All the Same

by Devon Masterson
 
 **I was feeling politcal when I wrote this so let me say now this is not intended to hurt anybody or anything like that. I just wanted to write a different kind of story this time. If it makes you feel any better I'm in one of the ethinic groups in here. Now that we had this talk kiddies and if I didn't scare you away read on and let me know what you think.**
 

     Carlos walked down the lonely causeway of trees in the darkness as he came from his study date with Devon. He smiled as he thought about the other night when the made love for the first time after being together for three months. He was so in love and he could not believe it. "Guys like me never fall in love, but I did," he thought as he touched his lips absently as he felt the warmth from the goodbye kiss that had just been imprinted there earlier by his love. He smiled as he caught himself doing so and continued on.
     A rush of shadows swirled amongst the trees as he walked on, blinded by love , he did not realize that his safety was being compromised.
     "Uhhh," Carlos grunted as he hit the ground. "What the hell?" he asked as he tried to get up but he was pinned to the ground by two huge mountains with arms.
     "I told you to stay away from her," Brian replied calmly as he stood over Carlos and his friends held him in place. "But you didn't listen and then...and then you went and fu..."
     "Get off me," Carlos interrupted as he tried to break the hold that the two line backers had on him. His own team mates were setting him up. He had to get away he knew what these guys were capable of and it was not good.
     "Don't interrupt when I am talking, dog!" Brian yelled as he clocked Carlos in the jaw. "You took my sister's innocence with, you filthy..."
     Carlos kicked at Brian, landing a good solid kick in the groin.
     Brian fell to his knees in pain as his eyes started to water slightly. He was on fire between his pain and anger. "Stand him up," he commanded as he struggled back to his feet. After a few seconds, he stood but his aching continued. He looked at Carlos with pure hatred and kicked him in the groin.
     As Carlos bent over in pain, Brian grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head. "You wanted to get some white ass, huh boy? Well I am going to kick your chink ass!" he exclaimed as he hit him in the jaw again then in the stomach. Brian lit into Carlos like a possessed boxer does a punching bag an hour before the fight.
     "What's going on?" some voices called from a distance.
     "Let's go," Brian commanded as his friends dropped their trash on the sidewalk and walked off with impunity. "We've dirtied our hands enough."
     The people ran as quickly as possible to the fallen victim and leaned over him. "Carlos," Devon whispered as she held his head up. "Are you..ok?"
     "I'm ok," he said weakly as he started to fade in and out of consciousness.
     "Who did this?" Jasmine asked as she pulled out her cellular phone to call campus police.
     "Brian..." Carlos whispered as he passed out.
     Devon's eyes widened. She knew that Brian did some bad things but she never knew how bad. She always saw him as the over protective big brother. She could not imagine why he would beat up her boyfriend. She knew he was her boyfriend. "It's because he's with me..."
     "That son of a bitch," Jasmine muttered as she dialed the phone for assistance.
     Devon looked away. "This is all my fault," she whispered lowly as she cradled Carlos's head in her arms.
     "No, it's not, Devon," Jasmine consoled as she touched her sister's shoulder. "It's not your fault  he has the genes of an asshole."
     Devon looked at her sister hurtfully. "You mean the genes of my father?" she asked looking into her sister's brown eyes. "You mean the same white genes that I also inherited."
     "Devon," Jasmine said softly as she realized that she offended her sister with her remark misaimed. "Honey, I am sorry."
     "I don't want to deal with it right now Jasmine!" she said sternly as the ambulance came. "I am so sorry, Carlos, this will never happen again. I promise. He'll never hurt you again."

