It's been six months since the killing of Cleo and there still haven't been any arrests made. After Joey didn't confess and the detective didn't have enough reason or proof to get a search warrant, they gave up on the case. Brooklyn and her family were sick to their stomachs because of it.
The whole situation has put a big toll on Brooklyn physically, emotionally, and mentally. She tries to push herself so she can take care of her kids, but some days are tougher than others. Theodore and Nicole have been handling the household when it comes to cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Hassan, Nigel, and Nicholas as much as they can. Claude, Duke, Adele, and Val have been helping out as well. Shayla and Jacob have been helping out a lot too.
Jacob and Cleo's store is still closed and Jacob doesn't know if he's going to open it back up. The store was their dream and Jacob would love to open it again, but he's been diagnosed with PTSD and he believes that stepping foot in the store could trigger it.
Brooklyn hasn't returned to work yet. Her boss is recommending her to go through therapy before going back. She has been doing therapy sessions twice a week, but they're not working for her. The only thing that can make her feel better is her husband's murderer going to jail.
Brooklyn was currently sitting on the couch feeding Nicholas mango purée. The six month old was getting the food everywhere except in his mouth, which Brooklyn found amusing. "You're a messy little boy. You're going to need a bath after this." She said as she fed him another spoonful of mango.
"How does he manage to get it everywhere when you're feeding him?" Theodore asked as he watched Nicholas smack his lip.
"He keeps putting his hands in his mouth after I feed him." Brooklyn replied.
Theodore chuckled and shook his head. "Babies are weird."
Brooklyn laughed out loud at his comment. "He'll get the hang of it. You'll probably have a few yourself when you get older."
"Yeah, that'll never happen." Theodore scoffed. "I'm glad you're feeling better today."
Brooklyn smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you. I'm glad I'm feeling better too."
"Do you think I can talk to my mom?" Theodore asked.
"If that's what you want to do. I'm not gonna stop you." Brooklyn replied.
"I didn't want to offend you."
Brooklyn chuckled. "Baby, you won't offend me by wanting to talk to your mama. When was the last time you talked to her?"
"When she agreed to letting y'all be my guardians." Theodore answered, making Brooklyn's eyes widen.
"That's a long time, Teddy. She hasn't called you? You haven't called her?"
"No, she hasn't called me and I tried to call her, but her number isn't in service anymore. I wanted to pull up at her house. I just want to see how she's doing. Even though she disowned me, I still care about her." Theodore explained.
Brooklyn nodded. "Okay, well—I'll drop Nigel, Nicholas, Hassan, and Nicole off at my parents' house, then we'll go see your mother."
-
Claude knocked on the old run down door and stepped back next to Duke whose hand was on his gun that was located in its holster. They were prepared just in case anything popped off.
Joseph opened the door and sucked his teeth when he saw the older men. He tried to close the door, but Claude quickly caught it and they barged into his apartment.
"The fuck y'all think y'all doing?!" Joseph yelled.
Being the hot head he is, Duke pulled out his gun and pointed it at Joseph. "We know you killed CJ." He said as he placed his finger on the trigger.
"Y'all don't know shit." Joseph said as he backed up to the nearby wall.
"Nah, we know." Claude chuckled. "When my son joined the crips for your ungrateful ass, I told him that you were gonna switch up on him and I was right."
"You've been trying to ruin him ever since y'all were in middle school. You tried to ruin him so bad, you went as far as killing him and taking him away from everybody. He almost sacrificed everything for you so you wouldn't get killed and you return the favor by killing him. The fuck is wrong with you?" Duke said as he lowered his gun.
"Stop acting like Cleo didn't turn his back on me." Joseph said.
"He turned his back on you because you didn't want to help yourself. He pushed you to be the best you could be. He had to convince you to stay in school, but you didn't listen because all you wanted to be was a good nigga." Claude preached. "It took a lot in him to cut you off and he was hurt because you were his best friend and he wanted to see the good in you! You didn't do shit but drag yourself down—including the people who cared about you."
Joseph held his head down as tears rolled down his cheeks. Everything was eating him up inside. "I had no intentions on killing him. I just wanted to shoot the place up, but I got angry and out of hand."
Claude scoffed and shook his head. "You gotta turn yourself in, man. C'mon, we'll take you."
Joseph nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes. He stood up straight and headed to his bedroom. Claude and Duke looked at each other oddly, then shrugged. Before Duke could say what was on his mind, a loud gunshot went off. Both men ran to the bedroom and found Joseph lying in his own blood with a gunshot wound in the side of his head. The handgun he used was dropped right next to him. Claude and Duke were shocked. They didn't expect Joseph to kill himself.
Joseph couldn't handle the idea of being in jail. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. Cleo was well known and if the inmates found out that Joseph was the one who killed Cleo, he would be doomed.
Claude and Duke were having mixed feelings as they stared at Joseph's deceased body. They weren't sure if this actually gave Cleo justice. To them, Joseph took the easy way out.
"I'm about to call the police, so put your gun away." Claude said as he walked out of the room.
-
Brooklyn and Theodore looked at each other as Brooklyn put the car in park. They looked back at the deserted house in confusion. The house was nothing like Theodore remembered. The windows were boarded up and the porch furniture was gone.
"I'm about to go to Ms. Cannon's house to see what happened." Theodore said, referring to his former neighbor. Brooklyn just nodded and allowed him to go to the older woman's house.
Brooklyn's phone began to ring in her cup holder. She picked it up and saw that her father was calling her. "Hey, daddy." She said once she answered his call.
"Hey, baby girl. I have some news for you." Duke said.
"What's going on?" Brooklyn asked.
"We went to Joey's place to confront him. He admitted to killing CJ. He said that he didn't mean to kill him, he just wanted to shoot up the place to scare him." Duke explained.
Brooklyn was beginning to sweat bullets and her heart was going sixty miles an hour. "Did he turn himself in?"
"Well—we offered to take him to the station, but he went to his bedroom and killed himself." Duke said.
Brooklyn gasped as tears fell from her eyes. "Oh my God."
"I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm really sorry."
"I'm going to call you back, daddy. I'm out with Theodore right now. He's trying to look for his mother." Brooklyn said as she wiped her tears away.
"Okay, baby."
Brooklyn hung up the phone and placed it back in the cup holder. She sighed and sat back in the driver's seat. "Joey, I don't know where you are and I don't know if you can hear me, but I want you to know that I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you've done. I'm letting the hate go—I'm letting all of it go."
Theodore opened the passenger door and got in the car. He looked over at Brooklyn with tears in his eyes. "They moved away. I'm never going to see my mother again."
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Epilogue is next...
