"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." ~ Marcus Aurelius

~*~ Chapter 4 ~*~

5:14 PM

7/11, Rosedale VA

With the teens

Chasing Daylight

Could today not be the day, Megan pleaded to herself. Her right hand anxiously jingled the keys while her right gripped the leather stirring wheel. Finally, she heard the car roar halfway to life.

The sky had mixed to a pinkish orange, but the thick storm clouds approaching from the ease allowed little light to shine.

Small pops and crackles arose from the grind of her tires against the rocky road. Even as the conversation between Connie and Elijah heated, Megan's mind remained in her thoughts, consequently avoiding Ezrah's question.

"How does that equate to I don't love you? That's what I'm trynna to ask but you tripping."

Ezrah chuckled at his brother's words and peeped through the rearview mirror to see Connie shaking her head and leaning against the window. "I swear things only make sense when you want it to...." Connie spat, crossing her arms.

Ezrah couldn't help but snicker, settling back into his seat, watching lightning flash in the distance. His eyes sought out Megan, hoping for a shared laugh, but she remained lost in her own thoughts, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.

The pinkish-orange sky outlined Megan's face. The sun reflected off the lenses of her golden-trimmed glasses and blocked out her eyes. Ezrah could thank the sun for illuminating each curve of her plump cheeks, blemishes, and heart-shaped lips.

The playful spark he once knew dimmed; the girl he remembered felt like a distant memory.  No eye roll, no playful gesture, just silence, even though Megan felt his eyes on her.

Ezrah didn't blame Megan but longed for the openness they once shared.

Their story unfolded differently from Connie and Elijah's. Childhood friends, sure, but romance didn't color his view of Megan back then. She was firmly in Elijah's orbit and the one steady face the McNeil family had seen since the third grade. Freshman year marked the beginning of their relationship, one that developed in the shadows before her father's passing and the storm unleashed by his own father.

His father triggered something in Ezrah at a young age. They never got along since his father would force him to play sports, beat him for speaking out, and analyze his body or never "gain muscle like his brothers" whenever he had the chance.

Then and sometimes now, Ezrah couldn't stand his own body.

Many problems stemmed from his father. Diagnosed with anxiety and depression, it enlisting in the military, his dream, was difficult when he became an adult. He attempted to get over his depression and suppress his anxiety, but that emerged in a bad habit of smoking.

Looking back, the days still plagued him, especially since he and Kiah were always under the strict scrutiny of their father. It started with him first when he was around ten when he cried after a game. He must've liked it, he beat him again the following week for an unknown reason. The beatings started again when he entered Middle School and refused to play sports; those were the worst.

During freshman year, almost no one was in the house. He and Elijah became obsessed with sports. Eliyah had joined the cheer team, Isaiah graduated early and spent his time working or traveling out of state with friends, while their mother spent the first months of her time at her parent's home with Dejah. That left Kiah to suffer the worst. No one, not the doctors, the therapists, cops, grandma, or grandpa, could get Kiah to talk about what happened.

The plane tickets didn't say much, but the marks talked. When they first noticed them, they looked like playground scars, the type children get on their knees, hands, and chin after failing a trick. Summer came around that year, and Andrea found puncture marks on Kiah's arms.

To this day, no one really knew what happened besides Kiah and their father.

What happened after escalated on his part, but shamelessly, he didn't regret it. Megan remained a constant throughout with each McNeil family member, even after her father's death.

"Out of today of all days, Connie, Im not talking about this."

Eliyah, as much as they tried to force her to the back of their minds, the girl would resurface. She was often the light and the problem solver.

The mood in the car shifted, the once peaceful atmosphere ruined by something Ezrah didn't even know started. Things between Elijah and Connie were always rocky. Connie would often cheat, break up, hang out, then magically end up back together.

Countless times, even talking with their mother, they tried to grill it into Elijah's head that it wasn't wise nor healthy to continue being in a relationship with Connie.

Never had it gotten physical, but Elijah would suffer a lot and blame himself for the cheating she did. Connie's charismatic charm and shared interest in the silly things Elijah liked always wiggled her way back into Elijah's heart.

