“What else you love?” Dre asked, pulling open his driver’s door.
He knew she was smiling without even seeing her face.
“I love...” She hesitated, teasingly, making him wait on purpose since he was late. “I love you, and I can’t wait for you?—”
“Yo, Dre!”
Her next words went unheard as Dre’s head snapped up, his attention instantly shifting to the black Acura sitting in front of his car.
“You ain’t get so lucky, huh?”
Recognition hit him fast, but it wasn’t fast enough.
Dre’s body tensed as his hand went toward his waist, but he didn’t have time to grab what could’ve possibly saved him. Gunfire ripped through the air as shots rang out, shattering the glass. A bullet ripped his body before he had time to duck.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
The count got lost as Dre’s body jerked. The force of the shots knocked him back against the doorsill before he collapsed halfway into the car. Every single shot intended for him made contact, making the shooter’s message loud and clear. The phone slipped from his hand, clattering against the pavement.
“Dre! Drevonte! Oh, my God!” Shantrease’s voice belted through the speaker, but it wasn’t reaching him.
Choking, Dre gasped for air he couldn’t seem to catch as the Acura peeled out of the lot with screeching tires. They disappeared just as quickly as they came.
For a second, everything stilled. Then, more chaos erupted. Screams echoed in the distance, people yelling Dre’s name. Doors flew open as bodies rushed in all directions. Some people ran towards him, while others ran back inside the building just in case more shots rang out. Everyone wanted to know what the fuck had just happened.
Life happened.
Dre laid slumped, unmoving, with blood pooling beneath him as his phone sat a few feet away. Mama Dot didn’t lie. The good Heavy put into the world that day showed up.
But so did the bad.
It found its way back, and unfortunately for Dre… it found him first.
1
Year 2021
Grief has a way of entering your psyche at the strangest times.
Something as simple as a song playing on the radio could trigger a tightness in your chest and tears at the brim of your lids threatening to fall. Cyren woke up this morning, feeling okay, and as the day progressed, that feeling dimmed. And now, as the clock slowly ticked for her to clock out, a sadness crept in thatshe couldn’t shake. All she wanted now was for her shift to end so she could hurry home.
Glancing at the clock, Cyren sighed and grabbed her phone. The last twenty minutes of the day always seemed to drag. Opening her texts, she tapped on the unread message from her best friend, Gabi.
“Of course, she sends a voice note.” She snickered before playing the message.
“Oh, my gosh. Listen, I know you’re still at work but let me tell you about my day. I’m glad you have your own office so you can listen to me ramble in peace. Ugh, I had the most stressful?—”
Unfortunately, the message only lasted twelve seconds, thanks to someone calling Gabi’s phone. Cyren was sure that when she could send her another message, she’d mention that whoever called had added to her stress. Interruptions seemed to be on the agenda today, as one of Cyren’s coworkers knocked on her door.
“Come in.”
“Hey, hey,” Bre sang, smiling.
Cyren mustered up the best smile she could. “Hey, girl. You’re real jovial.”
