Saturday, June 18th 2022
San Francisco, California
Aurora tightened her hoodie over her head as she looked around the empty parking lot, leaning against the car. Her eyes held back tears as she thought about what happened here four years ago.
The studio that still sat here was now owned by a small local music group that was aimed towards children and young adults to keep them off the streets. It was nearing 4 o' clock in the afternoon so Aurora was left alone as she sat here.
Since it was her last day in California, she decided she'd go to the place where her brother's life was ultimately taken. She hopped on a quick flight since she didn't want to drive and got a rental when she got here so she could be alone.
"Time has really gone by, Keemie. It's hard to believe you've been gone that long. I know I said I'd never come here but there's so much grief I've never dealt with when it comes to you. I'm just shocked I haven't cried yet." she blew out a breath before looking up.
"I can still remember everything we talked about the last time I saw you here. What you wore, what you looked like, what you sounded like. I still beat myself up about the fact that I hadn't see you for two weeks before you died. I'm sorry." she said, feeling her tears finally come overboard.
Her parents had repeatedly asked if she'd be okay and they needed to come with her but she adamantly told them it was something she needed to do alone. She felt that she needed to finally close some of the open wounds she had when it came to Hakeem.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you, big brother. I always try so hard to think about what you could've been thinking or feeling that night but I can never come to terms with it. I know you fought hard and that's all I could've asked. I love you with everything in me." she spoke, wiping her tears.
Aurora spent a few more minutes sitting in silence as she thought about her brother. She had started to miss him dearly on this trip and that wave of sadness had came over with no end in sight. She just wished he could be here.
Once she got back in the car, she sighed before pulling out her phone and sending a text to Darius.
Lil Bit 🤞🏾
just left the place, feels like a weight is off of my shoulders but idk if that's a good thing
Darebear 🫶🏾
it is Ro, im proud of u and ik he is too 💙 you needed that
Lil Bit🤞🏾
wish you could've been here with me, nobody else can understand it
Darebear 💙
yk im here for you always, love you sis
Aurora shared the sentiment before putting her phone down and driving her way back to the Compton airport.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ro, you're gonna make us miss our flight! Let's go!" her dad yelled from outside the bathroom door.
"Dad, I'm coming! I can't move any faster!" she retorted, rolling her eyes.
The Jenkins were on their way back home this morning and Aurora couldn't wait to be back in her own bed. This trip did not go anything like she planned so she was just ready to be away from this wretched place.
"Ro, you're literally getting on a plane just to get here and go to sleep. Why are you putting on mascara?" Ximena asked on FaceTime.
"Girl, I have to do this sponsorship thing for GymShark and I can't be looking crazy. I gotta get it done today so I can post it tomorrow. I have to show you the sets they sent me." she told her friend.
Aurora looked at her eyes in the mirror before nodding her head and stuffing everything on the sink in her carry on bag. She hurried out of the bathroom and made sure to look around the room in case she forgot something.
"Finally, Aurora." her dad huffed, watching her come out of her room.
"Don't give me attitude, sir. Let's go." she laughed, speeding past him as he raised his hand to pop her own hand.
The two stepped outside to see Angela patiently waiting on them as she leaned against the car. Aurora stopped mid sentence to Ximena as she looked at her mom.
"Mommy, you look so pretty. You're gonna make me cry." she cooed, reaching out to hug her.
"Ro, baby, are you okay?" her mom laughed but accepting the hug.
"You just look so pretty." she said into her mom's shoulder.
"Thank you, baby." her mom said. She pulled back from the hug and looked at her daughter with a look of confusion but joy as well.
"Are you sure it's not because of Ja-"
"Mom, please. I am fine." she said, kissing her mother's cheek before getting into the backseat.
Aurora put her Beats on as she started back up the conversation with Ximena.
"I heard that, you know. I know you feel some type of way about how everything went down." Ximena said. Aurora rolled her eyes while shaking her head.
