May
___________

𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯

In the early hours of the morning, I heard strong banging on my dorm door. The last time I heard banging this bad, was when the cops had came to question Lewis about Cassidy. I was half naked, as sleeping shirtless was kind of comfortable, so I quickly scrambled for a shirt. The banging happened yet again. "Give me a second!"

"Evelyn?" I questioned as I first creeped the door open. She shoved the door fully open as I spoke. "Girl!" I said, "what was that for?" Evelyn was clearly upset, or angry, I couldn't really tell. She walked in and sat on my bed.

"What the hell did you do?"

"What?" I questioned my cousin, who looked pretty similar to me. We were the same shade, but she was a little on the chunkier side in terms of weight. She also had braces, which I didn't. Her hair was coiled up like mine was when in its natural form.

"Somebody sent me this!" Evelyn damn near yelled as she tossed a folded up paper my way. I squatted down to pick it up, then unfolded it. "10,000 dollars?" I asked aloud as I skipped words and just scanned through the paper, "they know he did it. Authorities?" My hand slowly covered my mouth.

"I sure as hell didn't tell anyone" Evelyn said. "My boyfriend definitely didn't tell anyone. So that leaves only one other person in this situation. Wanna tell me what happened? Or do we have to do this the hard way May?"

I squinted, "the hard way?"

"Oh I don't know," Evelyn went on as she stood up and approached me. I backed up a little in fear. "The hard way, like, hurting somebody you love. Say, the person that this whole situation is surrounded by?"

"He's the only other person that knows" I confided, "but I don't think he squealed. Our friends dynamic is hard to deal with sometimes, somebody could've gone through his phone or overheard something."

Evelyn folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow, "why did he know in the first place?"

"He figured it out" I admitted. "I was sleeping one night, he woke me up, and confronted me. I never asked how he knew, I was kind of shocked. But immediately after he made me swear the we both never say a thing about it. So I don't think he did."

Evelyn rested her face in her hand. "May, I don't know how to help you right now" she admitted. "Because I don't know who wrote this, so I can't take them out or determine whether or not they're a real threat."

I nodded, "so, what then? What are you gonna do?" Evelyn shrugged.

"I won't do anything, but Makeveli... you know him. He's short tempered, reason why his own family don't fuck with him."

I nodded, "yeah I know."

Evelyn sighed, "Lewis needs to go low key for a little. At least until I figure this out." My mouth dropped.

"You think Mak would hurt Lewis?" I asked, and Evelyn looked at me like I'd asked a dumb question.

"Mak killed his own dad, May." Evelyn confided in me. "He would have a field day with Lewis. And I know that you don't want that. I know that you and your friends are still mourning your other friend. What was his name? Mark?"

"Matt" I corrected her.
"Yeah, him" Evelyn said.

Nick
__________

"Uno, motherfucker!" Jason yelled as he, Lewis, Rico, Aubrey, Nova and I sat in Nova and Aubrey's kitchen. Seconds later, something broke one of the glass windows that were only yards away from us.

"Oh no, motherfucker!" Jason said, prompting small laughter. Aubrey shot up, "what the fuck?"

A random guy, maybe a little darker than me, with bleached dreads sitting on his head, poked his head through the ridged, busted open hole in Nova and Aubrey's window. "Who the hell?" Nova asked.

"I'm calling the police!" Aubrey voiced.

"No!" Lewis said, grabbing Aubrey's wrist. "No need. That's Makaveli, May's cousin's boyfriend." Makaveli quickly looked over at Lewis. It seemed that he was looking for him, from the change in his expression.

"Let me find out you're that one that snitched nigga!" Makaveli hurriedly yelled while pointing a finger at Lewis. "I swear, I swear ima fucking kill you." Everybody looked around at one another. Lewis looked as though he was genuinely lost, but I knew what Makaveli was talking about. Lewis admitted that May had Makaveli kill Cassidy.

"You sure you don't want me to call the police, Lewis?" Aubrey asked, to which a stunned Lewis slowly shook his head. "Don't" he said.

"Sir, can you calmly tell us what's happening?" Nova asked, "cause we all seem lost, if you couldn't tell."

Makaveli shook his head. "Little girl if I told you" he began, "I'd have to kill you. And trust me, as much as I enjoy a nice blood bath, I wouldn't wanna have to do that." Nova went wide eyed and ferociously nodded, "never-mind then."

"Here" Makaveli said, dropping some hundred dollar bills on the floor. "That's for the window. My bad, but I got a tip that Lewis would be here." He looked back over at Lewis before he left, "better sleep with one eye open if you know what's good for you."

***

We couldn't go back to playing uno afterwards, for obvious reasons. Lewis wouldn't let up and tell the rest of the group what happened. He also seemed to genuinely not remember telling me that night.

