“Gone”

  by Andy Sul

I knew a decent amount about him. I met one day while he was moving into his

apartment which was next to mine. He hated me for the most part. I hope he did. He

never told me his name either. He said something about knowing a person’s name can

hold a lot of power. I was only able to find out what it was until this lady started to show

up every now and then 3 months after he moved in. She worked at the orphanage he

was at growing up, and she’d check in with him to make sure he was doing alright. It

was only until I met her that she told me a bit of his past. He witnessed his parents die

at such a young age and was completely alone ever since. Nobody during that time at

the orphanage would want to adopt him. I guess that’s the reason why he turned out the

way that he was. Just so afraid of everything that could potentially kill him.

Death was always on his mind. Because of it, he was afraid of everything and

anything. Some of the things he’d be afraid of made sense like crossing the street or the

food he’d eat. Some of them didn’t really make much sense to me like clothes. It could

never be too tight, could never be too loose either. Somehow they could just kill him. He

was always afraid of everybody too. I was even a potential threat to him because he

didn’t know me. For all he knew, I would have taken his life. As I’d see him more often

I’d try to open him up a bit by teasing him about the things he was afraid of that didn’t

make sense to me. That’s how he ended up hating me, because of my constant teasing

of whatever he was afraid of that he shouldn’t have to be. But slowly, he was becoming

more and more open to see things differently and even opening up to me.

One day I was on my way back from work and I found him on the ground in front

of his apartment. The other neighbors didn’t even notice, they just thought it was

another one of his freak out episodes. Apparently he got evicted from his apartment and

it freaked him out so much, it knocked him out cold. But he wouldn’t respond when I

tried to wake him up. Not only that, his body was really hot and sweating like crazy so I

rushed him to the hospital.

He woke up the next day and started freaking out again. Waking up in an

unfamiliar environment. Seeing all these unfamiliar people. It was really not until the

doctor talked to him about his situation that he started calming down. But he didn’t calm

down because the doctor did a good job of calming him down. The doctor revealed he

had cancer.

He never stood a chance. He was uninsured and only had enough money for

rent and food each month somehow. He couldn’t pay for the surgery. I didn’t have the

money then either. And just like that, he was gone within a few weeks after he got

checked in. The cancer had already spread too far at that point. He was so afraid of

everything that he couldn’t even live out his own life. See or experience the world out

there. Never enjoyed anything in life, nor did he have many friends. I think I was his only friend or at least I’d like to think that.

You know I just thought maybe, just maybe I could

help him out. And after all of that, and his constant fear of everything, something out of

his control got him. And now, he’s gone. He’s gone.

 

“The Getaway Driver”

In high school I was a loner. No, not the kind that sits at the lunch tables by themselves, just waiting for someone to notice them. Those are fake loners. A real loner wants to be alone, and doesn’t want to be seen. I always hid during lunch time. If the kids at my school knew I had zero friends, I would get teased about it daily. So, I was smart about it. I rotated bathrooms daily. I brought extra shoes that I would change into, so that no one would recognize me as the pair of feet that never left the stall. I would eat my sandwich and then spend the next hour watching Netflix. It was heaven, but it didn’t last long.

I was half way through an episode of “Stranger Things” when I heard them walk in. I could recognize their voices right away, Kaitlyn, Emily, Morgan and Becky.They were four of the most hated girls at school. They were known for their bullying. So far five kids have moved schools after being their victims. Their voices made my blood boil, but I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation. “Mr. Rodriguez is one of the wealthiest people in this town” said Kaitlyn. “When I did my community service project at his house, he had all kinds of jewelry, designer clothes, and antiques that we could sell and make some serious cash” said Morgan. “and he’s super fucking old, he’s like 90, he couldn’t hurt us even if he wanted to. By the time he calls the cops we’ll be gone.” stated Emily. “So, it’s settled” said Becky “All we need is a getaway driver”. I sat there in awe. These girls were planning to rob Mr. Rodriguez’s house, and I could hear every detail.Suddenly someone was banging on my stall door. “GET OUT BITCH YOU’RE TAKING TOO LONG” yelled Kaitlyn as she was hitting my stall door. They knew I was here all along. I sat there frozen. I assumed if I didn’t get out, they would never know who I was. I was wrong. All of a sudden Emily poked her head over the stall door, and our eyes met. My life was over. “You were right Kaitlyn” she scoffed. “It is mousey girl!”. “My name is Maisy” I said trying to sound confident, but it came out like a whisper.Both Kaitlyn and Becky were peering in my stall too. “Hi mousey” said Kaitlyn, “I don’t know if you heard, but we need a getaway driver, and we know you’re one of the only sophomores with a car.”I didn’t know what to say, I sat there frozen. “Don’t even think about saying no” said Kaitlyn “Because if you do, everyone at school will see that cute little pic you sent my brother.” My heart stopped. I totally forgot that Kaitlyn was Stevens sister. It all made sense now. Steven and I were on the track team together. A couple weeks ago, Steven came up to me and started flirting. I didn’t know why a super attractive senior would be flirting with a loner sophomore like me, but I didn’t question it. He asked for my number and we began constantly texting each other. I fell for him completely. One day he asked me to send some revealing pictures, and being the complete idiot I was, I agreed. Once I sent it, he never replied. I thought he stopped liking me. Tears filled my eyes as I realized his love was fake, and just a way for Kaitlyn to have something to blackmail me with. I knew what had to be done. “Alright” I said, wiping my eyes, trying not to think about Steven, “I’ll do it.” Kaitlyn got out a post it and wrote something on it. “Meet us at this address at 1 am tomorrow, and don’t be late mousey, or everyone will see your pic”. And without another word they walked out of the restroom.

At 1:00 am I pulled up to the address. It was Morgan’s house. A few minutes later the four girls walked out dressed in black clothing and ski masks. When they got in the car I could tell they were nervous. They should be. Kaitlyn sat in the passenger seat and handed me another post it with the names of the cross streets. “This is where Mr. Rodriguez lives,” she said. I put the post it in my cupholder. As we drove to the destination my stomach was in knots. I was nervous that this all wouldn’t go as planned. I just kept reassuring myself that I knew what I was doing. As we turned onto his street I turned off my headlights. I parked just a few houses down. “Don’t leave unless all four of us are back in your car, do you understand?” “Wait” I said, “How are you guys getting in?”. “We’re going to smash his window with a crowbar” said Morgan. After hearing that I tried so hard to conceal my excitement. These girls were idots when it came to home burglary. The girls left my car. A minute later I heard the glass shatter. I held my breath hoping that my predictions were correct. Then I heard it. Screaming, followed by four gun shots. I turned on the radio, put my car into drive, and left. It all went according to plan.

You see, what these girls didn’t know was that my mother’s maiden name was Rodriguez, and Mr. Rodriguez was my grandpa. He was a gun lover. “What do you even need a gun for?” my mother would always ask him. “For home intruders of course” he would always say. “You really think anyone’s gonna try and rob you” she asked. “I don’t know, but if they ever do, I’ll be ready”. I knew that my grandpa went to bed every night with a loaded gun on his night table. When the girls asked me to help them rob his house, they were basically asking me to kill them. My pictures were safe, the school was bully free, and grandpa Rodriguez finally got to shoot his gun.