Chicks, Man

I allow my legs to drift down the quiet hallway. The lights are dimmed low, so it must be night. I’ve lost track of time since I’ve been here. My head is so jumbled, I beg my psyche to dislodge from the negative thoughts. Trying to search deep within my memory for something positive, a strange memory tucked away deep in my mind, becomes visible, as if it were just yesterday.

We stumble in the house, no doubt reeking like booze. “Dude, hurry while my mom’s distracted.” Kip sprints down the hallway into his room, but the raised voices have me slowing, then stopping. I bust out laughing at the argument, almost getting us caught. We’re well over an hour late and smell like two kids who haven’t been at the movies all night.

“Dude, let’s go!” Kip grabs at my shirt and drags me back into his room. “Shit, that was close. Good thing Pops is out of town. You think Stacey’s really gonna call me?”

“Huh?” I ask, leaning against his doorframe as Hannah stomps down the hallway. I take it she didn’t win that argument.

“Stacey, do you think she’ll really call? I don’t know, man. I really dig her.”

I cross my arms over my chest as Hannah lifts her head, still mumbling to herself, grabbing her attention. Her face lights up like it’s the fourth of July and she smiles. “Hey, Levi.”

“Hannah,” I return.

“Watcha guys doing? Can I hang?”

I chuckle at her wanna-be-an-old-kid lingo. I swear she eavesdrops on Kip’s phone calls and takes notes. I heard her tell her dad to slow his roll the other day.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Hannah. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed? It’s kinda late for you.”

Her smile fades, along with the sparkle in her eyes. They still shine, but shit, for a whole other reason. Her hands fly to her hips, her chin stiff and lifting to the sky. “For your information, Levi, I’m almost a woman.”

That gets a snort out of me. “Aren’t you, like, eight?”

If she sticks her chin up any higher, she’s going to fall backwards. “Yes, I am. Thanks for noticing. And soon, I will go through the proper channels of becoming a woman, which means I am perfectly capable of staying up late.”

This kid. I shake my head, my crooked smile partially Boons Farm related. “Oh yeah? Proper channels? What exactly is that? You mean like puberty?”

Her cheeks explode in crimson. “No, when I become a woman. When a woman grows breasts, they become women.”

I can’t help it. I bellow out in laughter. “Well, how about this, when you grow breasts, ask me again, and I’ll say yes.”

Kip jumps off his bed, sticking his head out, wondering who I’m talking to. “Oh, hey, Han. If Mom asks, we’ve been home for an hour, cool?” he says, then shuts the bedroom door on her.

“Jesus, I thought you’d never leave that room.”

The hair on my skin stands on end, pulling me out of my memory. I slow my step and pause. With caution, I pivot to face him. “How’d you get in here?” He looks like shit. He’s dressed in a pair of scrubs, the tag hanging from his waistline stolen or fake. His face has seen better days. There’s no doubt from his two black eyes I broke his nose.

He coughs violently into his hand. “As easy as I got into your company and became a stellar first year lawyer.”

Fury overwhelms me. He shouldn’t be here. He should be in a jail cell—or even better, dead. I take a menacing step toward him, my hands beginning to tremble with rage. “You’re fucking dead.”

His malevolent laugh will forever haunt me. “I don’t think so. You’d think after everything, you’d figure out I’m the one who laughs last. Unlike you, who won’t be walking away from this.”

I take another step when he waves his hand around and I see the object he’s holding. “You think you’re going to shoot me in a hospital and walk away? You’re a lot dumber than I thought.”

I stare him in the eye, waiting for his next move. He’s casual in his stance, uncaring we’re in an open hallway and anyone could walk out and catch him. “Tsk, tsk, lover-boy. Are those going to be your last words? You know, I thought you were an okay guy at first. But then you had to get in my way. I always planned on destroying your life somehow. It actually became a little game for me. But then Hannah had to put a wrench in my plans. Definitely didn’t see her coming. Tell me, since you stole the chance from me, how did it feel to have her naked and open wide while you fucked her?”

“You son of a—”

“I’m not done! Answer me. How was it? Fucking such an angel. Did she scream your name? Moan like a wild whore?” I take another step, and his arm straightens out, pointing the gun directly at my chest. “She deserved better than that. Treating her like trash, fucking her in your office? You didn’t deserve her. I did. She was mine!” His hand shakes, and I jerk to the side, tugging at my bandages in fear of the gun going off and shooting me.