Look away

It was a warm summers afternoon and I had just woken up. I reached for my headsets to block out the loud noise that echoed from my neighborhood.Whether it was the children playing outside, the loud music from the neighbors or the constant bangs coming from the nearby construction site .I certainly was not in the mood to entertain this noise .After twenty minutes of lying still I decided to head out for abit. A little stroll would be nice,maybe even head pass Luke's place. I strolled down the road as the gentle Sun shone on everything in my path. "Perfect day to go to the beach", I thought. I hadn't gone since Mary's birthday. My thoughts then started to drift away to the wonderful memories on the beach when suddenly,I hear a car speeding by. It stops afew inches in front of me and a guy jumps out. Tattood up and wearing two chains he opens fire on a man standing near the tuckshop.My body froze,scared to death ,you could say I went deaf. I stand there still as he jumps back into the car. Paralyzed with fear I take a glimpse of the victim taking his last breath before storming off. What did I just witness!? I rushed home and locked myself in my room where I sat for two hours contemplating on what to do. should I tell mom?maybe go to the police?all I knew was that I couldn't keep it to myself for very long. I could almost see him helplessly dying on the floor all over again. A strong feeling of guilt fell heavily on me even tho I knew I couldn't have saved him. Maybe the next best thing to do is to report it to the police. And with that thought I decided to tell my family. I waited for everyone to be seated in the lounge and then ,I walked in. As I stood in front of the TV ,them looking forward at me ,me still in shock of what just happened,I rushed for words in my mind to explain what I had witnessed. What's the matter son,my mother asked."I have something to tell you guys",I replied. I witnessed a guy shooting another guy in cold blood today like he was a target board. Dead in the street I couldn't do anything but stand in a frozen state and watch him slip away. With a look fear and complete shock she jumped up and attempted to comfort me. With her sweet voice she said,"It's okay my dear", as I felt the tear roll down my cheek . All you have to do is go to the police and tell them exactly what you saw. With all that had been said,that one statement forced my older brother to break his silence. He can't do that,he shouted. That'll only make things worse. This has nothing to do with us so it's best we stay out of it. He did make good argument but I wasn't sure whether to listen or not considering the fact that he was also a gangster. Haven't you been told "snitches get stitches",he said.As much as my mother tried to hide it from me I had already seen too much. And even if I hadn't their late night arguments when I'm ''asleep'' are a dead giveaway. How could you even suggest that my mom replied. The boy is traumatized not to mention he could get into serious trouble for withholding this kind of information.Besides with all this violence that's going on surely it's the right thing to do. I understand that but if we being honest reporting this isn't gonna reduce violence in anyway .Its just going to put one guy behind bars and complicate your own life. I think his right mom,I whispered. I don't wanna get put in danger because of this.She looked at my brother with a mean stare before looking back at me.It is written that the truth is a testimony of that corrects the injustices in this world . I can't force you to report this but I will tell you this. If we keep this to ourselves one way or the other we will pay for it. I stayed up the entire night thinking about the day I just had and more so what I was going to do about it. My mother often checked up on me but I pretended to be asleep so she wouldn't worry.No doubt that whatever I decided do will definitely cause tension her and Jason.I usually listen to my mother but this time I felt pressured to listen to Jason. Might be because he was more aggressive and me not listening to him would worsen the tension between him and ma.I also don't want to be labelled as a snitch .surely my classmates will make fun of me .All this was running through my head as I struggled to fall asleep,followed by the constant gunshots reoccurring in my thoughts.Back and forth for the rest of the night. The following day as usual I was in no rush to get out of bed. I slowly dragged my feet to the kitchen,where I found my mother seated at the table. Before I could even greet she reached out and grabbed my hand and said,"son,I know i don't always say this but I am very proud of you".Over the years I've watched you grow into a fine young man who understands the honor that the truth demands .What you witnessed yesterday was not at all your fault .I know it's alot for you to deal with but I also know you'll do the right thing.I looked over my shoulder and saw my brother then immediately looked down.She turned around to notice him then looked back at me.At this point I felt so uncomfortable.I'll see you after work she said as she gentle kissed my forehead and left the room.I spent the entire day at school trying to act natural .Spending time with my friends always made me forget about my problems and fortunately for me no one brought up any rumours about a murder or even violence for that matter.My day went surprisingly well and in the back of my head I had already decided that I wasn't going to go to the police. After school, I came back home and to the possible news that I could receive.Whats wrong mom I asked .In tears she replied "it's Jason "he's dead.They found his body on the side of the road. He was murdered she said.Oh no was the first words in my head ,my brother is gone.Overwhelmed by fear and guilt for not going to the police with this I stormed out.I found myself walking around in circles because I couldn't come to terms with what had just happened.I couldn't stop thinking about what my mother said about our family paying for my silence. Could Jasons death be my fault. A deep tear came with that thought as I continued my walk,only this time I knew where I was going. Good day sir,I'm hear to make a statement. Very well sir and your name us?Jarred,Jarred Johnson and I just witnessed a murder.