Ave Maria

Chapter 38

I just had to update again😭.

Chapter 38 – Good News, Bad Timing

Omniscient

September 26th 2020 | Tappahannock, VA

All last night neither Chris nor Myles were able to sleep. Their worry for Clint was too great to ignore. They really prayed he would be okay and bounce back like the strong man they have known him to be. Chris took it the hardest because he was finally able to get to know his father again these past few months and it brought him joy so to hear about this news really struck a few nerves in him. Myles on the other hand was completely numb to everything. He lost his father a little over five years ago to colon cancer and now his uncle's diagnosis wasn't helping him in any way. All he knew was that he needed to be there for his cousin because he was as much as a fatherly figure as well as his uncle.

It was 3:31 in the morning and Myles sat outside puffing a blunt he recently rolled. He just sat out, enjoying the chilly night breeze and listening to the crickets cry. It was soothing to his nerves and it gave him a sense of peace. Chris just strolled down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen. He was a bit hungry and a pop tart or two won't hurt anyone.

He rummaged through the pantry until he found the strawberry pop tarts sitting in the back on the top shelf. He chuckled because that's where Myles always hid anything that he wanted for himself, too bad for him though.

Chris popped them in the toaster for a minute. He didn't want them too crispy, he liked them warm and soft. He leaned against the counter waiting for them to finish heating up. They popped out and he placed them unto a napkin and headed back to the stairs but the sound of someone rapping caught his attention. He walked back into the kitchen and to the door that lead out to his backyard. He saw his cousin sitting in the darkness and sighed. He turned the lights on and slide the door opened.

Myles looked back seeing Chris walking out with a bottle of water and his pop tarts.

"So you eating my pop tarts nigga?" He asked and Chris cracked a small smile. "Nigga one was for you." He quickly covered himself. "You is a damn lie." Myles punched his shoulder lightly.

"You right. I was about to eat these shits by my damn self." Chris bit into one of the pop tarts and gave the other to Myles. Myles outed the blunt he was smoking and took the treat from Chris. "Thanks bro."

"You know I got you..." He swallowed his food then drank a bit of the water. "Why you out her sitting in the dark?" Chris asked propping his feet unto the lounge chair, listening to the night's lullaby. "I heard you rapping and you song good man."

"Just to put my mind at ease. Struggling to cope with unc's state right now and pops running through my mind so that's adding to it." Chris nodded his headed, understanding his cousin's emotions. "I feel you man. Shit hit different when you close to people."

"Deadass but I'm really hoping he gon' be aight. I don't think I can lose anyone else." Myles voice held a lot of pain but his demeanor never showed it. He was good at hiding his pain but one can only take so much.

"You know, I never got to grieve my dad properly? Since he passed six years ago, I used school and other things as a distraction to not deal with those emotions. Whenever his anniversary came around, I'd used to get high off my ass just to feel nothing. I couldn't bring myself to go through it." Chris listened to his cousin as vented. "He worked his ass off to make sure I was good and that's all I could think about. All the good he's done for me man. That man worked through so much shit just so I could do what I dreamed of and for him to go at a point in my life where I didn't even know if I was even worthy of anything really fucked with me." A tear slid down his cheek as he spoke.