𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬━𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡

Ⅴ

THE NEXT DAY, REAGAN SAT IN HER MOTHER'S CLASSROOM, trying to help her mother get everything sorted. It was the end of the day and the students were getting ready to leave. A couple of the boys stared at her up and down as she walked by their desks. 

"Aren't you in high school?" One of the boys asked. Reagan ignored them, walking by and putting away the things her mother had asked her two. "Hey, weren't you the one who came by, protecting that brother-fucker of a friend?" 

Reagan dropped the things she was holding. "I wouldn't have had to shoot him in the fuckin' foot if you would've just walked away. Oh, and you're one to talk. I've heard you call your sister hot. If anyone is a sister fucker, it might be you." 

Reagan's mother looked at her as she walked by. "Knock it off." Her mother mouthed to her. Reagan turned back to put more of the items into the closet. The school bell rang and the students ran out of the classroom. Reagan stayed behind with her mother, finishing the things she was doing. 

Her mother scoffed and made Reagan turn around. "I'm sorry, mama. Is there a problem?" Reagan asked, turning back to her work. "You can't talk to the students like that. It's a miracle the school even asked you to come and be an assistant teacher for all the teachers. I mean, you barely showed up to the school." 

Reagan chuckled lightly. Her and her mother were there for about twenty minutes before Reagan had decided that it was time for her to go. She was only allowed there up until the students left or up to an hour after they left. She finished what she was doing and admired how neat she made everything look. 

"Mama, I'm gonna head out, alright?" Reagan told her as she went over and grabbed her things. "How are you gonna get home?" Her mother asked, peaking out from behind the cabinet. "We only live two minutes away, I'll walk." 

Her mother sighed and went back to what she was doing. Reagan grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. She walked down the quiet halls, and out the front door to where the buses were. Reagan sighed as she exited the building. 

There was a lot of yelling coming from the side of the building. Reagan dropped her bag where she was and ran around to the side of the building. She froze as she watched the boy she once called--and would soon be calling once again--her best friend beat someone with a pole. "Arvin! Arvin! What the fuck are you doing?" Reagan called as she ran up to him. It was one of the same boys that had been picking on Lenora. 

She pulled him off of the boy and tried to calm him down the best she could. "They were messin' with her! They were messin' with Lenora!" The boy was laying down on the ground, practically bleeding to death. Reagan looked at him then back to Arvin. "You can't kill him, alright? I know what they did to Lenora, alright? But that is no reason to kill him." 

She looked at him for a minute, seeing what was in his eyes. "Arvin-" 

"Go get in my car." He mumbled. Reagan looked at him. "What?" He didn't look back at her. "I said, go get in the damn car." 

Reagan stood there for a minute before turning back. She ran and got her bag before running to the car. She opened the door and got in. Reagan quickly shut the door and just sat there. Reagan was breathing heavily. She knew what he was doing to the other boys, she just wasn't sure that they were going to make it out alive. 

She began looking around, just trying to find something significant. She dug around in the car, tossing around the things. There was a rag on the dash board, covered in blood. "Knuckle rag." She mumbled as she went back to looking around for something, anything. There was a box under the passenger seat where she sat. 

Reagan dug the box out from under the seat. It was nice. The box looked old, from before any of them were born. Maybe from when her mother was younger. Reagan opened the box and looked inside. "Why does he have a gun in his car?...It's not weird. I have one in my bag." Reagan took the gun out of the box and examined it. She couldn't tell what make it was or how long ago it was made. 

She looked up and saw him walking back to the car. Reagan shoved the gun back into the box and quickly put it under the seat. She looked straight ahead trying not to think about what was happening. He opened the door, completely out of breath. He got in and grabbed the rag that was sitting on the dash, after closing the door. 

Reagan just watched him. She sighed before she grabbed the rag from his hand. "You didn't kill 'em, did you?" She asked as she tried to help wipe of his hands. "No, but they ain't ever messin' with her again. Besides, what were you even doin' there?" 

"I help here. I'm kinda like an assistant. Arvin, you can't murder people, alright? You can't go to jail. Lenora needs you." Reagan put the rag onto the dashboard. "Now, let's go get Lenora and I'll come to your house for dinner, because I haven't been there for dinner in a while and your grandma makes the best food." 

He laughed and drove off to get his sister.