CHAPTER 26
"To need someone is a dangerous thing."
I walked back into the house, where I found Tyson asleep on the couch and my mother nowhere in sight.
I took my shoes off at the door and walked toward Tyson; he didn't know I was there.
I took off small pieces of clothing, bit by bit with every small step, and woke up Tyson to some I-am-sorry sex.
My mother returned in the middle of it all, so drunk she didn't even care. She wobbled her way up the stairs, while Tyson and I laughed at the sight.
*
Waking up in his arms the next morning, I played in his hair, until he awakened and smiled at the sight of me.
He told me that he loved me, for the first time, and he pulled me close and hugged me tightly, promising to never let me go again.
I told him he needed to let me go so that I could go to the bathroom, as he laughed hysterically in my ear.
When I rose from the chair, we both noticed the unspeakable amount of blood on my shorts and on the couch.
Tyson panicked and rushed me to the car, not even giving me enough time to get dressed. He grabbed one of my mom's dresses off the floor and rushed me to the nearest hospital.
The doctor reassured us that the blood we noticed was nothing serious. He even offered to show us an ultrasound.
I wanted to know what I was having; Tyson wasn't too interested in knowing. So, we decided to just leave on a good note.
Tyson held onto my hand during the whole car ride, there and back.
*
When we pulled into the driveway, he apologized for his actions in the past and for yesterday, promising to make it up to me.
Then, Kevin strolled into the driveway and spotted us together in the car.
He asked, "What's going on?"
Infuriated, I got out of the car, in an attempt to explain the situation to him.
Tyson got out of the car, stepping in front of me. Tyson looked Kevin right in the eyes and told him to leave.
Kevin looked at the both of us and pulled out a gun. But he wasn't pointing it at me; he was pointing it a Tyson.
Tyson pushed me out of the way and pulled out his gun.
I was beyond confused. I wasn't even aware that Tyson owned and carried a gun.
They exchanged words and things only got worse. Tyson told Kevin that I was pregnant and that it wasn't his.
I heard both guns go off, then I stupidly walked in the middle of their gunfire, thinking it started with me so it should end with me.
I felt that no one other than me deserved to get hurt over me. I felt the bullets hit me; but I didn't feel the pain, until I was on the floor. It was like a burning sensation on my skin, and it hurt so bad, like a bad bee's sting.
Kevin and Tyson ran up to me, shocked by what they had done.
My blood stained the white dress I wore, as I screamed, wishing for the pain to stop.
Tyson pushed Kevin away from me, then Kevin pushed Tyson.
I found it funny how even in the most serious of situations they fought over me.
Kevin had a horrified expression on his face when he looked at my blood on his hands, as he applied pressure to my side, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.
Tyson was on the phone with the cops. I heard the pain in his voice; he was also on the verge of crying.
Trying so hard to stop the bleeding, he yelled at Tyson, "YO, SHE'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT. WE NEED TO DRIVE HER THERE!"
But Tyson was too busy trying to stay strong, refusing to cry.
He kicked and hit the side of the house, like that was going to change anything.
Kevin picked me up bridal-style, like he did before we ran away together, and he started running.
And he kept running.
I was not even sure he knew which way to go; but he ran anyway, with me in his arms, while my feet dangled around.
It was getting harder to breathe, and I wasn't liking the taste of my own blood in my mouth.
Kevin was out of breath, trying to run with me in his arms. He begged me to hold on.
Tyson pulled up in his car.
Kevin lay me in the backseat and hopped into the front seat.
Tyson sped off down the highway.
While I looked up at the sky, the clouds looked whiter than usual. I allowed a single tear to fall down my face. I knew I would be gone soon.
I took one last look at Tyson and Kevin and I thought, who would have ever thought things would end like this.
Kevin had his bloody hand up to his face, and I saw him crying, through the rearview mirror.
Tyson banged on his horn, like doing that would magically change the red light to green.
When they both turned around to look at me, I reminisced about how this all started and how we first met, before closing my eyes.
I let the darkness take me and all went dark.
*
Love.
Love had the darkest meaning, so hopefully, I was dreaming.
If not, then let heaven be a wonderland of unreal possibilities I wouldn't get on earth if I were to die today. I would hate to die today.
You wanna know what dying felt like? Imagine a clock ticking, slowly. That was my heart rate, and I felt every tick.
I was aware that I was slipping away. I actually felt myself rising, and I was ready for it.
I actually saw myself rising up to a light in a dark space. It was cold and smelled like nothing at all.
There was no sound, no gates to heaven, just light in a soundless space, until I was pulled down by a shock, then another.
I didn't want to leave this light. This light felt safe, like nothing could harm me, anymore.
I was finally free and defying gravity, until a shock pulled me back down into the dark space.
I tried reaching for it, but the force was too strong.
I was pulled farther and farther down into the dark nothing, until I awoke.
Gasping for air, a bright lightbulb beaming over my head blinded me; so I turned my head away, only to see Tyson and Kevin looking through the glass window of the door, smiling back at me.
If earth was hell, why wasn't I trying harder to get to heaven?
To be continued...