Lessons || MJ

Lessons || Chapter 27

LESLIE

Marcus grazed Yvonne terribly.

I'd paced back and forth in a hospital corridor. Panic rushed into me for obvious reasons. What if he killed her as I slept? What I woke the next morning alone? What if paramedics lifted her bleeding body for a gurney when I opened my door at sunlight?

These racing questions never stopped until later in the week. A Black nurse pushed up her glasses and welcomed into Vonnie's room. My heart stopped at the view in front of me. I'd never seen her so exhausted and wounded before this intense moment. Her wired-up body strained to posture upright at the sight of me and my eyes immediately circled on her bandaged right arm. An IV properly propped behind her pillows and the hospital bed itself.

"I'm so sorry, Piglet." Vonnie whispered in a broken voice. I shook my head, frustrated with myself. One dark and long braid rested on her left shoulder. While tears stained my hysterical face, I pushed the door open and rushed out of that hospital.

At this point, my dead body should've bled out on this hygienic floor.

__

I found those beasts in New York. A motel assistant directed me toward their suite without fuss. I'd quietly explained my connection to the Pizza Parlor shooting and he immediately gazed into my eyes, never cringing. On a floor above the elevator and the silver doors gently chimed open. I'd only packed my gun and its bullets in the car glove compartment for obvious reasons.

The same clerk who stood beside me now just whispered to another employee and that woman took his place before he called the police department and stalked along with me. At room number 52, we stopped and the young man cleared his throat, gently knocking on the door in front of him. I waited with bated breath, both anxious and relived to finally trapped these two after so long. Shooting them dead was no longer an ignored option.

"Coming," Marcus answered.

I secretly began to wonder how this motel clerk would distract him as I hid away nearby. Revealing myself too early would lead to death without questions first. I carefully looked over to see that the door creaked open. Even Calvin folded his arms behind Marcus. Thankfully, no other patrons littered this hallway.

"Um, I'm sorry, but you two have overstayed welcomes. If you don't leave, I'm calling the police for disturbing the peace and lack of payment." the clerk defended.

My jaw dropped when Marcus stupidly revealed the hoister of a pistol that tucked with his jeans. The clerk looked down and almost seconds later, police appeared when the elevator doors chimed open. Both Calvin and Marcus lifted hands at the noise of barks from these surrounding officers.

The clerk soon rushed to hide alongside me like a coward, but I understood why. We ducked through the racket across from us and hurried down to a stairwell entrance. I kicked that same door open and almost jumped over railings. My heart almost jumped into my mouth at this point from running, but there was no other choice.

At the exit, my heart stopped. I looked back to find the clerk surrounded by Marcus. Calvin limped his path toward the nearest wall, but I noticed the bulge of a pistol tucked on his dirtied pants. If only I'd prepared myself right now. This poor clerk lifted both hands in surrender, but stopped to glare at me near the end of these stairs.

Without shame, he rushed down these stairs with quickness I'd never seen before and jumped onto the carpet. I kicked open this door and we hurried out, barely dodging the shots hoping to graze and obviously murder us. My boots clicked hard against the pavement beneath us, but we oddly stopped at the view of a black Camaro. Only Nelson drove this vehicle.

"Who are you?!" I shouted to this clerk among the noise of those distanced bullet. He only opened the driver door and allowed me slip in. As soon as I slapped the door shut, this completely stranger readjusted his nametag. It took time before I prompted the engine.

My eyes popped out.

Jerome.

I didn't know whether to trap brother with a bear-hug or beat his ass. Questions raced through my mind, but he only revved the engine and zipped off. The ammo shot graze none of these bullet-proof windows. We soon found ourselves zipping down another freeway. I could only hope that police trapped Marcus and Calvin if not shot them dead already.

Jerome and I parked in a convenient store lot and the engine halted before long. He plopped his head onto the rest and turned face me. Tears already pooled in my eyes.

"Hey, Piglet." he smiled.

"Hey, Tricky." I immediately embrace Jerome.

But if Kid knew something all along, I'd murder him myself.

**

CALVIN SMITH

A white officer shot Marcus dead at that standoff. Two more cops escorted me toward another one of those dreaded police cars. Handcuffs of course. These stupid restraints bruises on my wrists as I sat behind a seatbelt. Those wailing alarms that topped this vehicle muffled through my ears from inside.

That wimpy clerk shocked both of us before Marcus and I rushed back out to hallway near our room. By the way he jumped and raced his path out of here, I knew things had been suspicious. At the same time, I'd never seen this brother before. Maybe he just knew how to defend himself. Everybody should in this world.

"You alright, scum?" The office who killed Marcus addressed me from the passenger seat. A blonde handled the driving for us. I rolled my eyes at the bitter greeting, but clenched my teeth at the feeling of bruised muscles in my healing leg. Leslie trapped me well.

"Do you guys have Aspirin or something at the precinct? I'm still healing in a way." I struggled through as pain reached my leg in a harsher style.

"Yeah." the male turned around. Bon Jovi played on the radio, but I couldn't nod my head with delight. The straining handcuffs and pain in my leg ached more and more with every second that passed by.