Kevin Died

15. A Brief Session

15. A Brief Session

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After the initial first seconds I figured no one was home. Maybe that would turn out to be a good thing. Like always, I had no idea what I was doing.

I'd talked myself into chickening out right as a voice came through the speaker on the box.

"Who is it?" Asked the female voice.

I froze. What the hell was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to respond?

I can't believe I didn't think this through more. I'd been so desperate about finally getting a lead, that I had no clue how to go about following it.

After a few seconds, she asked again. This time her voice grew more peculiar. "Hello? Who is it?"

"Um," I faltered, grasping at things to say from my head. "I'm looking for Shawna."

"This is she," came the response. "Who wants to know?"

"Well, my name's Ricardo."

"I don't know any Ricardo's."

"Raymond is my uncle."

There was no response for a few moments and then the voice came back:

"Come on up."

The door made a clicking sound and I was able to open it and head up the stairs. The building wasn't hard to navigate at all.

When I got to the door marked "7" I was preparing to knock, informing her that I was at the door, but it had already swung open before I could.

The woman revealed in the door was nothing short of breath-taking.

She was mid-thirties, a person of color with dark, smooth skin. Her black hair was down to her shoulders and her dark brown eyes assessed me as I stood there trying my best not to let my own eyes explore the rest of her body.

"Hello there," she said politely.

"Hi," I said, faltering once again, having nothing else to add in that moment.

She gave me an awkward smile. "So uh, you're Raymond's nephew?"

I nodded.

"What brings you by?"

"Well," I began. "It's complicated, to tell you the truth. But I was hoping you could just help me figure something out."

"Figure what out?" She raised an eyebrow.

Good question. I wish I knew exactly what it was I was trying to figure out.

I shrugged. "I guess  not really sure."

She gave me a peculiar expression and I feared she would turn me away. Who would want some random kid at their door without a proper explanation as to why they were there?

Finally she nodded and stepped aside. "Wanna come in?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied before stepping inside.

The apartment was nice enough, but I wasn't really there to ogle at decorations and furniture.

"Have a seat on the couch. Can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine," I politely declined. "Thanks."

She sat on a couch opposite me, a table in between us.

"Okay," she said. "Go ahead."

I took a breath before starting. "I just... My uncle's been acting weird."