I fought to hold on. I knew that I was mortally wounded but I had so much to do. Sammie ran out of the house and cupped my head in her lap. She was crying but I could not say or do anything. I hoped my eyes expressed what I was feeling. I wanted her to let my children know that I loved them. I wanted her to be there and let them know who I was and to tell them that I would always be around looking out for them. I willed her to tell them that they could achieve anything and that I would always be there right behind them pushing them on.
Norman walked up the steps with the gun still pointed at me. Sammie scooted back against the porch rail allowing my head to hit the concrete floor. It didn’t hurt since my main focus was on trying to breathe. He was smiling as he approached me.
“What, bitch? Ain’t talking now, are you? Cat got your tongue?” He leered at me with this demented look on his face. I could not believe that Norman was going to actually kill me on the front porch of my house in the presence of my kids. How could I have possibly misjudged him like that?
I could hear the children inside the house screaming and I prayed that they would not come out to see what was going on. Sammie was wailing as if she had been shot her damn self. I heard the second shot but my vision had failed. I was still aware of my surroundings but I could not see the players anymore. I prayed that Norman would not shoot Sammie, too, since she was a witness to the crime. Luckily for me, I did not feel the bullet that entered my head and it did not stop my mind from working. I was unable to move but my thoughts were still clear. I was yelling at Norman and for Sammie to call the police but neither responded since they could not hear me.
I did not hear the third and final shot. I was already dead but I could still see what was going on around me. Norman administered that bullet to his own head on the front steps of my house. He fell right on top of me. I wanted so badly to push his ass off but I could not move.
I stayed with Sammie as long as I could. I saw the white light but refused to run toward it. I was so afraid. Not of dying ’cause that was done already, but of living in the hereafter without my kids. I think I would have tried to stay longer, that is if I didn’t see Norman reaching out a hand to me from the depths of hell. It was time to go.
THE END
About the Author
Tina Brooks McKinney was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 with her two children, Shannan and Estrell. Once in Atlanta, she met and married her loving, supportive husband, William. Tina has mad love for Atlanta, but Baltimore will always be home. Her love for writing is evident in her debut novel, All That Drama. The characters are vivid and somehow familiar as they take the reader on a wild ride through domestic dysfunction.
All That Drama Page 26