***
     Devon took a deep breath as the doors to the hospital elevator opened and the smell of antiseptic hit her then saddened her. She stepped forward and started down the hall of bustling nurses and doctors looking at charts. Patients hooked up to all kinds of monitors and tubes flashed by as she quickened her pace to find Carlos's room.
     "Where do you think you're going?" an angry voice asked as Devon finally reached his door.
     Devon turned around quickly and saw Mrs. Navarro looking at her as though she committed a crime. "Mrs. Navarro," she began.
     "This is all your fault, you little hussy. Your boyfriend tried to beat my son to death," she accused as she moved closer to Devon pointing. "You stay away from him..."
     "I didn't..."
     "Stay away from him," she interrupted as she slapped Devon hard across her left cheek. She could feel the sting of guilt as she touched her face.
     "Mina, what are you doing?" Mr. Navarro asked as he pulled his wife back from Devon before she hit her again.
     Devon looked in utter shock as she held her face. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I...I..I'm sorry," she stuttered as her tears began to flow.
     "She's just upset, Devon," Mr. Navarro apologized. "But perhaps it would be better if you leave..."
     "It's okay," she whispered softly as she turned away from both them. She could hear Carlos's mother muttering in Tegalic and her husband trying to calm her down "Tell Carlos, I'll never hurt him again," she finished as she ran down the hall and opened the door to the stairwell. She quickly shut the door behind her and leaned against the cold cinder block walls as she broke down. She started to slide towards the cold concrete floor as she totally lost control of her emotions. It reminded her a lot of her life, cold and hard.
***
     Jasmine and her decorating committee were busy putting up decorations for the keynote speaker that was going to conclude the Black History Month festivities. It took a lot of doing to get the speaker, including going over the head of Brian who had a little more pull around school. Jasmine smiled as she thought about his face when he found out. She was right there to rub it in his face and would continue to do so every chance she got.
     "How many chairs do you want on each side of the podium?" someone asked.
     "Oh...five on each side," she answered as she shook off reverie. "There's nothing he can do about this and he has to be here as Student Council President," she thought smugly as she looked around at the busy crews setting up the podium and arranging the chairs. Signs adorned the platform along with caricatures of famous African-Americans throughout history. Orange, black, yellow, green streamers and other ethnic decorations flowed gently in the wind making everything festive.
     Jasmine looked at her watch to check the time she frowned as she wondered where Devon was. They were going to go out for dinner since she was taking what happened to Carlos so hard. "She should be back from the hospital by now. I wish they had let her in to see him last night when he was brought in, heartless mothers."
     On the other side of the school from Jasmine, Devon walked down the same causeway that Carlos had traveled the night he was attacked. "Why him? I really loved him and now I've lost him forever because of...my family," she thought as she walked to the stadium archway. "I thought once we were all in college everything would go away. Brian would tolerate Jasmine and stop blaming Mom for marrying Dad, and Jasmine stop blaming Dad for marrying Mom. And maybe let me grow up.
     "Why do things have to be so hard?" she asked herself aloud as she walked inside the dark archway, she felt a hand grab her in the shadows and push her against the wall roughly.
     Devon was about to scream when a hand clamped over mouth to silence her.
     "Bitch, if you bite me. I will do you," the voice threatened. "Now stop screaming."
     Devon stopped struggling and trying to scream. She was not getting anywhere in the void of shadows she seemed to be currently inhabiting and ticking off this creature of the void was the last thing she wanted to do.
     "I know your little secret," he continued as he moved his face closer to her. She had never seen him before. She would not be able to forget such harsh green eyes, which were so deep she could just make them out in the meager sunlight.
     "You're Brian and Jasmine's sister. You blend in so well with the wood work. I don't blame you, but you're going to be my ticket to ruining Brian. He can't have many followers if they knew that his sister is a nigger or half of one anyway."
     "You..."
     "No, no," he said as he put his hand back over her mouth. "Don't tempt me. You are put together quite well. I could see myself...well I won't get into that, not yet anyway. I heard that you're quite a tiger in bed, you have to be if you kept Carlos's interest for three months."
     Devon started to struggle again.
     "Oh stop it! I am not going to defile myself with you," he said sternly. "To take you would be purely politics. Now tell Masterson to resign or I will let out his little secret and your siblings' enemies can tear you apart."
     Devon did not respond at first only stayed silent as she was suspended in the darkness. Her legs started to lose feeling as they hung to the sides of his body. He was wedged in between her legs so that she could not kick him and so he could get to her if he wanted.
     "Tell him!" he said more sternly as he started to choke her.
     "O..k," she choked as he let go of her neck and let her down. Devon touched her neck in relief as she started to breathe normally again. It was good to be on the ground again.
     She looked at her assailant to see if she could make out more of his face other than shadows.
     "Good...now we can't have you conscious so you can identify me can we?" he asked as he punched her in the face knocking her out.
 ***
     "Who did this to you?" Brian thundered as he paced the university infirmary where Devon had been brought. He had never been more angry, not even at his step family. He would not stand for this.
     "I don't know," she answered as she held an ice bag to her face. She had a big welt on her jaw from where she was hit and he head was throbbing. She just wanted to put on some shades and fade out. "All I know is he told me to tell you to resign."
     "I am not going to let some bastard beat up my little sister."
     "Like you did Carlos?" she remarked as she stood.
     "Lay back down," Jasmine pleaded as she pushed Devon back down. She was loving every minute of this. Devon was the only one who could get to Brian.
     "I only did it for your own good," Brian replied trying to defend himself as he ran his hands through his light brown hair. "Devon, you're my..."