Ezrah wasn't ever close with Connie until recently. They met in the fourth grade, and just recently, she would start petty, low-blow arguments with Megan. Things were destined to worsen, especially with Elijah applying to Michigan University and continuing his MOS as a Civil Affairs specialist.

Surprisingly, the occupation grew on Elijah. Challenging in the start but made him uncomfortable in the right ways. In his time, he spoke to men and women behind the scenes who made sure American affairs were in order. They made him strengthen his Spanish, but he didn't utulize with them instead, he spoke to Connie in her native tongue.

Elijah could tell that she liked it but requested that he speak to her in English. He reluctantly accepted and didn't press her on it as much as he felt he should.

Elijah never pressed Connie, not when she was angry or sad. The one time he did was when she showed up at his house covered in bruises. He settled with the lie she sprewed just to get her to calm down but she insisted on not going to the hospital and cried even more when he said "home". So he kept her, but he couldn't keep her private because he shared a room with Ezrah.

Connie avoided being alone like it was some kind of threat, and when her sister passed, there wasn't much grief in her tears. She hardly had people over, keeping her space to herself. Lately, her moods have been all over the place, making it difficult to maintain a positive outlook for their relationship..

When Elijah was away, Ezrah did his best to be there for her. They smoked together frequently since Elijah didn't and Megan never did it as often as they did. During this time he discovered that her mother couldn't get her prescription covered because of money so he stepped in and got them for her.

It was a mistake. Connie's mother wasn't ever prescribed Xanax. She just used it to satisfy her opioid addiction and sold it. Connie asked that he didn't tell Megan and Elijah. Still, Ezrah found himself compelled to when he witnessed her mother go from a sweet, innocent, charismatic woman to a woman hurling racial slurs at him and slapping Connie around like a ragdoll.

The car glided along the deserted one-way street, the silence only punctuated by the occasional crack of thunder and flash of lightning that lit up the sky. The abandoned houses were a haunting reminder of a time long gone, and the single gas station, recently closed down, looked forlorn and forgotten.

Ezrah peered out the window to his left, anticipation mounting as he caught a glimpse of the Colonial three-story farmhouse. It was surrounded by acres of land, with rolling fields stretching as far as the eye could see. He could make out a barn and stables that were as big as his own house.

A warmth spread through Ezrah's chest like wildfire as they passed the home. The Pinner family's farmhouse was a beautiful sight to behold, with its wrap-around porch and well-tended fruitful gardens. The house itself was dimly lit, with only a few lights on inside, but outside, four lamp posts illuminated their twenty acres of land, casting a warm glow over the area.

Ezrah caught a glimpse of Mr. Pinner outside on the porch with the unmistakable red flannel button-up shirt he loved so much. He was helping Mrs. Pinner across their wrap-around porch with an old-fashioned lantern in his shaky hand.

He could hear the man talk of him and his dad's war stories, taste the butterscotch candy they handed out after service for as long as he could remember, and smell Mrs. Pinner's pleasant floral perfume. They had

Ezrah smiled, waiting for the next time he would see them and reminded himself to ask if they needed help around the home since their sons were scattered around the states busy with their own families. It was the least he could do.

Then, as the car turned a corner, the scenery shifted back to the dense woods that encased the long, narrow road.

A part of him wanted to ensure the elderly couple got to their destination safely and, more importantly, together. He couldn't help but imagine himself and Megan on that porch, surrounded by the lush greenery and tranquility of the countryside. They would be living a simple but contented life, with the occasional hiccup along the way, like the chickens escaping their coop in the morning or a leak in the pantry that he would be adamant about fixing despite his old age.

For better or worse, Ezrah allowed himself to drift into his thoughts, smiling contentedly as he heard Megan begin to hum 'If I Ain't Got You' by Alicia Keys. It felt as if she played strings of his heart, plucking them and flicking them as she liked as she hummed.

She reminded him of the life he would lose if he wasn't careful doing what he do. It made him sick to even think of it, but he needed to. For her.

If he were to die would he be with her and his family in heaven? His stomach began to turn at the thought.

