Legacy
Robyn
I stormed down the hall muttering to myself. "How dare she! That bitch!"
The crowd parted to let me by. They knew not to mess with me.
A blond blob bobbed in front of me, blocking my way. His back was to me, oblivious to my presence. Some new kid.
"Get out of my way." I snapped as I shoved him aside.
"Hey!" He glared at me. "Watch it!"
I made a fist and held it in front of his face. "Don’t mess with me."
He shoved my hand away. "Bitch."
"What did you call me?" I demanded.
"You don’t scare me." His fists balled up. "And I called you a bitch."
I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. I was keyed up, throbbing with barely contained rage.
"You looking for a fight right here?" he asked.
"Why not?" I snapped.
My fist came up and punched him in the eye.
He fell to the floor.
But I have to admit, the kid had guts. He got up and punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me.
I brought my knee up and it connected with his ribs.
His lashed out with his fist, aimed at my jaw...
He stepped back, drew back his fist, and swung at me. I dodged the blow. I grabbed his head with one arm and jammed the fork against his ear.
The principal sighed. "Robyn."
I said nothing.
He looked up from my records at me, obviously noting my bruised cheek and dirtied clothes.
I stared back stonily.
"This is the third fight this week!" He exclaimed. He brushed back his thinning hair. "Robyn, your suspended for two weeks. And I’ll have to recommend you for expulsion."
There was a long moment of silence as he waited for my reaction.
I turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind me.
I was expelled in the end. I moved in with my dad, and things...changed. I didn’t have that...that feeling anymore. Hate, I suppose. I couldn’t control it. It controlled me.
But then things got better. The feeling was gone, and I forgot about that kid. That is, until I saw him again. That night...Oh, God...That night...That kid...
I rubbed my hands together. "It’s freezing today!" I exclaimed to my partner, Brian Archer.
He chuckled. "Told you to get some coffee at the café."
"Yuck." I muttered.
I banged on the dashboard, trying to get the heater to start up again.
"Whoa, there!" Archer grabbed my hand. "Don’t break my car."
"It’s the squad’s car." I pointed out.
"That’s beside the point."
"Fine." I sighed and leaned back. "You win. We’ll go to Christy’s."
"Yes!" Archer cheered. "I’ve finally convinced you to try coffee!"
"Nuh-uh." I shook my head. "I’m just going to get a cup of hot chocolate."
Archer groaned.
I grinned. "Gotcha. Had you going there, huh, Archer?"
He grimaced. "Yeah, I admit defeat."
I laughed.
He shifted to drive. "Alright, Christy’s it is." He grinned at me. "I’ll get you yet."
I merely laughed. "In your dreams, Archer!"
The radio cracked to life with a sudden burst of static.
Ten-four, we have a burglary in process. Corner of Main and Furth. Over.
I sat up straight. "Main and Furth? Did she say Main and Furth?"
Brian slammed on the brakes. "That’s only a few blocks away. Let’s go."
I grabbed the radio. "Roger that, ten-four. This is car 12. We’re on it."
"So much for coffee." Archer muttered as the car sped down the street.
Thoughts swarmed my head. Oh my god, oh my god.
"Archer?" I whispered.
"What?" He asked tensely.
"Ashley, my friend. Her store’s on that corner."
"The one at the party? With the hairdresser place?"
"Yeah, Meeko’s House of Hair."
"Damn." Archer muttered. He put on an extra burst of speed and we shot down the street, sirens baring.
I grabbed the radio. "What’s the name of that store?" I demanded.
The Comp Stop.
I sighed, relieved.
Archer pulled up in front of the store. The front window was smashed.
I jumped out of the car, gun drawn.
"Go out back." Archer hissed.
I nodded and crept along the shadows towards the back of the store.
I checked around the alley. There was nothing.
"Don’t move!" The cry was from the front.
I dashed back to find a young man holding a gun on Archer.
"Freeze!" I screamed, my gun trained on the man’s back. "Drop the gun!"
He turned and saw me.
That face...that blond hair...those blue eyes...I knew them. I hated them. David.
The face I remembered was ten years younger, but none of that mattered. It didn’t matter that the kid I remembered didn’t exist. That the memory of the face wasn’t mine.
I hated him. I hated him with every fiber of my body. An unexplained, irrational hatred.
"Pretty upset over that Bird-boy, aren’t you? What, did you like him or something?" He grinned. "That’s it, isn’t it? Aww, how sweet. Too bad. But you know, birds have a short life span."
His finger twitched. I saw his hand loosen to drop the gun.
Tim...If David had killed Tim...
Brian...No, he’d kill Brian...
David...
The kid...
Stop him.
Kill him.
It was the longest moment of my life. My mind arguing with something that was imbedded into my very soul.
"Brian." I whispered. For you, Tim.
I fired.
The gun dropped to the ground. The body lay motionless on top of it.
Archer ran over.
I vaguely heard the clatter my gun made as it dropped from my hands. Archer caught me as my knees gave out.
"Robyn!" He screamed. "Are you okay?"
"Brian!" I gasped, sobbing into his chest. "Oh, Brian!"
"It’s okay." He whispered. "It’s okay."
"I killed him, Brian. I killed him."
He put his arms around me and let me cry into his shoulder.
Sirens wailed around us as the other squad cars arrived.
David was dead.
I sat in the squad car, shivering. I had just killed a man. Not in self-defense or anything. There was no excuse. This was cold-blooded murder.
Someone handed me a cup of coffee. I took it, not caring. The heat warmed my numb fingers.
I took a tentative sip. The liquid burned at my throat, the bitter taste matching the feeling in my heart. I watched through the window as the paramedics carried the body away.
Archer came over and got into the car. "Are you okay?"
I nodded.
Archer sighed and looked away. I could tell he didn’t believe me.
"The owner, Alex somebody or other, is going down to the precinct. We gotta go meet him there." Archer leaned back in his chair.
There was a long silence.
"What was his name?"
"What?"
"The kid I killed. What was his name?"
Archer didn’t answer for a long time. "David." He said finally. "I don’t know his last name."
I nodded.
Archer started the engine and we drove to the precinct in silence. Silence except for my own torturing thoughts.
I killed him. I killed him because I hated him. But I don’t know why I hated him, why I killed him. That question would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Why did I kill him?
Legacy: Part Seven -Aximili
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