Gangland.

Chapter 2 - "Blasted."

The next morning, all I remember was hearing chaos and commotion upstairs. My mother had left me a "goodbye" note so that I didn't worry when I woke up and seen that she was missing. When I listened upstairs, I could hear Isaiah shouting upstairs.

"What happened to her!?" Isaiah barked. "What the fuck happened to her?!"

"She was shot and killed, sweetheart." Aunt Shay sighed. "That's all I-"

"Oh hell naw, man. Hell naw!" Isaiah cried as he stormed down the stairs. "This shit can't be real!"

When I lifted up on the couch, Isaiah didn't even give me a "hello". I wasn't expecting him to, though. In fact, I didn't know what he was yelling about. As he jumped into his car and stormed off, I watched his mother and his twin brother walk down the stairs.

"This neighborhood ain't never gonna change.." Aunt Shay sighed as she walked into her room and shut the door.

When my aunt said that, I was more than curious to see what had happened.

"What happened?" I asked Noah.

"His girlfriend was killed.." Noah sighed as he sat down. "She was shot last night."

"Damn, man." I sighed. "Did they find out who killed her?"

"Nah. And they ain't gonna. They never solve any homicides around here." Noah shrugged. "It's like a regular day for police. They'll keep in touch with you and forget about you and the family within an hour."

It was weird, because talking to Noah was like talking to a more educated version of Isaiah. He was proper, smart, and the complete opposite of his brother.

"I don't even know why he upset. All he did was treat her like shit, anyway. He'd fuck her one day, then get back to calling her a bitch the next." Noah said, shaking his head. "That's why I hope I pass my college classes. That way I can get the fuck out of here. Schaefer is not the place to be.."

I looked outside and seen kids playing around. Also, there was weed smokers and drug dealers that was hovering around the area. I'd never felt more out of place and uncomfortable in my life.

4 days later, I dressed up in a suit and attended Taylor's wedding with my cousins. When we got there 25 minutes later, we could see just how packed the church was. The line was leading outside of the church. Me, my cousins, and my aunt stood outside for 5 minutes before making our way inside of the church. Inside, I heard relatives screaming and crying at the top of their lungs. God, I hated and still hate funerals.

But when I looked in Isaiah and Noah's eyes, I could tell that they were used to constant funerals. It was normal to them. Hell, if I attended a funeral every other day, I wouldn't be too surprised either. Noah smiled and greeted everyone around him while Isaiah didn't bother. He hated all of her relatives, and all of her relatives hated him. He stood there with a clenched jaw and eyes full of rage, stepping inside of the church to walk the line down the isle to see her body.

Like all funerals, no body ever looks the same like they do when they're alive. It's almost as if you're looking at a wax form of the former person you knew. When I glanced at her, I could see that she still had a saddened and worried look as if her killers were still in front of her. When Isaiah walked past Taylor's mother, he seen her holding his son Kayson. They both shot an angry glare at each other as he took a seat into the right isle that was right beside theirs. He was also seated in the second row, which made us diagonal from hers.

"Man, I hate funerals." I whispered to my aunt.

"Well get used to 'em." My aunt said as she clipped her purse closed and placed it beside her dress. "Because if you're gonna decide to stay here, you're gonna be attending a lot of them."