Second Chances and Choices

Chapter 19

“David? You don’t look so good.”
Lit’l Bit saw him by the D.C. wearing the same clothes he wore the day before. There were dark circles under his eyes.
“Things didn’t go so well with your parents?” she asked.
“I’m living with Denton,” he said sharply.
“Ooh, your dad kicked you out?”
David nodded and yawned. “But it’s ok. I’ll figure something out.”
“David, maybe you should forget about…”
“Lit’l Bit!”
David and Lit’l Bit spun around and saw Briar sprinting towards them.
“What’s wrong?” asked David.
Briar caught her breath and turned to Lit’l Bit. “It’s Jack…” she gasped.
“What? What about him?”
“Someone attacked him… he…he’s hurt pretty bad.”
Lit’l Bit froze. “Where is he?”
“At the hospital.”
Lit’l Bit started running down the street and Briar went after her but David held her arm.
“We’ve gotta talk, he said.”
Briar shook his arm off. “Not now.”

At the hospital, Lit’l Bit rushed through the doors and up to the front desk. “Excuse me… hello!”
The head nurse faced her with a deep frown. “Yes?”
“Is a Jack Kelly here?” Lit’l Bit asked urgently.
The nurse flipped through a stack of papers in her hand. “Who?”
“Jack Kelly!” yelled Lit’l Bit.
“Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to…”
“Over here.”
The girls saw Snoddy beckoning to them from across the hall. He was standing in front of a door bearing the numbers 109.
“Is he okay?” said Lit’l Bit. “Tell me he’s okay, Snoddy.”
Snoddy opened his mouth and glanced over at Briar for help.
Lit’l Bit went past him and threw open the door. Her knees buckled when she saw Jack lying in bed. He wasn’t moving and she could tell he was having a hard time breathing.
Briar put a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “He was shot,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Lit’l Bit’s voice quivered. “But… he’s gonna be fine, right? He’s not gonna…”
“Doctor said he’s lost a lot of blood,” said Snoddy. “The bullet actually grazed his lung.”
Lit’l Bit squeezed her eyes shut as Briar hugged her. “He can’t die,” she whispered into Briar’s shoulder.
“Shh.” Briar tried to sooth her. “He’s a strong guy. He’ll have a fighting chance.”
After a few minutes, Snoddy tapped Lit’l Bit on the shoulder. “The police are outside. They want to talk to you.”
“You don’t have to do it now,” said Briar as Lit’l Bit straightened up and wiped her eyes.
“The sooner we find out who did this the better,” Lit’l Bit said shakily. She left the room and was met by two uniformed policemen. They sat her down in an empty office.
“I’m just gonna ask you a few questions,” said one of them while his partner stood by the door. “Does he have any family?”
“No,” said Lit’l Bit, shaking her head.
“No living relations?”
“None that I know of.”
He wrote something in his notepad. “And what’re you to him?”
“I’m his…his girlfriend.” She swallowed back a lump that was forming in her throat.
The officer put down his notepad. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but this wasn’t an accident,” he said gravely. “It was…”
“Attempted murder,” finished the other.
“I’m afraid so. And it was done, apparently, by someone Jack Kelly knew.”
Lit’l Bit frowned. “How… how do you know that?”
“The gun was fired from a very close distance.” He leaned forward. “Can you think of anyone who would want to kill him?”
She shook her head.
“No one at all? An old enemy, a rival gang… a jealous ex?”
Lit’l Bit shook her head again then looked up suddenly. A jealous ex?
The policeman noticed her reaction. “Yes? Have you thought of anyone?”
“No, sir.”
He sighed and stood up, extending his hand to shake hers. “Let me know if you remember anything.”
“I will.”
They opened the door for her and she watched them walk out of the hospital. Briar was standing outside Jack’s door.
“Lit’l Bit?”
“I think I know who did it,” Lit’l bit whispered.
“Who?”
“It was Spot.”
Briar tried to laugh. “Spot?”
“He was jealous.”
“Jealous enough to kill Jack?” Briar shook her head. “Did you tell the cops?”
“Maybe I should talk to him first.”
“And let him take a shot at you? No way!”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“You can’t take a risk like that.”
“I have to go to Brooklyn.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”