Chapter 2

Brenda's POV

I sat in the cab and watched the cab driver speed up as I had instructed, my mind a swirling tempest of disappointment, rage, and fear.

My eyes stung with the unshed tears I was making so much effort not to let out.

I couldn't bring myself to bawl my eyes out and make the driver look at me as though I were a baby who just lost her candy.

The more I tried to get Ralph's betrayal off my mind and focus on getting to Dad early, the more my mind drifted to that annoying scene.

“Brenda, wait. It's not what you think.”

Those were the words that came out of that bastard’s mouth when I grabbed my phone and stormed out of his room.

To think he was bi-asexual in the first place and that he was still telling me that it wasn't what I thought despite what I saw, he must've taken me for a complete fool.

There was absolutely no amount of explanation that would justify his action or make me disbelieve what I saw back there.

My heart seemed to clench at the thought that I almost allowed that asshole to sleep with me. I was a thin line closer to hating myself completely.

Finally, the cab pulled to a halt in front of the house and I stepped out. My mind had now drifted back to Dad as I hurried towards the doorway.

The fact that the door was unlatched from behind and I was able to simply push it open made my heart beat faster like a galloping horse.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

“Dad?” I called softly.

But there was no response.

I started going from one room to another, adding more volume to my voice each time I called out.

“Dad, I'm home. Where are you?”

The house responded in silence.

After I'd searched almost everywhere and there was no trace of Dad, I decided to check one last place. A place I would never Imagine that I could find him.

As I pushed open the door to the store, the door hit something from inside with a resonating thud, but I didn't know what it was until I stepped inside.

Then I saw a pair of legs lying motionless on the floor. By now, it felt like my heart was in my throat, waiting for a chance to jump out.

I knew it was just me and my dad who lived in this house, but I wanted to believe that what I was seeing wasn't real.

My eyes trailed down to the person's stomach, and dread filled me as I noticed blood seeping across his body. Slowly, my gaze shifted upward in panic, and my heart sank—it was my dad's face.

"Oh no! Dad!" I screamed, rushing toward him. I clutched his hand tightly, desperation flooding my veins. "Please, just open your eyes! Look at me!" I pleaded, but he remained still, unresponsive.

“Father don't do this to me please!” I cried, still trying to shake him to life with every strength I could muster, but nothing happened.

I couldn't even feel a pulse. The reality of what that meant crashed down on me like a tidal wave.

Suddenly I heard a sound In another part of the house but didn't know where exactly it came from. Something told me that the person who shot my dad was still in this house.

While still sobbing, I stood up and took tentative steps toward the living room. But before I could even get there, I saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows and a masked man came into view.

I recoiled in horror as the assailant approached me with a knife in his hand. My gaze flicked to the knife's blade which was still dripping with my father's blood.

Suddenly, he increased his speed towards me and I bolted off with the same momentum.

Thankful for the initial gap between us, I made for the door quickly and found myself sprinting across the alleyway without planning to stop until my legs gave out.

I didn't even look back until I didn't hear anyone running after me anymore. I turned to check and I didn't see him anywhere.

Only then did I pause to catch my breath for a while.

But I figured he must be up to something. So I resumed my race till I got to a parking lot where I crouched down to hide and catch my breath again.

What if he's close? What if he saw me here? I thought

I didn't feel safe where I hid and I couldn't risk the assailant obliterating my generation.

Just like I had feared, I saw him emerging from the shadows again but he hadn't seen me.

I looked at the empty car In front of me and even though I doubted anyone would leave their door unlocked out there, I still tried my luck with the handle of the car door, and to my surprise, it opened.

Without hesitation, I got in and crouched down at the back.

Almost immediately, two men came into view, sauntering nonchalantly towards the car. One held a bottle of whiskey in his hand and from their gaits, I could tell that they were drunk.

Before I knew it, they opened the door and settled in the front seat, turning up the music as the car roared to life. Their intoxication and the loud music blaring out from the speakers made them oblivious to the presence behind them.

I thought I had escaped from danger partially as I had reckoned that with their intoxication, I would remain hidden and find a way to get down when the car stopped. It shouldn't matter by then whether they saw me or not, as long as I was out of their car.

I thought it would just go as easy as that but I was wrong.

My eyes dilated in shock when I saw the man on the right seat pull out a gun from his pocket and just hold it casually.

Realization dawned on me that I was finished. It was as though I had jumped from the searing heat of the frypan to fire itself.

“Won't you keep that? What if the cops see the gun with you?” the one driving said to the other.

“Scratch that. I don't give two fucks,” the other replied. In fact, that's more reason why I would hold it like this. It'll be fun daring them.”

The driver shook his head to disagree. He was drunk too, but seemingly not as Intoxicated as the other man. “No, don't do that!” he replied. “They shouldn't even know that we stole this car, let alone see that we have a gun.”

“You fear too much homie,” the other replied. I'll shoot them if need be, and we'll still elude them. Come on, it will be fun.

They argued playfully and the driver concurred, my heart hammering in my chest with each passing second as I realized even better the kind of people that they were.

Just as they had envisioned, we soon got to a police checkpoint where the car pulled to a halt at the police's command.

There were two officers. One was quite a distance away from us and the other one approached our car.

“What do you have in your car?” he asked.

As if to spite the officers, they didn't respond. The other man had concealed his gun in his pocket.

The defiance infuriated the officer and he barked. “I won't say this again. Step out of the car now!”

The next thing I knew, the man pulled out his gun at the speed of light and shot the cop in the head. He fell to the ground and died outright.

I couldn't help but cover my mouth with my hand to stifle a gasp. I never saw his next action coming.

After shooting the cop, he threw a gun to the back and the gun landed on my feet.

For a moment I didn't even consider that the two drunk men must remain oblivious to my presence, let alone the second cop who would see me as an accomplice now that his colleague had been murdered.

I screamed out so loud, as I picked up the gun as the second officer ran towards us. Even the two drunk men were shocked that there was someone else in the car.

I held the gun with a trembling hand as I didn't know what to do with it and the officer saw me. He must have even thought I was the one who shot his colleague. I needed no soothsayer to tell me that I was cooked.

The officer aimed his gun at me as he still sprinted toward us, drawing closer with every step. A shot rang out, but the driver swerved just in time and drove away, causing the bullet to miss its mark.

Determined to bring us to justice, the officer jumped into his car and gave a chase, following closely behind.