“Shay, please,” I pleaded, holding up her limp hand. You would have thought I would have been afraid to touch a dead body, but I wasn’t. The only thing I felt was heartbreak and angst as I stared at her lifeless body.
“Why the fuck would she do some shit like this?” Shane cried to himself as he paced the room.
I tried to lift her up, but she was too heavy for me. In my moment of delusion, I thought maybe it wasn’t too late for CPR or something.
“Shane, call 911. Can you help me get her out? I want to put some clothes on her or something. I don’t want anyone seeing her like this.” I cried, beating myself up internally for missing the signs.
“I called them as soon as I got off the phone with you. They should be here any minute. Fuck, man!” Shane reared back and punched the wall above the toilet. My emotions shifted from devastation to numbness and back to devastation.
When the police came, everything became one big blur. They questioned us, took a bunch of pictures, and eventually, the coroner came and removed her body from the house. I asked them if I could dress her, but they told me no. I was so irritated at the thought of her being out there with no clothes on. It may sound trivial, but it mattered to me.
“We found a note folded on the bathroom counter, along with an empty pill bottle. Based on our findings, we are certain her cause of death was suicide. We don’t intend to investigate any further. We normally wait until the case is fully closed, but I think you may want to see the contents of the note before we take it with us. It’s addressed to Shane and Lyric.” The officer read our names off the paper and then looked back at us.
I nodded, even though I had no desire to see what her note said. My heart was broken, and I wasn’t sure how I would get through this loss.
The officer handed me the note and walked away to give me some time to read it. Shane stood there with a stoic expression. I knew he was crushed because he and Shaylyn had been as thick as thieves their entire life. She had never lived in a world without him in it, but now he was forced to live without her. My hands shook as I prepared to read the note. It was short, and a part of me was sad knowing these were her last words.
To my angels, Shane and Lyric,
I know I fucked y’all up with what I’ve done, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like I was drowning and I didn’t have any more fight left in me. The reason I called the two of you over was because I wanted one last happy memory to take with me into the afterlife. I don’t know whether there is heaven or hell, but there has to be something better than this life.
I love you both with everything inside of me. I’m sure you’re probably hurt or even upset, but I promise my decision has nothing to do with either of you. To be honest, I don’t think I would have survived for as long as I did without you. Please don’t let my death stop you from living life. The two of you deserve happiness and I need you to promise me that you won’t allow life to swallow you whole.
I’m no longer suffering and now that I’ve seen my niece, I’m at peace. Shane, please tell her how much her auntie loved her. Teach her all of our favorite games and love her the way you loved me. Lyric, continue to show the world that you’re that girl. I’m sorry proud of you baby girl. I’ve always admired your strength and now that I’m gone, you have to promise to live it up for the both of us.
Until we meet again.
Love you forever, Shay
I sobbed into Shane’s arms, trying to wrap my head around what happened. Nothing made sense to us, but it was clear she had set it up that way. She wanted us to have one more night with her, just so she could shatter our worlds in the morning. It hurt. My chest felt as if it was going to explode as I shed tears for the childhood that had been stripped from us and the life Shaylyn would never get to live. It wasn’t fair. Life wasn’tsupposed to be so cruel. We stood there, holding each other, knowing our lives would never be the same.
Several Months Later
“What are we doing here?” Keyz questioned as we pulled up to his aunt’s house.
We were at the studio when I got the call to pull up. I was surprised when I got the call, but I knew from the nature of the call that it was important.
“Remember when I told you about the new cat that Gunna had me working with?”
Keyz nodded, and I could tell he wanted to know where I was going with the story. “Yeah, I remember. What about him?”
“Let’s go inside, and you’ll get your answers.”
I had Jett look into Jacq months ago, and my suspicions were confirmed. When I reached out to Gunna about my concerns, he advised me to speak with Jacq before jumping to conclusions.Life had gotten in the way, but now it was time to get the answers we all needed.
I grabbed my gun and pulled my hoodie over my head as I stepped out of the car. We were in one of my many cash cars because I wasn’t sure how this meet-up would go, and I didn’t want to put either my or Keyz’s freedom in jeopardy. We already had a close call, and we didn’t need any more heat our way.
I wore gloves when I opened the door, but I made sure no fingerprints were left behind. I already knew this wasn’t going to be a friendly family reunion, so I decided to take all the necessary precautions. The cleanup crew was on standby and awaiting my call.
“What the hell is going o—oh shit.” Keynauri paused when we stepped inside his aunt’s house and saw her and Jazzie tied up with Jacq standing over them.
“Who the hell are you?” Keynauri questioned.
Jacq’s eyes darted between the two of them before they finally settled on Keyz. “I would tell you to ask your mother, but she seems to be a little tied up at the moment. Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Jacques Saint Pierre. I’m your half-brother and our father’s dirty little secret. Isn’t that right?” He leaned down, speaking directly to a frightened Jazzie. Tears ran down her face and past the duct tape covering her mouth. It was sad to say that this was the first time I had seen any real emotion from her in years. She never shed any tears for her own children.
“Wait. If you’re my brother, why is this the first time I’m hearing about you? Did my pops know about you? And what does my mother have to do with any of this?” Keynauri probed.
“You ask some really great questions, and I’m happy to answer. You see, I spent most of my life being raised in Haiti, thinking the woman who raised me was my mother, only to find out she was my birth mother’s sister. According to her and thestories from many residents in Haiti, our father fell in love with my birth mother and would make trips to spend time with her and then fly back to be with his wife and children.
