Page 64 of Bravo

“See you in the morning.”

After changing and brushing my teeth in the bathroom attached to our room, I head into the bedroom to see that Olivia is lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The room is dark except for the small nightlight near the bedroom door. I pull the covers of the small twin bed back and lie down, clutching them to my chest.

“Do you think things will ever be normal again?” I ask aloud.

“No,” Olivia replies.

Before I can respond and beg her to just tell me what’s going on, someone yells just outside of our room. Olivia jumps up, and I do the same. A gunshot booms through the room, and I cover my mouth on a cry.

Olivia’s expression turns terrified, and she lunges for me.

My mom screams, and my blood turns to ice.

“Mom!” I yell and rush for the door.

Olivia grabs me around the waist and pulls me back. “You can’t help them. Not now.”

“Let me go!” I try to squirm free. I have to do something. Anything.

Heavy boots thud down the hall.

Olivia pushes me into the closet and rips a chain over her neck. She shoves it into my hands. “Do not let them get this. They’re coming for me, okay? Not you. They don’t know this exists, and you have to keep it that way. Wait until you find someone you trust. Someone who can help.”

The door handle shakes.

“Hide, Kennedy. Please. I’m so sorry. I love you. You’re my best friend.” Her eyes fill. “Hide. Stay hidden. Then run as fast as you can.”

I duck down into the closet and slip the USB drive over my neck. I’m too afraid to speak, to do anything but wait for this nightmare to end so I can get to my parents. Please don’t let them be dead. Please.

Olivia shuts the closet door seconds before someone walks into the room.

“You?” she asks.

“Sorry, kid, it’s not personal.”

I jump and choke on a scream when the gun goes off and a loud thud echoes from the floor.

Holding my breath, I remain hidden in the dark until the closet door opens. Vincent looks down at me, his eyes cold. Blood is splattered over his clothes, and he raises his gun toward me. “This isn’t personal, kid,” he says. “But I needed the money.”

I scream as a gunshot rings out. I expect pain but feel none, and when I open my eyes again, it’s to see Vincent falling to the side, Brietta standing behind him. She lowers her gun and falls to her knees, clutching her blood-soaked chest.

“Brietta!” I rush out of the closet and fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face.

“You have to run, kid.”

“I can’t leave my parents, you—” I trail off as I look down at Olivia’s body, her eyes frozen open. It all starts to set in.

She’s dead.

They’re dead.

Bile burns my throat, and I have to force it back down.

“There’s nothing you can do for them now, honey.” She reaches toward me and hands me a Bible. It’s only when I see it up close that I realize it’s my mom’s. Then, she cups my cheekwith one hand. “I’m so sorry we let you down. But you must run now. Run and wait until you find someone you can trust.”

“I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what’s going on.” I sob, my shoulders shaking.

“You’re smart. You’ll figure it out. But he’s already called them. They’re coming, and if you’re here when they get here—” Headlights pass through the crack in our curtains. “They’re here.” Brietta stumbles to her feet and locks the door then crosses the room and uses her elbow to break the window since they’ve all been sealed shut.

---