The vintage, rust-streaked 1990 Ford F-150 trundled down the road. Inside the truck, the feeble sighs of the struggling AC unit provided meager relief from the relentless chill seeping through from outside. In the back, Elijah suffered quietly while Connie would make low-volume jeers every other two minutes about the cold.

For the next twenty minutes, silence reigned within the truck. The engine's hum blended with the occasional shift of restless bodies, the air growing heavier with every passing mile.

Approaching the more urban part of town, traffic intensified, and the truck became enveloped by the looming facades of time-worn buildings on either side.

The truck yielded to the red light. The aging 7/11 at the corner came into view, at first glance it had always looked abandoned with its sun bleached pictures and empty ragged parking lot. Rosedale had a problem updating anything. The roads were rocky and unexceptional to visitors, and the old southern buildings were unappealing to the younger generation.

Born and raised, each member of the friend group couldn't have it any other way. Reinstalling or damaging it with an upgrade would rob them of the Memories they shared with Eliyah.

Elijah tapped his phone screen, bringing life to a photo of the girls in his family. Underneath the time 5:27, the message from Isaiah and their school. The message from Isaiah read, "Make sure Ezzy doesn't forget about curfew again. 6, I'm not picking no one up." and the message from school read, "Elijah McNeil test result." however, Elijah just shoved his phone back in his pocket and proceeded to exit the car.

Megan noticed Ezrah's nose wrinkled and questioned, "What's wrong?"

Megan withdrew the keys from her ignition. Shaking the smell off, Ezrah exited the car with his friends. He looked around for a source. First, he checked Megan's tires to ensure she didn't roll over a dead animal and then just looked around.

Megan and Elijah stood on the concrete, waiting for him while Connie headed into the store. Megan sniffed the air but still couldn't smell anything. Ezrah returned from the side of the truck and joined their side.

Elijah held the door open, allowing Megan and Ezrah to walk in before him.

The chime of the bell lingered briefly before fading away, leaving behind a hushed ambiance only disturbed by the subdued hum of the coolers. The aisle, bathed in the cold glow of fluorescent lights, revealed a 7/11 that seemed to be holding onto its inventory by a thread.

Empty patches disrupted the rhythm of snacks and day-to-day items. The coolers with their faint buzzing, displayed a limited assortment of chilled beverages and essentials.

Connie headed straight to the aisle with household items. Her green hood rested on her narrow shoulder, exposing the black hair tied into a messy low bun. The fresh X craved into her skin using a razor was on the side of her face, centimeters away from her ear.

Connie grabbed a handful of matches from the shelf, the price doubled over the appropriate amount. The scratchy sound of the matchbox sliding caught the attention of the young clerk at the register.

Sensing his eyes on her, Connie glanced over. Her eyes narrowed at the curly-haired boy around her age, "Can I help you?"

Tyler was displayed on the white tag pinned on his grey uniform. He looked up from restocking, his curly brown hair falling slightly over his forehead. His round face, riddled with pimples and one cut under his eye, contorted into a smile as he shrugged his shoulder. "No, but what can I do for you?"

Connie glanced down the aisle to where she could hear Elijah cracking a joke, making Megan laugh. Hearing her laugh and Elijah add on, Connie couldn't help but roll her eyes.

The distaste brewing in her gut was strong, and as she looked at the circular mirror placed on the fridges, she could see Ezrah shaking his head and walking away from the two. Megan and Elijah followed behind him, probably plotting something by the looks of it.

Connie walked to the front counter, rolling her eyes and muttering snarkily under her breath. She laid the matches on the counter, her eyes watching the aisle.

Ezrah reached the end of the aisle, glancing back over his shoulder. His dreads hung down, swaying in front of his face, creating a curtain that partially obscured the majority of his sculpted face.

The twins were the same with their stubborn morals and faces but their personalities differed. She went for Elijah due to his popularity, extroverted personality, and muscles, but she found herself attracted to Ezrah, every now and then.

Ezrah distanced himself from the troubling duo behind him, a muted chuckle slipping through his lips as he ambled towards the counter. The overhead lights accentuated his face, highlighting the familial features he shared with his brothers. She couldn't help but smile. The rhythmic sway of his dreadlocks held her gaze captive, though, from his expression, she couldn't discern if the smile was directed at her.

