RedZone (6 page)

  Sevynn asked Michele to meet her in her apartment. She told Michele that said she really needed to talk, but wanted to do it in private. It was around 9PM when Michele arrived at the apartment building where Sevynn lived. It was a pretty chilly night so she buzzed the bell a few times while she shivered.

“Finally!” Michele chirped when Sevynn opened the door.

“Sorry I was turning my food on the stove off.” Sevynn lead Michele to the elevator to head back to her floor. They made small talk on the elevator but didn’t speak on Michele’s purpose of being there. Sevynn spoke around as if she was avoiding something.

“So wassup, girl, why did we have to meet here?”  Michele finally asked when they settled inside of her apartment. Sevynn looked nervously around the room.

“You hear about the detective being down at the campus?” Sevynn asked anxiously.

“No! What cop?” Michele asked in shock.

“Apparently, one of the detectives who was at the scene that night.”

“Okay, so they are investigating the murder.” Michele said relieving her anxious friend. “Why are you so nervous did you kill him?”

“No. I would never.” Sevynn said appalled by the accusation.

“Do you think they are going to ask about the rape?” Michele asked.

***

  After the homecoming game, when they were in the bathroom. Michele didn’t have a clue what Sevynn wanted. She saw distress on her face and decided to listen to what she had to say. “Hey, are you okay?”

Sevynn managed a way to build up tears. “No, it’s about Bryce.”

“What happened with Bryce?” Michele asked suspiciously with her eyebrow raised.

“I wanted to tell you before it got back to you.” Sevynn began to sob. “Bryce, tried to rape me the other night.”

“No. Not Bryce. He wouldn’t hurt a soul.” Michele said in disbelief trying to get away from Sevynn.

“I have proof!” Sevynn claimed while pulling her phone out. She showed her a screen shot of the video that was posted on the internet. It was from an angle that made Bryce look like the culprit in a rape.

“Why would he?” Michele asked holding her chest in pain.

“He said to make Trey jealous.” Sevynn added.

***

“I lied about the rape.” Sevynn confessed in shame.

“What?!” Michele shouted as she stood to her feet. “You told me he raped you!”

“No, I tried to sleep with him, to make Trey mad. But when Trey walked in he started a scene.” Sevynn wiped her tears and continued. “Bryce threatened me if I told you. I wanted to get to you before he did.”

“Wait so you’re telling me he didn’t do anything to you? Did you kill my boyfriend Sevynn?” Michele started to cry.

“No I didn’t!” Sevynn begged, “It had to be Trey, he kept talking shit about Bryce.”

“You’re lying! Trey would never talk about Bryce behind his back. They were like brothers.” Michele said disgusted with Sevynn’s confession.  Sevynn explained to Michele how he was angry about being second string, and how he was a shadow.

“So you think Trey killed Bryce?” Michele asked still unsure about Sevynn’s story.

“I don’t want to believe he did. But if the shoe fits.” Sevynn answered.

“I have to go Sevynn.” Michele announced while grabbing her belongings.

“Michele. I am sorry I lied.” Sevynn apologized. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you I just wanted to get Bryce for threatening me and Trey for abandoning me. I was...

“Sevynn, just stop.” Michele snapped at her before slamming the door and walking down the hall.

***

“Hey Johnson?” Detective Hart called out to one of his colleagues. “The night of the Henson murder, did anyone find a phone?”

“Nope, nothing was on the body but a watch, gave that to his mother.” The other detective answered.

“Shit man. This is bad!” Detective Hart cursed.

“What happened?” The other officer asked as he walked over to Detective Hart’s desk.

“His roommate claims he talked to him on the phone before everything happened.” Detective Hart explained to the other officer. “There were no reports of a cell phone.”

“So the suspect took the phone.” The other officer stated.

“I am assuming. I may have to search that house again.” He sat back in his chair and began speaking again. “I need to add another person of interest to the list.”

“Who?” The other officer asked as he was leaving from the area.

“That roommate, he was also his best friend.”

“But didn’t you say he was on the phone with him?”

“There’s no phone! He could of just said that bullshit.” Detective Hart lashed out, “besides, when I went to speak with him earlier, he was studying a play-book. He just got the position the other boy had.”

“Sounds fishy to me, Hart.” The other officer laughed.

“I need to really dig deep.” Detective Hart mumbled to himself. He pulled out a note pad from his desk and started to write.

***

  Michele drove home in tears. She had to find Trey and get to the bottom of the situation with  Sevynn. When she returned to campus, she went straight to Trey’s and Bryce’s room. She knocked on the door hard and loud.

“Yo! It’s late Chele, what’s wrong?” Trey asked finally answering the door after being shaken up by the loud frantic knock.

“Tell me the truth, Antonio. What happened between you and Sevynn, and Sevynn and Bryce?” She asked with tears in her eyes and an attitude.

“What are you talking about?” Trey rubbed his eyes, he was still groggy from being awakened out of his sleep.

“Did Sevynn and Bryce fuck, Trey?” She asked with her arms crossed and leg trembling.

“Chele, I don’t know. I caught her in here, with no clothes on, on top of Bryce.” He said. He walked over and grabbed his cell phone. “Bryce swore to me nothing happened. This is the video all over the internet.” He showed her the video from the night he caught Bryce and Sevynn. Michele held her hand to her mouth and began to cry.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked handing him his phone back, almost throwing it at him.

“Bryce didn’t want you to find out because he said nothing happened.” Trey admitted. “He knew you weren’t big about the web so he didn’t think you would see the video.”

“Well, I did.” She continued. “Sevynn, showed me a screenshot of the video. It made it look like Bryce was raping her. That’s what she told me.”