"Mena, I promise I'm good. It's not like we were dating for years. Plus, it's just until I come back in August." she sighed, watching as her parents talked to each other as her dad drove.
"Girl, that don't mean nothing. You told me yourself you don't remember the last time you felt that way about somebody." Ximena pointed out.
Aurora swiftly moved into another topic with her friend but her mind found itself back to Jameer. She had missed him greatly and she didn't know if reality would kick in when she got back home. She just knew for sure that she made the right decision.
Previous Morning
Jameer's House
Aurora stood outside Jameer's door waiting for him to open it. She had driven over here as soon as she woke up which was pretty late seeing as her and Ximena talked all night about the situation.
Aurora needed to get a lot of things set straight between them because she felt as if she was being played for a fool. She didn't have a real reason to not believe Jameer about his publicist telling him to set Chasity straight but this isn't what she envisioned for them.
"Hey, Ro." she looked up at Jameer who stood in his door looking as good as ever.
"Hey, I kind of have to make this quick so I'm sorry in advance." she said, watching his muscles move as he opened the door wider for her.
"That's cool, come on." he told her.
Aurora could feel the awkwardness between them, especially seeing as they didn't even hug or kiss. Their last conversation was weighing heavy on her mind and she really didn't like the feeling she had about them. She was sure he had things he wanted to say to her so she was going to keep her mind open during the conversation.
They both went to sit in his living room which had the amazing smell of cooked food lingering.
"Did you just cook?" she asked him.
"Yeah, just some lasagna and garlic knots. I can make you some to go." he said, stretching his arms out behind him on the couch.
"Thank you." she mumbled. She didn't want to be the first to speak but she knew she had to.
"So, I'm just gonna lay everything out. We've always said we moved fast into this and I never had a problem with that. I love our dynamic and how passionate we both are. I think maybe we need to dial it back a little." she let out. Her eyes were glued to his face as she watched him nod his head slowly.
"Yesterday, the feeling I got from our conversation and the situation at hand left me really uncomfortable. I don't like that this girl is disrupting our relationship for her own entertainment. I understand you have to protect your brand but I just can't." she sighed, pouting.
Jameer understood where she was coming from but he didn't like it one bit. He didn't like that Aurora was throwing in the towel over this though.
"I understand, Ro. I just want to say I'm sorry again. I really fucked up and I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. When you say dial it back, what were you thinking?" he questioned.
It clicked for Aurora that she never even got to tell him she accepted the job here.
"Well, I never got to tell you this but I accepted the job here. I'll be moving here in August. Maybe we should just keep it friendly until we can figure out how to not let outside people affect us. I really, really like you and I don't even want to do this."
"Congrats, baby. I'm proud of you for getting back out there. I'm really glad to hear it." he smiled, genuinely happy for her.
Aurora wanted to reach over and kiss him after hearing him call her baby. She just grinned at him before he spoke again.
"Ro, I really don't want to do this. I feel like this isn't something that should make us go back to square one. Is me not taking care of it enough?" she asked.
"Jameer, she's not going to stop."
"So, what's the point of taking this break?" he asked, scooting closer to her on the couch. She sighed as she leaned back on the couch.
"Because I need it, honestly. I told myself the day we we were on the yacht that I wouldn't jump into the first man's arms but I did. That's not saying I regret any of this, I just feel like I still need to figure out who I am."
"And I just happened to get caught up in the middle of it?" he scoffed. Aurora did not want to end this conversation on a bad note so she winced at his tone.
"Jameer, that's not what happened. You popped into my life and you've been making me feel all of these things so fast. I just don't want to be this emotionally unavailable person for you when you don't deserve that."
The two stared at each other before Jameer slowly nodded his head and stood up.
"I'll go make your stuff." he said, not waiting for a response as he went to the kitchen.
Aurora groaned and slapped her hands on the couch. Why was she messing up such a good thing? She felt like she was putting so many of her expectations onto Jameer when she didn't even know how to actually be in a relationship herself. All she could hope for was that they'd be better together when she came back.
