Despite my best attempts, I start crying.
Evelyn’s brother bandages my knees and the side of my face. I stop crying and he carries me to the big, soft couch. We sit there for a while and Evelyn leaves. She comes back carrying a marker. She points at the bandages on my knees and then to the marker.

“Can I give them faces and make them prettier?” I nod, and she gets to work. When she is done, both of my knees have faces and personalities and backstories. She spends the next ten minutes explaining Bob and Linda, and by the end of it, I’m laughing along with her brother.

* * *

This is one of my favorite childhood memories, despite the pain. I feel myself begin to smile. Then I remember why I’m walking around in the darkened city at night. And who sent me to kill her.