"52"

I felt nauseous, like a criminal on the run as I wore a cap over my head, the collar of Ballantine’s on my neck and a black bag on my shoulder. Striding towards a fancy apartment complex I shouldn’t be in. I watched the sun fade away at a distance, leaving the sky in a disheveled mixture of twilight. I was still in a different kind of high when Emery told me how Ahbaya felt about me.

It was as if I had won something I worked so hard for. Little did I know that the victory I long for was still beyond my reach and realized I can’t do this on my own. I needed my own army, at least the only person who had cheered me on my whole life. Dane, my best friend.

I waited outside her apartment, finding a hiding spot just between the nooks and crannies of the building like a maniac because I was a feeble loser who scared my friend away and literally almost had her killed. If it wasn’t for Emery pulling the strings — Dane would have been dead.

I wasn’t sure how many hours had passed until I saw t