But Not For Lust by BJ Bourg (comprehension books .txt) 📕

a delivery for Ty Richardson. They didn’t wait for Ty to answer. They just left it on the steps.”

When Nikia stopped talking, I asked how he knew they left it on the steps.

“We could hear the person and we could see part of them from under the camper. They put a cardboard box on the steps and then walked away. A little bit later, we heard the front door open and then it slammed shut. Ty started talking to himself and we could hear him walking around his camper. It sounded like he was arguing with himself. And then the door opened again and he started screaming at someone to come and get him. I thought he was talking to us, but there was no way he knew we were there. We saw his arm grab the pizza box and we heard him slam something down in the camper. That’s when he started talking to the pizza.” He shook his head. “It was just so crazy. I didn’t know why we were there. My buddy never told me. He just looked mad and said he had to handle some business. If I would’ve known what he had planned for Ty…”

Nikia’s voice trailed off and he began sobbing. I didn’t feel one bit sorry for him. He was crying because of his own plight and not because of what had happened to Ty—of this I was certain.

“Okay, Nikia, keep going,” I finally said. “Tell us what happened next.”

“Well, um, after a while of listening to Ty arguing with himself, I knew whatever we were doing wasn’t right, so I told my buddy I was leaving. We argued quietly for a while and then he grabbed me by the throat and told me to shut my mouth and stay put. Before I could even say anything, we heard Ty run out the camper. I think he fell, because we heard something like a body hitting the pavement and then we saw him running toward the back of the house.”

Nikia shuddered. “My buddy started chasing Ty. I ran after my buddy to stop him, but he chased Ty into the shed before I could catch him. When I went in the shed, I saw Ty grab a balled-up extension cord and swing it at my buddy. He jerked the cord away from Ty and punched him one time in the face. Ty just dropped. He was knocked out cold.”

Nikia paused to take a breath. It was a haggard one, and it appeared filled with regret. He sat quiet.

“Nikia, you need to tell us everything that happened,” I said. “We need to understand who’s responsible for what happened out there.”

“Well, everything just happened so fast, you know?” He shifted in his seat. “I was trying to grab my buddy and tell him to leave. It was kinda dark in the shed and I couldn’t really see everything that was happening. Well, somebody eventually started screaming at me and hitting me from behind. I was scared and thought maybe Ty had reinforcements. I just threw my arm back, you know? It was natural. Um, that’s when I turned around and saw an old lady on the ground. She…she wasn’t moving. I guess she lost her balance and fell when she was hitting me.”

Or you knocked her down and killed her when you threw your arm back, I thought, but refrained from saying it.

“Go on,” I coaxed. “What happened to Mrs. Richardson?”

“I…um, it looked like she hit her head when she fell. Her body did a weird shaking thing and it scared me really bad. I wanted to leave, but my buddy told me to help him tie up Ty’s hands and legs with the extension cord.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t let me. He told me I killed Ty’s mom and that there was no going back now. He said I was a part of it and I had to help him finish the job.”

“Did he ever say what the job was?” I asked when Nikia stopped talking to cry some more. I wanted to get him focused on his statement and not on his plight. If he continued feeling sorry for himself, he might break down completely and not be able to talk at all.

He shook his head. “No, but he made me help him drag Ty out of the shed and down the side street. We stayed in the grass and passed under some trees until we reached the truck. I helped him lift Ty into the bed of his truck, but I didn’t know what he was about to do.”

“Was Ty alert at this time?”

“Oh, yeah, he woke up while we were still in the shed. My buddy took this Velcro strap from the extension cord and used it to gag Ty so he couldn’t yell for help.” He frowned deeply. “Even if the strap wasn’t around his mouth, I don’t think Ty would’ve said anything. He just stared at us with his eyes wide open. He looked confused and scared. It…it was terrifying. I can still see the look on his face every time I close my eyes.”

Right, but you didn’t care enough to stop your friend from murdering him, did you?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Where’d y’all take him?”

“I didn’t take him anywhere,” Nikia said with a shake of the head. “My buddy did the driving. I didn’t want to go along, but he made me. He drove to the street in back of town and parked in the grass. He made me help him carry Ty into the woods. We kept walking until we came to an open field in the trees and that’s…that’s where he began beating up Ty. He pulled down Ty’s pants and started hitting him everywhere. I asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He pulled