"Bet you thought your precious little Nevaeh finally came back to you. Too bad that isn't the case. Things aren't just handed to you in life, you have to fight. So if you really want her back then you three come to the alleyway between Cornwall Street and Cherry Drive at midnight. And make sure it's only you three."
Adriano was the only one out of the three who could read through the whole message without blowing a fuse.
The words burn, adding more fire to the flames. To hose it down Kahlil fingers numbingly flip through the Bible as he tries to find any verse to help him. Every scripture bleeding into his mind as it fights his intense urge to commit one of the greatest sins possible.
His eyes crawl across each and every page, reading old and new, taking in all the trials which each person faced.
He's testing me..
It's the only explanation he can think of as to why all this is happening, why the girl of his dreams is in the arms of another man, why the first girl he's ever liked and that made him feel normal is gone...
my Heaven gone.
"Kahlil." Adriano's hand ever so softly grips his shoulder and gives him a little shake.
His eyes finally lift from the Bible, hands still tracing the gold lettering in engraved into the red leather. "Yeah.."
Khalil suddenly glances at him when he doesn't instantly response and finds open arms.
They make eye contact as Khalil shows his confusion. "Umm, Adri-
"Just.." He sighs glancing down as peach slightly stains his cheeks. "Accept it."
In that moment Khalil didn't know what he wanted to do more, laugh and joke about Adriano's sexuality, decline him, or cry in his arms. He ends up wordlessly giving him the manliest hug he could muster up.
He wasn't that gay now.
After they separate, he felt an off sensational relief for that one moment in time. He felt that in that next moment Nevaeh would show up at their door, end all their pain and save him.
"It's almost time."
Then reality gutted him as Leon's words rang in his ear.
"We stay on our toes, this guy may act like he's a dumbass but he's actually a sneaky bastard." He teeth clench so tightly Kahlil almost think he'll shatter them. "He got away with murder after all."
Kahlil's mind whirls at the word.
Murder.
It grips at his lungs, leaving no air left as his heart chokes on the thousands of thoughts his mind produces. Each thought more vivid and blood boiling than the one before it.
He didn't want to think about it at all. He just wanted to shut everything off. He wanted to be numb, going through life as another mindless follower...
He wanted her. God, he wanted her so bad. He never wanted someone so bad in his life. He's never felt so tensely about someone in his life. She gave him hope and confident and relief. He wasn't just a lying fag hiding behind his honorable façade but a person who could be hopefully be accepted by not only God but his father.
His heart blooms with a heavy pain which stuns his mind.
She doesn't know just how much he means to him. He doesn't even know that himself and it scares him. God and Jesus are his only savors, the only ones truly deserving of loyalty and praise...
So why?
Why has this single person who he's only known for not even a year saved him more than any God has, maybe even could.
Even since she's came into his life all he's been doing is questioning everything, questioning things he didn't know could be questioned.
He glances down at the small Bible looking so awkward in his big hands. The leather in slight wear and the golden letters once shiny now matted from age.
His fingers trace the gold tinted pages before finding the burgundy ribbon attached to the book. The same ribbon which hasn't been touched in over a decade.
With steady fingers he flips to the bookmarked page to find the pink highlighted words.
He smiles softly.
She adored the color pink.
His finger swipes across each word taking all of them in with incredible care.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
And with each word his heart lifts and his mind clears, giving him the shortest yet most euphoric bit of content.
And with that he found a new sense of determination.
"We'll get her back no matter what he does."