“Calm down, Tania. Calm down. Just calm down,”
I kept telling myself, but it wasn’t working. I stood in front of the air vent blowing from the ceiling, hoping that the cool air would give me some relief, but it, too, did not.
I soon heard the door crack open, and Cyn’s head peeked inside.
“Tania?” she rushed in when she saw me on the floor.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m fine, I’m good.”
“No, you’re not good. You’re hyperventilating, and I could hear you all the way down the hall. What’s going on? Something happened to you. Should I call Hawk?”
“No. It's just, I’m probably in trouble, Cyn, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the fuck to do.”
“Well, if you’re in trouble, I definitely need to tell my husband. We got you. So, tell us, what happened? Did someone hurt you?”
I shook my head. no.
“Look, I don’t even know where to begin, Cyn. This entire story is even crazier to repeat, but Proctor killed four people yesterday, and I was with him.”
“What! He did what? Why? Who were the people?”
“Josiah’s family
“Shut up! No way!”
“Yes, Cyn, we were out getting food when we left yesterday. We were riding down some random road near the restaurant, and I noticed JoJo, Anne, and them standing outside a corner store. I told Proctor it was them, and he grabbed his gun and made me get out of the car, but I pretty much pointed them out. Now, the police just stopped me downstairs and asked me about my whereabouts yesterday. I’m scared, Cyn. Can’t I go to jail for this shit?”
“No. You cannot go to jail. You will not go to jail.”
She said it again, like saying it twice might make it sound like a fact.
“But I can’t believe he killed all of them. I mean, Hawk told me his father was crazy and didn’t play about him, but damn,this is another level of get crazy. Proctor is always so chill, but then again, so is Hawk, and my husband has admitted some things he's done in the past that I will not mention.”
It was obvious she also didn’t fully understand who she’d married or what kind of family this really was.
“Listen, calm down. Everything’ is going to be okay. You didn’t kill anybody. You were just making conversation, and he went and did that on his own. But listen, Tania, I have to tell Hawk.
“No, you don't. What if he wants to do something to me to shut me up?”
“He won’t trust me. You mean something to me, so that means you mean something to him, too. I know people may not believe in our bond because it happened overnight, but it’s real, and we’ve built a love and a foundation that cannot be broken. So, I am going to call him in here, and we are all going to talk about this, okay?”
“Fine, okay.”
I nodded, not wanting to go against one of the only allies I’d ever had in my life. Cyn had always been genuine with me, even if at times I felt like Ari hadn’t been. She was, in fact, the glue that held us together in times when we probably wouldn’t have spoken to one another. Though this situation is way bigger than a friendship quarrel, I still trust my friend with my whole heart.
“Hawk! Come here for a minute!”
Cyn stuck her head out the door. I heard him respond before he even reached the room.
“What’s going on, baby? You alright?”
Hawk walked into the guest room as quickly as he could, given his current condition.
“Listen, this is about to be a lot, but I just found out that Proctor killed Josiah’s mama and his two brothers yesterday. And Tania was with him.”
Hawk leaned his head back slightly, but there wasn’t confusion on his face. It was like what he had just heard was plain old conversation and not about a flat-out massacre.
