Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

26. Can't get enough

Joseph stood in front of the mirror in his home gym with an eighty pound fixed barbell in his hands as he did a set of bicep curls. He winced his face in pain, knitting together his thick bushy brows focusing on his breathing— in through his nose and out through his mouth as his biceps burned from the intense strenuous movement but he kept pushing. The veins in his arms and hands bulged like the Incredible Hulk as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. Est Gee— I still don't feel nun played over the home speaker system as he got his daily workout in before dinner.

Verna appeared in the doorway giving it a light knock with the knuckle of her finger. " Joseph your dinner is ready and your brother is here," She said loud enough to be heard over the music.

He switched his gaze from himself to her looking at her through the mirror before giving her simple head nod finishing his last rep and setting down the barbell. " Thank you,"

She gave him a warm smile and stepped out of the way letting Dre come into the gym. Dre shook up Joseph scrunching his face as he hugged his cousins sweaty body. " Gettin that shit in yo ass yolked up boa," Dre teased punching Joseph in the chest making him snicker. " Just make sure you workin on them legs too before you got a big body and little legs,"

Joseph kissed his teeth letting out a small chuckle. " I don't wanna hear shit from a muthafucka that don't work out at all," He said slightly out of breath taking a seat on his workout bench and snatching up the bottle of water from off the floor near his feet taking a drink.

" I don't need to work out, I shoot guns muthafucka,"

Joseph waived Dre off. " What's good nigga, you came here for a reason,"

" I can't check on my big bro damn," Dre said play punching the heavy bag suspended from the ceiling by a thick chain link. Truthfully, Dre was a little worried about Joseph. Ever since him and Grace took a break from their engagement he seemed more reclusive and to himself like he was being drawn back into his dark shell again. Joseph didn't seem as happy and at peace anymore. Dre knows Joseph the best out of everyone and to Dre Joseph seemed like he was resorting back to his callous violent ways, especially after what he had done to Brandon last night.

Joseph looked up from his phone giving Dre a look like he could smell his bullshit.

" You know Brandon in the hospital fighting for his life right now, they got that nigga on life support because he can't breathe on his own,"

Joseph continued to scroll on his phone un-phased by the news. Dre stared at his cousin in disbelief waiting for a response he knew he probably wouldn't get, shaking his head at Joseph's carelessness. In Dres thirty years of life and of all the niggas he'd encountered in that time span he'd never met someone as brutal and heartless as his own brother. Of all 206 bones in the adult human body, not a single one of Joseph's held even a sliver of remorse. They were raised by the same man and sometimes Dre just didn't understand how Joseph came out the way he did, but then again, Dre didn't know half the things their own father put Joseph through—somethings he didn't even tell Grace and she knew the most.

Dre knew some shit had to be going on in Joseph's head right now because he loved Brandon, he'd taken Brandon under his wing and you could tell he favored Brandon over all the younger members of their crew but to have someone you care about beaten to a pulp like that was on a different level.

" Jo," Dre called again this time with a little bass in his voice prompting Joseph to look up with a scowl. " Yo what the fuck is wrong with you? Did you not just hear what I said?"

" Nigga I heard you what the fuck you want me to say? I can't take that shit back now what's done is done," He said coldly.

Dre winced his face and jerked his head back. " Fuck you mean what I want you to say? Jo that nigga is brain dead, his mama is crying over his body right now as we speak because the doctors want to pull the plug and that's all you got to say?? Act like you care for once,"