“That Bryce raped her?” Trey stumbled back in disbelief. “That lying bitch!”

“I’m done with her. I don’t want to be friends with her or be associated with her again.” Trey shook his head and laughed a little, “Told you.” He teased.

“Tell me the truth Trey, did you have something to do with Bryce being murdered?” Michele asked in a suspicious whisper.

“What? Are you serious?” Trey snapped in disgust.

“Sevynn said that you were jealous of Bryce.” Michele mentioned.

“Sevynn also told you she was raped.” Trey answered.

  It was the beginning of December and football season was nearly over. Detective Hart had spent the previous few months trying to solve Bryce’s case. He kept coming up short with answers and witnesses. The original witness Lindsay, the young woman who had found Bryce, dropped out of the school. She was unreachable. Bryce’s teammates gave similar testimony. No one had anything bad to say about the late football prodigy.

  The Detective had been back and forth to the campus and still hadn’t found anything significant to add towards evidence. The mystery of the phone, supposedly used right before Bryce’s murder, hadn’t been found. Detective Hart believed that phone held the most evidence and maybe the key to solving the case. He just needed to know where it had gone, or if it had even existed at all.

***

  Sevynn continued to reach out to Trey, but had little luck. He would blow her off and ignore her attempts of getting in touch with him. The woman he once admired, was a mere mirage, someone he simply made up in his head. He felt that knowing the real Sevynn, the Sevynn who had betrayed him and almost ruined his friendship with Bryce, wasn’t worth it.

   He wanted to keep his distance from her especially during that time.  With the investigation still going he didn’t want to be associated with her. She lied so much about everything else that had happened. He couldn’t imagine what she could cook up in her head to clear her name in the case of Bryce’s murder. Trey kept in mind that when Bryce called him that night, he had just seen her a few minutes before. In Trey’s mind, Sevynn was a suspect.

He didn’t want to get distracted from his responsibility on the field. He led the team to a bowl game. He was becoming the topic of the headlines and CSC and even getting early offers to join the League. He was the new Messiah for S.U. Coach Booker now praised him as he praised Bryce only months before. The pressed wanted to know him and everyone finally saw Trey for his talent, and not as a sidekick. He embraced his new popularity.

***

“Mr. Pittman, how does it feel to be the new prodigy of Schuylkill University.?
”
Evan Kendall, the anchor on CSC asked in delight.

“Man, it’s great!
”
Trey spoke enthusiastically

Detective Hart listened to the interview as he read the paper. Another Detective walked in the break room at the very same second.

“I can’t stand this cat.” Detective Hart spoke without lifting his head from the paper.

“Who? This kid, Pittman?” The other Detective pointed out. “He’s pretty good.”

“He’s too cocky. He’s too proud.” Detective Hart responded finally looking up at the other Detective in the room. “Let me ask you if your best friend since 6 or 7 died, how would you act?”

“Man, I’d be devastated.”

“My point, this kid has been riding on this magic carpet of his for the past few months, not one interview has he mentioned his friend.” Detective Hart shook his head. “I just find it odd, that he’s the last person to speak to him and he’s the next up to get his position. Yet...”

“Yeah, but I mean it’s his time to shine. Give the kid a break.” the other Detective said stuffing his mouth with a bagel. “You think he did it?”

“I don’t know. No one placed him at the party exactly but he can still be an accomplice.” Detective Hart mentioned.

“So I hear you’re already getting calls for the combine in the spring?”

“Yeah, I’ve been invited!
”
Trey mentioned, his smile wide and sparkling on the screen.

“So you’re going to go straight to the pro’s?”

“It’s been a dream of mine to get there. It took a lot of hard work to get to this point. Shout out to Coach Booker for believing in me this season.” Trey pointed at the screen. Detective grunted at the television and then stood up from the old worn out wooden chair.

“Hard work huh?” Detective Hart mumbled at the television once more before walking out of the break room

***

“Oh Trey, I saw your interview this afternoon!” A pretty young woman brushed passed him as he waslked into the Learning Center. He smiled at her. “Won’t you stop by later tonight, we can have our own interview?” he flirted back making her giggle. He now walked through the campus with his chest out in pride.

  People who never paid him any mind before the season gave him praise. The females flirted and the males admired. He was finally confident. He was finally the man that Bryce was. Sevynn saw him flirt with the other woman as he entered the building. Her face began to get hot and she followed behind him after he walked by her, ignoring her presence

“Trey, we need to talk.” Sevynn said grabbing his arm. “Wait...”

“Sevynn, leave me the fuck alone!” He shouted in the crowd hallway. When he noticed the attention were on the two of them, he pulled her by her arm to the empty rec room in front of them.

“Look bitch I told you to stay away from me.” He  said with rage.

“You’re still fucking mad?” She said with teary eyes. “I just want to talk.”

“Sevynn, there’s nothing to talk about. You fucked up.” Trey said releasing his grip from around her arm. He figured if he did anything to her she would yell rape about him too.

“I wanted to talk about that night he die-was murdered.” She studdered.

“What about it, Sevynn?” Trey asked as he moved away from her and walked over to the pool table in the center of the room.

“Did you kill Bryce?” She asked in an outburst.

“What!? What the fuck?” Trey turned quickly with a pool ball in his hand and threw it towards her. Sevynn screamed. It didn’t hit her but it slammed against the wall behind her. “I didn’t kill Bryce but I want to kill your ass right now!”

  The room fell quiet as they both stared at each other, Trey in rage and Sevynn in fear. Sevynn scrambled to open the door and rushed out.