The Boys

Adrianna hated it when they referred to her as ‘one of the boys’. She may have taken pride in it when she was younger, but now it irked her that they didn’t recognize that she was a woman and needed to be handled more delicately. They were there to be insensitive when things were rough for her, and they were there to make fun of her when things were good. But they were always there. And in spite of their annoying behavior when it concerned Adrianna, she loved them unconditionally. When she spent time with them individually, their bullying facades dissolved and their rather lovable personalities shone through. They were her boys, her friends, her family.

Earlier that week, Adrianna had stopped by the bank after work to see Darren. Darren was probably the most gentlemanly of the boys. He was thoughtful and considerate and the girls adored him. He had bought Adrianna her first bouquet of flowers on her fifteenth birthday even though he caught flak for it from the rest of the boys later. That day, Darren had looked particularly sharp in his pin-striped suit and pink shirt. He always dressed really well, even when he wasn’t working at the bank. He had been in a particularly great mood that day and had managed to convince Adrianna to join him for dinner at a nearby bar and grill. They had talked for hours over dinner about many things and by the time Adrianna had gotten home, it was past ten o’clock.

On this day, there had been whispers about riots breaking out in the city centre so Adrianna had headed home early. She had contemplated swinging by the bank again to see Darren who had promised to give her a book she had been wanting, but decided against it as she was exhausted from working late two nights in a row.

Adrianna threw her car keys on the mantelpiece and collapsed onto the couch. “Just a little TV before I get something to eat,” she thought as she pointed the remote control at the television and swung her legs up onto the couch. Before long, she had fallen asleep, curled up on the sofa.

She woke up with a start to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She reached out and grabbed it from the coffee table to look at the flashing caller ID on its display. It was Mike. Adrianna groaned and turned the phone ringer on silent. Tonight was movie night and the boys were probably calling to ask if she wanted to join them. She closed her eyes yet again, but just as she was drifting off, her cell phone rang again. “Damn you, Mike,” she muttered angrily as she pressed the ‘accept’ button on the phone. “Hello,” she said in an irritable voice expecting Mike to chide her for not answering the phone before. “Adie?” Mike didn’t sound like his normal self. “What is it, Mike?” Adrianna asked, sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Mike replied in a soft, calm voice, “I don’t want you to freak out, okay? I need you to stay calm but I need you to get to the hospital. Darren’s been shot.” “WHAT!? What happened?” Adrianna yelled. “I’ll tell you when you get here, just come to the hospital.” Mike answered.

Adrianna hung up the phone, grabbed her car keys, slipped on her shoes and bolted out of the house. A million questions were running through her head. Had thugs attacked the bank while Darren was there? Had the doctors already taken him in to surgery? Was he going to be okay? What if they weren’t going to be able to repair the damage from the gunshot wound and he was somehow disabled for the rest of his life?

Adrianna’s cell phone began to ring again. It was Denise. Why was she calling? Adrianna didn’t usually hear from Denise. “Hello?” Adrianna answered as she drove like mad through the dimly lit streets towards the hospital.  “Adrianna, are you okay?” Denise asked uncertainly. “Yeah, but listen, Darren’s been shot. I’m rushing to the hospital now to see him so I can’t talk,” Adrianna answered. “Okay – call me if you need anything,” Denise said. As Adrianna hung up the phone she thought to herself how bizarre that phone call was. Denise did not seem surprised about the news. Maybe she already knew. But why would she be calling Adrianna? With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Adrianna sensed that things were more serious than Mike had let on. She decided to call Kevin and ask him what was going on. As she deftly switched gears with her left hand, she dialed Kevin’s number with her right, leaving the steering wheel unmanned briefly. Kevin answered right away. “Kev, what’s going on? How badly is Darren hurt? Kev? You have to tell me the truth! Kevin?” Kevin remained silent for a few seconds. Then, in a quiet voice, he said, “He didn’t make it, Adie. He’s dead.”

The words echoed inside Adrianna’s head as the phone dropped from her hand and she stared blankly into the night ahead of her. Streetlamps whizzed past as she tried to assimilate the news she had just been given. And then she began to wail as the tears came streaming down her face. She was in complete disbelief. Not for a moment did she consider that she was going to the hospital to find him dead. Kevin had to be joking, right?

She turned into the hospital gate and immediately saw the shadows of people standing in the dark of the night, heads drooped. She parked the car and calmed herself down. She got out of the car and walked towards the group. She could hear silent sobs coming from a few people. “Adie!” someone called out to her. It was Jeremy. He walked towards her, crying as he put his arms around her. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry,” he whispered as Adrianna buried her face in his jacket and wept. With one arm still around Adrianna’s shoulders, Jeremy began to lead her away from the group and into the building. Adrianna didn’t realize what was happening until she looked up from Jeremy’s chest and realized that Darren’s body was lying right in front of them. There was a white sheet pulled over the top half of Darren’s body, covering his face. She gasped and began to howl as Jeremy tightened his grip on her.

As she trembled in Jeremy’s arms, Adrianna stared at the black, dress shoes that lay on the feet of the dead body in front of her, thinking that she could have seen those shoes anywhere, and known that they belonged to Darren. It was then that it hit her. She had known this man for most of her life… and now he was gone. There were other people walking into the room now. Adrianna was so glad that the body was covered up – she would not want to remember Darren in any other way than as happy as he looked the last time she saw him. It was at that moment, without any warning, a man in a white lab coat had pulled back the white sheet and Adrianna had shrieked with terror, shutting her eyes tight as the image of what she glimpsed was etched in her memory forever…