Once Jameer brought her the food, she decided she'd go ahead and leave which bothered Jameer. He felt as if she was just over the whole thing and ready to get back home. He didn't like any of this at all but it seemed as if Ro had her mind made up.
"I'm gonna text you when I land tomorrow. Don't ignore it either." she told him, standing in her car door. He gave a small smile to her as he shook his head.
"I won't, Ro." he said.
Aurora nodded her head before awkwardly smiling and turning to get in the car.
"No hug, no kiss?" he questioned.
"Oh, yeah of course." she quickly spoke. She stepped into his awaiting arms and sighed once he squeezed her. She missed him already.
"Promise we get back on track in August." he whispered. She looked up at him and nodded while smiling. She held out her pinky towards him and he happily locked their fingers before they both kissed them.
"Promise." she smiled.
Aurora leaned in to give him a peck but Jameer quickly caught her bottom lip with his own. Aurora smiled into the kiss which made Jameer pull back with a laugh.
"I don't know why you be trying me like that. Drive back safe, Aurora." he told her, softly tapping her butt.
She nodded as she pecked his lips before getting in the car. She pouted as she pulled out of his driveway and headed back to the hotel. She made the right decision even if she didn't feel like she did.
~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, June 19th 2022
Tampa, Florida
Aurora slowly shut her car door and walked up to her therapist's building. She was still sleepy after staying up all night seeing Ximena and Darius when they landed. It felt so good to be back home with her family.
"Well, look what the cat drug in." Theresa snorted. Theresa looked over Aurora who was wearing gray sweatpants and what looked to be a man's hoodie with her signature Nike sneakers.
"T, I'm so sleepy. I can't believe I even scheduled this appointment for when I got back." she sighed, leaning on the desk.
"I was starting to miss seeing you around here. Patients have been all over the place lately and it's stressing me out." she sighed.
"Oh T! I got bad news. I'll be moving to California in August." she told her, watching as the girl in front of her gasped loudly.
"Ro, nooooo! You can't leave me here alone!" Theresa pouted, standing up to hug her over the desk.
"Trust me, it's going to be super hard to leave everything here but it's a job I love. It's gonna be a fresh start for a new me." she said, smiling.
"I'm so happy for you but I'm gonna miss you so much, Aurora." Theresa said, pulling back and forming a deeper frown.
"You'll see me a handful of times before I leave, don't worry." she smiled. The two conversed before they heard the familiar click of Vanessa's heels coming down the hallway.
Aurora turned her head with a smile, ready to speak to her therapist but the smile immediately dropped seeing the man next to her. Aurora's heart dropped as they made eye contact.
He looked almost exactly the same as he did the last time she saw him three years ago but he now had a full beard. She felt the anger in her rise the longer they stared at each other. This man made her life a living hell for years and went on with his own as if nothing happened.
Aurora didn't even realize she had marched over to them until she threw a strong punch to his face and she heard a loud gasp.
"Aurora! Excuse me?! What are you doing?!" Vanessa shouted angrily.
Aurora ignored her as she threw another punch to Tedric's face and watched as his head flew to the side. She was simply seeing red as she stood in front of the man who she swore she'd never see again. What could he possibly be doing in therapy when he's the reason everything happened?
"You piece of shit! You killed my brother and walking around like you didn't! I should fucking kill you!" she shouted, about to swing at him again but Theresa grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Aurora's whole body was shaking and she couldn't even take proper breaths. She never knew what she'd do if she ever saw him again and now that she has, she wants to do exactly what Darius did. She had fire in her eyes as she fought against Theresa.
"What is your problem, Aurora?! This is my son and he didn't kill anybody!" Vanessa loudly spoke. Aurora felt her heart drop for the second time as her eyes grew wide.
