The King I Can't Arrest

Desrianna "Ri, how was school?" Antron asks, tossing my backpack over his shoulder as we head down the sidewalk, leaving the school behind us. "Boring," I groan, dragging my feet a little. "Mr. Harris gave us this huge algebra test. Pretty sure I bombed it." He lets out a loud, easy laugh, the contagious kind that makes you want to laugh right along with him. "Girl, you ain't fail nothing. You actually do your work. Unlike me when I had him." I snort. "Yeah. He still talks about how bad you were." We turn onto another street, cicadas buzzing in the trees above us, loud enough to fill the quiet between passing cars. "I'm glad you ain't nothing like me," Antron says thoughtfully after a minute. "You smart. Got a good head on your shoulders. Maybe you'll be a doctor or lawyer someday." "Maybe," I say with a shrug. "I'll be saving lives while you're busy playing ball for the Carolina Panthers." His grin lights up his whole face. "Still a few years away, but I'm ready." I glance up at him, unable to hide my own smile. "You're gonna buy me my first car, right?" He chuckles under his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Long as you promise not to wreck it the first week." I bump his shoulder playfully. "Please. I'll be a better driver than you." He laughs and bumps me right back. "Oh, yeah? We'll see about that." We continue walking side by side, neither of us in a hurry to get home. Mom isn't there anyway. She's a trauma nurse at the hospital, and with her schedule, we usually don't see her until dinner. That's why Antron picks me up after school every afternoon. Even though he's only sixteen, just three years older than me, he's the man of the house. The best big brother a girl could ask for. Even when he acts like a pain in the ass. Like when he decides he runs the world. Or tells me I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend until I'm thirty. A car rolls past us slowly, music thumping through its open windows as we turn down another street. "Are you gonna help me cook dinner tonight?" I ask, staring down at my pink sneakers. "Nah, not tonight." He shakes his head. "Gotta work. But Ma said she might be home early." Disappointment settles heavy in my chest. "You're always working lately," I grumble. He sighs, nudging my shoulder. "I know, Ri. But Ma needs help keepin' the lights on. She can't do it by herself." "I just miss when we used to hang out," I admit quietly. He smiles a little. "Tell you what. I got a day off this weekend. How 'bout we go bowling? Just you and me." I perk up instantly. "You mean it?" "Course I mean it. When have I ever lied to you?" I tap my chin, pretending to think. "How about when you told me coffee makes you stupid?" He snorts. "Okay, maybe that one time." We pass the old abandoned house the high school kids usually hang around, its sagging porch crowded with a few of Antron's classmates I recognize. One of them leans forward, spotting us. "Hey 'Tron," he calls, a slow grin spreading across his face. The others go quiet, watching. Antron keeps moving like he doesn't hear them. His hand closes around my arm, pulling me along faster. "What's going on?" I whisper, struggling to keep up as a knot forms in my stomach. "Nothing," he mutters, guiding me closer to his side. "Just keep walkin', Ri." His voice stays low. Tight. Something's wrong. I can feel it. "Hey, where you goin', man?" the boy shouts. "You scared or somethin'?" Antron doesn't answer. Footsteps scrape against the porch behind us. They're not just yelling anymore. They're moving. "Yeah, keep walkin', b***h," one of them laughs. "'Tron... I'm scared," I say, my voice coming out small as I grab the back of his shirt. He squeezes my arm gently. "I got you. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you." I try to believe him. But my stomach won't stop twisting. Sneakers pound against the pavement behind us. Close. Too close. Like they're following us now. Shadows stretch across the sidewalk. "Yo," someone says right behind us. Antron stops. He turns slowly, tugging me behind him like a shield. "Stop following us." I've never heard him sound that angry before. I glance around. There are four of them. All bigger than me. Two even bigger than Antron. They spread across the sidewalk, cutting off the only way out. The biggest one grins, shoving his hands in his pockets. My grip tightens in the back of Antron's shirt as my heart starts pounding. "You deaf or somethin', 'Tron?" he says, stepping closer. "Nah," Antron replies evenly. "Just takin' my little sister home. That's it." None of them move. The leader's eyes drop to me, and I shrink back without thinking. "That your excuse now?" he asks. "Thought you said you needed money." Antron's shoulders tense. "I told you before," he says. "I ain't runnin' nothin' for you." I don't know what they're talking about. But the guy sounds mad. Real mad. "You think you better than us or somethin'?" another one asks. Antron shakes his head. "Nah. I just ain't stupid." The leader laughs once. No humor in it. The sound sends a chill down my spine. Maybe we should call mom, I think. The laughter dies as he lifts his dark hoodie. Something black flashes at his waistband. A gun. A startled gasp slips out of me. "W-What are you doing?" I ask, my voice shaking. "Ri, shut up," Antron hisses. He shoves me farther behind him. The boy pulls the gun free. One of the smaller ones' eyes widen when he sees it, like he's seeing a gun for the first time too. "Quay... what are you doing?" I hear him whisper. The leader doesn't even look at him. "Told you what happens when people say no to me, little bro." His glare settles on Antron. "They get dealt with." For a second, I think he's just trying to scare us. Then the gun lifts. "Ri, run!" Antron shouts. His hand slams into my shoulder, sending me stumbling backward onto my ass. The gun goes off. The sound is louder than anything I've ever heard. My ears ring. A second shot cracks through the air just as quickly. Someone hits the ground. I turn. Antron is lying on the sidewalk. For a second, my brain refuses to understand what I'm seeing. Dark red spreads across his shirt. Two holes in his chest. Blood keeps coming. No. No. No! My knees slam into the pavement beside him. "Antron?" My voice doesn't sound like mine. Not that I can hear it much with my ears still ringing. My brother's brown eyes stare past me. "Get up," I whisper. Blood soaks through my fingers when I press my hands against his chest. I don't look up. I just hear the cowards running away. "Stay with me, 'Tron," I beg. "Please stay with me. I need you. Ma needs you." He doesn't answer. Blood slips from the corner of his mouth. "No. Wake up," I say louder, shaking him. His chest doesn't move. I look up. The smallest boy is still standing there. He looks just as scared as I feel. "Help me!" I scream, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Please... he needs help!" He doesn't move. Just stands there, frozen. His mouth opens like he wants to say something. Like he wants to help. "O," someone snaps behind him. "Let's go!" His gaze drops to the blood on my hands. Then he turns and runs. "No... please don't go!" I start to plead, but he's already disappearing into the woods behind the house. Suddenly, it's just me and Antron. Sirens wail somewhere in the distance. But I already know. It's too late to save him. Too late to bring him back. Pain spears through me as I lay my head against his chest. He's still warm. Still him. My tears soak into his shirt. "You promised nobody was gonna hurt me," I sob. They never even touched me. But they took the most important person in my life. My protector. My best friend. My big brother. I don't know how much time passes before someone grabs my shoulders. "No!" I screech, clinging to him. Firm hands pull me away anyway. The last thing I see before they take me is my brother lying lifeless alone on the sidewalk. My backpack rests beside him, drenched in his blood. And I never walk home from school the same way again. Because that was the day I learned the people you love most can be taken away in an instant.