Scream

Reyna Copulas

Makai was taken to the hospital in a separate ambulance...the one that Allister – Allister's body - wasn't in. It isn't fair. Allister was radiant. She was literalsunshine. You could hit rock bottom and one smile from Al would make you feel on Cloud9. She was never judgmental of a single soul, and she accepted everyone. The world lacks people like her, and to have her just...taken away from us is more than unfair. More than an injustice. It's a tragedy. But we know that tragedy is never fair. 

Allister, the glowing golden girl is dead. What wrong did she ever inflict on someone to have her taken away? Why did the killer take her of all people? She was the closest thing to perfect any human could've ever attained.

I don't cry. My mind is racing too much to process death. I know she's dead and gone forever, but it hasn't hit me. Not yet. But soon enough it will catch up to me, and when it does, I know I'll be a wreck. Also, I'm in Enzo's car. If I cried, maybe he'd like it. I don't want to give him the satisfaction again. 

"Did you know?" I ask him, looking out the window, watching the Spring Carnivallights fade in the distance. From far away, it looks like a blast: twinkling lights, fireworks, enormous speakers, rides and booths, dancing...but up close, you'd know it was the scene of death and life – hope and harrow. 

"No," Enzo answers. "I was warned someone would die. I didn't know it would be Allister." 

"Okay," I reply. Is he lying? The world may never know. Do I feel like reading between lines and trying to figure it all out right now? The world may know that my answer is no."Take me to Della's." I don't feel like facing my parents. 

Why are you home so late, Reyna? Why are there drops of someone else's blood in your hair and on your clothes, Reyna? Why are you so upset, Reyna?

Why did you hide from me that I had a brother, Mom? Why did Dad act like he never knew who Makai Keanu was, Mom? Why did you cheat on Dad, Mom?

"Umm..." Enzo unsurely hums, stopping at a stoplight. 

"You don't have to keep acting like you don't know who all my friends are where they live," I let him know. "Just go ahead and drop me at her house. I'm overdue there."

Enzo sighs. I don't look at his face because I'll know what happens if I do. I'll wonder how much of anything between us was legitimate and wonder if I can ever forgive him. I don't feel like wandering too much of anything right now. "To Della's, it is, then." 

We drive on the street with the arching trees, and the dried blood from Enzo's"carjacking wounds" still stain a part of the road. I'm reminded that everything about him that night was staged. I see Enzo looking at me looking at the scene from the corner of my eye. He doesn't need to tell me that he knows what I'm thinking. Looking at the blood, there isn't much else that I would be thinking of. Deeply, I sigh and close my eyes, resting my head on the window, listening to the rhythm of the car and feeling it bounce over a covered pothole once in a while. 

Finally, we pull up to Della's house. The lights are on in the living room, as I had hoped. 

 "Do you want me to wait here for you?" 

Enzo questions, watching me. "No," I answer honestly. 

For a minute, Enzo looks hurt. I wonder if he likes causing himself pain – that's a question for Maren. He doesn't ask me if I'm lying, either, because he can read off of me that it's the truth. "How will you get home?"

"I can figure it out." My voice is soft for a few reasons. I can't be harsh to someone who saved my life, but also, my voice being any louder would disclose the various emotions I'm feeling.