Excerpt of Color Me Grey by Michelle Janine Robinson

In that split second, Bridget was like a person sleepwalking through a horrible nightmare. All she heard through her haze were the words "the next time." She leapt out of bed and picked up the desk chair in the corner of the room and began hitting Buster with it over and over again until he fell to the floor. The element of surprise and the alcohol worked against him. He was powerless. She hit him so hard the chair leg broke off in her hands, revealing several large rusty nails. She used the protruding nails to beat Buster Williams in the chest until he lay there motionless.?

Bridget was soaked in blood, and in shock, when Jade returned to the room. Jade walked in and immediately noticed Buster's prone form. She quickly spun into action.?

"Bridget, we need to leave. NOW! Mama Dixon and the others will be looking for Buster soon. Bridget, you've got to snap out of it. We have to leave RIGHT NOW!"?

Bridget stared off into space, mumbling, "Never again."?

Jade decided Bridget would need a shock to set her "right," so she did what she had always seen people do on TV. She slapped Bridget across the face and, amazingly, it worked. Bridget snapped out of it. She looked around the room, suddenly aware of her predicament.?

"Oh my God," she shrieked. "What have I done?"?

Jade scrambled around the room, picking up this and that. She grabbed both of their duffel bags from the closet and began throwing things in them at random; her clothes, Bridget's clothes, anything her hand could get a hold of and that would fit into the bags. Then she reached down and started going through Buster's pants pockets.?

"What are you doing, Jade? Don't touch him!"?

"We have to, Bridget. Otherwise, what are we going to do for money? He obviously doesn't need it anymore."

Bridget stared at Buster's body, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that she had actually taken another life. She killed someone; a person she had lived with every single day of her life for the last six years, yet knew so little about. Bridget was suddenly consumed with the thought that if she knew something about him, somehow that would lessen the blow; absolve her of her sin. Maybe he truly was evil. She looked through his jacket pockets, searching for evidence of his monstrous existence and found his wallet, hoping to find something, anything; and that she did. She found a picture of herself. She had given that picture to Jade over a year ago. Jade's mother had cleaned herself up and had petitioned the court to have Jade come and live with her. After much effort, the court was convinced she was capable of caring for Jade and she went to live with her. Bridget hated being separated from her, but she knew how much Jade wanted to be with her mom, so she tried to be strong. She gave Jade a picture of her and told her to keep it so she wouldn't forget about her. It lasted all of six months; before Child Protective Services brought Jade back to Mannersville. Buster must have stolen the picture from Jade. Also in the wallet was a receipt for $375 from Lazlows Jewelers. Was that all his life amounted to, some unhealthy obsession with her, a lone jewelry receipt and some meager cash. Jade grabbed the cash out of Bridget's hand and counted it.?

"Good," Jade said. "—Two hundred forty-eight dollars; enough to get us to where we have to go." ?

Jade took the ring of keys off of Buster's belt and quietly snuck out of the room with Bridget in tow. Jade had it all figured out. They would quietly exit the building, get to Buster's car and drive out of there, straight to her mother's place on Westchester Avenue. They were in Middletown. It would only take them about 2 hours to get there. The great thing about Mannersville was that there was very little security besides Buster and a few other workers. All they needed was a car; and Jade was sure Buster's brand new ‘91 Honda Accord was parked somewhere outside. She seemed to remember him mentioning that it was red. They would have to get outside and find the car before anyone realized they were gone. Otherwise, it would be too late.? Just as Jade predicted, Buster's car was in the parking lot. She took the keys and started the car.?

"Jade, I think I should turn myself in. Buster raped me. I could tell the police what happened and nothing would change. I'll be leaving here in a couple of weeks anyway. We could go back to the way things were. And eventually we can put all of this behind us. Just forget."?

"First of all, sweetie, you'll never forget what happened tonight. It was your first time. No one forgets their first time. And, second, what makes you think ANYONE is going to believe Buster raped you? He's an employee of Mannersville Group Home and you're just one of its throwaways; a throwaway who killed one of the people in charge of maintaining order at the home. They'll fry you. No, they'll fry US. Because, like it or not, I'm now a part of this. I escaped with you; I stole a car. I'm an accessory after the fact. And, if you go down, I go down with you. Are you prepared to take responsibility for that?"

Bridget hadn't thought of it that way. She didn't want Jade to get into trouble because of her. Maybe she was right. No one would believe her. She was what Jade said; a nobody, a throwaway.?

"Okay, Jade. I'll do whatever you think is best."?

The angle Jade was sitting at didn't allow Bridget to see the smirk on Jade's face when she heard Bridget give in. If she had, she might have run from that car, straight back to Mannersville and given herself up.