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CHAPTER 10: JASON

Officer Zhu responded with a half efforted smile. "Yeah, unfortunately. Okay. So, here's the deal. We got in contact with the police department from the airport, we have the notes and facts from yesterday's incident and of course, the details that you all shared with us about the other stream team's murder which has already been public from the news and social media. With that being said, FBI is coming in and will arrive tomorrow morning to speak to you all at our police department. Be there at 9:00 AM sharp. Hopefully they can catch these assholes."

"Okay Officer Zhu. We'll see you guys in the morning then...if we can make it there in one piece" Dante grumbles as he rolls his eyes.  I nudge him to chill out on the unnecessary comments.

"Hang in there, guys. We will get justice for your friend, and we will do everything in our power to bring your other friend home. We'll see you all tomorrow morning."

The four of us nodded in agreement as Officer Zhu walked away. 

"I'm going to let Echo know the next step and we are going to head back to our hotel. We need some alone time, and we need to call our parents. Tony is still missing, and I just want to be with my one sibling that I have. We will see you all tomorrow morning at the police station." 

 Amy walks away before Dante, Julius or I could respond. They exchange looks before making eye contact with me. 

"Jason, we're going to go back to Kimi's house. I don't know if you want to be alone right now in your hotel room..." before Julius could finish his sentence, Dante interrupted him. 

"Nah, I think it's bullshit for us to split up or be alone too long. Jason, come hang out at Kimi's place then we can all follow you back to the hotel. None of us should be alone at any given point. On top of that, I don't think it's safe to travel alone either. Even if someone has to follow the other behind them in a vehicle. This is what got Mari killed and Tony kidnapped. And I be damned if I lose someone else in this group!" 

Dante's voice and tone right now is probably the most serious I have ever seen him. Although he calmed down a little bit, I know he is going through a lot of emotions right now. He's a lot more sensitive than he has led on in these past couple years. 

"Okay, I'll follow you guys back to Kimi's place but first, I'm going to head to the grocery store. How about I grill tonight, and Kimi can choose the meats and sides. Logically, there's nothing we can do right now about Tony. Marigold's parents will touch base with Amy about her funeral or celebration of life...whichever their approach is. The key focus right now guys, we have to take one day at a time. Let's try to get the spirits back up the best way we can and then tomorrow, face the Feds, then see what's the situation with Mari's family." 

"You're right Jason. I'm going to grab Kimi and talk to her about the plans and see how she is doing." Julius taps my arm then walks away leaving Dante and I alone as we notice the hotel lobby starting to calm down. The cops look like they're about to leave as well. 

"Hey Jason, do you mind if I ride with you to the grocery store? I need to talk to you about some stuff. Man to Man kind of shit. I'll ask Kimi what she wants us to pick up for dinner. She'll be with Julius so I know she will be safe. As long as no one is alone, I can stay chill."

"Sure, I'll be waiting." 

"Alright, give me a bit. I'll meet you at your rental." As Dante walks away, I turn around and begin walking to the rental car. Thank God for rental insurance. I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars on Uber right now. I still miss my baby though. This tiny Honda Accord is a bit smaller than I normally drive but it will make do for now. 

As I enter the driver's side and sit down to turn on the ignition, I go ahead and turn on the AC too.

Hmmm...let's get some music going too. I adjust my Bluetooth settings, so I don't have to use the radio. Since it's been so chaotic, how about some Crazy Train by Ozzy? 

 I jam out until Dante starts walking towards the vehicle and opens the passenger side door. He adjusts the seat for his height and then sits down and puts on his seatbelt. 

"Alright, Jason. Kimi wants us to get some burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and some chips. I don't think Kimi is in the mood to cook at all which is fine. I told her to rest when she gets back home. She said to pick up all the condiments and toppings too."

I start to pull out of the hotel parking lot as Dante continues to speak. 

"Honestly, I don't blame Kimi for not wanting to cook tonight. Us guys deal with grief differently. We tend to keep ourselves busy, so we don't fall apart." 

Dante nods to my response.

"Hey Jason, do you mind if I vape? I know we can't smoke cigs in the rental, but I need some nicotine right now."

"Not a problem, go ahead." 

Dante hits his vape and clouds of smoke start to flood the passenger side. I remember when I used to smoke cigarettes in my younger days but now it feels like a lot of people are into the vape scene. I wouldn't mind a few beers though. I'll probably pick some up for me and the guys. 

"Okay Jason, what I'm about to tell you, stays between us." 

Oh God. I already know this is about to be about their love triangle drama. I've already went through this with Julius...I wonder what Dante is about to confess.

"Okay. I'm listening." While trying to listen to Dante, I also make sure to listen out for my navigator on the Bluetooth to get to Walmart. 

"So, Julius made his moves on Kimi last night. They think I don't know, and I know it's super irrelevant right now, but my whole mind is just fucked from it. I've lost my friend; my other friend is missing and now the girl I really love is probably going to be with my best friend. On top of that, as he was shooting his shot, he talks shit about me to her in the process." 

"He spoke badly about you to Kimi. Dante, I wouldn't take it to heart. He is just thinking with the wrong head and getting greedy." 

Julius, I told you to go for it but that didn't mean to destroy your character and talk badly about your friend just to get your dream girl. 

"Yeah, but that's shady as hell. It's one thing for him to do his thing and I can't stop him about that, but he didn't have to tell Kimi I didn't care enough or love her enough to ask her out. It's just been complicated. One, the long distance and two, my best friend's also in love with her! To make things even shittier, we're living on fear for our lives because crazy ass motherfuckers want to kill streamers! Besides, trying to read and understand women is already a challenge as it is. I didn't want things to be weird on Dark Star if she didn't feel the same." 

I bite my bottom lip as I try to figure out my response for Dante. Maybe he wants to focus on this topic to steer away from thinking about Marigold's death. Maybe if I turn into big brother/dad mode, it can help distract me too.

"I get it Dante. There's been a lot going on recently. I would suggest, when Kimi is in a better emotional state, how about talk to her one on one, no distractions, and tell her the truth. Julius and Kimi haven't become exclusive yet, nor do I believe they will during the events that are going on, so there may still be a chance, but do not stoop to his level. Leave Julius out of it. If Kimi brings Julius into the discussion, then you can go from there." 

Dante hits his vape before replying to me. I take a look at the GPS and noticed that we are only a couple minutes away from Walmart. 

"Okay. I'll see how it goes then. I'll give her a few days since I know Mari's death is going to take a toll on her. Hell, maybe I'll wait till after Mari's funeral or celebration of life just to be safe. The main focus is to figure out what's going to happen with Marigold and getting in touch with her family. I hope they can find Tony so Amy and Echo can breathe. I don't know how much more I can take with all of this before I lose my mind." 

As we enter the Walmart parking lot, I go ahead and find a parking spot closest to the grocery entrance. I sigh as I park and turn off the car. 

That's the issue Dante. We can't lose our minds. I have a feeling this is only the beginning.