She's On the Run

She’s On the Run

Toya ran as fast as she could to get away from the lifeless body. The sound of sirens made Toya stay in the shadows for fear of being caught. Damn it, Diamond! Toya whispered under her breath as she remembered hearing the gun go off. Toya leaned against the cold brick wall in the alleyway. She saw two police cars speed past her rushing to the location at the house where the shooting happened. Earlier that afternoon Toya and Diamond, who had been best friends since elementary school, decided to go to Club Aces. It was the most talked about nightclub since the pandemic was over. Everyone from Jackson ward, Shockoe bottom, even folks from the South side of Richmond were there. The two besties went to Hair Palace to get their hair, makeup, and accessories together for the night.

Around 6:00 PM, Toya heard Diamond yelling so loud she stopped fixing her hair to see if she was OK. She walked into Diamond’s' room only to find her in tears. Toya consoled her best friend and asked what was going on. Diamond wiped her tears and just stared at her best friend. Diamond wanted so badly to tell Toya why she was crying, but she just could not find the words. She just wiped her tears and walked away from her best friend. Toya looked totally confused.

“Diamond we can stay home if you want, we don't have to go to the club,” Toya said with worry on her face. Toya left Diamond alone and took her shower and started to get ready when she heard a soft tap on her door.

“Come in,” Toya said thoughtfully. It was Diamond looking pitiful, walking slowly towards her.

“Can we talk?” Diamond said in a childlike voice. Toya stopped mid stroke applying her foundation. Sensing this was important, Toya motioned for Diamond to sit down.

“Toya we’ve been best friends for ten years and we’ve never kept secrets from each other until now,” Diamond began. She paused gaging Toya’s attitude and demeanor before she continued. Toya stared intently but sat quietly as Diamond finished her statement. Anxiety gripped Diamond’s heart, the thought of what could happen if she continued with her revelations would surely end their friendship.

“Bestie, I have been sleeping with Carson for the last year and now I am pregnant. He does not want me to keep the baby,” Diamond said, fresh tears streaming down her face. Toya sat here stunned and too shocked to speak. She got up and paced the floor as Diamond nervously waited for her reaction.

“Which Carson? My fiancé Carson? Because there is no way my bestie would screw my husband to be AND get pregnant by him!” Toya with fire in her eye and a tone in her voice that could make a child squirm. More tears came from Diamond’s eyes. She nodded hanging her head low. “So, the argument you just had that was Carson correct? And he does not want the baby as well, right?” Toy asked with her back turned towards Diamond. Again, Diamond nodded.

“Wait what do you mean were pregnant?” Diamond questioned; her heart now pounding with fear. Toya said nothing. She just walked out of her room headed towards the kitchen.

“Toya!” Diamond yelled. But Toya remained quiet in a silent rage that was about to explode. This left Diamond feeling very scared, sorrowful, and unsure of what fate would be waiting for her and her unborn child. It seemed like forever before Toya emerged from the kitchen.

“You betrayed my trust! You threw our friendship away over a man who does not want you or your child in his life! You and Carson are two selfish bastards who deserve what is coming to you!” Toya said her hot tears now running down her face. Pulling out her .22 her father gave to her for her birthday, Toya watched as Diamond’s eyes widened, but Toya did not give Diamond time to beg for her life. Boom! Boom! Boom! Toya fired three shots into her best friend. She watched as Diamond’s body fell to the floor, her blood pooling around her lifeless body. Diamond laid there dead with her hand holding her stomach where the first bullet pierced her stomach. It was there on the cold floor diamond died her eyes still open with the look for terror frozen on her face. Toya froze unable to do anything else, the gun was still in her hand. Diamond’s phone rang which snapped a trembling Toya out of her trance. She saw it was her fiancé. She wanted to answer it just to curse Carson out. She wanted to fight him, punch him, kill him too. But with Diamond’s dead body getting stiffer by the minute, Toya knew she had to leave her apartment in haste. Grabbing her cash and a few personal belongings, Toya put on her black hoodie, placed the gun in her small backpack, and quickly exited the house through the back door. She walked as quickly as she could away from the crime scene. Her heart racing as the cool night air swept over her face as if to warn her that the universe knew what she did. No sooner than Toya left her house and entered the dark, dirty, eerie alley way towards the bus stop, the sound of sirens and barking dogs alerted the neighbors that something bad had happened in the neighborhood. Not wanting too much attention on herself, Toya spent the night at the rundown Diamond Hotel not too far from the baseball field. She figured from there she could walk over to the bus stop and catch the first bus leaving Richmond. Toya replayed the argument she overheard earlier between her now ex-fiancé and Diamond. The lies, the hurt, the betrayal, the murder were thoughts that plagued Toya’s mind. What would she tell her family? Her job? Her life as she knew it was over. She killed a pregnant woman. Toya tried to push the thought of spending her life in prison over this situation. Feeling fatigued, she lay in the bed fully clothed too scared to take a shower for fear the police would kick her door in and drag her to jail naked. With her eyes closed, Toya was drifting to sleep when she jumped out of her sleep by loud banging on the door. She held her breath and her gun tightly ready to shoot again but felt relieved when she peeped out of one of the broken blinds and saw that it was the other motel guest who had the visitor.

“I can’t sleep!” she started to say in a whispery voice. “I can’t sleep!’ Toya said, feeling like she was starting to lose her mind. Rubbing the gun to her temple Toya knew her time as a free woman was extremely limited. Toya sat on the bed thinking of places she could hide out until she could leave the country and head to Haiti where the rest of her family resided. No one, absolutely no one would think to look for her there because Haiti was in complete chaos.

“I need to leave before morning,” Toya said to herself. And with that resolve, Toya contacted her family and let them know what happened and they vowed to help her get to them safely where no one would be looking for her. She took the last bus leaving Richmond with the destination to Miami, Florida. From there she would take the next boat headed to Haiti thanks to her cousin who was known for doing shady deals.

By morning, the news of Diamond’s murder was all over breaking news. Friends, family, and colleagues gathered at the crime scene to place candles, cards, and pictures of the once happy and alive Diamond. Carson was the prime suspect thanks to a mysterious phone call that gave police a reason to bring Carson in for questioning while taking the spotlight from a missing in action Toya.

To this day no one had heard from or seen Toya, but she continues to wake up from her dreams saying “I can’t sleep! I can’t sleep.” Toya is forever haunted by the last sight of her best friend Diamond. Her body cold and stiff holding her belly.