"What?" Ezrah ask coldly, the smile disappearing from his face. The scar above his eyebrow made her stomach knot in a good way. She adored it the day he got it. His scent met her nose, the weed smell she never minded but it was always accompanied and overpowered by his cologne.

Connie's eyes connected with his, and she didn't attempt to hide the smile and blush, though she returned her eyes to Tyler, who had a grin. "This all you need?" Tyler asked with a smile on his thin chapped lips, dried blood formed at the far right crease of his lip.

"Damn," Connie thought, a snicker escaping her mouth, "someone had it rough."

Ezrah came up behind Connie, his footsteps muffled against the worn linoleum floor, and casually placed a chilled water bottle on the counter. Feeling her cheeks heat up at his presence. Connie turned slightly to Tyler and answered, "That's all for me, Jack."

Tyler and Connie shared a look, the cut under his cheek reminding her of her own cut. Realization struck her, and she placed the hood over her head with her heart racing. The smile on Tyler's face dissipated as he looked at her.

Tyler glanced at Ezrah, who typed on his phone, uninterested in their conversation, before saying, "Don't worry, man, everything is on the house." Tyler scooped the matches off the counter and placed them all in the bag.

Ezrah glanced up, hearing this. He prepared to question Tyler as his hand reached out and grasped the chilled water bottle, but before he could say anything, surprise and a smile erupted across Tyler's face. "Dude, your Jaxon's friend? The one that went back for him? Y'know he's still into that shit, right?"

Connie chuckled at this and looked at Ezrah, who grabbed the bottle and shook his head.

"Nah, not me." Despite Ezrah's words, Tyler still had a smile on his face, his eyes on the scar above Ezrah's eyebrow.

"No need to lie, man. I'm just curious why you aren't with them tonight? I heard they're stealing guns off of the soldiers downtown after curfew. The shit they're about to come up on is some gnarly shit." Tyler handed Connie the bag, the fresh cut under his eye gaining Ezrah's attention. "I'll stick my hands in it too if I were fast enough."

"Yeah, no need to lie, Ezzy," Connie said in a sweet voice, very much forced in Ezrah's ears.

Ezrah shook his head, cracked open the tap of the water bottle, and left from the counter, "Not me like I said. Meg, Eli, C'mon," he called out, turning his back on Connie and Tyler.

Megan came first, with nothing in her hand besides a jug of water priced well above a reasonable amount. She looked at Ezrah and inquired, "That's all you're getting?" The concern in her eyes made Ezrah turn away and back to the aisle in search of his brother. "Ezzy, you are not getting anything else? Go get something." Megan urged, looking up at her boyfriend. Ezrah glanced down at her, a slight smile on his face when he met her eyes.

"I'll eat something when I get home," Ezrah replied softly.

Megan persisted but Ezrah constantly denied it and showed no signs of giving in. He just eyed the aisle while answering his girlfriend with the same answers much to her dismay.

Connie's eyes did a swift, dismissive roll as if choreographed by annoyance. She folded her arms tightly and muttered something under her breath.

"Ezzy, go get something you haven't eaten all day. At least something for later." Megan urged. Ezrah purposely avoided her gaze and continued to scout for his brother. However, he did feel bad for neglecting her plea.

"I'm not hungry," Ezrah muttered, watching his brother emerge from the aisle. Inside Elijah's arms were at least three different colored Body armor, three packets of powdered donuts, two bags of Skittles, and two honey bunnies. In his hands, due to the federal markups, was well over twenty dollars.

Knowing Elijah, it would be gone in minutes.

"Dude, that's so not what I meant when I said everything was on the house," Tyler's shoulders slumped, but he chuckled at the sight.

"Wait, everything is on the house?" Megan and Elijah asked at the same time.

Connie's fingers traced the contours of her cheek, a twinge of pain awakening beneath her touch, teasing the raw X etched on her face. Megan embodied everything they needed, the perfect girl, to say the least. Connie's heart raced. Could she go through with it? She attempted to embrace the thought, recalling her parents' words, "No temas a la muerte" – fear no death.

~*~ End of Chapter 4~*~