Aubrey immediately called a repair man, and Jason suggested that he and Lewis stay at the Milan-Bryant home, just so Lewis wasn't alone and paranoid. He was clearly in some sort of shock. I felt bad, and honestly, genuinely, worried that he was in grave danger. I had to do something.

Brynn was already at the front door when I arrived at her house, as if she were expecting me. "You're a good friend" she quickly said. "I've been out here for a about an hour now, figuring that you'd be on your way if you really cared about Lewis. I see you do."

"Brynn, what the fuck?" I questioned. "I'd rather suffer from withdrawal than have my friend living a fearful life. Why would you do that?"

"Do what?" Brynn asked, playing stupid.

"I don't know" I said sarcastically, "tell Makaveli!"

"I didn't. I requested money from his girlfriend. I told her that if she didn't give me money, I'd tell the police what I knew." I rolled my eyes, "like that's any fucking better." Brynn sighed, "I know I messed up."

"Give me like, three days" Brynn pleaded. "Three days, and this will all be fixed."

I wasn't too pleased by that request. "Brynn, this Makaveli guy is some kind of hitman. Three days might be too late. Lewis could be dead by then."

Brynn nodded, "Twenty-four hours. The second that we end this conversation, I'll get to fixing this." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine."

"And while we're here" I said, "take this chip out of me. I'll wear the necklace, fine, but given what just happened, I don't want the fucking chip." Brynn agreed, "fair" she said, "but I'll know if you don't wear the necklace. And right now, with whatever I'm gonna whip up, I really, really, need you to wear it."

Lewis
___________

Everybody kept asking if I was okay, and I just shrugged every time. I didn't know how to feel right now. I mean, I just had my life threatened. What if I get killed? What the hell does death feel like? How will everybody else react, especially given that we're still all reeling from Matt's death?

"I know you said you wanna be alone" Rico began as he creeped the door open a little bit. I'd been sitting in one of the rooms in Nova and Aubrey's mansion. "But we need to talk. I have information that is undoubtedly useful." I looked at Rico, "okay."

"You remember the night when we hung out at Nick's house?" Rico questioned me.

I shrugged, "a little" I responded to Rico's question. "I don't remember much, but I know we drank." Rico made a "bingo" face. I could kind of see where this was going. "Yeah" he said, "exactly."

"Although I was tipsy, I do remember you telling us about how you know what happened to Cassidy. You said that Makaveli was ordered by May's cousin, through May, to kill Cass." My mouth dropped.

"How the hell did Mak find out though?" I asked, as pieces of that night now started to come back.

Rico shrugged, "I don't know. But Lewis I can promise you that I didn't say anything. I know I used to be untrustworthy, but I wouldn't do that. Not here anyways, this is a lot more serious than most cases."

"I believe you" I admitted, "because Nick has been acting really fucking weird lately."

Rico nodded, "that's what I was thinking" he admitted, "I just didn't wanna say it. Are you gonna confront him?" I shook my head no.

"Well actually, it depends on how this goes" I admitted. "I still gotta talk to May, figure out what we're gonna do. I feel sympathetic for Nick right now, as weird as it seems. He isn't himself at all."

"Well, I can talk to him" Rico suggested. "Not in a pissed off 'what the hell' kind of way, just in a 'hey, what's going on?' type of thing, you know?"

I nodded, "go for it. What do I have to lose beyond this point? Just don't tell him about our convo, we have to keep certain things away from him for now."

Brynn
__________

Thank goodness for the fact that I was a vengeful bitch during my senior year at Norwood, because it was during that time that I mastered the art of stalking and finding addresses.

"Makaveli" I said aloud as I sat in my dark room, only being illuminated by my computer's light. "1077 Westend Ave." I clicked the blue link that held the address of the person I was looking up. There was only one Makaveli in Jacksonville, which was very close to Tallahassee, and based on age, criminal record, and description, I assumed this was him.

"What the hell" I squinted at my computer, "this place is damn near abandoned. There's only one house out here." I sighed as I slowly got up, starting to actually feel the side affects of pregnancy, and looked under my bed, which was a mess. The first thing I touched, unintentionally, was the napkin that held Nick's bloody arm chip. Disgusting.

"Ah" I said as I further felt around, as if I were having an actual conversation with somebody, "there." I pulled out a small, very old fashioned, hand gun. I wasn't gonna use it, but seeing as this guy has no regard for human life apparently, it's probably better to be on the safe side.

I put on my dad's old hunting boots, which he bestowed to me. My feet were kind of swollen as I was in the homestretch of pregnancy, but the pain wasn't anything that I haven't felt thus far. Once that was set and done, I put ziplock bags over my shoes so that Makaveli wouldn't hear me coming, and therefore wouldn't have time to go running for a gun. I was just gonna talk to him and let him know that he isn't in danger, it was me that wrote his girl.

