Justin and Greedy rode with Raven and me back to the school, hoping to find Robin. They left their vehicles at the hospital, since we’d be going back to see Lea. Raven sat in the front seat as I drove, while Justin and Greedy sat in the back, looking out the windows for Robin. It was late in the afternoon when we got to the school. Most of the students and teachers had left already.
“So, where do you think she is?” I asked Raven.
“It’s an area near the back of the school. I saw her and Isabelle sitting back there talking a couple of times,” Raven said.
“Isabelle is the one I should have spoken with,” I tell Raven. “She seems to be the only person who really talks to Robin besides you.”
“Yeah, she and Isabelle seem to talk all the time,” Raven said. “Isabelle always seems to have a bad attitude to me.”
“Oh, you noticed that, too,” I said.
“Yeah, she always has some little smart comment to make,” Raven continued. “And I tried getting Robin to sit with me and my friends, but I think it’s awkward for her when she’s around too many people.”
“Was she always like that?” Justin asked.
“Well, she’s always been the quiet one, and I was the more outspoken one, but all this bad stuff didn’t start happening until we came to this school,” Raven explained.
The meaning of the dream I had about Christy dawned on me as Raven was talking. Christy had kept saying, “I won’t hurt you, but she will,” and she was holding a baby. Could she have been talking about Robin? Could Robin be the baby she was holding? Wait, could Robin be my baby? I didn’t know if Christy’s baby had survived or not. And that would mean that Raven was my child, too. Now was the time to ask questions.
“What about your parents?” I asked Raven.
Raven didn’t respond immediately. Maybe this was a sensitive subject for her. I looked over at her, and she was just looking straight ahead as I pulled into the gates of the school.
“Well,” she hesitated. “Honestly, we never knew them. We’ve been in foster care since we were young, and Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar took us in about three years ago. So they’re our parents, just not biological. And they’re pretty nice.”
This was too much of a coincidence!
“So you don’t know anything about your parents?” I asked.
“Not really.”
I pulled into a parking spot. My hands began to sweat as I thought of the possibility that Raven and Robin could be mine.
“Okay, I’m gonna go around the building and see if she’s there. Hopefully, she will be, and I’ll come back and let you know,” Raven said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Okay,” I agreed.
As Raven got out of the car, I realized Greedy hadn’t said anything since we left the hospital.
“You all right, Greedy?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” he replied, drily.
It wasn’t like Greedy to be quiet during a situation like this. Something had to be wrong.
“You sure, man?” I asked again.
“I said I was fine!” he snapped.
“Bruh, just tell him,” Justin said, looking over at Greedy.
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“What difference does it make?” Greedy said, looking back at Justin. “It’s not like he’s gonna care anyway.”
“What are y’all talking about?” I asked, confused. “Care about what?”
“You remember when I asked you if Greedy told you about his situation while we were waiting at the hospital?” Justin asked.
“Yeah. What situation?”
“Greedy’s been living out of his car for the past couple of weeks,” Justin informed me. “His job let him go, and he’s . . .”
“Justin, I don’t need you speaking for me,” Greedy interrupted. “I’m gonna be real with you, Adrian. The only reason I’m in this backseat right now, helping you, is because of Lea. You’re so caught up in your own life that you can’t see nothing else that’s going on around you.”
“How was I supposed to know you were living out of your car?” I asked.
“You think I was just gonna come out and say it?” Greedy shot back. “That’s why I’ve been calling and asking about a job here. I’ve been looking day and night for work. At least Justin had the time to check and see if his job was hiring, but you’re too busy to even ask the people.”
“Man, if you knew half the stuff I’ve been going through—” I started.
“See, it’s always about you,” Greedy interrupted again. “Whenever it’s convenient for you. Whenever you feel like it—”
“Dude, there’s no guarantee that you could have gotten a job here, anyway!” I said, angrily.
“But you could have at least asked!” Greedy replied. “We’re supposed to be boys!”
