Practice- A Dricki Fanfic

:Chapter Six:

"She told me something I thought you might need to know." Jerri looks into my eyes.

  "Huh? What'd she say?" I try to make sure my voice doesn't sound desperate or too hype.

  "She said--"

  BOOM.

The sound makes my ears ring in the narrow alley and I jump about two feet in the air. What was it? A gun? It sounded an awful lot like it.

  Jerri is leaning on me heavily. I stroke her hair and say, "It's alright. Come on, let's go inside."

  She doesn't answer.

  "Jerri?" I ask. I have my hands around her waist, and when I try to stand her up, she slumps to the ground.

"What the. . .?" I look down.

  Blood.

Blood.

  All over my shirt.

  "Jerri?" I squeak. I look at her body. There's a bullet hole in her back and she's bleeding out.

  She's dying.

I'm frozen in place. Right now, I'm not worried about the assailant. I don't know what to think. My mind is scattered.

  She's been my friend since I was eight. That's fourteen years. Fourteen long years.

My first instinct is to call the police. I whip out my phone and dial.

"911, what is your emergency?"

At first, I don't know what to say. My mouth opens and closes with indecision.

  "Hello?"

"M. . .My friend's been shot." I swallow. I can't believe how shaky my voice is.

"Sir, what is your location?"

  "Jerry's X Club. The alley beside it."

  "We're sending an ambulance now. They'll be there shortly. Hang tight."

  "Okay." I hang up and shove my phone in my pocket. My hands are trembling. I get down on the ground and cradle Jerri's lifeless body in my arms. I'm struggling to hold in tears. I'm trying to be strong.

  I hear police sirens and he ambulance. Then two flashlight beams flash down the dark alley. I pick Jerri up bridal style and start towards the source of the light. There are police waiting, and they lower their guns as I approach. Two men with a weird stretcher thing take Jerri from me and load her onto an ambulance.

  I lean against one of the walls of the club, slide to the ground, and let out a shuddering sigh. I feel like hours pass. I stare at my bloodstained hands and feel faint.

  "Sir? Sir?" A policeman is shaking my shoulder and kneeling next to me.

   "Huh?" I ask quietly, looking up. It's a dude with bleached blonde hair and a warm yet warning smile.

"I want you to explain to me exactly what just happened." He looks into my eyes with sincerity.

  I explain everything, the tears threatening to fall, but I don't let them. I finish and the officer stands up.

"That's good enough." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "We will bring this man or woman to justice. Count on it." He heads back to the other officers.

Nicki then bursts from the club doors. "There you are! Why did--" she notices my shaking hands and the blood drying on my shirt. She walks over to stand over me. "What. . ." Her voice trails off.

  I stand up and stare at her for a minute, then I feel the powerful buildup of my tears, and my face crumples and I collapse into Nicki's arms, letting my tears flow and my breath come in hiccups. Through my bawling I explain everything.

  Nicki is rigid underneath my grasp. I pull away from her and look into her eyes. She's looking directly into my eyes, but she's not looking at me. Her gaze is distant.

  I lead her to Jerri's car. I take out her spare keys (she had thought she lost her original keys and had to get new ones, but she found the first a week later) and start the car. I follow the ambulance to the hospital and wait in the waiting room with a dazed Nicki. She's clutching a bracelet in her hands; I'm guessing Jerri gave it to her.

  There's one question eating me alive inside.

What was she going to say to me?

Jerri hadn't been able to finish her sentence. What really kills me is the fact that I never knew there was someone in that alley. I wish they took me instead. Jerri never deserved this.

A doctor walks into the waiting from the giant wooden doors about an hour later. "Aubrey Graham?"

  I look up from staring at my bloody hands and stand, walking closer to him. "Yes?" Nicki gets up and stands next to me, her breathing heavy.

  The doctor, a solem look on his face, places a tight hand on my shoulder. "The bullet hit her left lung. We didn't get to her in time to try surgery. I'm sorry."

   A single tear escapes Nicki's eye. She sniffles and wipes at her tears furiously.

"She'd want me to be strong," she mumbles.

   I'm trying to tell myself that. But I just keep getting these retaliations from my brain:

You should have stopped her.

You should have taken the bullet.

If only he had better aim.

The room tilts a little and I feel arms wrapped around me.

"Mr. Graham? Are you okay?" The doctor looks at me with concern.

"I'm. . .I'm fine," I murmur, lightheaded. I stand upright, look at Nicki, and clench my fists. I see the sadness and anger swimming through her eyes.

  Fury makes its way through my veins.

You hurt someone I love, I think angrily, and now I'm gonna hurt you. I let a single tear roll down my face. Badly.

  Y'all know I cain't make a story without drama! Shit is about to get real. (^.^)