Justification | Deetranada AU

intermediary: an innamission (1)

(Brief note: intermediary: an innamission is a four-part intermissionary chapter. It will be given in the order best applied to the present timeline and the times given are an indication of how long it's been since the break-up.)    

Thirty-Six Hours Post

Latto bounds down the stairs, tossing the empty bag in the trash. 'Did she take it?' her mother asks. Latto nods, 'She sleep now. Should be good 'til the morning.' Her mother nods, rubbing her own arms. 'Tell your mom I said thank you.' Latto nods, taking a deep breath. They stand awkwardly, neither sure of what to do now.

''What happened?' Latto questions. 'She just came to my room,' her mother responds, her voice cracking. She opens a cloth on the table, motioning to it. Latto's eyes widen at the sight of the blade, her heart loudly thumping in her ears. 'Where she get that from?' 

Her mother shakes her head, turning away from it. 'I don't know, I left all of 'em in Baltimore and I checked her stuff to make sure she ain't hide any.' 'I-I don't have none,' Latto explains. 'Maybe Key or somebody else but...' Her voice trails off, the thought of Dee hurting herself making her sick to her stomach.

**

Key bursts through the front door, his face bewildered, Lexy not far behind him. She shuts the door as Key calls Dee's name. 'Where she at? Nugget?' he yells. 'Shut up Key, damn. She sleeping,' Latto whisper-yells. 'What happened, is she okay?' Lexy asks. 

Latto takes a deep breath, looking to Momtranada for confirmation. She nods, looking down, 'We don't know for real but we think Dee was tryna kill herself.'

Key freezes, her words becoming white noise as his mind flashes with vile imagery. He struggles to breathe, feeling his lungs weaken as his body refuses to cooperate. He rushes to the stairs, pushing past Latto who tries to stop him.

He bursts into her room, the sight of her sleeping deeply confirming but not enough. He inches to her bed, sitting down beside her, watching closely until he can see the rise and fall of her shoulders. He blinks away a tear, gently touching her arm. He closes his eyes, leaving his hand there as if waiting for an irregular breath.

'I-I'm sorry, Dee,' he whispers, tears falling rapidly from his eyes. 'I didn't...' His voice falls as he takes exhales deeply. 'I didn't know.' She doesn't stir, the sleeping pill doing its job in forcing her to rest.

'Key,' Latto calls. He quickly wipes his face with his sleeve, clearing his throat to hide his ragged breath. 'Yeah,' he responds, still facing her. 'Ma said you gotta let her sleep,' she explains. He nods, clenching his jaw to maintain his composure.

He stands, walking out of the room into Latto and Lexy waiting. The door closes and he's unable to maintain his facade, breaking into tears. Latto is quick to his side, helping him downstairs and into the dining room. He sits, his elbows settling on the table, his head finding a place in his hands.

'S-she called me,' he forces through his sobs. 'And I sat there and ain't do nothing. I-I coulda did something.' Latto sits beside him, holding him tight as Lexy stoops down on the other side of him. 'You didn't know,' Lexy counters. 'You can't focus on that.' 

'Why not?' he yells. 'How I'm supposed to be there for her if I can't even see she wanna kill herself and I'm sittin' next to her?' He drops his hands, freely letting his tears show. 'The fuck kinda best friend am I?!'