As Long As We're Together

16: 7-11

Jess and I headed down the highway, the sun had set so we strained our eyes in the dark searching for Nathan. I drove across the whole stretch of the highway, but we saw nothing. I decided to call him, maybe he walked back to Jordan's? No, he couldn't have, it was too far to walk.

My palms were sweaty and my heart was beating out of my chest, Nathan didn't pick up.

"Oh sh-t, Jess what are we going to do?" I cried.

"Baby, calm d-" Jess stopped, "What's that!?"

I abruptly pulled over to see a limp body in front of my headlights, it was lying on the side of the road. Was it Nathan? I jumped out of my car running up to it then stopping in my tracks, it was just a trash bag.

"Jess!" I yelled stumbling back to the car, "It's not him, where could he be?"

"Let's go back to Jordan's maybe he's there."

"Okay." I replied, knowing he couldn't have been there, unless Nathan ran the whole way. It would've taken longer than 10 min to walk from the highway to Jordan's house.

We continued looking for Nathan as we drove towards Jordan's. I was starting to freak out, what if he wasn't there? He had to have been, where else would he even go?

Pulling up to Jordan's house was a scary feeling, it would pretty much seal the fate of my sanity. I couldn't even get through one day without Nathan, so if something happened. Like I've thought many times over, I couldn't survive without him.

Me and Jess walked up to the door together hand in hand, we both heard yelling coming from inside. I burst through the door and my heart skipped a few beats. Nathan was there sitting on the floor with a cigarette in hand looking higher than ever.

"NATHAN WHAT THE HELL?!" I yelled, I seemed mad but I was really just scared, "I thought something bad happened, I couldn't find you, I called y-you, I ca-." I started hyperventilating everyone stared at me until Khalan broke the silence.

"First off nigga, why'd you bolt?" Khalan said to Nathan as he threw a bag of money on the table, some of the cash spilled out. It was stacks of $100's, I was confused, that couldn't have just been from a cash register at 7-11. "We got away, with the money and no one even caught us. They just called the cops when we left, no one even followed us!" Khalan continued, "Why are you such a p-ssy, both of you, Nathan and Ray! Why?"

"He thought he saw a cop, Khalan he was just trippin'." Shawn quietly added defending Nathan, Shawn usually didn't get into the drama so I was surprised.

"At least he got to the 7-11, unlike someone..." Jordan said glancing at me.

"Jordan Green you son of a bi-" I yelled before getting interrupted by Khalan.

"He's right Ray!"

"Khalan, Jordan, Ray chill the hell out!" Cried Jess, as she said it a fog seemed to have lifted. Everyone took a deep breath and glanced around at one another like 'what the hell just happened?' But no one dared argue again.

"Was all that from 7-11?" Jess asked, it was the same thing I'd been wondering. But if I would've asked I'm sure Khalan would probably tell me to eat sh-t and die.

"Yeah, I told them to get the money from the safe too." Khalan sighed sitting back on the white suede couch.

"They have a safe?" Asked Jess unknowingly.

"Yeah most places do, I knew who was working and who knew the safe code. Because if some random ass nigga was working who didn't know the code they couldn't get me my money." Khalan was a lot smarter than he liked to admit, he got the best grades out of everyone in our group and he always, well almost always thought things through.

"I'm sorry I didn't go." I said after Khalan took a hit from the bong.

"Whatever." Khalan sighed blowing smoke in my direction, "I ain't sharing the money with you or Nathan, but next time you're coming with us." (Next time? There's going to be a next time?) I thought to myself.

I saw Mark and Shawn looking out the window whispering something to one another. Mark got up and walked towards Khalan, "Khalan they here." He said under his breath, he sounded concerned when he spoke it.

Khalan cursed under his breath hopping up from the couch, "Okay Jordan, uh, the stuff. Go hide it! And turn off all the lights!"

I thought Khalan was talking about the money but Jordan went to the kitchen and stuffed a bunch of weed into a huge duffle bag. Whenever I say, 'a bunch of weed' I don't mean maybe a pound of it, I mean closer to 15 lbs. of weed. I'm not sure how me, Jess and Nathan didn't notice it until Khalan said something about it, but it was there.

"What the hell is happening, Khalan!" Yelled Jess looking around the room, "What did y'all do?!"

Khalan just grabbed a gun from inside the money bag, held it down to his side, then walked towards the door.

We all waited in silence, I felt like everyone in the room could hear my heart pounding but no one said a word. I heard Nathan, who was unfazed this whole time take a puff from his cigarette. He was still completely high off everything so he didn't seem scared like Jess and I was.

Suddenly someone pounded on the door. I almost jumped out of my skin, Khalan didn't answer the first time, he just looked towards us and put his finger to his lips.

"OPEN THE F---ING DOOR!" Yelled someone on the other side. "KHALAN THAT AINT YOUR SH-T!"

Without thinking twice I grabbed Jess and Nathan and ran behind the kitchen counter, maybe I was a p-ssy but I wasn't about to get shot for something I didn't do. Mark and Shawn did the same, Jordan was still in the kitchen trying to shove the last pound of weed into the duffle bag.

The door suddenly burst open, I held my breath and peeped around the corner. Three large men with guns started making there way in.