Save Me

26| Brandon

I knocked on Reed's front door trying to calm myself down before someone came to open it. After the incident with BJ, there were several different versions of what exactly happened that night at that gas station.

It didn't help that the news was eating another story up about an officer shooting a young black boy. I can't even describe how I feel, but I knew that I needed answers.

"Hey, Brandon." Reed's wife, Alicia, said as she slowly opened the door. The beautiful, mocha-toned woman held a frown on her face. In every instance that we were in each other's presence, she was as bubbly as could be. Today, Alicia's eyes appeared tired and disconnected, but she followed up with small smile.

"Hey," I said, before clearing up my throat. "Jared here?"

She sighed and nodded as she moved aside to let me in their home. "He's in the kitchen," she told me before closing the door and proceeding to go back up the stairs.

Her attitude toward me reeked with so much tension that I didn't even want to have this conversation with her husband.

Walking into the kitchen, I saw Reed at the kitchen table with a beer in his hand while looking down at his phone. "Yo?" I said.

Jared looked up and sighed at the sight of me in his home. "What?"

"We need to talk," I calmly spoke, still standing on the other end of the kitchen to avoid me getting physical with him.

"Now you wanna talk? I hit you up first to let you know my side and you let me hanging, but it's whatever. Be like everybody and believe the bullshit...I don't give a fuck at this point."

"A kid is still fighting for his life. A kid who helped I raise at one point. What else is there to it?"

Jared rose up from his chair. "Man, I got a wife and kids of my own so the last thing I would ever try to do is take a innocent child's life, but I won't dare apologize for making sure that I make it home to my family at the end of the night."

My brows arched in confusion. "What you talking about?"

"Everything ain't what it seem. Hell, check the tapes for yourself since apparently nobody wanna release that shit and get the truth. I gotta be the bad guy because it fits the fucking narrative. Meanwhile, my wife and kids are the ones getting the threats and hate when they go out. This shit ain't it, Brandon."

I was taken aback by his words, but I needed to clarification about what he was talking about. "Jared, you still not telling me shit bro."

"I'm done talking about this shit. Just go watch the tapes because I'm sure that they already have them at the station."

I simply nodded and proceeded to leave. I was leaving with more questions than answers, but it was clear that Jared wasn't going to tell actually me shit. That made me question what was on the tapes from that damn corner store.

When I got to my car, I decided that I would have to do my own investigating. I was getting too many mixed signals, but I needed factual information. Either way, I already knew that I wasn't going to like whatever I found on the tape and that was clear.

Walking into the station, I was greeted with silence. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with folks asking me about why I'm here while on vacation.

"Yo, Denny. I need you to do me a solid," I said as I approached the evidence locker with a $20 bill in hand.

He quickly shook his head as he looked up from his computer. "Can't do it bro. Chief been on my ass about giving info about cases y'all are not working. Shit is illegal." I gave him a blank face.