Sarah
__________

From a distance, I've been keeping tabs on Brynn. I heard her talking to Nick earlier, though I wasn't able to hear what about without being seen. I could hear clicking and small murmurs coming from her room just now, telling me that she was using a computer, and talking to herself yet again. That little girl is weird, let me tell y'all.

I stayed in the room over, so that Brynn wouldn't see me when leaving her room. I heard her car keys jingling, and her bag being zipped up. I waited for her to leave the house before making a decision: do I follow her, or do I mind my business?

Matter of fact, what the hell am I thinking? Brynn didn't mind her business when it came to my job, why in the world should I mind mine?

I slid on some slippers and an oversized sweater. Brynn left her door open, so I walked in and opened her computer, showing me an address immediately. I copied the address in my phone, and put it in my GPS. I bet this address was that of somebody who was helping Brynn ruin Nick's life with addiction.

Brynn
__________

Upon arrival, even before I walked in, the smell of cigarettes was so thick. I gagged, and quickly pulled out a mask from the compartment area of my car. I have a baby to protect.

The area was foggy, a little, but not at all hard to see through. The woods were right behind, and the ground was pure dirt, broken tree branches and debris all over. There was a convertible in the parking lot, and the house itself didn't look bad; it was a white colored single home.

I opened my bag, and put the handgun in the pocket of my sweatshirt. "Please don't make me have to use this" I said aloud, "I'd rather not."

I made slow, steady steps, trying to keep my feet damn near silent. I looked through a window, and saw what I believed was the kitchen. It seemed that the back door was open, as Makaveli appeared to be trying to get that nasty cigarette smell out.

I further tip toed to the back, where the open door was and hurried up the short stairs.

"Hi!" I beamed, clearly startling Makaveli. "Don't attack me!" I quickly said after, "I come in peace."

"Hoe, who are you?" Makaveli asked, "and how you find my drop?" 'Drop,' a form of African American Vernacular English, meant location.

Makaveli chuckled before I could even say anything. "You a pregnant lil bitch coming to a gansta's house?" he questioned me, "what, the opps sent you to come seduce me or sum?"

I squinted as I slowly shook my head. "No, but I needed to clear something up. I caused something to happen that you think was done by someone else."

Makaveli raised an eyebrow, "hm" he said aloud, "I'm listening' sweet thang."

"I wrote that letter demanding money. And Lewis didn't have a damn thing to do with it"

Makaveli laughed, clearly not believing me. "Is that what he told you to say to me little girl?"

"No" I confirmed, "I don't even talk to Lewis. "I had somebody get him and another boy drunk, because I was trying to get secrets out of the other guy. Instead, it was Lewis that told his secrets. He was drunk out of his mind. He didn't mean to say anything. I took that opportunity as a potential financial gain without thinking first."

Makaveli's face grew hard and serious. "So I should kill you instead bitch?" he asked, standing up. I shook my head profusely.

"Or, maybe you shouldn't kill anybody?" Makaveli shook his head and literally charged me like a bull. I managed to move out of the way in time, and realized that I had no other choice. I shot aimless bullets at him, unsure of if I wanted him to die, or just wanted to protect myself.

Sarah
____________

If it weren't for all the open windows, I would've assumed that it was Brynn who got shot. I held my hand over my mouth in utter shock at what I heard. I couldn't believe that Brynn had just murdered somebody. I knew she was like, vindictive and destructive, yes, but actual killing? She could do that and be fine with it?

I quickly ran back down the street where I parked my car. I got in, took a few side streets, and just tried to evade the area as much as possible. I didn't know what the hell to do now. Do I tell the police? Do I confront Brynn? Do I act clueless?

Brynn
___________

My chest heaved as I looked at Makaveli's clearly lifeless body. Bullets so many that you could see literal holes on his body. The blood pooled so fast that it was nearly black as it surrounded him. His body seemed stiff already, as if it had already entered rigor mortis. I tried to hold my tears in.

I looked around, examining the house. It was evident that nobody else was in the home, but I also wanted to make sure cameras weren't around. I figured that since I didn't enter any other room, I shouldn't check there for cameras. Even if there were cameras in other rooms, they wouldn't have caught me.

"Okay" I huffed, looking down at the disgusting tile floor. "No fingerprints anywhere, smart girl." I tip toed past Makaveli, as if I still needed to, and hurried to my car the second that I was outside. I didn't exactly know what to do now. I can't tell Nick this. I can't tell anybody.

To even start up my car felt impossible. My hands were shaking. I finally managed and just started driving. I didn't know the place or where I was headed to. I just couldn't be there.

As I drove, I passed the Varier bridge, which had a deep body of water below. I parked on the side, feeling queasy. I looked down, with thoughts ranging from suicide to fear. Without thought, I checked the gun downwards. It took about ten seconds before I heard a plop, indicting that the gun had submerged.

I dragged myself to my car.

"Hey siri" I said into my phone as I pulled off, stopping yet again at a parking lot nearby, " FaceTime Jason Watson."