Her son? There was no way this was true. How could this be her son and she had been her therapist for so long now? How could she sit in her face for all these years while her son was the reason she even needed to be there?
"That's bullshit! He killed my fucking brother and he knows it! How dare you sit in my face for three years and you knew he was the reason I was here?!" she shouted back at Vanessa.
Theresa struggled even more against Aurora as she now was actively trying to reach the two. She had her own thoughts swirling in her head about what was transpiring but she'd keep them to herself.
Tedric had complete surprise on his face when he saw Aurora. He couldn't believe he had seen her here after all this time. He was sure she fell off the face of the Earth after the trial. He couldn't even speak as she spat profanities and threats towards him. How could it be that she was his mother's client?
"Aurora, you have it completely wrong. My son would never do that! I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Vanessa repeated herself, holding onto her son's shoulder.
Tedric watched as that response lit more fire inside Aurora's eyes. The woman holding her back was surely gonna lose the battle between them and he'd appreciate if she didn't because the blood coming out of his mouth was starting to irritate him.
"You and your piece of shit son can go to hell. I hope you rot there, asshole!" she spat, shaking out of Theresa's grip. She turned to walk back out the door but something in her ignited another flame as she thought about her brother.
Vanessa was holding Tedric's face as she inspected his mouth which had blood covering his bottom row of teeth. She couldn't believe Aurora had done this. Accusing her son of something as insane as murder. She just started to realize her son never said a word this whole time.
"Tedric, how do you know this woman? What is she talking about?" she questioned him, looking over his face.
Tedric looked at his mom just to avert his eyes elsewhere. She didn't need to know anything about that because that was in his past.
"Ma, I don't know her. I don't even know what she's talking about." he lied, pushing her hands off of his face.
Before Vanessa could speak again, she was roughly pushed to the ground. She looked up to see Aurora hitting her son over his head with a vase that was stood on the receptionist disk. She gasped loudly as he fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious.
"Aurora!" she screamed, jumping to hold her son. Aurora glared at the two with no emotion on her face which spooked Vanessa.
Theresa stood at the desk with the phone to her ear talking to 911. She was absolutely in shock at what Aurora just did and she realized that she couldn't stop her. She quickly spoke to them and asked for them to hurry now that Tedric was unconscious.
"Your son can lie to you all he wants but he is a sorry excuse for a human being. What kind of mother are you to lie for your son? You disgust me and it's taking everything in me not to drag you across this floor." she gritted to the woman staring up at her in fear.
Aurora was so angry that it hadn't even registered that she had just done that to him. She honestly didn't care at that moment. She wanted him to feel her own pain that she's felt since her brother died. She wanted to kill him with her bare hands.
She sent another menacing glare to the woman before turning around and walking out of the door. She could care less about the damage she just caused or the opinions any of them had, she needed to get out of there.
Once she got in her car, she sat there and blew out harsh breaths. She looked down to see her hands still shaking and her body temperature rising. Her hand took out her phone in her hoodie pocket and called her parents.
"M-mom?" she called out, hearing the phone connect.
"Ro, baby what's wrong?" Angela spoke, sitting up at her daughter's tone of voice.
"I just did something really bad." she spoke, eyes never leaving her shaking hand.
"Aurora, where are you?" her dad interrupted.
"My therapist's office. I don't know if I can drive, my hands won't stop shaking." she mumbled. She opened her mouth to speak again but the crack in her voice made her drop her phone.
Aurora's mind was moving a thousand miles a minute and she couldn't focus on any one thing. Her parents were calling out to her through the phone as they quickly moved to go wherever she was but she couldn't hear them if she wanted to.
"Oh my God." she gasped. The tears didn't waste any time falling from her face but she didn't have any time to wipe them away as she heard a loud knock on her car door.
She looked up to see three officers standing outside her car, motioning for her to get out of the vehicle. Her eyes went wide as she slowly moved her hand to the door handle. She slowly stepped out of the car and looked at all of them bewildered.
