Guns & Diamonds.

Chapter Seventeen.

Daniel

I haven't talked to or seen Aaliyah all day. And, I wasn't sure if what Alfonso said was true, but I needed to find out.

I ran all the way down the street, and when I arrived at her doorstep, I anxiously walked in. I ran up to her bedroom and saw Jenny sitting by Aaliyah's side on her bed.

Jenny turned and looked at me in shock, while Aaliyah froze up. I noticed she had a cast on her leg, and a brace on her wrist, and I wasn't liking it, either.

"What happened?" I frowned. "Alfonso told me you had an accident last night."

"She-"

"I fell down the stairs." Aaliyah cut Jenny off.

"Dang." I sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I'll leave you two alone." Jenny got up and left out of the room.

"When are you coming back to school?" I inquired.

"No time soon." She said. "It's going to take almost two months for my leg to heal."

"Why don't you just use crutches?" I asked.

"Not with this wrist." She shook her head. "I have a wheel chair."

"Man." I growled. "I can't believe falling down the stairs could cause this much trouble. Be careful next time, Aaliyah."

I smiled at her, but she flashed me a broken smile and looked down. She wasn't talking much, either. She looked upset, but I assumed it was because of her broken leg.

I didn't know what to say or what to do. I noticed it was getting dark outside, so I decided to lie down next to her in the bed. I looked over on the dresser and noticed an old picture of Aaliyah and I.

"Hey, I remember this!" I grinned, "It was from Halloween."

In the picture, we were about eight years old. She was dressed like a fairy, and I was dressed like sponge-bob. She held a small pumpkin in her hand with a funny face on it that we drew together. She was smiling really hard, showing her deep dimples and a gap where her tooth used to be in the front. She still had the long, thick and curly hair. I stood next to her, with my arm around her shoulder, and I was starring at her, smiling instead of looking at the camera.

These were the good times. I put the picture down and looked over to see Aaliyah sound asleep. I covered her with the blanket, then I got up and left the room, closing the door behind me and walking down the stairs.

"I'm out, Jen!"

"See you later, Daniel!" She shouted back.

_______________

Riley

It was night time and I had brought yet another girl home from school. Her name was Alissa, and I was trying to find someone to fill the void for Nichole. Every girl I brought home this week didn't seem to fit my interest.

Maybe Alissa would.

"So....Riley," Alissa smiled. "What made you invite me over on a school night?"

"I just wanted to get to know you." I shrugged. "So, what do you like to do?"

"I go to a lot of parties." She smiled. "I like to have fun. What about you?"

"Same here."

"Listen, I heard about you and Nichole."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what?"