7-8-6-0

The planning takes days. We talk about how to move, how to act, what to acknowledge. Finally, the day arrived. We’re parked at the park. It’s dark. Almost 7 o’clock.

There’s a kid standing beside his car. He’s swaying back and forth on his toes. The girl beside him keeps twirling her hair with her finger. She’s nervous about something. I get out of the car making sure they don’t notice me. As I’m walking over to him, I take note of all the cameras surrounding me. I put on a smile and ask if I can call my uncle. His face contorts a little bit as he decides if he should give this random stranger his phone. Finally, he hands his phone to me and I ask him to unlock it. I watch as he types in his code and repeat it in my head over and over. 7-8-6-0. 7-8-6-0.

When he hands the phone back I click to the number pad and type in my uncle’s number. After it rings once someone answers. His voice is deep, familiar. “I’ll come to you. When I get close, run.” He hangs up.
I turn back to the kid and the girl that appears to be his girlfriend. “He didn’t answer. We should stay here until he calls back.”

His brows furrow as he thinks about what I said. “I don’t know, man. Is he gonna call back a number he doesn’t know? I mean, maybe you should try to call someone else. There’s a pay phone over there,” he says as he points to the gazebo a few paces away. I hear a car turn onto the gravel. I turn around to look at it and take off running with his phone. Soon, I hear his feet making dents in the gravel also. He left the girl.
I turn behind the bathrooms and wait. As soon as he comes into view my fist connects with his face. He falls on his knees and I kick him in the ribs. In the distance I see a pair of red brake lights. I run back over to where my friend is now parked. The girl is gone but I hear thumping coming from my friend’s trunk and his lip is bleeding. I laugh, “Did she put up that much of a fight, you p**sy?”

He turns to me and I can see his eye is starting to blacken also. I stifle another laugh as I climb into the car. I feel my body get pinned against the seat as he hits the gas. There’s a thump from the trunk as the girl’s body succumbs to the rapid increase in speed. We swing out of the park and soon, we’re on the interstate. The trunk is quiet.