Chapter Eighteen

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Bleeding roses turn to blood,

white lies turn to tears.

The sunflowers dropped from my hands,

and I stood there in fear.

Because Oakley was on the floor,

gasping for air.

And I stood there in fear.

~~~~~~~

The cops couldn't find Mica. They thought he left Oakley to die on the floor but I shook my head and told them they weren't doing their jobs right. Mica was a player, yes, but he was a pussy. He wouldn't dare to hurt anyone. He broken girl's hearts but never hit them. I almost thought Mica could had hurt Oakley because he was a boy, but Mica didn't hit me when I beat him up.

So, I texted and called him but it only went to voicemail which meant his phone was dead. Or someone turned it off. The cops pulled out the kidnap files and I felt like punching everyone I saw.

"Who would kidnap Mica? He was hated by girls but they don't have the balls to kidnap him," Aggie said as we walked to house. I shrugged, too tired to talk about the same conversation over and over. Aggie sucked her teeth and looked around. "People are saying it's Grant."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "Grant?"

She didn't say anything and I let myself think. Grant didn't have the balls either. Why would he beat up Oakley and kidnap Mica? I knew he wanted to get inside Oakley's pants but to go over the line and leave someone on the floor to die? That's some twisted shit. A chill went down my spine when I saw Oakley's baby blue eyes glossy and blood on his bottom lip.

"I'm so glad you went to the pizza parole. If you never got there..." Aggie trailed.

People thought I was some hero that I found my friend in the middle of the street that had a dead end sign. I felt like throwing up when I saw Oakley. It bought back memories of my mother. I blinked away the tears and let out a shaky breath. I never wanted to see that again. I never wanted to see red or black.

Curtis became more weary with Oakley and I. He took weeks off to watch us and didn't let us go outside only for school. Aggie thought it was kind for Curtis to do that but I knew he only cared for Oakley's safety and dragged me because he had to show that he cared for both teens, not one. He obviously had to show off to his co-workers and friends. I said good bye to Aggie and walked inside the house. I closed the door behind me and walked straight to my room.

I walked past Curtis' room and went inside mine to see Oakley snuggled up in my blankets. I was too tired to yell at him to get off of my bed so I dragged myself on my bed and laid down on the other side. I closed my eyes to get some sleep before I had to get up and do homework when I heard soft whimpers. I fluttered my eyes opened and rolled over to see Oakley's shaking body. I laid there as I watched Oakley let out small whimpers and a few groans. He was having a nightmare. I didn't know how to calm him down because if I touched him, I would mostly get hit. He had more pain than me. I rubbed his back and wrapped my arm on his waist. I pressed my chest to his back and held him tightly. Oakley's body shook harder.

"Hey, hey, I'm not going to hurt you. You need to calm down, Oakley," I said softly.

Oakley sobbed, his hands clutching the blanket and pillow. "I-I can't! M-my body..." He stuttered.

"Think about your mother and how warm her hugs are. How she made you smile and made you calm whenever you're stressed." He took a deep breath and let it out afterwards. His body started to shake less but the whimpers were still there. I let go of him and rolled over to stare at the wall. A few seconds later, Oakley had his arms wrapped around my waist and his face scrunched on my back.

"I'm still scared, Tate. I'm so scared...but I have you, right?" He whispered.

I shut my eyes tightly and forgot about body pressed against mine. I forgot his warm hands touching the bare of skin. I wanted to grab his hands and push them towards my private part but that was out of line. It wasn't about me, it was about Oakley and what happened that night. I needed to find out what happen to help Oakley. I needed to find Mica.

~~~~~~

Oakley didn't go to school the next day. Curtis decided that it would be best for him to stay home and have me watch over him. I didn't mind since Oakley and I needed to get closer and I needed to find out what happened that night. Oakley didn't tell the cops what happened and they thought he had memory problems. But they were wrong. Oakley knew what happened and he remembered it. When Curtis left, I grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around Oakley's body. Oakley sent me a smile before he snuggled in the blanket. I sat in front of him and let out a big sigh.

"Oakley, you have to listen to me. I know this is hard for you but you need to tell me what happened on that day," I said slowly and carefully. Oakley bit his bottom lip and shook his head. A few tears left his eyes and I knew I wasn't going to go anywhere. The only person that knew was Mica.

"Do you want to find Mica?" I asked, annoyed by his decline. "This is the only way to find him. You need to tell me, okay?"

"I-I can't, Tate. I can't. I'm so sorry," Oakley cried. I ran a hand through my greasy hair and sucked my teeth. I pulled a few strands of my hair to control myself from screaming at Oakley. I didn't want to hurt him but he was pissing me off with his usual, "I can't". Who was forcing him to say that? Why wouldn't he tell me? I won't hurt him. I won't.

"Oakley, how can I help you when you won't let me in?"

Oakley's sob started to lower down and then silence. I was almost scared that he wasn't speaking. I could hardly hear him breathing. "He said if I told anyone, he will burn every sunflower in the world. I can't have that Tate, I'm sorry," Oakley said and started crying again.

I sat there with a blank face but inside I was furious. Who would say that Oakley? Oakley was a tree hugging freak that loved nature. Those words killed  him inside. But it killed me too since my mother loved sunflowers. If the cops weren't going to do their job, I guess I had to do it for them.

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