FATAL ATTRACTION | n. jones

SIX.

6:26 p.m.
———

Montell paced around his room as he tried to think of a plan. A plan that could help him get away with murder if he needed to. After nearly getting caught at Katana's apartment, he knew that going back without a solid plan would do nothing but set him up for failure. He didn't even leave with what he went there for. The spare key.

When Katana moved into her apartment, she gave Montell the task of hiding her spare key. Not that she would ever need it since she always had her keys attached to her whenever she left the house but she thought it was a good idea to leave the backup in a hidden place just in case she did happen to forget them one day. Katana had this cute little birdhouse she swore up and down she needed to have. Birds never used it so Montell decided to screen off the entrance and hide the key in there. Katana had a bad habit of moving stuff and forgetting where she put it so of course the key remained in its hiding spot. If she had even the slightest clue of the thoughts in her ex's mind, she would have moved it before she broke up with him.

Most people would look at Montell right now and think "that man is crazy." Most people would have been wearing shorts and colors that didn't absorb much light in an effort to avoid being hotter than they needed to be in the summer weather. On the other hand, Montell wore a black hoodie with matching jeans despite the temperature for the day being in the low nineties.

Montell stood at his window staring at the view of the apartment complex he has called home since before he could talk. Anything that could happen in the complex, he had already witnessed it. From the waves of new residents that seemed to move in quicker than older residents could move out to the drugs that moved through the hood like it was a railway for a freight train, Montell had seen it all. Most of it never phased him, but what he hated was the amount of parents and relatives that were left heartbroken because these so-called "hood" niggas would rather pick up a gun than fight with their fists.

Everyone that didn't know Montell would say he went crazy after Katana left him. Others that knew him would say witnessing the death of his brother made him crazy, Katana leaving him just happened to set him off. He found himself thinking of Malachi a lot recently. He never forgot about his brother, but he never thought about him this much either. He was at the point where if he wasn't thinking about his ex, he was thinking about his brother.

The intersection where all the pathways in the complex seemed to jump out at him, blocking his vision of anything or anyone that surrounded it. He tried to forget all about it, but how could he? He was right there when everything happened...

***

Twelve-year-old Montell walked beside his older brother Malachi as he dribbled the basketball. The siblings finally made their way home after being at the court almost all day.

"You think mommy gone be mad?" Montell asked as he caught the bouncing ball and held it with his arm. The streetlights had been on for a good minute now and his mother always lectured them on being home before they came on. He hoped his mother had worked a double shift but he remembered her talking about the overtime at her job being cut off. Just great.

"Nah, you with your big bro. The rules change when I'm around." Malachi laughed, putting his arm on his brother's shoulder. He looked down at Montell to see an expression that let him know he wasn't too sure about the words that left his mouth. He had every right not to believe his brother. Hell, Malachi didn't believe it either and he was the person that said it.

The boys entered their apartment complex and walked down the pathway that they walked every day. They laughed and cracked jokes not realizing that things were about to take a sharp turn. Montell continued laughing at a joke he made, unaware of the fear that struck his brother enough for him to change his whole demeanor.

"Montell, get down." Malachi whispered as he stopped in his tracks and slowly backed up, shielding his brother from whatever danger could happen before the boy could listen to the order.

"What? Wh–" Montell started but was cut off by Malachi roughly pushing him behind a piece of playground equipment. Montell looked down at the scrapes on his hands and knees, not paying any attention to anything around him but thinking about how he was going to attempt fighting Malachi as soon as they got in the house and he grabbed a couple of bandaids.

Malachi looked around in panic. There was nothing he could do to prevent things from going wrong. No matter which way he went, he would be spotted. It's not like he could hideout until they left. The streetlights were on and if she knew his mama, which he does, he knew she was pacing in the living room cursing and making all kinds of empty threats. Malachi grabbed his gun from the waistband of his jeans right as the quartet of guys realized their target stood near them. A few words were exchanged before multiple shots rang out and the sound of footsteps running away seemed to get louder before eventually going silent.

Montell no longer cared about the minor wounds on his body. The only thing on his mind was Malachi. He peeked his head out from his hiding place only to see his brother on the ground. He ran over to him and that's when he realized. Malachi had been hit. At that moment, the ball he had been holding dropped and bounced off but the ball was the least of his worries right now. He fell to his knees and tried to tend to his brother.

"Chi, get up!" He yelled. By now, the neighbors had determined that us was safe to come outside and started making their way to the scene some of them witnessed from their windows. Of course, they would never tell the police that.

Malachi looked up at his brother and weakly gripped his hand. He took one last breath before closing his eyes. He knew that he would never open them again and he unwillingly released his grip on his brother's hand.

Montell let his tears fall as he heard his mother yelling behind him. Montell held onto his brother until his mother scooped him up. She held onto her only living child as she screamed and cried over the one that was laid out on the concrete.

As the sirens were heard in the distance, Montell's mom dragged him to their apartment. The place that always made him feel happy and warm switched to the complete opposite. His brother was gone and the place suddenly felt cold and gloomy. It was as if the apartment had changed its atmosphere because it knew one of its occupants was gone and wouldn't be returning.

Montell stared at his brother's lifeless body from the fourth-floor window until the body got carried away. The only thing left was a huge puddle of blood that would for sure leave a stain. He vowed to never move out of this apartment complex until he caught his brother's murders. The vengeance he wanted to unleash would not allow him to. He had a feeling they would be coming back and if they didn't he wouldn't hesitate to do some searching and find someone related to them. He wasn't going to kill them. Nah, that would be like giving them an easy way out. He wanted them to suffer.

Malachi's case remained cold. No one said anything to the police, but the streets talked and Montell remembered the name up to this day.

***

Montell wiped his face with the arm of his hoodie as he walked away from the window. He grabbed the gun on his nightstand and put in as many bullets as the gun would allow.

"Fuck a plan." He whispered to himself. "If I get caught, I get caught. Either way, my mission will be complete." Mom tell placed the gun back on the nightstand then proceeded to get in bed and close his eyes. He needed to rest before he acted on something he would not regret.

Someone was going to die tonight. Even if it happened to be an innocent person that got in his way.