     "Yeah, I know," she interrupted as she sat up again. "Well I am tired of it Brian."
     "Dev," he said softly as he touched her honey colored hair. "I did it for you."
     "You're full of it, Brian," Devon said angrily then walked out.
     "Wait, Devon," Jasmine called as she stood to go after her.
     Brian grabbed her wrist. "You turned her against me, Bitch. She's all that I've got."
     "Now you know what your dad did to me. My mom was all I had then your dad married her and now it's just me and my sister." Jasmine commented as she pulled away from Brian quickly. "Never...touch me again!"
 ***
     The crowd  of students waited for the keynote speaker to make his entrance at the concluding festivities of Black History Month. The students moved around restlessly after a while as Jasmine tried to keep the crowd appeased with news of up and coming events planned by the Black Student Union.
     "What's the matter?" a smug voice yelled out into the crowd.
     Jasmine looked out into the crowd and saw some of Brian's crew along with some others she had never seen before.
     "Oh no," Devon whispered as she looked at Brian's friends. She started to move towards them when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
     "Devon," Carlos said. "We need to talk."
     "You're ok," she sighed as she hugged him. "I was so worried."
     "Yeah, I am," he remarked as he held her. It felt so good holding her warm body close to him once more. "I missed you."
     "I miss..um I can't see you anymore," she said as she pulled away. "I don't want to hurt you. I told you before we went out that I was high risk, but I didn't think it would be..."
     "I don't care about Brian," he interrupted as he took her hands in his. "I want to be with you."
     Devon smiled. "Are you sure?" she asked as she looked into his eyes.
     "Yes," he answered as he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.
     She closed her eyes and savored the kiss for a few moments when her brother and sisters shouts disrupted her strawberry moment.
     "Hold that thought," she whispered. "I'll be right back."
     "Get them out of here, Brian!" Jasmine commanded as she and Brian stood in the middle of a crowd of students ready to face off.
     "He doesn't control us, no brother of yours could ever be our leader, nigger," a guy in a white shirt yelled out from behind Brian.
     "Oh, no you didn't," Jasmine replied she prepared to jump on one the members of the crowd, but she was held back by some of her friends. "Let me go! I am going to give him the beat down he deserves."
     "Jasmine and Brian you have to stop this," Devon pleaded as she pushed through the crowd.
     "You stay out of this, Miss Mocha," a girl shouted.
     "You want to settle this, half-breed?"  another asked. "I am going to set it off," he continued as he brandished a 9 mm..
     "He's got a gun," someone yelled as everyone rushed in the direction of chaos. A few of the students jumped on the gunman so that he couldn't hurt anybody, but in the midst of all the screaming and pushing a shot rung out clearly, making everyone panic even more.
     "Devon!" Carlos called as he tried to fight through the crowd. He was worried as he tried to go against the crowd. He seemed to be losing when it suddenly cleared out and he heard a sound that made his heart drop. "No," he whispered.
     In the middle, Brian and Jasmine knelt by Devon who had a gun shot wound in the chest.
     "Devon, honey," Jasmine pleaded desperately as she shook Devon's honey colored head. But she did not respond and her head just hung lifelessly.
     Carlos rushed over to her and shook her as though she were merely asleep. "Devon, come on this isn't funny. Wake up, sweetheart. Please you're scaring me, you can't do this. You're too young, we haven't..." he trailed as the realization truly hit. "WAKE UP!" he screamed as his grief became apparent.
     "This is your fault," Brian accused as he looked at Jasmine.
     "How the hell do you figure?" she asked incredulously
     "You're both to blame," Carlos yelled as he held Devon in his arms like a child that needed comforting. "You let your petty differences get between you and Devon. You don't deserve her." He started to rock back and forth his eyes started to tear and the medics arrived.
***
     Brian, Jasmine, and Carlos sat silently in the room with Devon as she laid unconscious. None of them had left her side since she was brought in two days ago. The silence hung ominously above them all just like the tension between them all. They each blamed the other for Devon laying in the hospital clinging to  life. They did not know if she was going to make it or if   she would ever regained consciousness. All that kept them going was the blessed beeping of the electrocardiogram.
     Carlos held her hand and just stared at her. He could not believe that after he finally decided to give his heart to her that she was about to leave him. He would not let her leave. "I refused to let her leave!" he thought as he held her hand. Then his eyes widened as he felt her fingers move under his slightly.  "Devon..."
     Brian and Jasmine quickly got up and walked over to the bed.
     Devon looked up sleepily at Brian and Jasmine and touched moved their hands together slowly as though it took all of her strength and smiled. Then she turned to Carlos and looked at him sadly. "I'm...sorry," she said softly as she closed her eyes.
     The electrocardiogram started to make a continuous sound as it flattened out.
     "No!" they all screamed as the nurses and doctor came into the room and started to defibrillate her with the electric paddles.
     Brian pulled Jasmine out of the way and held her as she started to cry into his chest. His eyes widened as he realized what he was doing and was about pull away when he thought about Devon. "This wouldn't have happened if I didn't try to get at Jasmine to hurt Dad. Devon would still be here, and her life wouldn't have been such hell. She'd be happy and not here in the hospital. I would give anything for her to be somewhere happy, even with Carlos..."
     Jasmine pulled away from Brian and looked at Devon the turned away. "He's right....we didn't deserve her. I know we'll never be best friends or even friends, but for Devon I am...doing this not for you or for your father, I will get along with you."
     Brian nodded in agreement as the doctor looked at Devon's parents in the doorway and shook her head in sadness. Jasmine's mother started to cry into Brian's father's chest as he held her and tried to hold back his own tears and be strong for his wife.
     Carlos looked away as they pulled the sheet over Devon's peaceful face and walked out.
    "Never again," he thought as he started down the hall. "Devon..."
 
 

  

© 1998 Devon Masterson. All Rights Reserved.