Trust No One

Break-ups and STIs

(5AM Monday morning)

Chaos!
That was the only word to describe the traumatic night Karl had experienced. He lay on Lee's bed with the covers shielding him as he stared blankly into space. Both Moses and Lee sat by the bed in silence, not being able to understand how the last eight hours had panned out.

Karl felt nothing. His heart was an empty shell; it was only beating for the sake of pumping blood through his body. True - he had never really known the man the way a son should've, but he still felt a twinge of pain even though he hadn't done anything wrong. He wanted to be angry, but for now, he was numb.

"Karl?" He heard his aunt calling. He lifted his his head and turned to look at her with tired eyes. "Your mum's in the kitchen right now." She informed before offering a comforting smile. His mum had been weeping all night over the murder of her children's father, even during her interview with the police - so his aunt had kept her out of the house as long as possible to avoid setting Karl off. Amani hadn't been seen or spoken to since Karl rang him in tears about the situation; their mother was torn between worry for her eldest son and the death of their father. He was far from perfect, but at least he'd made an attempt to right his wrongs before he was murdered. Now Karl had to live with the fact that he never fully forgave the man who gave him life and contributed to his existence.

Slipping out of his cousin's bed, he strolled into the kitchen where his mum had tears running from her eyes as she tried to take deep breaths. Karl wasn't stupid, he knew something had been going on with his mum and his dad - but it was obviously deeper than he had previously thought.

"Ma, stop crying." He told her as he moved over to wrap her in his arms. At that point, she just broke down. She buried her face in her son's chest, her hands gripping onto Karl's arms as more tears streamed from her face. In her head, the situation was all her fault.

She'd left her parents house early claiming that she 'had to do something.' Cedric (Karl and Amani's father), had called her earlier in the day asking if he could see her and get an update on how his son's were doing. If she hadn't agreed, this wouldn't be the situation. He was aware that Karl despised him, but he'd realised that if he was ever going to have a relationship with either of his son's, it would take baby steps. He couldn't have a relationship with one and not the other; the two brothers practically rode for each other, if one wasn't fucking with someone, neither was the other one. True, he hadn't been there for either of his sons, but it would've been pointless having him around as a father at that point - he was a flipping druggie for God's sake!

"Ma..." Karl sighed as he looked down at her; she was holding onto him for dear life, as if letting him go would make him disappear.

"You don't have a father... that's all my fault.." she cried.

"The fuck?" Karl questioned out loud. It was supposed to be in his head, but apparently his mouth had a mind of its own and wanted to speak those words themselves. "What are you talking about?" He asked in a soft tone. Pulling out a chair, he took a seat and looked at his mother with a puzzled look.

"Let me explain..."

:::::::::
Andre walked into the kitchen in which Karl's mother had just explained how things had fallen into place. He was standing infront of her while she sat, her arms wrapped around his waist and his, wrapped around her shoulders with his chin on her head. "Don't cry anymore, it's not your fault." He mumbled as he hugged his mum tighter.

Andre had been sleeping in the living room since Karl stole his spot in Lee's bed. The two boys had nothing against each other, but Karl had never fully trusted Andre to be faithful to his cousin.