"...It's your friend, Cristian. He's dead."
On hearing this you felt like you'd just been punched in the gut. Cristian or 'Chris' (as he was more commonly know) having been one of your closest friends for years, ever since you'd first met him back in middle school. And while he wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box, and was more often than not the butt of your jokes (due to his short and chunky stature and rather eccentric Puerto Rican family), he was always there with a big dumb grin on his face when you needed him the most. Being a super positive guy who never let anything get him down. That being one of the main reasons that you liked him. Now though he was gone, and you felt utterly devastated. Never having imagined you'd lose one of your few friends so young.
Although the doctors tried their best to comfort you, their attempts were rather futile, and instead you had to just sit there feeling absolutely crushed as they explained exactly how it had happened. How the impact of the truck that had hit you caused too much internal damage to his body for them to save his life. Having apparently died long before they'd even had a chance to operate.
Not that you were really taking any of this information in. Still reeling too much from the news that your friend, who didn't even have a malicious bone in his body was now dead. The two doctors giving you one or two last few words of sympathy before rushing off to fetch your parents. The rest of your family having thankfully come out of the accident unscathed.
Left alone then to wallow in your grief, your thoughts turned to all the things that you had done together these past few years. All the pranks that you and your other two friends, Randall and Danny had continually played on him and how he'd always taken it on the chin. Like the time Randall had dared him to sneak into the girls locker room to steal some panties and he'd gotten busted. Not to mention the numerous occasions he'd made a fool of himself completely of his own accord. Which was a lot. Never failing to make you all laugh.
Now all of that was gone though. And that sucked. That really, really sucked.
In the days that followed your release from the hospital, your parents and siblings supported you as best they could. Repeatedly telling you that "things will get better" even though it really didn't feel like they would. As for Chris' own family, though they were all clearly devastated as well by what had happened, there was something slightly off about how they were acting when you went to visit them (Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez especially). Something that you couldn't quite put your finger on. It being almost as if they couldn't wait for you to leave. Sensing a level of guilt on their part maybe...
No... No, that can't be it, you told yourself after returning home. Pretty sure that you must have been imagining it. They're just grieving that's all. Figuring that you'd be acting pretty weird too if your son had just died.
Although, to be honest, it wasn't just his family that seemed a little off. Danny seeming that way as well. Appearing rather distant and seemingly doing anything to shift the conversation away from his now deceased best friend (the two of them having been far closer than either you or Randall were). This growing even worse once the funeral was over. Barely seeing him at all over the next several weeks, that was until the holidays were over and school finally reared it's ugly head once more. But even then, he never seemed to be able to hang out with you and Randall all that much outside of class, and on the few occasions he did, he would be constantly be checking his phone and receiving mystery phone calls and texts from someone. Making out like it was his mom needing him to take care of some chores around the house when you knew fine well it was not. Almost always running off immediately after. Leading you to wonder what the hell was really going on. His actions being very suspicious indeed.
Putting these concerns to Randall one day after he'd just ditched the two of you at the mall. "Hey, are you worried about Danny at all?"
"How'd you mean?"
"I dunno, he's just been acting really weird lately. Always running off somewhere. Never being able to spend any time with us."
"Maybe he's got a secret chick or something he's not telling us about," Randall shrugged. Danny admittedly being the most sociable and confident out of your groups, and the most likely to hook up with someone, but still... you'd have assumed he would tell you if he had. Knowing fine well you'd be boasting like crazy if it were you.
"Maybe it's something to do with Chris," you posed instead. "I mean, it's only been a month since he died and the two of them were super tight."
Randall didn't seem quite so convinced however. Reminding you that, despite his reluctance to talk about it or spend a lot of time with you guys outside of school, Danny had actually appeared to bounce back rather quickly from Chris' dead. Rather too quickly it seemed at times. Being pretty much back to his usual witty self less than a day after the funeral. Almost as if nothing had even happened, which again was weird. Expecting him to be a lot more cut up about it than he was.
"Well something is definitely going on," you told him, "and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it." Even if you didn't know exactly how.
"Good luck with that," Randall replied, not appearing quite as concerned about it all as you were. "But knowing Danny, he probably just got bored of us not praising the ground he walked on all the time like Chris did. Probably gone to find someone else who will." Although harsh, this in a way was kind of true. Chris' thoughts and opinions were usually all based on Danny's. The two of you not being quite as agreeable as he'd been.
Still, you didn't think he'd suddenly ditch you because of this alone. You'd had all been friends for years after all. And so you decided to keep a close eye on your spiky haired, bespectacled friend the next time you were together. Determined to find out what was going on. Watching as, just as always seemed to happen, he received a mystery text message and once again told the two of you that he had to go. Having something that he needed to take care of.
"Seriously, dude?!" Randall said, just as the three of you were on your way into the cinema. "We were just about to watch this movie."
"Sorry. It's... It's, uh, my uncle," Danny explained. Seemingly pulling this one right out his ass. "He's visiting and I don't really get to see him all that often. My mom wants me to come home."
Though it was clear Randall wasn't about to let this slide (having already bought the tickets), you quickly responded, "It's cool. This movie'll probably be a piece of shit anyway. We'll catch you another time."
Randall turning towards you then and asking, "What the hell, Tim?" as Danny hurried off. "Why'd you just let him punk out like that? I thought you were the one who wanted him to spend time with us."
"I am. Which is why I'm gonna follow him," you replied. Hoping to find out where exactly it was he was really going and to see who. "You coming?"
"No way, dude," he said, shaking his head. "You're on your own. I already paid to see this damn thing so I'm gonna watch it. If you wanna waist your time following Danny around then go for it. Just don't drag me along as well."
Unable to convince him and not really having much time to spare, you left Randall at the cinema and quickly ran off in the same direction as Danny had just left. Making sure to keep your distance as you tailed him. Having to hide once or twice behind cars or street signs every time he looked round. Praying to God as you did that your gut feeling was actually right and he wasn't really going home to see his uncle, otherwise you'd look like a complete idiot for following him like this.
The longer you did so however, the more apparent it became that you were indeed right. Danny heading now in a completely different direction to the one he usually took to get home. Turning left towards a neighborhood that you weren't at all familiar with and finally coming to a stop outside an apartment block. Getting himself buzzed in and quickly disappearing inside. Leaving you with mere seconds to sprint over there and trap your foot in the door before it closed. Sneaking your way on in then as well.
Shit... What the hell am I doing? you wondered as you quietly crept inside. Following your friend's footsteps on the stairs. Having absolutely no idea where you were or what you were getting yourself into, or how on earth you were actually supposed to explain what you were doing if you got caught. Figuring that perhaps Randall had the right idea. Perhaps you would have been better off just letting this drop and guzzling down popcorn in the movies instead. Though I guess it's a little too late for that now.
Pausing then on the stairwell when you heard a door open, followed by a female voice greeting your friend.
"Hey, Danny. Right on time."
"Hey, how's it going?" he replied.
Peeking your head around the corner just in time to see Danny walk inside one of the apartments and a woman close the door. The woman in question being...
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