one sin.

33) Beware

Nat lives on the north side, which technically is a county, however most people assumed it was apart of the city because of all the black people that resided there. How Beck had made it there on his own was beyond me, but by the time I arrive it's a small gathering already with Beck, Nat, and four other friends I was comfortable with.

My phone buzzes and I realize I'm trapped under Nat and Beck, all of us having fallen asleep at some point, me most likely being the first, since I was at the bottom of the pile. My phone buzzes again and I maneuver my hand into my pocket, fishing it out.

"Hello?" My voice croaks from disuse and I clear it, "Layne?"

"Where are you?" her voice sounds odd, yet familiar.

"I'm at Nat's. Is everything alright? What's wrong?" my heart starts to slam in my chest. I check the time. Almost five in the morning. Shit. School

"I need you to come over," she says, her voice foreign to me, "Baby, please."

"Okay," I sit up, disturbing the teens on top of me. I'm greeted with groans and bitching as everyone begins to stir.

"KJ, what gives?" Beck, who'd been directly on top of on, complains, "You titties were my pillow."

"I have to go," I grab my bag, "Do you need a ride home? School starts in like two hours."

"Yeah," he reaches over and shakes Nat, "Nat? Scary- mom?"

"Fuck off," is the tired response we receive. I free myself from the tangle of bodies and head to my truck, Beck in tow.

"Something wrong?" he questions. I shake my head, "I don't know yet."

I drop him at his apartment, "I'd take the bus to school. I might be late to school."

"I can wait until you're done," he offers and I shake my head, "No, go to school."

He rolls his eyes, "Yes, Mother."

The sun is just over the horizon by the time I reach Layne's house. Fuck! Swerve to avoid murdering my girlfriend, who'd been compelled to lay in the middle of the road, her black hoodie matching the tarmac. Miraculously, I'm able to come to a controlled stop, before hopping out and running back to her.

"Layne what the shit!?" I pull her off the ground, her body limp in my arms.

"Put me back," she groans, "I wanna die."

I haul her over my shoulders and carry her to my truck, "Not while you're dating me."

I shove her into the passenger seat and finish the drive to her house. When I slow down she grabs my arm, "Please don't."

"What? You live here?" I'm slightly confused as to why she doesn't want me to return her to her house. Where she lives.

I realize she's not listening. Her gaze is frozen on a suited man rolling out what could be a garbage bag on a stretcher, only we both know it's not. I speed past the house, continuing on our street until it ends.

"Left of right?" I question.

"Left," she responds. We continue this sort of game, her giving me directions and me faithfully following them, until we're out the city, speeding down a country road.

"Left," she tells me and I whip off the road onto a overgrown, dirt road with trees on either side. I don't know where we're going, and can only hope she does. The road winds upward until we're deposited into a large field with a white house, trimmed in blue, perched at the top of the hill. I approach it until she tells me to park.

"Get out," she tells me and I oblige, exiting the car and then opening her door for her. "Take my hand."

I do. She leads me up the steps of the house and produces a key to get in, and we enter. She pulls me up the stairs and into a room, both new and familiar, pictures of buildings only on the ceiling as opposed to the walls.