“Holy shit” he swore under his breath. Brad turned to Jacob.

“What the fuck did you do?” He said, his anger subdued by the fear of consequence.

“Me!” Exclaimed Jacob in a defensive tone. “We did that fucking shit together!” Jacob almost could not believe it himself. What the hell had they done.

“We’re gonna be in so much fucking trouble,” Jacob said, his eyes glued to the mess.

The boys both looked at each other with the realization dawning on their young faces.

At the same exact time, the boys tore off like wild fire down the alley. Their footsteps thundered in the night like a herd of terrified rhinos. They ran in chaos, letting fear dictate their steps. Brad jumped and dodged, turning a corner sharply and pounding down the stairs. Jacob followed him close behind.

The boys slipped into a small brick building through a back door. It took Jacob and Brad to a small janitor’s closet. Jacob heaved, leaning hunched against the cold wall. The boys tampered down their shaken hands as they caught their breath. Standing in silence for what seemed like hours, Brad and Jacob could not make eye contact with one another. If they did, surely it’d be real again. Surely they’d have done it. Done that stupid shit that felt, not exactly right at the time, but not that wrong.

“Brad,” Jacob said quietly. Brad lifted his head and looked at Jacob. His eyes were down at his feet and his curly mop of hair was just as frazzled as he was feeling.

“What are we going to do?” He asked meakily.

But Brad did not know. In fact, he had no fucking idea. He’d never done such a thing. He’s never even thought about anyone doing such a thing. As Brad thought about the events of the night, it was almost as if someone else had done it; they had been inside Brad’s mind, controlling his movements. It was not him. It could not have been him. Brad is a good kid. There was no way he did that. No way. Right?

Jacob looked up, slowly meeting Brad’s terror filled eyes with his own uncertainty, the sound of sirens blaring by bringing scolding hot tears to his face.