NAOMI MORGAN STILL COULD NOT RIDE A BIKE. She tried to, and she did make it pretty far, but every now and then she would wobble a little too much to either side. A little too hard on the left or a little too hard on the right, it never really mattered; she knew that eventually, she would come crashing down. Naomi Morgan just could not seem to strike her balance, and she cursed herself for it.
Even now in her haphazard rush, she couldn't help but think about how her parents never taught her to ride or even made the effort to buy her a bike. Maybe, they had known that she would never be good at it. If anyone could predict her failure, it would be her own family, right?
Well, they were right. No matter how many times Saint and the rest of The Guise tried to teach her, she still could not get her grip. Naomi Morgan seemed to be missing something that came so naturally to everyone else. It was because of her inability to ride a bike, and other crestfallen reasons like it, why Naomi Morgan decided to leave The Guise for good.
It took her a little too long to recognize it but, Cairo was right in the beginning. At the time she didn't want to hear it but everything he said was true. She was not made up of the same tough things that as they were. Saint, Cairo, Chyna, Sully and Lia were forged from true heartbreak and disaster, living on the streets before they ever decided they were good enough to start a movement. Meanwhile, Naomi couldn't last a day on the pavement and she inserted herself into something she wasn't ready for. As for the disaster part, well, Naomi Morgan was her own disaster.
Riverside, for the last time, was quiet in Naomi's years as she struggled down the street alone. Her video must have been still going on because she passed numerous persons on the sidewalk with their faces glued to their screens; and the people who weren't didn't even bat an eyelash in her direction.
Naomi supposed it all was really over. She smiled at that. And as she tried to get a little more comfortable on the awkward bicycle seat she prayed that The Guise seized their opportunity and left Riverside. It was the smart thing to do. They were smart. It was why Naomi had decided to leave that signed note in the Evergreen Memorial Park mausoleum reclaiming all her future and previous actions so that they would be free from what she was about to do next. No one deserved this blame but herself.
It felt like she was riding forever, but somehow the sun was still high in the sky. Despite knowing her struggle, it did not so much as dip behind a cloud nor dim its light to ease her pain. How painstakingly ironic it was that the Riverside sun was still cruel to her, right to the very end. Some things, she thought, were never meant to change.
Every now and then, Naomi would need to stick her foot out to help keep her balance her and sometimes, she even put it fully on the asphalt to slow herself down. It wasn't the most efficient mode of transportation but she didn't have the keys to Tio's van so this was the second-best option. Making a lousy attempt at speeding, Naomi thought back to the dusty metal box. It wasn't pretty, but it was definitely her saving grace. Just like the warehouse, and the basement under Tio's Tacos and The Fox Performing Art Center and the Morgan household. They were all home to her; a place she could hide, sulk, and cry. Still, the never seemed enough.
Looking up, Naomi noticed that she was here. On sixth street, not too far from the Academy or Ben's equipment store.
In the exact spot Jessica was killed.
In fact, she could see the sign of the Fox Performing Arts Centre lit from within and a big banner hanging off the side of the building. The Prix de Ballet Competition was today. Naomi flinched at the thought. How insignificant all that seemed now. She stepped off the bike and let it drop to the pavement on its own, staring off into the road. Hear heart picked up. She told herself to not cry. This was right.
Naomi Morgan inhaled. Hopefully, she would end up wherever the real Jessica was. The best friend that would calm and soothe her, make jokes and cry with her. The only person that made living not feel like a burden. Naomi brought her feet to the edge of the sidewalk and waited for something big, or speeding. Then, she would launch herself into it and finally find peace.
"Naomi?"
Her head whipped around.
Mr Morgan was there, standing on the sidewalk, just a few steps away. He was so petrified that his bottom lip was trembling and Naomi saw all the colour leave his face slowly and painfully. Their eyes locked.
Now more than ever, Naomi Morgan wanted to run into her father's arms and have him hug her and spin her and lift her head above the merciless water. But she simply could not move at the sight of him. She thought deeply about the idea and wondered if she would truly rather drown than go back to him, her own father.
She blinked.
Mr Morgan expelled a shaky, "Oh my god, N-N-Naomi?" Saliva stretched all the way from the roof of his mouth as his face twisted into pain, then regret. His agape mouth, though open, formed nothing. Mr Morgan quickly raced toward his daughter. His arms were open. His eyes were teary. But Naomi knew better.
Looking over his shoulder, she noticed someone familiar standing right behind him.
Oh, hell no.
The lady. His mistress.
"Don't!" she stuck her hands out to stop him and wished her voice was as strong as she needed it to be right now. "Don't come near me! Don't!"
And she saw it, bright as day: Mr Morgan's heart shattering like glass. Naomi knew, without needing a mirror, that hers had done the same. Both their knees buckled.
"Did you-did you even try?"
He shook his head fervently. "Naomi, I've been sleeping on the couch. I've—"
Then she noticed he was continuing to wander in her direction. "Stop moving!" she screamed, her hands snapping to her sides like lightning.
A few people on the sidewalk stopped to look, but most where hurrying along, picking up that this could go nowhere good. Mr Morgan's mistress came next to him and even though she didn't know Naomi she tried a, "Naomi—"
"Shut up!" she spat.
