You, Me, And The Divide

Chapter 17

Danny came down after Alex and Drake joined us. I told everyone to just let Katie do her thing, and she'll be down later. We ate breakfast together in the dining room and the guys cleaned up after. After we all had coffee and food in our stomach, we didn't feel quite as awful. Drake put on some cartoons and we just spent the morning vegging out in our PJs. My phone rang on the coffee table and I stretched from where I laid on the ground to get it. My hands fumbled slightly to answer, but when I did I stood up to go in the other room.

"Hello?" I answered lightly.

"Hey," Allen's deep voice responded. He cleared his throat quickly. "Are you home?"

"Why?" I asked him trying to give him as little as possible.

"I need you to come to the park," he told me sounding extremely sick. "I really need you to come to the park."

"You don't sound too good. Maybe you should just rest today," I told him looking from the foyer to the sitting room.

"I can't rest," he said sounding agitated and desperate in the same breath. "I need you to come get me."

"Look, I'm busy today," I started but was cut off with a weird sound coming from the other side. "Is everything okay? Where are you?"

"The park we used to go to together," he said through gritted teeth. "The guys I used to work for weren't too happy that I wanted out. Hurry, please."

He hung up and I shoved my phone in my bra quickly. I grabbed my shoes and sat down trying to pull them on. Danny came over to me rather confused.

"It's Allen. He's in trouble," I told him while lacing my shoes up. "I need to go get him."

He grabbed his sneakers and started putting them on as well.

"What are you doing?" I asked him confused.

"I'm coming with you," he told me while picking up two random sweatshirts from where they were tossed in the hall closet and tossing one at me.

"Where are you guys going?" Drake asked us from the sitting room.

"We gotta run. We'll see you guys later," Danny said as he grabbed my keys from the bowl and handed them to me.

I ran out the door not waiting to see if Danny was behind me still or not. I only knew he was still following me when he hopped in the passenger's side and buckled his seatbelt. My truck lurched forward as I sped away from the millionaire's home. The park was back near my house across town. This was a trip usually done in fifteen to twenty minutes, but with the speed I was going at, we'd be there in ten.

"What happened to him?" Danny asked me as I drove.

"I don't know. He just said his old employers weren't too happy about him quitting," I told him focusing on the road.

"You mean the drug dealers," Danny said sternly.

I didn't reply, but I suppose that was a reply all in itself. "Why did you come? You hate Allen."

"As much as I hate him, he's still my brother," he told me and added, "Plus he means a lot to you."

"Isn't that why you hate him though?" I scoffed.

"Oh please, Is. Don't be so self centered. I hate him for a lot of reasons. He got to grow up with our mom, and I didn't. That's enough to make anyone hate the other," he told me honestly.

When we got to the park, I flew out of the car the second my key was out of the ignition. Danny following close behind me. It was cold, and the day hadn't quite warmed up the way it did yesterday. A few kids were on play sets wrapped in scarves and woven hats. I scanned the area for Allen, and pulled my phone out to call him. Danny was searching around the park before he called me over. I ran over to him shoving my phone back in the sweatshirt pocket. Allen was behind the pavilion sitting on the ground propped up against the back wall of the pavilion. His heavy black jacket was open revealing a gaping wound in the middle of his stomach. Blood was seeping through his shirt, and his hands were covered in the red mess.