DESPERATE

15

Randall guided the blindfolded boy towards the Andera's house. Suddenly, a bright headlight flashed on them, blinding Randall. He stumbled backwards, a scream stuck in his throat. "Fuck." He shielded his eyes with his arm. 

Vinny drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, impatiently waiting for his girlfriend Dionah to get ready for their second date. He had just installed new headlights that morning, replacing the old ones that were dim and cracked. He gasped when he saw two figures emerge from the darkness in front of his car. He squinted and saw a blindfolded kid being led by another ugly kid. 

Vinny shook his head in disbelief. He muttered under his breath, "What the hell are these kids doing? Who plays blind man's bluff in the dark?"

"Are we there yet?" Kenzo murmured. His eyes and face ached from the tightly wrapped sheet on his head. Randall shushed him and glanced nervously at the car parked near them. He waited for the person in the car to come out and confront them. Nothing happened. They just stared at each other. 

Vinny sighed and turned off his headlights. He had been waiting for his girlfriend, Dionah, to come out of her house for half an hour. He was getting impatient. He looked at the two kids standing beside a rose bush on the sidewalk. They seemed to be up to something. He shook his head. "I'm not going to argue with those weird kids," he muttered.

Randall recognized the driver. It was Dionah's boyfriend. He was pissed. He shoved Kenzo behind the rose bush. "I'll deal with you later, asshole!" he hissed.

Kenzo complained about being pricked by rose thorns. Randall yanked off the blindfold and whispered in his ears, "Listen to me very carefully. I'm going to enter someone's home and steal a laptop for you. You wait for me behind this rose bush. Don't you dare move. You see that window over there? I'm going to open it and throw the laptop out. I'll whistle once. You must catch it. Don't drop it.” 

Kenzo adores this little man. Thanks to Randall, he didn't live in poverty anymore.

Randall saw Dionah sneak out of her window again and leave with Vinny. He looked around the neighborhood to ensure that no one was watching. He climbed carefully through Dionah's bedroom window.   

Randall opened the door, peeked out to check the hallway. He heard the loud kids downstairs in the living room, watching a movie. He had to hurry. All the doors were shut except Jordan's. He crept to the room and opened the drawer where Jordan kept the laptop. He was glad to see the charger next to the laptop. Someone came up the stairs. In a panic, he snatched the laptop and charger, and hid under the bed quickly.

Jordan and Sean, best friends since kindergarten, barged into the room. They bounced on the bed, laughing and shouting. Randall, who was hiding under the bed, groaned in pain. The bed springs dug into his back with every jump. He wished the boys would leave the room.

Finally, the boys got hungry and ran to the kitchen for some snacks. Randall seized the opportunity and crawled out of his hiding spot. He grabbed laptop from the nightstand and headed for the window. He was about to climb out when he heard a soft knock on the door. He panicked and shoved the laptop under the bed. He quickly jumped into the closet and closed the door behind him.

Gail  opened the door and peeked inside. She was surprised to see the bed empty and the window open. She wondered where her sister was. She walked into the room and closed the window. She noticed the closet door was slightly ajar. She was curious and pulled it open. She gasped when she saw a small, unfamiliar face staring back at her. 

Randall, who was terrified of being caught, reacted on instinct. He punched her in the face. Gail fell to the floor, unconscious. Randall waited for her to get up, but she didn't move.

He shut the closet door behind him and reopened the window. He climbed out and whistled once, but there was no sign of Kenzo. Annoyed, he whistled again, louder this time. He spotted Kenzo below, waving his arms frantically. He tossed the laptop down first, followed by its charger.

Randall saw a car headlight in the distance. "Oh shit. Dionah is back already. I'm not even half way down." He had to hide from her sight. He jumped off the roof and landed in the rose bush. He screamed in agony, "Kenzo, get me out of here!" 

Kenzo ran to him and gasped at the sight of Randall's calloused skin pierced by sharp thorns. They had to get away before anyone noticed them. 

Randall gritted his teeth against the pain as he limped behind Kenzo. 

Kenzo felt sorry for his friend as they reached the shack. He pulled out a tweezer from a drawer and carefully removed the rose thorns from Randall's skin. Randall bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. Blood stained the floor. Kenzo doused Randall's wounds with whiskey to disinfect them. Randall felt like his flesh was on fire. He tried to squirm away, but Kenzo held him still until the whiskey evaporated. Then he applied band aids to Randall's deepest cuts. Randall looked at his reflection in a mirror and cringed. He resembled an awkward mummy. He mumbled a thank you and ran out of the shack.

Randall returned to the Andera's house and saw Vinny's car parked outside. It was empty. He crept up to the driver's door and slid inside. The car reeked of weed and beer. As he searched the car, his fingers closed around a cold metal object under the seat. He pulled out a loaded revolver and felt a surge of excitement. For a brief moment, he forgot about his pain.

He took the gun and rolled down the window, leaned out and aimed at trees and garbage cans. He rubbed the gun against his cheeks and kissed it. It made him feel more powerful and dangerous.

Randall tucked the gun and two boxes of bullets in his shirt. He was still determined to get back at Vinny for messing with his Dionah. He dashed back to his house to look for a hammer in the basement. 

With a wicked grin, Randall ran back to the car with a hammer in his hand. He popped the hood and wrecked everything inside. He shattered all the windows, headlights and scratched the car with a rock.

A porch light flickered on and a lady in a thin nightgown stepped out. He cowered next to the flat tire. The lady scanned the area and didn't spot anyone. She only noticed a trashed car across her house. She shrugged and went back inside.

Randall smirked and returned to his room, satisfied with his mischief. 

Gail, who layed briefly unconscious on the floor, woke up with a splitting headache. She couldn't remember how she got there. She stumbled to her bedroom, feeling dizzy. 

As soon as Dionah and Vinny reached home, they slipped into her room and secured the door. She told Vinny to crawl under the bed and stay there if anyone knocked.

Randall peeked through the hole in the wall and saw them cuddling. He spat in disgust and hit his foot. He was furious. He went to the kitchen and grabbed everything he could find. He threw food and drinks all over the living room, staining Jillian's expensive rug with grape juice and oil. He was sure he would get away with it. He imagined the kids getting scolded and grounded, especially Dionah. He would never have to see Vinny's face again.

As a cop drove home, he noticed a wrecked car near the house. He pulled over and rang the Andera's doorbell.

Jillian woke up with a start, glancing at the clock. It was only 4:30 a.m. She tried to wake up her husband, but he slept on. She slipped on a bathrobe and went downstairs. She turned off the light in the living room on her way. What she saw next made her gasp. Peanut butter and jelly stained the white walls. Flour covered the sofa and bread crumbs littered the cushions. The expensive rug was drenched in purple slime. Ham, sausages, bacon, and cereal were strewn across the floor. Her home looked like a disaster zone.