Then, another voice came from behind her. A gentler one. A younger one. "Naomi?"
She spun to see The Guise, equipped with masks, jumping out of Tio's old van. The Tiger, Saint, was standing in front of all of them on the sidewalk. One look at her and he knew things were more serious than he could've imagined. "Naomi, what's going on?"
"What are you doing here?" Her eyes went to all of them individually. They could not be that stupid. "You need to leave," she said to them. "The livestream will end soon and the police will come looking."
"Not without you," Chyna stated.
"Get away from my daughter!" Mr Morgan growled. "You took her from me!"
Saint didn't hesitate. "You pushed her away!"
They were both an equal distance from her now. The Guise on her right and her father and his mistress on her left. Silently, Naomi considered to take the jump now. To leap into the road and pray that whatever was incoming would do the job anyway.
"You, all of you, look what you've done to my baby! She's scared! She's alone! You've scarred her! You're a disease!"
Naomi's eyes fell to her toes. Maybe if she wasn't looking...
"No, you scarred her! She looked up to you! You're a sad, pathetic cheater."
Lia ran and grabbed Naomi's hand. Tugging, she said, "Let's go."
But Naomi knew that her father could only be pushed so far before he set his foot down. He would never allow her to slip through his fingers again. Anger would rile up within him and it would not be pretty. But what Naomi didn't suspect was that his anger would cause him to reach into his mistress' purse and pull out a gun.
"Norman!" his mistress squealed. At first, it was a battle between the both of them for the weapon but Mr Morgan easily won, his hand pushing her to the ground.
Now, everyone on the sidewalk was screaming. People began to dash in all directions, some on their phones, some into the road. But, the worst part, was that every car was slowing. Naomi's window of opportunity had missed her. The Guise fearfully began to step backwards.
She turned her entire body to her father. "Dad, put down the gun."
He didn't even look at her. "Get away from my daughter, you criminals! You kidnapped and trapped her!" His eyes flickered back to his daughter. "Naomi come with me. I will protect you." He pleaded.
Quickly, Saint dashed in front of Lia and Naomi, his hands out at his sides. Mr Morgan followed him with his aim. "You did that! Not us! She was free with us!" Saint shouted. "It's not our fault she hates you!"
His face twisted like the life was being wrung out of him.
"Norman, give me the gun," his lady soothed, putting out her hand to comfort his shoulder.
At her touch, Mr Morgan began crying. Profusely. His eyes let loose rivers of anguish that quickly washed his entire face. Though his arm was steady with the gun, his head was convulsing. Naomi Morgan did not know her father could cry. She thought men like him didn't have that range of emotion. And maybe, they didn't. But Norman Morgan simply was not that type of man. He only pretended to be. She wondered how long he had been holding back his tears for the sake of the facade.
The woman stepped to him, slowly, and tried to hush him into giving her the gun. "Think about what you're doing, Norman. This won't fix anything."
He shoved her off of him, elbowing her in the process. "No, but it will punish them." He clicked off the safety and steadied his aim on Saint.
Saint held his breath and braced for impact. Sully shut his eyes.
"Dad!" Naomi said, her voice muffled behind Saint back, "Stop." She stepped out from behind him and eased Saint's hands down to his sides. Focusing on her father and the tears still overflowing from his eyes, she stepped forward. Saint grabbed her viciously, but she whispered easy words at him and faced her father again, taking another step forward.
"Dad—"
"Do you hate me?" he interrupted between sobs.
"Yes," she said truthfully. "But maybe we can change that."
"I never meant to cheat on your mother, it's just, sometimes I feel like she didn't marry me. She married my citizenship. But you, Naomi, you were the glue holding our marriage together. We love you so much. I love you so much. But you could not keep us together so then we had William but even he was a temporary fix. Naomi, I'm sorry."
Naomi exhaled. This was a conversation they needed to have, but not while he was pointing a gun in her direction. "Dad, put the gun down so we can talk about this."
His eyes flickered between Naomi and Saint. "You're just saying that. You're gonna run away again. To them."
"No, I won't." Taking a deep breath Naomi honestly said, "No more running." And she meant it.
He turned to her, his bottom lip shaking again. "I love you," he managed to fumble out.
"I love you, too, dad."
And that was all he needed to hear. A smile struggled through his anguish and he let the gun slip from his hands like it was old mould he refused to touch. But the safety was still off.
"No!"
The gun hit the ground.
A shot rang out.
A body fell.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Well, what were you expecting? For everyone to sing kumbaya and run off into the sunset?
This week's dedication goes to beloved reader and supporter, shaeshunk for the votes they continue to leave *wipes tear*. Thank you so much! There's only one chapter left guys so if you want that last dedication don't forget to vote and comment and it's yours! You get to help close off this book!
Well, readers, I'm not sure what to say. Feel free to speculate who you think took that bullet and let me know if you hate me for killing off someone! I mean literally all my books end tragically, I can't help it! I'm sorry!
IN THE EPILOGUE...
"The trees scattered in the Evergreen Memorial Park moved with the wind. Their leaves rustled loud and in succession, like a stadium's applause. A mockery. It still was not louder than the screams, however..."