Do You Ever Listen

"You can't let me remember my sister in peace. This is not an easy thing to tell someone. I have never told this to anyone." Davis was clearing his tears.

It was getting cold and dark. The police, the press, and on-lookers were all over the mall. The crowd was clearing. It was almost time for them to get the thing that was so important that could not wait.

Davis was too emotional that he thought about stopping. He never liked being vulnerable in front of anyone. He loved being seen as a strong and reliable person but this time a lot was crossing his mind and had to let go some of the things he was feeling.

"I think it's clear. Can we go now?" Diaz was growing impatient.

For the past three minutes, she just stood there and looked at a man cry over a sentimental experience. She wanted to get her bike but the story she was getting from Davis was also an interesting matter to her. The crowd was clearing up but there was no way to get past the entrance. It would be tough for them to get to that door.

"Let's wait a little bit more. When everyone is relaxed we will ask the guards to allow us to enter and take what's yours." Davis was a little cautious.

It seemed like he was too sentimental for this operation. By that time, he should have understood that Diaz never listens to the things he says. He looked up to see her gone. Looking straight at the entrance he saw her heading toward the guards. He did not understand how she did the complete opposite of what he told her. This was one of the characters that differed from her sister's.

He tried rushing behind her but it was too late. He could see her having an altercation with the guard and she came back to him sobbing.

"Imagine, they said that I can't get it until everything is secured, which will be tomorrow." She could not even wait to reach him first.

"Okay, let me take you home then we can get back to it tomorrow. Okay?" He could not believe his eyes.

She had run back, jumped over the yellow tape, and rushed to the entrance. Davis was tongue-tied, mouth agape, and very confused. How the f*** did she do exactly the opposite of what he told her. All the guards ran after her. Davis was not even sure how he was going to help her in this situation. He wanted so bad to turn and go back to Lizzy's place. It was getting dark.

He could not just do it. There was something that held him there. He could not just leave her there. He saw so much in her that was similar to her sister, which was reason enough to keep him waiting. He stood there and wondered what was going on in the mall at that time. Did she get it? Was she in trouble? Can he do anything to help? These questions kept revolving around his mind as he tried to think about what to do.

Finally, she came out. She did not have her bike in her hands though. She was followed by several guards who appeared to be very angry. Davis stood there like a statue waiting to see what would happen. They were coming towards him. He stood like a parent waiting to hear what his child had done. She looked straight into his eyes and smiled. Davis had mixed reactions.

He was ambivalent about running and waiting. The closer they got the more he felt like running. He was too close to it. He did not know what was running in Diaz' head. She was still looking at him as he stood still not knowing what to do. He took a deep shuddery breath as he felt the cold from the wind that was blowing on his skin, inch by inch.

"Is it him?" One of the guards pointed at him, talking to Diaz.

"Yes." Goes Diaz as she gazed at Davis

All that ran in Davis's busy mind was how he was supposed to stay still not knowing what she had said about him. He looked at the guards to gauge the expressions on their faces so that he could deduce what they wanted with him. All he saw were clear stares as they came closer.

The closer they got the slower time seemed to move. Davis looked for cues from different body movements. He tried assessing the fists of different guards to check out if they were angry but they were very confusing. They must have been trained thoroughly.

Finally, they reached him, and one of the guards cut the cable ties from her hands and pushed her toward him.

"There, but don't ever do that again. You might have easily got hurt. Sir, please don't let your sister run towards danger like that ever again. We may have secured the area but anything can happen here." He turned to Davis and gave him the bike.

"Here. I had to make sure that she had an adult like she said. You know these kids could walk all alone with no sense of security." He let go of it and signaled the other guards that they should leave.

Davis did not even say a word. He just looked at Diaz with nothing to say to her. She grinned and took the bike from his hands. He sighed and left. He knew he had no right to get mad at her because he had no authority over her but he felt a lot of emotions at once.

"I know you have things in your mind you want to say to me. Go ahead." Diaz was provoking him.

It was obvious that he was mad and wanted to speak it out. He did not say a word to her though. He was thinking about what he could say if she was really Flower. He just looked at her again and kept walking. It was becoming Dark and they both needed to get home.

"You are just going to assume you are not mad at me?" Diaz went in front of him and stood.

"You are going to ignore me now? Just say what's on your mind, let it out." She kept insisting.

Davis kept ignoring her. He wanted to get back to Lizzy and take a shower then go to bed. This had become a very long day and he needed rest. He kept his eyes ahead and pretended she was not there. He was not going to pull this off any longer and he knew it.

"Do you ever listen to anyone?" He finally let go of his anger.

"The correct answer for that question is no. I have grown up with different authority over my head and this made me live life as if I raised myself. Sorry but I am not sorry." She had that grin on her face again.

Davis never liked rude teenagers. He felt like they turned out to become criminals. "Maybe it was the 'Conduct Disorder' manifesting itself then and developed into 'Antisocial Personality Disorder' as they grew older." His mother never failed to mention that whenever he complained about it.

He was cold and quiet across the walk as they went to their homes. He was not sure how he would spend the night in the same clothes. He thought about Lizzy's reaction but hoped she would understand him. Right after 'Old Mouche' Diaz told him she was close to her home and left.

"Hey, stranger!" Just a few steps ahead he heard her calling out for him and wondered what was going on.