I stopped arguing when I saw Raven come back around the corner, waving for me to come. I jumped out of the car, leaving Justin and Greedy. I was more frustrated than ever now. Greedy chose the perfect time to bring this up.
“Is she there?” I asked, walking up to Raven.
“She was,” Raven answered, as we walked around the building. “She was sitting there with Isabelle. They went back to the classroom to get her stuff. We can just meet her there.”
“How did she seem?”
“I could tell she was really nervous about everything,” she answered. “I asked her, was she okay, and she nodded yeah, but I could tell she was scared.”
We walked into the building and down the hallway toward my class. We reached the classroom, and the door was slightly open. The room was extremely cold and dark.
“Maybe she came and got her stuff already,” I said to Raven, as I turned on the lights. “You want to go ahead and get your stuff too, since—”
Suddenly, I heard movement from behind the door, and something stabbed me in the shoulder.
“Ahhhh!” I screamed out. I fell to the floor in agony. I looked up and saw Robin.
She pulled her small pocket knife back again and stabbed me in the back, leaving the knife in my back.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Robin, noooo!” Raven screamed out.
“Stay back, Raven!” Robin warned. “I have to do this.”
“No, you don’t, Robin!” Raven replied.
“Yes, I do!” Robin said. She turned to me and kicked me in my rib cage.
“Ohhhhh!” I yelled, holding my side.
“Robin, stop!” Raven continued to plead.
“I have to, Raven!” Robin told her. “It’s the only way!”
I closed my eyes and tried to pull the knife out of my back. Robin kicked the knife deeper into me. “Ahhhhhhh!”
“Stop it!” Raven cried out at her sister, and grabbed her by her hair, slinging her away from me and into a desk. Furious, Robin ran up to Raven and grabbed her by the neck, pushing her against the wall.
“I told you, I have to do this! Just stay back!” Robin screamed. “I’m tired of you always getting in the way!”
Robin squeezed Raven’s neck tighter. I watched in pain as Robin choked Raven against the wall. The evil look in Robin’s eyes magnified as she looked at Raven, who was gasping for air.
“Robin, stop!” I tried to call out, but my voice was weak from pain.
Raven’s face started to turn blue. A small tear trickled down the side of her face. Robin loosened her grip on Raven’s neck, then let her go. Raven fell to the ground and started heaving for air.
“No! What am I doing?” Robin stepped back, cupping her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Raven! I don’t know what got into me!”
Raven continued to gasp heavily for air.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Robin said. “I can’t do this anymore!”
“Robin, what’s going on?” Raven choked out, looking up at her sister.
“I can’t. I can’t,” Robin said, crying.
“Please! Just talk to me,” Raven pleaded.
“I can’t,” Robin said, then ran out of the classroom.
“Robin, wait!” Raven said, getting up. Raven ran over to where I lay. “Are you okay?”
I grabbed the end of the handle of the knife and slowly pulled it out of my back. “Ahhhhh!”
I stayed still for a moment so I could adjust to the pain. I knew we had to go if we wanted to catch her. “I’ll be fine. We have to go after her.”
Raven helped me get up slowly, and we walked out of the classroom. We heard Robin running down the hallway, and chased after her.
“Robin, wait!” Raven cried out.
We ran down the hallway and down some steps after Robin. Every step I took was more painful than the last. We went down another hallway, where we saw Robin fall to her knees, her back toward us. She started crying. There was a figure in the shadows of the hallway a few feet away from Robin. Raven ran up and knelt by her sister, half hugging her. I leaned against the lockers for support.
“I can’t do this anymore!” Robin yelled out, crying. “I brought them to you. Just leave me alone!”
“Good job,” a young female voice said, calmly.
I recognized the voice. It was Isabelle.
“What did you do to my sister?” Raven demanded.
“Nothing she couldn’t handle,” Isabelle replied.
