Hector grunts as he reaches out for his phone. He squints his eyes as he reads 1:12am. He decides to get up and make sure the kids were back from Reggie's party at the beach.
He slides his bare feet into his cheap slides and makes his way to Ella's room, he notices that the door was open and Ella never slept with her door open. Letting out a sigh, he walks to Haro's room. Again he is met with no one, not even Arion.
He shuffles for his phone in his pocket and he calls Haro. Haro declines the call and Hector calls again but is met with the same response. Hector sighs and texts him:
Where is your sister?
Haro stares down at the text message and ignores it. Malcolm was driving Haro, Arion, and DeMar back home.
"Y'all wanna get something to eat?" Malcolm asks.
"Nah," Arion says. Haro shakes his head as Malcolm stares at him through the mirror.
During the car ride back to their household, they slept except Malcolm of course. DeMar was still wet from going inside the beach with Ella but he didn't mind. Arion and Haro were chilling.
When Malcolm finally pulled up to their house, Haro and Arion were dropped off and then Malcolm would take DeMar home after. They were too tired to converse. Haro opened the front door and Hector stood a few feet away from the entrance. Haro pushed passed him as Hector stared at the door waiting for Ella to enter. Something didn't seem right to him. He wouldn't have woken up if everything was alright. He was would have stayed asleep because he trusts them.
"Where's your sister?" He asks worriedly.
Haro shrugs and goes to the kitchen to get a water bottle. As he takes a sip, Hector walks into the kitchen with a tiresome facial expression.
"Haro, I know we aren't on good terms right now but I need to know where your sister is right now," Hector grits his teeth and Haro shrugs.
"Why?"
Hector shakes his head, "She texted me she was coming home soon and it's been a little over an hour right now." He stares at Haro with a pleading look and Haro looks at him blankly. He wasn't buying his story.
"She's with Reggie," Arion interrupts.
"I know that and I can't get a hold of him either," Hector admits. Arion furrows his eyebrows.
"How many times did you call them?"
"Too many now," Hector says. He lost count after the fourth call directed to Ella.
"Call her," Arion tells Haro. He rolls his eyes and calls Ella. They listen to Haro's phone on speaker ring for a while and then go to her automated voicemail.
Hector shakes his head and grabs the keys to his Caddy. Arion follows behind him like a child while dragging Haro. Haro angrily follows and goes into the backseat of the Cadillac while Arion sits in the front.
"Where are we going?" Arion asks.
Hector shrugs, "Going to go find them. Something doesn't seem right. Reggie and Ella aren't dumb. They know to pick up a phone call when someone has called them over and over again."
"Ella's phone probably has water in it since I seen her and DeMar go into the beach. Reggie's phone probably died," Haro shrugged.
Hector shakes his head, "She texted me and Reggie has a car charger. He always has his phone charged no matter what."
Haro and Arion nod because it was true. That's how Reggie was.
They searched for a long time until Arion suggested going down the road that Reggie and Ella were currently bleeding out at. Hector was about a good half of a mile away from their car.
Arion shook, "Fuck, I hate this neighborhood. It creeps me out." Hector scolds at him for cussing while Haro laughs. "My bad, but can we please go a little faster."
As they neared the road, an ambulance sped past them from behind them. Haro cursed and Hector decided to follow it. It was headed in the direction where Reggie and Ella were at.
"Oh shit," Arion says. "That's Ella's car."
Hector shakes his head, "Nah." He knew that that car looked exactly like Ella's but he refused to believe that it was her's. "Fuck." He parks the car and they all immediately get out.
The three of them are met with two police officers holding them back. Arion freezes when the cop touches him and scoots back without hesitation. Hector and Haro try to push through.
"That's my daughter!" Hector yells.
"Sir, we are going to transport them to MLK Hospital."
"Please just let me see them."
"I'm sorry but we cannot-"
"Please--imagine if it were your daughter."
The white officer sighed, "You may ride in the van with her."
Hector nodded and turned to Haro, "Meet me at the hospital, go now." Haro nodded and anxiously ran back to the car. His eyes brimmed with tears and his hands were shaking. He wasn't in the position to be driving but he had to.
"What the fuck happened?" Haro whispered. He didn't realize his voice was so shaky.
"They had blood on them and I seen bullets in the door," Arion replied.
Haro looks at him with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it. The entire time his attention was focused on the flashing lights and cop that he failed to analyze the car and search for his sister. "You're lying bro."
