Chris:
Everybody was staring at me, waiting for me to tell them the story. I dropped my keys on the couch and flopped down on the arm. Kid had keys in his hands like he was about to go somewhere. “Where you about to go nigga?” I asked him. His face was straight. Hard. Cold. “I was going to find your stupid ass nigga. Where the fuck were you and who the fuck did this shit?” he asked. What is wrong with him? It seemed like something else was bothering him.
“I went out to do something. To clear my mind. And I ran into-“ Skye cut me off. “What did you go to do?” she questioned. I tried to open my mouth but then Kid said something. “Man, do you know I was about to go the fuck off in here when Skye told me what happened earlier? You know how I feel about that shit man. The fuck is wrong with you?” he snapped. I looked at Skye who was biting her lip. She told Kid about the whole suicide thing. That’s the last thing that I wanted to happen. I sighed.
“Kid… it… I’m here alright. I didn’t do it so let’s get over that,” I told him. He ignored me. “Nah man fuck that. You know what happened to me when I was a kid. You know how I feel about that shit. Why would you even…” he trailed off while his voice started to crack. Aliya grabbed his arm. “Tell us what happened later Chris, I think I need to calm him down.” She pulled him towards the basement steps. Before they walked down the stairs, he turned back. “Was it him? Did he do that?” Kid asked, putting emphasis on “he”. I shook my head. He nodded his head and let Aliya lead him into the basement.
“Why’d you tell him?” I asked Skye. She was frozen. “I… I don’t know. I was just venting and it came out,” she stuttered. I can’t believe this shit. She walked over to me and gently touched the area around my eye. “What happened Chris?” she asked. She looked really concerned. I let out a deep breath. It was a lot for me to talk about honestly but I’m going to try to stop running from my problems… I’m going to try.
“Well… see I used to paint. Like spray paint. Graffiti. I did it all the time back in Virginia. It was one of the few things that made me feel like I was in my own little world. It made me feel at peace. But when my mother died, I stopped doing everything that made me happy because it would only remind me of when she was alive. But I really needed to clear my head today. Especially after what happened. So I went to go see if painting still worked. And it did. I went to some random alley and grabbed a bag of paint I have never touched out of my trunk and got to work. It felt so good.
I was just smoking a blunt when I heard somebody walking down the alley. I looked up. That’s when everything went downhill.” I slid down from the arm of the chair onto her lap. She laughed and also tried to catch her breath because of all my weight. “Chris get the hell off of me before I smack you!” she hollered. I laughed and slid off her lap, sitting down next to her as I told her the story.
**flashback to earlier that day**
“What the hell do you want from me man?” I asked him, standing in a defensive stance. He chuckled. What the fuck was so funny? Does he not know the unfinished business me and him obviously have. He looked up at my painting. “Cute.” He pointed to the art. I was still standing in defense mode cause if I had to fuck this nigga up on spot, then that’s what it was going to be. I don’t have time for the bullshit anymore. We need to get this shit over with.
“Look, I didn’t come here to start any trouble,” he said, pacing back and forth. My eyes followed his every move. “Why the fuck are you here then? Cause that’s the only thing you ever start nigga.” I didn’t want to fuss with him. I can feel that there was going to be a fight. He sighed.
