Since my goodbye to Sofia, which was first period, I decided to drive her home as a real goodbye.
I felt terrible.
I skipped a few classes, and when I saw Sofia looking for me, my heart couldn't take it. So I went home.
Nonno and Nonna were waiting for me. Nonna was pouring tea in her china teacups while Nonno was reading the newspaper. When I opened the front door, neither acknowledged me, which was weird. I would always come home with the atmosphere happy, Nonna would rub my hair and ask me how was school, and I would tell her to stop messing with my hair and talk about Sofia. Then Nonno would tease me about being such a softie. The atmosphere was like a normal family.
This atmosphere made me feel tense. As if something was going to happen that I didn't like.
"Nonna, Nonno, what's wrong?" I asked them, damn I could hear the concern in my own voice. All of a sudden, Nonna started bawling. Like a baby. Tears escaped her eyes and went all the way to her lips and neck. Snot came from her nose. I rushed to her and hugged Nonna. She started pushing me away and I looked at Nonno for help. "What the fuck is going on here?"
Nonno simply put his newspaper down and told me one sentence I would remember for the rest of my life. "Kevin escaped from prison."
I released Nonna. What? Kevin escaped? Surely not by himself. Wait, he escaped. Did they let him out of prison?
"What do you mean.....," was the first question that came out my mouth. Nonno shook his head. "Come sit by me, il mio ragazzo." He patted the seat next to him on our couch and I sat by him.
Nonno was wearing pajama pants only, so his skinny, bare chest full of shiny gray hair was visible.
He looked at me with all seriousness. "This morning, at around twelve noon, we got a call saying that since we were the only ones they could find that had blood relation close enough to Kevin's, not counting Juley, they told us he had escaped with his cell companions, and they are on the run. The problem would have been solved almost immediately.....," he drawled on. I stared at him. "However," Nonno said with drama. "Nonno, now is not the time to joke," I said between clenched teeth. Nonno nodded and said, "They, ragazzi stupidi, they took of those ankle and neck braces off themselves that were hidden with the costume." Nonno sighed. "Jordan, don't worry, he's far away from us so it's fine..."
But I wasn't listening to Nonno talking anymore. All I knew was that we were not safe here. We had to move. Now.
My heart was beating so loudly, I couldn't hear anything else.
Everything started fading from dull to vivid, dull to vivid. I heard a crash of a plate, people yelling, and I felt something cool on my cheek.
Water.
-
I woke up to a completely dark room. Had I fainted?
Or was it a panic attack?
I probably fainted.
I stretched on my bed and felt like I was Super Man.
I groped around for my phone on my nightstand to see if Sofia had texted me--
Memories came back to me.
My goodbye to Sofia. The conversation with Juley. Christiano. Avoiding Sofia. Christiano. Kevin escaped jail. Christiano.
We weren't safe. Once people heard Kevin had escaped from jail.....
Shootings would happen.......and someone could die.
