March 20th. It was a day that would forever be etched in my mind as the second worst day of my life. The first one was getting the call that my brother had been killed. He’d been stabbed multiple times, and no matter how hard the doctors tried, they couldn’t save him. March twentieth was the day I said goodbye to him for the last time. The cold and dreary weather was a representation of how I felt. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see the sun again without my brother being in the world.
Rameek was my older brother by four years, and he was my best friend and protector. I knew girls who weren’t close to their brothers, but that wasn’t the case with me and mine. My brother knew almost everything about me, except the people I dated. Whenever he found out about them, he would run them off. Healways said none of them were good enough for me, and I had to admit that he was right about some of them. Rameek swore I was innocent and could do no wrong in his eyes. My parents loved and hated our relationship sometimes because he would let me get away with everything, and I also wanted to be around him all the time. Most of the time, he kept me away from the things he did, but he still would make time for me.
He for sure kept me away from his friends. I wasn’t interested in any of them anyway.
I closed my eyes and dropped my head as one of my cousins stood next to my brother’s casket, singing “Amazing Grace.”
My best friend, Candace, squeezed my hand and passed me a tissue. It was no use wiping my tears, because they wouldn’t stop. My mother sat next to me while my father sat on the side of her. Every so often, I would hear one or both of them sniffle. I could feel my mother’s shoulders shake as my cousin brought the song to a close. When she was done, she handed the microphone to the pastor, then took her seat in the row behind us.
The church was filled because my brother was loved by many. My brother was known as a ladies’ man, and I hated it. I prayed plenty of times for him to settle down and have kids, but some coward took that away from us. I wouldn’t be able to have my brother walk me down the aisle. It was something we talked about even though my father was alive and well. Rameek said he wanted to be the one to give me away, and nobody protested it. My future children wouldn’t be able to see the fun-loving side of my brother. Life wouldn’t be the same without him.
Since the day he died, I hadn’t been the same bubbly girl that I was. I fell so deeply into my grief that my job fired me. My rent was paid for at least two months, but more than likely, I would end up moving back in with my parents. I wasn’t lookingforward to it, but I didn’t know how to get out of this funk I was in. I didn’t have my brother to lean on whenever things got bad.
Pastor Harris wasn’t just the pastor of the church; he was also my father’s brother. I closed my eyes as he talked about how great a person my brother was, and he didn’t tell a single lie. Rameek might have been a player when it came to relationships, but he never gave anyone false hope. He never hesitated to give the next person the shirt off his back when they needed it.
“We all are sad right now, but Rameek is home with our Father God. He isn’t suffering anymore. One day, the tears will stop. That doesn’t make the pain any less, but it does get easier. Just remember, one day we will see Rameek again. Love each other while you still have the chance. Keep Rameek’s memory alive.”
I glanced around the church and noticed what seemed like hundreds of blue vests. The Valley Vipers Gang never did anything in small numbers. I knew they would come, but I didn’t expect that many. It seemed like they took up half of the church.
Rameek was so happy when he got initiated into the club. I didn’t know much about them, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing for him to do. I did know they put on different charity events and donated the money to different causes. They also did different community events throughout the year. There were back-to-school drives, free haircuts, and job fairs, among other things.
As my eyes roamed the church, they landed on the vice president, Kane. I lifted my lip in disgust because something about him rubbed me the wrong way. He was arrogant as hell, and when it came to women, he was just as bad, if not worse than my brother. Women were like a revolving door to him. At least that was what I heard. I really didn’t know because I didn’t talk to that many people, and Candace didn’t know anything about him either.
My brother kept me away from the club, so I only knew what the streets said. The only thing I could attend was the community events, and even then, I was kept away from them.
Kane must have felt me looking at him because he turned in my direction and nodded his head. I huffed and rolled my eyes before I turned back toward the front of the church.
They might have had the town fooled, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t sure of who, or why, but I was certain one of them killed my brother. That was the only explanation I could come up with. For all I knew, it could have been Kane who’d done it, but what would be the reason? For weeks, I’d been trying to come up with why someone would want my brother dead, but kept coming up empty. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the women he dealt with, but I couldn’t be sure. Still, the only thing that kept popping into my head was the motorcycle club. The manner in which he was stabbed, and the events that followed afterward, couldn’t convince me otherwise. Whoever did it left him somewhere to die, and I prayed that karma would come back for them.
“You ready?” Candace whispered.
It was time for us to say our final goodbyes, and I wasn’t sure how I would make it.
I nodded, and she helped me up. Candace held me upright as we stood on the side of Rameek’s casket.
“Don’t worry, Brother. I’m going to find out who did this, and they will pay.” I leaned down and kissed his cheek.
As we walked back to our seats, the only thing I could think about was getting revenge on my brother’s killer and making them suffer.
I looked around the church and took in the sea of blue vests that filled the pews. Most of us wouldn’t typically be inside a church, but it was only right that we paid our respects to Rameek, also known as Slim. He’d been a part of the crew for the last three years, and he was a good dude. It was crazy that we were laying him to rest. I’d just talked to him a few days before he was killed, and he wanted to meet up, but we never got around to it. I couldn’t wrap my head around who would want him dead.
The members of the Vipers were spread out around the church. We didn’t want everyone in one spot, because we needed to be aware of any potential threats. We didn’t know who had killed Rameek, so we were all on high alert. I sat near the doorbecause that was my thing. No matter where we were, I sat near the door or at least facing the door.
Beast, our president, wasn’t around, so as the vice president, I had to look out for everyone. My right hand, Tech, was on the opposite side. Tech was the sergeant at arms and good as hell with computers. He was able to hack into pretty much any system.
I swirled the toothpick in my mouth as I listened to multiple family members talk about how good a person Rameek was. Even a couple of the chicks he fucked with got up to talk, and I was surprised. Nobody was disrespectful, but I wouldn’t want all the women I messed with to speak at my funeral.
At one point, I felt someone watching me, and when I looked up, I locked eyes with Rameek’s sister. She looked at me with hatred in her eyes, and that shit confused me. I’d never met her before, but I knew who she was. He never brought her to the club, but I’d seen her at the events in the past. The only thing I knew about her was that she was younger than him, which made her even younger than me, since I had a couple of years on Rameek.
I waited until the family left before I approached the casket. The family buried him in his vest, and that shit hit me hard.
The rest of the members stayed behind so I could have a moment alone.
“Rest in peace, boy.” I did our signature hand movement and stepped away.
“I can’t believe someone killed him,” I heard from behind me.
I turned around and faced Beast. I wasn’t sure when he arrived, but at least he came to pay his respects.
