Mayhem's Beginning (Everybody Changes)

Chapter 16: A Glooming Flower

This side of town wasn't really my place, if you know what I mean. If you aren't from the Bronx, people give you a hard time while you are walking through the Bronx. Especially if you were by yourself and if your skin color wasn't exactly the norm in this area. I was surrounded by death stares from individuals in whom did not look so friendly. What a warm welcome to the neighborhood.

Over my head was a hood, in my ears were buds, and in my jean pockets were my hands. I was gripping a small bottle of Perfect Match Foundation, walking along the sidewalk to my desired destination. If I would have known that Dahlia lived over here I would have asked Adam to take me to her house instead of walking. They would not be happy that I decided to wander into the Bronx by myself, but I guess what they don't know won't hurt them. Yeah right, look what happened last time I used that excuse.

I stared at my phone that had the GPS open. In the search bar was Dahlia's address, a place at the moment I was starting to regret going to. The glares continued as I heard whispers and laughs coming from female and male voices that I have never heard before. I didn't want trouble, and perhaps it was foolish for me to agree to come over to Dahlia's house. Some people do some stupid things for the ones they care about.

According to my phone I was standing in front of her house. It was a humble, ancient looking, paint chipped home. One that wouldn't exactly be acceptable to the average Manhattan resident. Was it bad that I felt like I was going to get stabbed if I was at the wrong house?

I opened the gate, stepped through it, and slowly but surely made my way up to the door. Every step was slower than the last as my feet inched my body closer to the urban cabin in the center of the lot. The grass was non existent, the only colors of element gracing the front lawn being the beige of dirt. When I got to the door a young man came out, his hair shaggy like a dog's and his body frail and thin. He glanced at me and on his face were pick-marks that scattered. For some reason I felt like I had seen this guy before. “Um...” I began. “...is Dahlia here?”

“Yeah man...” his voice sounded weary. “...she's here.” With that he left me on the front porch.

The inside of the house wasn't any nicer than the outside to say the least. It was just as chipped, and just as run down, and for some reason I didn't like the feeling that was creeping up in my stomach. This place was quiet, too quiet. Almost to the point where one could hear a penny hitting the ground if one were to drop one.

“Dahlia?” Soft yells called out. I felt like I was in a horror movie as I stepped down a corridor, turning to a door where I saw was leaking light from underneath. Rotating the door handle, I gently pushed it open. It swung inward to reveal Dahlia sitting on the edge of her bed with a half taken apart computer keyboard. She did not look up when I entered. “Are you alright?” I had no idea she knew how to fix electronics.

She split it into two pieces, stared at the guts of it for a few moments, and then dropped it on the floor. She looked up at me kind of confused, as if she did not know who I was. “Oh hey there Andrew! How have you been? I've been pretty good. Did you see this keyboard? I just took it apart. Pretty cool huh?” Her limbs were jittery as if she had just drank three gallons of coffee. “Have you done anything new, neat, or interesting lately?” Dahlia stood up and walked over to an oak night stand. There she was, grabbing things, picking them, setting them down. Fascinated by everything as if it was brand new to her.

Stepping into her room I would have known who it belonged to if Dahlia wasn't in here. The walls were black, and all across them were various band posters. Operation Ivy, Dropkick Murphys, The Koffin Kats, and all those other groups I knew Dahlia adored. There was little furniture, a computer desk, a bed, and the night stand that was mentioned earlier. Zero clutter was in her room, although one thing did particularly catch my eye. On the computer desk was a McDonald's cup with a straw sticking out of it. It seemed so out of place since there was no other trash in the room.