“Isabelle, what’s going on?” I asked.
Isabelle’s expression changed as she looked past Robin and Raven and over to me. “What’s going on?” she said, angrily. “What’s going on? You’re asking me what’s going on? This is all your fault!”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.
“The poem, Mr. Ramirez!” Robin said. “I tried warning you! Remember the poem? ‘Today I saw a man who wasn’t there, and he wasn’t there again today. I wish he’d go away!’ She’s the one I was trying to warn you about. She’s the one I wish would go away! Isabelle died a long time ago. But her spirit remained here. And it’s because of you!”
“What? Because of me?”
“Yes, because of you!” Robin insisted. “She’s your daughter. The one you let die in the hospital when you were in high school.”
A different type of pain shot through my body, a pain that wasn’t from the stab wound. I could hardly breathe. I stood there, dumbfounded by what Robin had just revealed. I could feel a panic attack building.
“She showed up when you showed up here,” Robin explained. “And she came to me to get vengeance on you! It’s because of me that she can be seen. They always come to me when they want to be seen and heard, and I can’t take it anymore.”
So Christy was pregnant with Isabelle when she was calling me that night!
“And it’s all your fault!” Isabelle yelled. “My mom didn’t deserve that! But you left her and me to die in that place, because you didn’t care!”
I started to tear up. I was speechless. Words couldn’t express how bad I felt, looking at the anger in Isabelle’s eyes as she glared at me.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Ramirez,” Robin apologized. “I didn’t mean to do all the bad stuff that I did. But I had to, or I would have ended up like Dorian. I’m so sorry.”
“Adrian!” Greedy yelled as he and Justin came running up to me. “What happened?”
Justin and Greedy both examined my stab wounds. “Adrian, what happened?”
“Everybody get out!” Isabelle demanded. “I want to speak to Mr. Ramirez by myself.”
“No, Isabelle!” Robin cried out to her. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt anyone else!”
“You obviously couldn’t do the job, so I’m going to finish it. Everybody out, NOW!” Isabelle screamed.
Everyone looked at me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Isabelle and the fury in her eyes.
“Just go,” I finally said.
“We’re not leaving you, man,” Greedy said.
“Everyone get out, like she said,” I declared.
“Adrian, come on. We’ve gotta get you to a hospital,” Justin pleaded.
“Just leave!” I shouted.
Raven helped Robin up from the floor. They both started walking toward the exit doors.
“Come on, Greedy,” Justin said, still looking at me as they both followed the twins toward the exit doors.
Isabelle and I were the only ones standing in the hallway.
“Isabelle, I’m so sorry,” I apologized.
“It’s too late for that,” Isabelle responded. “You weren’t sorry then, so why be sorry now? As a matter of fact, I think we should play a game, Dad. All the doors and windows are closed and locked, except for one window. I’ll give you a head start. If you can find that one window, then I’ll let you leave. But if not, then we’ll come for you.”
Two dark figures appeared from behind Isabelle. Fear made my legs weak as I started to backtrack slowly. I gathered as much strength as I could, and took off running down the hallway.
I entered the first classroom I came to and tried to push open the windows. They were all locked!
I ran out of that classroom and into another across the hall. I tried opening those windows, but they were all locked, too. I picked up a chair and tried to break a window, but no luck. I ran out of that classroom and down the hallway. I could hear someone following me as I ran. The pain in my back intensified as I raced down a flight of steps and swung open the cafeteria door. I ran into the cafeteria and picked up a chair. I tried my hardest to break those windows, but nothing happened. I looked across the cafeteria and saw two dark figures standing there.
They started coming toward me.
I ran out of the cafeteria through a second set of doors and down the hallway. My anxiety was increasing. I tried two exit doors, but those doors were locked, too. I started to feel weak and exhausted, but continued running down the hallway. I came to another short flight of steps and stopped to catch my breath.
