Bunny

63

We'd been at the party for a few hours and the sun was almost down completely.

It was just me and Isaiah talking now while we stood away from everyone.
"They're really nice here." I stated.
"I bet you thought they wouldn't be."
"Maybe a little. I think they're nice because they saw me with you."
"Maybe. And because you a girl. If you were a dude, they would've had their spines straight and you would've been stared at all night."
That sounded scary.
"I mean you gettin' stared at regardless."
I gasped and looked around.
A few were looking at us but not a lot.

"Why?" I asked.
"Because you're fine as hell." he snickered.
I looked back at the people.
His hand gently took my jaw and pulled me back to look at him. "And they're probably wonderin' how I pulled you." He kissed me.
"I expect it to be the other way around..." I admitted.
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because?"
"You're just..."

The entire party began to fall silent and I watched Isaiah look away from me.

I looked to see what he was looking at.

A car was approaching from down the street with its bright headlights on. The bass from the music in the car was even louder than Isaiah's.
I wondered who it was. Maybe it was Kevin.

Somebody stuck their head out of the window.

I saw running and heard a bit of screaming before I was tackled to the ground with my head covered. Every sound was muffled but I could still tell that they were gunshots.

I could hear glass shattering, shot metal, and the music from the car.
I could feel my eyes watering, even while I held them closed, and the tears leaked down my cheeks.

The noises stopped and I opened my eyes.
I could see Isaiah on top of me and looking around us.

He looked down at me.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
I shook my head.
He picked my face up and kissed all over it.

I heard someone scream and we looked over at them.

There were people around two dead bodies.
Isaiah helped me up and we walked over.

It was an older man and some teenage girl. One woman who I assumed was the mother, held onto the girl's body, rocking back and forth as she cried loudly.

"Fuck..." Isaiah sighed and rubbed his face.

"FUCK!!!" someone shouted and I looked.
It was Andre with eyes full of tears while he paced and LJ and Kareem tried consoling him.

The people in the house started to come out.

I looked back at Andre who crouched down to the ground and had his face in his hands.

Isaiah walked over to him and crouched in front of him.

I stood where I was but could see the two were talking.

This was horrifying.
I didn't know what to do.
I was still in shock that I'd even witnessed it.

Four people were injured and two were dead.

How often does this happen here? There's no panic that it happened, only panic that people died. As if a drive by was just a casual Tuesday.

The people who were injured hopped into vehicles with drivers to take them to the hospital. The mother still hadn't let go of her daughter and I don't think anyone had the cruelty to pull her away.
Everyone else began to migrate inside the house.

I looked at Isaiah.

He and Andre had stood up and all four of the men were talking.
He stopped and began walking towards me.

"Come on." he said and took my hand.

I followed behind him to leave the party. We walked towards his car.

~~~

We arrived at his apartment complex and got out. The entire car ride was silent. He didn't even let his music play.

He held my hand the entire time while we rode the elevator.

We walked inside of his apartment and he shut the door.
I looked at him but his head was down while he looked at his phone.

"You can get ready for bed or whatever. I gotta make a phone call." He walked to the couch and sat down.

I left and went to his bathroom to turn on his shower before I went to his room to grab my things.

A drive by isn't something you get over quickly. I didn't know how to console him about it. What was I supposed to say? I've never encountered a person who's been through this before him.

While I looked through my bag, I noticed something.
I sighed.

I forgot my bonnet.

I walked out of his room to tell him but I heard sniffing.

I walked down the hall quietly and peaked past the corner.

Isaiah had his head leaned back over the couch and his hand covered his eyes while the other held the phone to his ear.
"I fucked up..." he sniffed.

He fucked up? I thought to myself.

I continued to listen.

He wiped his eyes with the inside of his wrist before leaning forward with one arm on his leg.
"They had a drive by..." he sniffed. "And...And I took Willow with me..."

I hid completely behind the wall.

"Ma, she could've died..." he stated and sniffed again.
I looked back at him.
He was staring at his lap and fidgeting with his pants.
He sniffed one more time and cleared his voice.
"She wanted to go because she gets scared when I'm there by myself. She said at least if she's with me, she'll know I'm okay. And...the last time I went without her...she was almost in tears because she was scared I did somethin' or somethin' happened to me. I ain't want her bein' scared or worryin' anymore, so...I said yea...but... If she would'a died..."

"I feel like shit." he cried.

My eyes watered.

"I tackled her to the ground but what if I was too late? I fuckin' looked at her and she was cryin' and shaking, and I felt so fuckin' bad but if she saw me cry she'd worry about me and I ain't want that, but fuck..."
He was speaking so quickly through his tears and I felt bad.

I walked back and stepped into the bathroom to take my shower.