Arion shook his head and his lips begin to quiver, "They didn't look so good. Reggie had...a um--bullet in his neck."
Haro shakes his head, "Shut up bro. Don't tell me shit like that."
"Haro, what the fuck?" Arion yells. "Just drive to the fucking hospital." Arion knew he was in shock, but he was getting agitated and his emotions were getting the best of him.
"Fuck, what about DeMar?" Haro asks. He wasn't sure why he was the first one to pop up in head.
"I'll call him," Arion grabs Haro's phone from the back seat and calls DeMar but it goes straight to voicemail. "Fuck it, I'll just call him when we get to the hospital. I'm too nervous."
After an excruciating long ten minutes, they finally arrive to the hospital and go over to the receptionist.
"I need to see Isabella Figueroa. I'm her brother and she just got here."
The receptionist nods and quickly types away, "We can take you to the part of the hospital she is at, but since she is in critical condition, you won't be able to see her for a while."
They nod and wait for the security guard to take them to the other side of the hospital. Once they see Hector on the other side, both of them sprint towards him.
"Anything?" Arion asks.
Hector shakes his head, "They're both in ICU."
"Fuck," Haro shakes his curls and sits down in the waiting room. He couldn't control the way his knees were bouncing so intensively. He couldn't believe he was going to lose another close family member that he had just met. One that he cared forever and protected ever since he came to California.
Arion sat on the seat entirely buzzed out. There were dried tears stained on his cheeks and he most definitely was scared. He saw Ella as a sister he never had. One that would always be patient with him even when he was in the wrong. One that always let him sleep in her room no matter how much she hated it. She was always there for him even though he annoyed the hell out of her.
He pulled Haro's phone from his pocket and called DeMar. He answered and sounded just like he woke up, "Yeah?"
Arion cleared out his throat, "Meet us at MLK Hospital. It's about Ella and Reggie."
DeMar's eyes bulged and he immediately got up from his bed, "Is everything okay?"
Arion hesitated and that was all DeMar needed to know that nothing was alright. "Nah."
"I'll be there in ten," DeMar said before he hung up. He quickly sprinted to Aja's room to wake her up because he didn't want to leave her home alone. "Aja, come on wake up."
"What-" she says groggily.
"Ella is in the hospital, we have to go now," he said and she shot up out of bed just like him.
"Is she okay?" She asks as DeMar hands her her shoes. He shakes his head. He was about to lose his cool and his nerves were beginning to sky rocket.
"Hurry up. Meet me downstairs."
"I'm done, lets go," she says.
As they drive, Arion calls Malcolm.
"What's up, Haro?"
"It's Arion," he automatically corrects him. "Come to MLK Hospital. It's about Ella and Reggie."
"Holy fuck, are they okay?" Malcolm asks and Arion shakes his knees. He was slouched in the uncomfortable waiting-room chair. Before he could speak, his voice cracks and he breaks down, "No they're not fucking okay...I don't think they will be."
"I'll be there in a minute," Malcolm says and hangs up.
Arion closes his eyes and sends a prayer to a God that he hopes is listening. He hoped someone would get his message and cast a miracle on Ella and Reggie.
The doctor comes out and Hector pounces up from his seat when they call Ella's name.
"Are you here for Isabella-?"
"Yes, I'm her father."
The doctor nods and then places the clipboard on his side, "Sir, I'm so sorry to inform you but the wounds on your daughter were to severe. She didn't make it. My condolences go out to you and your family."
It felt as if his heart had literally been ripped and dipped in lava. As if it was then crushed and stomped on. He couldn't believe his only daughter had died in the city he tried to get her out of. He failed to protect his baby girl.
"What happened?" Haro stands up when he finally notices his father talking to the doctor. A lonely tear falls from Hector's eyes and he stares blankly in front of him. His whole world was shattered. He lost the most two important women in his life.
"We will give you a moment and then call you to come view her. I will also have Reggie's report when I return," the doctor says and then leaves.
Haro and Arion furrow their eyebrows and then stare at Hector waiting for his answer. "What happened?"
He shakes his head and more tears fall, "She didn't make it."
"What?" Haro says. His voice cracks and the tears finally spill out. He couldn't believe he lost his twin sister and his mother. Why is that possible? Why is that possible to lose two loved ones in a short period of time?
Arion bends down to put his hands on his knees and cry. She didn't even get to graduate. She didn't get to go to prom or get married. Or go to college. Nothing.