"W-what did I d-do?" she said through her tears.
"We got a call from this location saying you attacked someone and there was some property damage. Is that true, ma'am?" one of them asked.
Aurora simply nodded her head and watched as he took out his handcuffs. She started to panic as he asked her to place her hands behind her back. She slowly turned around and simply cried as he placed the handcuffs on her and walked her to his car. The other two officers walked inside of the building to see what happened.
Ximena was sitting passenger side as Travis drove and Avery watched Doc McStuffins on her iPad.
"What do you want me to cook tonight?" she said, intertwining their fingers.
"Maybe some of that baked ziti. You haven't cooked it in a long time." Travis told her, briefly glancing at her.
"Is that in your diet, babe?" she laughed.
"Oh, now you're worried about my diet? Girl, fuck that diet." he laughed.
Ximena smiled as she looked out the window. She was so happy with her family and she couldn't wait for their wedding. They had just found a wedding planner who they loved and was so ready to help them with their ideas. Ximena just hoped it all came out exactly how she wanted.
"Oh, Ro's therapist is up here. I wonder if she's still there, I haven't got a text back from her." she spoke up, pointing down the street. She pulled out her phone to see she still hadn't got a text from her bestfriend.
Coincidentally, the light right in front of Vanessa's building was red so Ximena looked out the window to see police cars and an ambulance in the parking lot. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get a good look at anybody she could see.
"Travis, oh my God!" she gasped, leaning into the window.
After an officer moved from her view, she could see Aurora sitting in the open door of one of the cop cars. Her head was up as she talked to one of the officers but her face was devastated.
"Babe, pull in there!" she said, anxiously tapping her foot as she wished for the light to turn.
Travis looked over out the window in worry as he made a U-turn and turned into the parking lot. As he put the car in park, Ximena was already flying out of the car and and running towards Aurora.
"Whoa, ma'am! Slow down!" an officer barked towards Ximena. She panted as she stood in front of him blocking Aurora.
"That's my sister, what happened?!" she breathed out, trying to walk around him.
"I need to see some ID." he ordered but she ignored him. She moved his arm and tried to step around but he grabbed her arm tightly and pushed her back.
"Hey, what the fuck is your problem?!" Travis shouted, walking up to the two. He held Avery in his arms who now wore headphones over her ear with the iPad in her hand.
Aurora sighed in relief at the two familiar faces. She was so happy to see them and get away from these officers.
"This is my family, sir." she placed a hand on the officer's arm. He looked down at her and back at the couple in front of him before stepping to the side.
Ximena glared at him as he moved away but immediately softened her features as she pulled Aurora into a hug.
"Ro, what the hell happened? Are you okay? What's going on?" she ranted. Aurora just squeezed her tighter before dropping her shoulders and pulling back.
"That's what happened." she said, pointing out to the ambulance. Ximena followed her finger to look into the open ambulance doors and saw Tedric being tended to by an EMT.
"Oh, fuck no." she said, turning to march over there but Aurora pulled her back.
"Mena, please. I've already done enough. I'm lucky enough to not be going to jail. Don't." she sighed, pulling her friend back to stand beside her.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" she gritted, still glaring towards the man who took her friend.
"He's my therapist son. Small fucking world, huh? I wanted to kill him but he only walked away with a small cut on his head and some bleeding." she said, rolling her eyes.
The sadness she once felt after it all happened had now disappeared. She was only feeling anger and frustration that she was still sitting here in close proximity with this man.
"What the fuck, Ro?" Ximena gaped. She looked at her bestfriend in shock.
Aurora sighed as she thought once more about what her parents were going to say when they found out what she did. They were going to be so disappointed in her and she couldn't take that right now.
"Excuse me?" they heard a male voice announce themselves.
They looked to see Tedric was now standing in front of them with Vanessa at his side. Aurora would be dead if the glare Vanessa was sending her way were daggers. She was now so disgusted by Aurora and what she just did. Ximena had never had the idea of spitting on someone but for some reason, it was taking everything in her not to do it to him right now.