Suddenly, someone pushed me from behind, and I went tumbling down the steps. Dazed and confused, I could see someone standing at the top of the steps. The person started to walk slowly down the steps toward me.
I pulled myself up and continued running down the hallway, past more lockers and classrooms. I could hardly catch my breath, but I knew I had to get out of this school.
Out of nowhere, someone grabbed me from behind and swung me into the lockers. I hit my head hard when I fell to the floor. Two figures grabbed me by the arms and started dragging me down the hallway. “Nooooooo!” I screamed out.
They threw me against the wall, knocking the breath out of me. I felt myself start to lose consciousness, but I could see someone walking up to me. It was Isabelle, with a knife in her hand.
“Isabelle, no! Please!” I begged her.
Without saying a word, Isabelle stood over me with the knife.
“Isabelle, please. Don’t! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I tell her. “I didn’t know that Christy was pregnant. I swear I didn’t. What I did was wrong, and if I could go back to that time, I would, so I could make things right. Not only for me and Christy, but for you. I would make things right for you, Isabelle.”
She raised the knife in the air. I didn’t have any strength left. My heart was racing, and I was shaking uncontrollably. I closed my eyes and waited for her to thrust the knife into me.
“It was my fault,” I said, as I started to lose consciousness. This was it. All those panic attacks had taken a toll on my body. I couldn’t control it anymore. “It was my fault. I was selfish. You deserved someone better than me. I should have been there for . . . for . . . you.”
I felt Isabelle’s soft hand touch my face. “Breathe. Just breathe,” she said. “Breathe.”
I started taking deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths. I looked up and saw Isabelle standing over me. I continued to breathe deeply.
Isabelle lowered the knife as tears filled her eyes. “All you had to do was be there, and I could have been here.”
“I should have been,” I repeated, gaining consciousness.
Isabelle shook her head, then said, “But it’s too late now.”
“No, it’s not too late. I’m here now,” I assured her. “I can be here for you now.”
“No. You can’t,” Isabelle said, shaking her head.
“I can, Isabelle. I’m here now.”
“No. Be there for Robin,” Isabelle advised. “She needs you now. There are a lot of evil spirits coming to her. Both of you, get out of this school and don’t ever look back.”
Isabelle’s words sank deep into my heart. “Okay. But what about you?”
“Just take care of her so she can get some help,” Isabelle said. “I have a family now.”
I looked past Isabelle and saw a hallway full of the spirits of different students. Students of all ages, ethnicities, young and old, who had come to the school. Isabelle stepped away from me and allowed me to get up. Looking at the faces of all the students brought tears to my eyes. I understood now what Denise meant when she said that those spirits who are left behind roam to places they couldn’t go while they were living.
I turned to Isabelle and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Isabelle said, quietly. “And I’ll always be with you.”
My grip on Isabelle loosened as I realized that no one was there. I turned around to see all the students, but the hallway was empty. Just as quickly as everything had happened, it was over.
I limped slowly down the hallway to the exit doors. I walked around the building and saw Justin, Greedy, Raven, and Robin standing there waiting for me. Everyone ran toward me except Robin, who stood silently.
“Adrian, what’s going on?” Greedy asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, what happened?” Justin asked.
I didn’t say anything right away. I thought of how this whole situation happened because of my selfishness.
“Greedy, I’m sorry man. I—”
“Aw, man, don’t worry about that,” Greedy interrupted.
“No, listen to me,” I demanded. “I was selfish, and I was only focused on what I had going on. I’m gonna do whatever I can do to help you, but next time, talk to me, and let me know. Y’all my boys, and y’all have to keep me in check. All right?”
“All right, man,” they both agreed.
My heart was still heavy, thinking about Isabelle. Isabelle’s words echoed through my mind. I walked over to Robin and embraced her. “It’s okay,” I tell her.
I turned around and looked back at the doors I just came out of. I saw Isabelle standing there, smiling. Then she turned and walked back into the school.