Fate

Twenty Five: Surprise Shawtyyy

"Thank you, auntie."

While she goes to help Jontaevious get ready for our trip to his physical therapy appointment, I open the gift and see a framed picture of my mama when she was pregnant with me. There's also a necklace with a picture of my mama in it. My eyes get teary as I put the necklace onto my neck and carry the picture with me; carefully putting it in my back seat. By the time I'm finished, Tae is dressed and moving slowly on his walker.

"You need some help cuz?" I ask as I try to help him.

"Nah nigga, I got it. Ima hardbody."

"I already know."

Tae gets himself into the car, folds his walker and puts it into the backseat. As we're driving down the road, he sighs loudly.

"You good, Tae?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired of being in pain and not being able to do the shit I wanna do. I'm sick of being at the house with mama. Man, I can't even get no bitches on a walker. Sometimes I wish I never went to the store with Aunt Serena, but then again, I wouldn't have wanted her to go through that alone so I'm happy I was there." He explains while wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry, D. I know you don't wanna hear that today. Happy Birthday, man. Thank you for always being there for me."

"Everything gone be okay. You'll come back even stronger. Just be patient and be glad that you're still alive. Some folks ain't got that luxury. For example, my mama didn't make it, but you did so don't take that for granted. You don't have to thank you. You know I got yo back forever." I tell him as we pull up to the clinic.

While I'm sitting in the waiting room of the physical therapy clinic, I change the tv channels until I find the news. Focusing my eyes on the screen, I see the news anchor talking about Holloway, Tony, and Jarell.

"After serious investigation, local Detective Keon Holloway has been arrested for the possession of drugs and spoliation of evidence pertaining to a shooting at a known bar where multiple people were injured. Holloway will serve 25 years for his crimes and has been relieved from his position on Chicago's Police Department. Investigators found that Holloway withheld evidence to protect his accomplice, Jarell Hamilton. Hamilton has been found guilty of multiple crimes and has been charged of statutory rape, murder, and attempted murder. He will serve 40 years to life without parole. Investigators also found that Hamilton's most recent victim was Tony Jacobs who was once a well know dealer on Chicago's streets. Evidence shows that the three of them were working together, until things took a turn for the worst. Tune in at 5:00 for more information on this unsettling news WGNTV."

Smiling widely, I immediately call Brandon then realize that we haven't been talking so I hang up and call Milani instead.

"Lani, hurry up and put it on the news!" I say excitedly.

"Okay, okay. I'm doing it now." She says then gets quiet for a few minutes. "Well damn. This causes for a celebration. Those thugs are off the streets. Good thing it's your birthday. How much longer before you'll be home?"

"I'm at the clinic with Tae right now. He's got about 30 more minutes to an hour before he's finished then I gotta take him home. I'll be home after that."

"Good. How's he doing?" She asks, sounding concerned.

"You know, Tae. He's fighting through it all. I'll tell him you asked about him."

"That's good to hear. Bring him home with you so he can spend the night for a while. I miss having him around all the time. Now, I got shit to do.. bye, love you."

"Aite, love you too." I say then hang up.

Since Tae has been out of the hospital, he had fell into depression about not being able to move around so I started letting him spend the night at our place. Him and Milani have gotten so close and she treats him like the little brother she never had. Seeing the way they connect made me love her even more.