Page 17 of Saving Micah

How did I get stuck with this idiot? Why did God put me here with this monster?

“Zant! Boy! Stop!” Mr. Davis is holding me by the shoulders and shaking me. I blink and everything around me suddenly comes into focus.

“Zant. Look at me. Look at me, boy.”

Mr. Davis still holds my shoulders but isn’t shaking me anymore. I look in his eyes and I see the understanding cross his face.

“Boy, God knows what He is doing. You must trust Him. You have to trust yourself. Everything has a purpose. You’ll see.”

That is what I remember from that day the most.

Those are the words that helped my resolve. Those words help me daily to deal with what my life is and it gives me hope for what it may be someday.

He’s nowhere in the house tonight. I let out a sigh of relief and grab my shoes that I need for church tomorrow.

I let myself out the front door and head to Micah’s house. As I step out of my yard and into hers, a chill runs up my spine.

Her bedroom window faces my house. She must be asleep, it is late and I put her to bed.

I continue into her yard toward the front of the house and then I hear it.

It was a scream and it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Every hair on my body stands up.

I shake my head and try to focus. Surely, I didn’t hear what I thought I heard. This is a quiet neighborhood for the most part. Aside from the times that Roy is yelling at me. Nothing ever happens in this neighborhood. We are two blocks from a church for crying out loud.

While stuff does happen in our little town, it never happens in our neighborhood.

But I know I heard a woman’s scream.

Then I hear a man yelling. It’s coming from between my house and Micah’s. I hurry toward her window. Something is pulling me to it. As I get closer, I hear a commotion in her room. Her curtains are sticking out of her window and when I look inside, I see Mr. Davis on top of someone on the floor. It’s dark inside at first. Then I see Mrs. Lucy enter the room and she flips the lights on.

When I look back at the floor, my breath catches in my throat and I can’t move.

What is Roy doing in Micah’s room?

Why is Mr. Davis pounding his face in with his fist?

What in the hell is going on here?

“Mr. Davis?” I speak the only words that will come out of my mouth. My brain is shut down. This looks like a nightmare and I can’t wake up. I don’t even know what is going on but, I know it isn’t anything good.

I look down at Roy and I feel the blood leave my face, “Roy?”

His face is covered in blood and his eyes look black already.

Mr. Davis picks him up and shoves him towards me, towards the window.

“Outside you stupid asshole. Get out of my house.” Mr. Davis keeps shoving him like he can just push him through the window without bending him or something.

Through all the craziness, I look towards the bed. I feel her eyes on me. When I look at her, my heart shatters.

My girl is completely white. Her rosiness is gone. Her eyes look hollow. It’s almost like her soul has left. My body begins to shake.

I grab hold of Roy and pull him through the window. He lands on the ground. Mr. Davis comes through the window and turns back to talk to the girls inside.

He grabs Roy’s other arm and we drag him towards the back yards.

Roy starts to mumble. I want an explanation. I want to know why my father was in Micah’s room. Why did Micah look like that? What happened?

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