𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬━𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡

Ⅱ

REAGAN LAID THERE FOR A FEW HOURS before she had decided she couldn't lay there anymore. She grabbed the things she needed before locking the door and leaving the house. Reagan opened the door to her small car, the one her mother had before she bought her new one. She hopped in the car and started it up. The rusty motor of the car grumbled as it started. Reagan had to it the dashboard a few times before the car finally agreed to let her pull out of the driveway. 

She sped down the road, obviously going past the speed limit. She twisted and turned, almost hitting a few civilians along the way. She didn't really care at this point. She knew where she was going, and she knew she had to get there before someone else told her. Reagan looked over to the passenger seat, forgetting what was there. 

A few days before, Reagan's mother had gotten her a gun in case she needed it for anything. She knew that Reagan wouldn't use it to kill anyone, maybe majorly harm them. That was all. Reagan sped past a few houses, she could see the people staring out at her through their window. 

She sped into the parking lot of the high school and parked her car. She sat there for a minute. Just staring at the building. Knowing her mother was in there. Reagan just couldn't muster up the courage to get out of the car and go inside to tell her mother. She heard a few voices yelling from an alley way on the side of the building. She tried to glance around, to see what it was, but of course, she couldn't. 

Reluctantly, Reagan opened the car door. Before she got out, she shoved the gun that was sitting on the seat next to her in her back pocket, to where it wasn't visible to the people she was walking to. She got out and shut the door and began on the way to the voices. 

Reagan hid behind a wall for a minute, trying to glance around to see who it was. She could make out a single voice, a voice she had known for a long time. The voice had once belonged to her best friend.

Reagan pulled the gun out of her pocket and held it out in front of her. She pointed it at the boys and slowly walked closer. "Walk away." She called out, walking towards the boys. They all looked over at her, staring for a few minutes. "Who are you?" The one boy asked, walking up to her.

"It don't matter who I am, I said walk away." She repeated. The boy looked back to his friends, who had all turned their attention to her. "Whatchu gon' do? Shoot me?" One of the boys asked her, smirking. 

Reagan cocked her head to the side, pointed the gun down to one of the boy's feet and pulled the trigger. There was a loud boom that came from the gun. The boy who she shot, screamed Bloody Mary and leaned back to his friends. They all grabbed him, helping him to try and get back to his house.

Reagan sighed and put the gun back into her pocket. "I didn't need your help." The voice from behind the dumpster called. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be stuck in the hospital." Reagan said as she walked over to the dumpster. 

She held out her hand to help the boy up. He grabbed her hand and stood up, wiping his knees off in the process. Reagan put her hand in her pocket as she looked at the two. "They still pickin' on Lenora, huh?" Reagan questioned. She looked over at the girl, who stood there shaking. She nodded when she noticed Reagan staring at her. Reagan shook her head. "Don't mind 'em, Lenora. Boys pick on people all the time."

She looked back at the boy, who was standing there awkwardly. "Alright, well...I should go. I have some things to do, and I'm sure you do too. Tell your grandma I said hi, and Lenora, tell your mama I said hi, alright?" 

The girl nodded. Reagan smiled awkwardly and turned back to walk away. "Reagan, what were you doin' here anyway?" She heard being called from behind her. "My mama works here. Has been since the day I was born!" She called behind her.

Reagan opened the door to the front office and walked inside. She tapped the bell and the secretary came out from a back room. "Oh! Hi, Reagan! Come to see your mama?" The woman asked happily. She sat down at her desk and looked at the computer. "She just got done, would you like me to call her?" 

Reagan smiled lightly and shook her head. "No thank you. I'll just walk down to her classroom myself." She told her, trying to hide the pain she had in her heart. Reagan exited the main office and walked down to where her mother's classroom was. It was a long hallway, it seemed darker than usual with the news that was being held in Reagan's mind. Her mother's room was at the very end of the hall, so each step she took made the classroom feel like it was farther and farther away. 

When she reached the room, she knocked on the door. She looked in through the window in the door and saw her mother. She waved her to come in as she was finishing up some things she needed to. "Hi, darlin'. What are you doing here?" 

Reagan sighed and walked over to her mother's desk. She leaned on the desk, trying not to make eye contact with her mother. "Reagan, what is it?" Her mother asked, dropping the books she had in her hands. Reagan began messing with her fingers. "Mama, I got a call today when I was at the house. It was from the sheriff's department...It was about dad." 

Her mother looked at her promisingly. "They found bones that match the timeline he went missing. The skull...had a gunshot in it. It's most likely him." 

She could see her mother's heart drop as she told her that. "Mama, do you want me to go?" She asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her mother nodded. "I'll make something good for dinner, alright?" 

She nodded once more. Reagan left the room and walked down the hall. And all she knew was that her mother's heart broke a little bit more.