Lying to Live by Darrien Lee

scared her pretty bad.”
    â€œWhy did he throw a snake on her?”
    Julius hopped off the bar stool and said, “Because she saved you from a burning car.”
    Viper grabbed Julius by the arm and asked, “Are you serious?”
    â€œYeah, I’m serious. Look, Viper, I need to get home, but there’s something I have to tell you.”
    He sat, finished off the beer, and said, “I’m listening.”
    Julius’s heart started pounding in his chest. He was going to do it. He was going to reveal his most feared secret to the man he feared the most, and it made him sick to his stomach.
    â€œI was in the store the night you shot Remy. I saw the whole thing.”
    Viper dropped his crutches and nearly fell upon hearing that revelation. He stared at Julius and said, “No way.”
    Julius nodded and said, “No, it’s the truth. After you shot him, you walked to the back of the store, grabbed a case of beer, and walked out.”
    Viper couldn’t take his eyes off Julius. Who in their right mind would put their life on the line like this and not expect deadly repercussions?
    He picked up his crutches and asked, “Why are you telling me this? Do you have a death wish or something?”
    â€œNo, I’m just tired of looking over my shoulder, like you are. That guy, Rock, will eventually catch up with you, and if you get to him first, there will always be another Rock out there, waiting to take a shot at you for something you did to someone they loved. Hell, maybe even someone from Remy’s family.”
    Angry, Viper asked, “What do you want from me, kid? Why are you telling me this?”
    â€œI’m telling you because I don’t want to be labeled a snitch or end up dead for what I know. I’ve been lying to live for weeks, and I’m sick of it. I think you’ve outgrown this city. It would probably be in your best interest to start over somewhere else.”
    Viper laughed and asked, “Are you trying to run me out of town, kid?”
    â€œWould you rather be locked up for life or have a needle in your arm?” Julius asked.
    Viper pulled out a gun and said, “I could kill you right now and dump your body in the river and no one would ever know.”
    Lying, Julius said, “Yes, they would, because I made a videotape confession about everything. I put it in a safe place, so if anything happened to me or I came up missing, my parents and the police would know why. I think you should go to jail for what you did, but living around here will make it hard for me to turn you in. I’m giving you an out by suggesting that you leave town. It’s best for all of us.”
    Viper started laughing and tucked the gun back in his waistband and said, “You can forget it, kid, because I’m not going anywhere, and for the record, I didn’t mean to shoot the store clerk. That was an accident.”
    Before Julius could respond, an argument broke out between one of Viper’s men and a guy at the pool table next to them. This distraction stopped their conversation and caused the two men at the door to move away from their post. That was when the room erupted in a hail of gunfire, and Julius was struck and fell to the floor.

Chapter Nine
    â€œHe’s okay,” the paramedic said as Julius came to. He was disoriented and had no idea what had happened to him.
    â€œWhat happened?” Julius whispered.
    â€œYou’re okay. You just got hit with some broken glass,” the paramedic revealed.
    â€œWhat happened to Viper? The guy I was talking to?” Julius asked.
    Detective Daniels leaned down over Julius and said, “He didn’t make it, son, but you got us everything we needed to charge him with killing that store clerk.”
    Julius sat up and asked, “What do you mean? He’s dead?”
    â€œIt’s not the way we wanted this to end. We wanted him alive, but somebody else wanted him