Skittery was the first to take the blame. He claimed that it was his fault, he had been grumbling to himself, and that it woke you up. He declared that he must have aggravated you, enough so that you walked downstairs to avoid the complaining.
No. That wasn't it.
Boots was the second. He said that he'd caused it, because he had stolen your blanket. He was sure that you were going downstairs to get another from the closet.
No. That wasn't it.
Then there was Sarah and David. They believed it happened because they told you to go to their place to hang out for a bit. They're arrogant like that sometimes. But still, that's not right.
No. That wasn't it.
And Spot. Wow. Nobody would ever expect him to ever take the blame for anything. We all thought he'd shrug or lie. No sir. He announced that he had threatened you or something. Commanded you to meet him in Brooklyn.
No. That wasn't it.
It's funny, in a way. People tend to shut their mouths when they make mistakes. I guess when it comes to death, they don't. It makes no sense to me, that they'd want everyone to know that they're responsible for killing someone. But hey, not much makes sense to me. That's why I'm always joking around and I'm so optimistic, I guess.
Les. I can't forget Les. He was bawling, squawking about how it was his fault. Cripes, he didn't even have a reason. Poor kid.
Remember how we talked about your death? You told me you'd die in some big, violent, heroic event. You said you'd get beaten to death by the bulls. Or maybe you'd be stabbed by a gang. You said your dad would get out of jail and murder you. Oh, and the one with the Indians. That was a good one. You said that you'd die because renegade Indians would shoot an arrow into you while you were riding your horse in Santa Fe.
Ha. That was the only thing you were wrong about.
Nobody thought you'd trip and fall down the stairs of the lodging house because you were going to get my crutch. Nobody thought you'd hit your head the wrong way and bleed to death.
Then again, nobody thought that I'd leave my crutch on the top step. Nobody thought your death would be caused by an accident.
Nobody thought my forgetfulness would result in such a negative outcome.
Nobody thought to blame Crutchy. They never thought I'd kill you.
Heck.
Neither did I.