"As I said earlier, I'm not pressing charges on you. All I ask is that you just pay my mother for what you broke." he spoke, glancing at Ximena.
Aurora knew his little act was just for his mother and she was even more disgusted at the fact that he could sit in her face and lie.
"Y'all both can kiss my ass." she waved him off. She was just so mad that she couldn't do what she wanted to him with all these officers around.
"I still disagree with that. She could've killed you, Tedric." Vanessa spat. Aurora turned her head slowly to look at Vanessa and she almost had half the mind to punch her in her face.
"So you should shut the fuck up before I actually do it." she gritted.
"Alright, that's enough. If everyone is all good here, you can go your separate ways and have a good day." an officer interrupted.
Aurora looked away from Vanessa before thanking the officer. The officers all went to their own cars as the small group still stood in front of each other.
"Babe, you okay?" Travis mumbled, coming to grab her hand which couldn't stop tapping her thigh. She looked over to him and smiled as she squeezed his hand before nodding.
"Yeah, I'm good baby. I'll explain everything in the car. Just go wait for me." she said, giving him a quick peck. Travis nodded before making eye contact with the man he didn't know and walking off.
"I know you think you got away with murder but I promise you, you're gonna get exactly what's coming for you. You should be lucky I didn't kill you like Darius almost did." Aurora gritted towards Tedric. She saw the corner of his lips curl into a smirk just before it quickly disappeared.
"I still don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry you think I did something to you." he calmly spoke.
Aurora and Ximena both scoffed at the man in front of them before Ximena spoke up.
"Play dumb all you want, asshole. We both still know you're a bitch who can't take care of shit on his own." she said. Tedric's calm demeanor dropped for a split second before it was right back up.
"Mom, are you ready to go?" he asked, still holding eye contact with Ximena.
"Yes, these women are insane. Aurora, you'll be hearing from me." she said, fake smiling at her.
"Fuck you." Aurora spat.
Vanessa chuckled before turning around with her son and going back inside the building. Aurora groaned loudly as she watched the door shut behind them.
"This is fucking bullshit!" she shouted. Ximena frowned as she watched her friend's eyes fill with tears. She moved to pull her into a hug which Aurora just melted into.
"I'm so fucking mad, Mena. This isn't fair." she cried.
"I know, Ro. I got you. I'm so sorry you had to go through this today." Ximena said.
After a minute or two, Ximena walked Aurora over to her car and stood in the car door as she made sure she was okay to drive.
"I'm okay, Mena. I promise I'm good to drive back home. I'm gonna text you as soon as I get to my parent's house. I love you." she said, smiling tiredly at her friend.
"And if you don't, I will be blowing that phone up. I love you." Ximena said, squeezing her hand before shutting the door and walking back to her family.
The two women both knew this had just opened an entire can of worms that they didn't know how they'd get over.
~~~~~~~~~
Orlando, Florida
5:30pm
"Arrested, Aurora?!" her dad yelled.
Aurora only slowly nodded her head before dropping it. She couldn't even look her parents in the eye.
Once she got back to Orlando, she stopped at her own home to shower where she spent an hour bawling her eyes out. She couldn't believe she had done what she did today. That wasn't even who she was as a person. Using violence is something her parents stood strongly against and here she was in the back of a police car today about to go to jail.
She had been at her parents not even an hour yet and her dad was irate. Her mom hadn't said a word to her yet after she finished explaining to them what happened and it was scaring her.
"I can't believe this! You could've went to jail, Aurora Marie! Do you understand that?!" her dad yelled once more. She could only wince at his harsh tone. She had never seen her dad this angry her entire life and she didn't like it one bit.
"Dad, please stop yelling." she mumbled, looking up at him.
"Aurora, I feel like you don't understand what you did today. You could've killed that man and went to jail for murder. Is that not getting through your head?" he ranted, lowering his voice.