"This can't be real bro, this is a fucking dream," Arion slurs. Haro shakes his head and Hector is still frozen in the same position.
DeMar and Aja enter the hospital and see them from afar. DeMar grabs Aja's hand and walks her towards the boys. Their eyes were filled with tears and his heart never clenched so tight.
"How is she?" He asks and they turn towards him. Haro and Arion shake their heads and DeMar lets go of Aja's hands. He puts his hand over his mouth and shakes his head.
"She didn't make it."
"Oh my god," DeMar breathes out. More tears immediately spill out and his head becomes dizzy. He lost the love of his life. His one true pairing.
As DeMar sat down to control his breathing, Malcolm came in and was informed by Haro. He was pissed. He saw Ella as his younger sister and someone who he deeply cared about. Malcolm knew that them getting shot wasn't by accident. It was intentionally and by a gang of some sort.
DeMar and Aja trembled as they cried. He never knew he could cry so hard but here he was shaking uncontrollably as if the temperature dropped to -113 degrees Fahrenheit.
"This shit isn't fair," Malcolm whispers and shakes his head. He sits down next to DeMar and puts a comforting hand on his back.
The boys slowly sit down in the chairs and hide their faces in their hands. Hector stayed standing paralyzed.
Paralyzed. That was the word running through everyone's mind.
DeMar
I don't think there's a word in the any dictionary to describe the feeling I'm feeling. I stopped crying after about 30 minutes and numbness just flowed through my nerves. I slouched in the seat with my legs sprawled out and staring at the floor intently. My heart ached and my stomach was just empty. I tried to swallow what ever I had in my throat but it stayed stuck in there.
I wanted to throw something. Or even beat up a car with a wooden bat. Something to express my anger. Just do something.
The taste of bitterness was fresh on my tongue. The agony was throwing me off. I should have been used to of this pain after losing multiple loved ones, but I wasn't ready for this one. I should have prepared myself for this. It was something everyone did in this city, but I just forgot when I was around her. The feeling of death felt like a fantasy when I was with her. I was too oblivious to realize that it was closer than I thought.
A lot closer.
I snapped out of my thoughts as Aja poked my finger repetitively. "It's your turn to see her," she whispered. I looked around at the boys as they held their head down.
This was it.
"DeMar," Haro chimes. His voice sounded like it was at the end of a tunnel. I looked at him and he gave me a sad smile. "Get her necklace."
I frowned. The necklace.
I nod before I open the door slowly to see her one last time. She didn't even look bad at all. She had a bandage on the side of her forehead where the bullet struck but that was it. The blood was wiped off completely.
I let out a sob as I crouched near her. This couldn't be real. I grabbed her hand and immediately let go of it. The coldness and damp feeling of it scared me. I grabbed it slowly again and brought it to my lips. She still smelt like home.
"Bear-" I croaked. Her rose necklace shined by the buzzing hospital light.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I shouldn't have let you go," I cried. "Fuck, Isabella, you can't leave me. I have no one else, Ella. Please, don't. Please, just please, Ella. I love you-"
I rubbed her cheek and stared at her beautiful eyelashes. God am I gonna miss her. I already miss her voice. I just want to hear her say it was just a dream.
"You can't leave Haro and Hector, Ella. Please. Wake up, Ella! Please!" My warm tears were tricking down to my shirt but I didn't care. My snot was messing up my breathing that it angered me. "I love you, baby girl. Please just never forget that."
A knock came from the door and I stood up. My tears blurred my eyes as I grabbed onto her necklace. I gently took it off and balled it into my fist.
"I love you, Ella." I kiss her cold forehead one last time and admire her before the nurse touches my shoulder.
-
I wasn't able to sleep that morning. Instead, I stared at a picture frame of us two in downtown and a poem she pasted behind of it.
I slouched on the edge of my bed. I hated slouching but at the moment I didn't care.
Angry was not the right word to describe my feeling. Maybe it was heartbreak but I wasn't sure. I just couldn't think about anything. I was still wearing my shoes and we left the hospital about five hours ago.
My tears hardened on my cheeks and became itchy. I scratched them so hard until I felt the pain on my burning fingers. I could feel my cheeks swelling up from my scratches but I didn't care. I got up and entered my bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror and I looked like a mess. My cheeks were dark red and my eyes just looked horrid. I ran the water in the sink and splashed it on my face. I slapped my cheeks and let out a scream.
It was hoarse and broken.