KNOCK. KNOCK.

You jump at the sound and stand up from the bed, dressed to the waist but still buttoning a long-sleeved, white dress shirt. Cautiously, you begin walking toward the door but before you can say anything, someone begins talking to you from the other side.

“Everythin’ going okay in there?”

The voice is deep and friendly. It belongs to a man and sounds strikingly familiar, so much so that you don’t believe your ears. You stop before reaching the door and wait, pondering how it’s even possible that he could be here talking to you now.

“Yeah,” you begin. “I’m—”

You pause as you realize that you have nothing to say. Your eyes dart back through the room and see your tie lying on the table.

“I’m just trying to decide on a tie.”

“Issat a fact, now?” The man in the hallway laughs. “I thought these folks did all the decidin’ for you.”

You smile and let out a little laugh. It is the man you thought. His name is Toney and he owns the Grease ‘n’ Go auto shop in Jessup. You’ve known him a long time. You worked for him when you were only 14. He taught you everything there is to know about building engines and also blowing them up. After that, he taught you how to drive and how to pull in some cash on the side running special errands for guys like Reverend Coates. Both him and his shop have been a staple of the Jessup community for decades and still are. However, there’s only one person the Reverend trusts less than Toney and that’s you.

“Toney?” you ask, keeping your voice down. The last time you saw him, he was handing you Lance’s gun and telling you that you’d never see him again.

“Toney Whitmore?”

“You know it, baby!”

His tone is as refreshing as it is unexpected. It’s very possible that he had broken in but he sounds like he’s having a great time. You can feel your lips curling in confusion as you reach for the door to unlock it and let him in.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing—”

You pull open the door, preparing yourself to pull him inside the moment your arm can reach him.

“Toney?”

The hallway is empty. You step out of the room and look to either side. To the left, all of the other doors are closed and there is no sign of anyone. To the right however, you see two of the Reverend’s friends descending the main staircase. You race across the hall and look over the balcony, just in time to see the two men disappear into the lobby. It’s impossible to tell if they had anyone with them or not but just as you turn back toward the room, you hear the Reverend’s voice speak up and address them with a blunt hiss.

“Please. Just find him a seat.” he orders and they shuffle away. A moment later, the Reverend begins to laugh with joy as another group of the guests arrive for the wedding.

Continue here.

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