BROWN SKIN | BOOK 1

|| C H A P T E R . 25 || PART IV

Comments were left. . .

. . .out the door.

Random thoughts consumed the mind. Thrones were being thrown to the ground. Bad decisions continued being made.

But the reality of this mini-story was:

I loved him anyway.

The bus ride lasted a couple of hours to the point sitting made me want to stand up for days. I didn't have any vivid dreams or nightmares, in fact, nothing clouded into the sleep. Every single time my eyes re-opened, I was at a new location of uncertainty. My lungs would intake air with panic washing over my face in surprise. But as soon as the same old bus rocked and engine gurgled, it came back to riding on the bus with a collection of more people. A little boy around the age of three, peeked over the seat, staring at us with astonishment. He's probably never seen people so beat up before. At least he still had some curiosity. I gradually cracked the smallest smile even when it burned to move. The boy reciprocated the same blank gaze. His grandmother told him to take a seat correctly like a big boy.

I wanted to tell the kid to not grow too big because the people in this world are cruel. But knowing his age, his little mind wouldn't understand until it hit him. I realized I felt somewhat lighter and tuned to Beau, his head no longer rested on my shoulder. Instead, he lifted off that weight and propped his arm up on the armrest, transferring his head on the hand. With all the distressed commotion and chaos creased into his frame and face, his sleepy face smoothed out all the distress. That's the power of sleep I guess.

The bus driver drove further into the suburban lifestyle that I've missed, drifting away from the countryside. Typical shops and eateries lightened their trademark with neon lights. Not many vehicles were out during this hour and several traffic lights came to view between glowing green, yellow, and red.

I nudged Beau softly with my shoulder to wake him up because I had no idea where we were. This was nowhere close to home.

He hadn't been sleeping after all because he sat up casually with a hint of a small smirk hanging on the corner of his lip.

"When do we get to our stop?" I asked, murmuring.

"In a couple of minutes, we'll be there."

Anxiety tied knots in my stomach because a couple of minutes sounded like hundreds when we were hours away from my destination. Urgency kicked in and I wondered how long people were going to notice I was missing. If they even cared. It was hard to see what I looked like without a mirror, just the visual of a couple of things and the boy's stare already determined my grotesque. Not much was with me but comfortable shorts that torn in the corners dipped in red bloody splotches. The sweatshirt Beau gave me was now ripped, giving off a gas exhaust and fire smell. My feet were bare, losing my shoes along the route. I could easily see how my big toe split my nail down the shaft without shoes. My heels the darkest black I could barely see my normal skin color.

We came to another stopping point throughout our transportation; Beau rose up to get off of the bus. I trailed behind. No one looked at us with wandering eyes—not that I noticed—because we kept our head low.

We walked for a minute down an alleyway and the red-brick buildings parallel to one another never converged. Green garbage bins were knocked over by rascals and trash-consuming animals. A skinny cat pace past us, unbothered by anyone.

This wasn't home.

I wanted to tell him that but the drowsiness took over my body with a bang and I wasn't fully aware of our surroundings just yet to pop off. With suspicion, Beau peered through the side window and proceed towards the front door. It was the color of coffee. We climbed up two steps from the outdoor stairs. Apparently, the door was unlocked because he just grabbed the doorknob. He paused. I stopped in my tracks behind him. His hand still planted near the entrance, stared at the door like it would open sesame for him. I prepared for what would happen next once Beau turned his head, barely looking over his shoulder. I could only see the outline of his face from his nose to the chin and one cheek. My eyelids fluttered shut, cutting out the rest of the world.