Concrete Delusion

Happy Birthday Sage

Chapter 7 Sage

I hopped out of bed, blessed by that amazing dream involving him, and continued to get ready for school. I even had the time to sit down and enjoy breakfast for the first time all year. Walking out the door, mom shoved keys in my face. I didn't bother containing my excitement, jumping up and down and squeezing her hard enough in my arms to break her in half.

It was a Nissan Altima, in gray. How nice. I hopped in the car and drove off. It wasn't long before I was at school, claiming the spot that I've been paying for all year.

Climbing out of the car, I saw Ian, who has to be stalking me. "So Sage, got a new car I see?"

"What do you want Ian?" There was just something about that kid that put me on edge. It was nothing personal, just something irritated me. Maybe his personality? I hadn't decided.

"I still never received an answer to my question." he said boldly.

"What, asking me out for the 100'th time this year? I'm pretty sure you received an answer."

"Then how about you join me in your car, I might be able to change your mind." he tried slyly.

That comment nearly made me puke. "Screw off, Ian!" I spoke as I turned my back and walked away. If there was ever a shot in the universe of me being with him, it had surely gone up in flames now. At that point, I heard the sirens. Out of natural curiosity, we all turned our heads to see what was happening. Those next few seconds were a blur. I saw the black and silver Mustang flying around the street corner, the cops in hot pursuit, and I saw the gun. 

I dropped to the ground as I heard the shots being fired. I didn't know if anyone was tagged, but I heard the screams all over the campus, saw people running, and I saw Ian crumple to the ground as a bullet pierced his chest. He was dead on contact, you could tell from how he fell. The life dropped from his eyes, the color from his skin, and the blood from his body as he lay dead on the lawn. I was the last person he talked to, the last and maybe only person he loved, and my last words to him were "Screw off." 

The guilt hit me like a freight train. I should've at least given him a chance. Sure he wasn't anything like me, but everyone in the world deserves a shot. The only thing that broke my newly guilted thoughts was the Mustang charging right at me. I managed to get out of the way, but not without the mirror catching my face. Hitting the ground barely conscious, I couldn't think, see, or even lay straight. The world around me was spinning, blurry, fading in and out. 

I watched the police slam into the side of the Mustang, rolling it multiple times before the thugs crawled out of the shattered windows, blood on their faces and guns in their hands. They took position behind the totaled Mustang and fired at the police. There had to be about three of them, based on the gunfire I heard. Through my pounding eyes I watched as one cop was shot in the shoulder and dropped to the ground. That must've been a dear friend to another cop, as I heard a scream of rage and rapid gunfire.

With the world finally fading away, I heard the sirens of an ambulance. I felt my body being lifted up into the back of the car, with Ian covered with a white sheet beside me. I couldn't even bring myself to cry. My head was throbbing too severely. As my world faded between reality and  unconsciousness, I thought about Ian, the things I said, how horribly I treated him, all because he was different. Before losing consciousness, the last thoughts that ran through my mind were how badly I wanted Elliot to be there to hold me.