"Dad, I know. I wasn't thinking." she could only sigh at the words that weren't doing anything in this situation.
"Clearly you weren't. I'm so disappointed, Aurora. We raised you better than this. We know what he took from us. It still doesn't give you the right to attack him and almost kill him. I don't even know what else to say to you." her dad sighed, throwing his hands up.
Deon walked out of the living room and headed out to the back patio, leaving the mother and daughter alone. Aurora glanced at her mother who held a solemn look on her face.
"Please listen to me, Mom. I'm so sor-" was all she could get out before her mom held her hand up for her to stop.
"Aurora, I'm so hurt by you doing this. If you killed that woman's son, she would've went through the same exact thing I did and I don't wish that on any parent, let alone a mother. Your dad and I would've lost you to prison. Did you even take a second to think about any of that?" she exclaimed.
"No." she lowly spoke.
"Exactly, Aurora. Imagine how me and your father would've been left feeling. Today could've went really wrong and I need you to understand that." her mom told her.
Aurora felt terrible after seeing how her parents felt about this situation but she didn't regret it one bit. Maybe she would in a couple days but she was content on her actions.
"I'm sorry, Ma." she said again but it fell on deaf ears as her mom sighed and walked upstairs.
Aurora followed her mom upstairs and went into the room she only went in once every blue moon. It was the room where they kept all of Hakeem's things from when he was a baby up to him passing.
Once walking inside the room, she felt an overwhelming wave of sadness crash into her. She locked the door behind her and walked to the love seat by the window. She looked around the room and took in her brother's life all stacked away in this room.
"This is all you, Keemie. Everything you were all tucked away in this room. I'm sorry I don't come in here often, you know it's hard for me." she said.
Her eyes caught onto the photo album situated on the shelf next to the love seat and she grabbed it while smiling. She opened the album to see the first picture was of Hakeem and their mom. They both wore huge smiles while he hugged her at what looked to be the beach. The memories of that day came rushing back to her.
"You were so loved. We love you so much. How could they take you from us, huh?" she said aloud. She flipped through the next couple pages which were full of him and their parents.
"My protector. Look at us." she smiled.
She came across the first photo of them which was taken at her college graduation. Hakeem held her in his arms bridal-style as Aurora laughed at his ridiculousness. She was so happy that day and Hakeem only made it better when he gifted her $5000. That was one of the happiest days of her life.
"Mom and Dad are disappointed in me. I bet you are too. I'm sorry." she frowned. She flipped to the next page and she had to blow out a breath once she realized what picture it was.
It was the last time she had seen her brother. They had all gathered at his house for family day. They had family day once a month where they spent the entire day together with no interruptions. Hakeem had been so excited to see his sister after so long. That was his partner in crime and he couldn't take being away from her much longer.
"We laughed so much that night. You were so happy to see everybody. I still remember your drunk speech before you passed out." she laughed, thinking back to that night.
"Ro, I love you so fucking much. I'm so happy Mom and Pops had you foreal. You really the best thing that coulda happened to this family. You make us so proud everyday and I love you for going after what you want. You really the best sister I coulda asked for, deadass. I know I get on your nerves but that's what I'm here for. You know you can always have whatever from me, just say the word sis. Thank you for being by my side no matter what. I love you long time, Aurora."
Aurora hadn't even realized she was crying until she felt a teardrop on her hand. The tears just kept falling after that and now she was just sobbing. She missed her brother more than she could even put into words and today just solidified that.
Aurora thought she was so ready for a new chapter in her life but she still had so long to go.
~~~~~~~~
aaaaand here we are! finally got this out for y'all! a loooot happened this chapter. lmk what we thinking!
Tedric has made his entrance so y'all know that means chaos will be happening. I put him in the MM and it was so hard cause I love Lance real bad 😂
don't forget to vote and comment yall! Thanks for the 200+ reads!!!!!