Suppressed Memories

Kioni Turner

I ran as fast as my feet could take me, I was tired, but I had to keep going. Everything happened so fast in my head. Where should I go and who will help me now? The only thing that was on my mind was to run. 

Come on Ki just a few more blocks. Don’t let them catch you. You are not a runner but today you run. That is all I kept thinking in my head until.

BANG!

“I’m sorry.” I stopped and looked back to see if they were close.

“Hey, it’s ok. I wasn’t looking,” he responded holding my shoulders.

I looked back again and all I saw was a silhouette and I knew my tired feet had to move again. I pulled away from him running, but my bracelet slipped from my hand falling making me look back not realizing where I was before lights were flashing in front of me as the honk blared closer and there was darkness.

James Miller Pega

One minute she had bumped into me and the next she was running again. It all happened so fast, her looking back not realizing she walked in traffic, and in a few seconds, she was flying in the air and fell hard on the ground. Why did she look back? Why was she running? I thought. As I started to move to check on her. I stepped on something and it made me stop. Her bracelet must have slipped off. I knelt and picked it up my head turning to look in her direction.

“Ki,” I whispered, fisting the bracelet.

I started moving closer and closer before I was drawn back because in cases like these the crowd is told to move away from an accident. Some people were snapping photos, and some had their hands on their mouths, and the man who had hit her was shaking his hand in panic before his hands interlocked behind his head. As the ambulance and police sound kept getting close, I noticed two men in black suits one was on the phone who started to whisper something in the other man’s ear before he nodded. I drew my attention to him as I was reading his lips as he was whispering something that sounded like we must find it. He noticed me staring and I quickly looked away and when I looked again, they were gone.

The ambulance came in and took her away and the police put tape around the spot where she was. There was a lot of emotion from the man who had hit her as the officer was questioning him. I didn’t realize that it was late until my phone was buzzing in my jacket showing me the time.

“Where are you, James? Mom is freaking out.” I was late again I needed to rush home.

“SHIT!” I muttered as I put my phone in my jacket to notice I still had her bracelet in my hand which I slid in my jacket and started walking home.

As I saw the house close by, I took a deep breath shaking off the scene I had witnessed, and I grabbed the doorknob with a deep breath.

“Where have you been?” my sister whispered.

“Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that,” I whispered back.

“What’s got you all creeped out?”

“Nothing.”

“Fine, whatever.” she rolled her eyes before walking away.

I sighed before I dropped my backpack on the floor and start running upstairs to my room.

“James, how many times have I told you not to run in the house? Especially on the stairs,” my mom shouted.

“Sorry,” I responded.

“Did you leave your backpack down again?” she continued.

I rushed back again so I could grab my backpack only to see her with her hands on her hips giving a what did I say look.

I smiled kissing her on the cheek. “Hi mom, sorry mom,” I said grinning.

“Hi, dinner will be ready at 7:15,” she said cupping my cheeks with her hands smiling. “Are you ok, Jam?” she asked.

“Mom, don’t call me that. It’s embarrassing.”

“I will call you that because you are my sweet boy,” she said proudly.

I shake my head and walk to grab my backpack and I dash past her running the stairs.

“James.” She shouted as I ran up the stairs again.

“Sorry,” I shouted before opening my door and slamming the door.

I could hear my mom’s exasperated voice as she was not happy with me running and slamming my door. I threw my backpack on the bed before I slammed on the bed looking up the ceiling.

Things my mother couldn’t stand were me and Harper fighting, us running on the stairs and slamming our doors which happened a lot even dad ran in the house. This mostly happened in the morning because that’s when breakfast was being served. I smiled at this thought happy to have calmed down after witnessing that terrible accident.

I reached for my pocket so I could take my phone and that’s when I felt the bracelet once again. I took it out and started to examine it and it looked like something that was specially made and by the engraving on it this bracelet meant something to her.

“Ki?” It must be her name I thought.

Could she had been running away from those two men in black suits? She looked like she was running away from someone. My attention was drawn away from those thoughts and I decide to get my sketchbook and draw. I started to draw today’s incident from the moment she bumped into me and the accident to the shocked people, the driver, ambulance, police, and the two men in black suits.

“What is that?”

I jumped from the chair I had sat on lost in my drawing as my sister was in my room talking.

“Harper, get out, must you always be a creeper,” I yelled at her.

‘Mom asked me to get you time for dinner,” she said as she started touching the drawings observing them with her head tilted.

“She is pretty, who is she?” she asked looking at me.

“No one,” I snatched the sketch from her.

“These guys are scary,” she had grabbed the other sketches.

“Stop that,” I responded.

“Why does that pretty girl look like she is dead here?” she said pointing in a confused look.

“None of your business, troublemaker,” I started dragging her out of my room before slamming the door in her face and locking it.

“Mom, Jam is slamming the door again,” she shouted, then there were footsteps of her walking away.

All I could hear was a conversation between the two of them having an argument about me slamming the door and Harper complaining as always.

I took a few steps to the drawings as I stared at the one of her looking like she was dead. I decided to take the bracelet from my jacket again a bit of relief ran through my body because if that troublemaker has seen it this was not going to end well.

I decided to hide the bracelet in one of the boxes where I keep my private possessions and I would go look for her at the hospital the next day so I can make sure that she had survived the accident. My sister was right she was pretty. I smiled at the thought and my mind couldn’t get her face out of my head after all I had a photographic memory.

My stomach started grumbling and that’s when I looked at the clock saw it was 7:30. If I did not go down soon my mom would send that troublemaker again. I unlocked the door and ran down the stairs for dinner.