Brooklyn stood in the mirror as she brushed her hair into a low ponytail. She is currently six months pregnant with her baby boy and she is carrying him well. She was a little upset because she wanted a girl, but she was grateful for the special little human inside of her.
She and Cleo decided to name him Nicholas. Nicole was happy because her little brother's name sounded similar to hers. She couldn't wait for the baby to come.
Cleo and Jacob were able to open their business. They have a shop in Los Angelos and business was doing great. They are planning to host a block party in the parking lot soon. They also planned on having most of their items in the store on sale.
"Good morning, baby." Cleo said as he entered the bathroom.
"Good morning." Brooklyn replied.
"What you doing up early on a Saturday morning?" He asked.
"I'm going out with our moms, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. It slipped my mind." Cleo said. "Just make sure y'all don't gossip about me."
Brooklyn laughed. "I'm not making any promises."
"Mama." One year old Nigel whined as he walked into his parents' bathroom.
"What yo lil bow legged ass want?" Cleo teased, picking Nigel up.
"Don't curse at my baby." Brooklyn scowled.
"Eat." Nigel said as he began to play with Cleo's gold necklace.
"Daddy will hook you up. You want some scrambled eggs and fruit, man?" The toddler nodded as his father carried him out of the bathroom.
Brooklyn continued to get ready. After she was done, she slipped on her shoes and gathered her things. She made her way downstairs and found Nigel eating his food in his high chair while Cleo made breakfast for Nicole and Theodore.
"I'll be back soon." Brooklyn said, kissing Nigel's forehead.
"Nicole and I might be at the store by the time you come back, but Teddy and Nigel will be here." Cleo said as he approached his wife.
Brooklyn nodded. "I love you, baby."
"I love you too." Cleo kissed her lips, making her smile.
"Give me another one." She said.
Cleo chuckled and kissed her lips again. "I'll see you later on. Tell our mamas I said I love them."
"I will." Brooklyn walked out of the house and made her way to her car. She got in and started the engine.
After a twenty minute drive, she made it to the restaurant. She walked inside and was quickly spotted by her mother who waved her over.
"Look at you." Val said as she got up to greet her daughter.
"Carrying baby Nicholas well." Adele chimed, getting up as well.
"Thank you." Brooklyn said after she hugged the two women. "Cleo sends his love."
The women sat down and began to chat as they looked over the menus. A server approached them and got their drink orders.
"How's baby shower planning coming along?" Adele asked.
"Stressful." Brooklyn sighed. "CJ wants it to be Laker themed, Nicole wants it to be a jungle themed, and Teddy wants it to be Black Panther themed. I'm just going to plan this alone because they are working my nerves."
Val laughed. "We'll help you, baby."
"How's Nicole doing with her therapy?" Adele said.
"She's good. She's doing much better." Brooklyn replied. "She's going to the store with CJ to help."
Adele smiled. "That's good."
"Her therapist gave her a journal to write in. She writes in it everyday, but CJ and I haven't touched it because we want her to have her privacy." Brooklyn told them.
"There's nothing wrong with that." Val said. "It's good that she's expressing herself."
The server came back with Val and Adele's mimosas and Brooklyn's cranberry juice. The ladies ordered their food and began to sip their drinks.
"I wish Shayla was able to join us." Adele said after a few moments of silence.
"That girl always has something going on. I told her she and Jake need to sit their asses down and give me more grand babies." Val chimed.
Brooklyn laughed. "I tried to get some nieces and nephews, but she said fuck then kids."
Val shook her head. "That girl makes me sick."
-
"Hi, Uncle Jake!" Nicole exclaimed as Jacob walked into the store with a box in his hands.
"Hey, baby girl." Jacob replied. "You came to keep your daddy in check?"
"Nah, she came to keep you in check." Cleo said from behind the cash register.
Jacob chuckled as he sat the box on the counter. "Man, you been the one cuttin' up in here."
Cleo scoffed. "Whatever, man. What you got though?"
"The hoodies we've been waiting on from that boy Saint." Jacob said.
"Cool, I already made room for them." Cleo said, look through the box. "These shits are dope as hell. I'm glad I sat down and made a deal with him."
Jacob sucked his teeth. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have known about him."
"Correction—if it wasn't for your wife." Cleo laughed.
"Hey, daddy. Can I go sit in the office?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah, go ahead. I have some snacks in the second drawer."
"Okay." Nicole replied. "Hey—I love you, guys." The men chuckled and expressed their love back to the little girl.
"How are Nigel and Hassan?" Jacob asked.
"They're good with their bad asses." Cleo answered. "I almost fucked Hassan up the other day. He put my favorite durag in the toilet."
Jacob laughed. "And Brooklyn saved his ass."
"Like always."
The door chimed, making the men look at each other in confusion. The store didn't open for another thirty minutes. Even though the door was unlocked, the customers usually waited outside until noon.
Someone came into their view, but they couldn't see who the person was due to them wearing a ski mask. Cleo and Jacob cursed under their breath and sighed.
"Look, man. You can take whatever you want, but my daughter is back there and I don't need her to get hurt. Do whatever you want—just leave her alone." Cleo told the unknown person.
The man pulled out a gun from his hoodie and began shooting. Multiple bullets ripped through Cleo's body and a couple of them got Jacob in the shoulder and arm. Once the clip was empty, the man ran out of the store.
Nicole sat under Cleo's desk with her hands over her ears. She was shaken up and scared. She was scared for her father, uncle, and herself.
Nicole got up a few moments after the shooting stopped. She slowly walked to the front of the store, afraid of what might be awaiting for her.
"Daddy? Uncle Jake?" She called out.
"Stay back there, Nicole." Jacob said.
"Uncle Jake, what happened?" Nicole asked as she continued to walk to the front. "Daddy?—why isn't my daddy answering me?"
"Nicole—" Before Jacob could get his last sentence out, Nicole was standing there looking at her father's lifeless body.
-
"Mommy!" Nicole yelled as she ran to her Brooklyn who just arrived at the scene.
Brooklyn hugged her daughter as she made her way through the crowd. She approached an officer and informed him on who she was. He pulled back the tape and allowed her to go through. The officer escorted and introduced her to the lead detective who was assigned to the case.
"First and foremost, I want to give my condolences to you and your family. Your daughter and brother in law were witnesses to your husband's murder." The detective began. She told Brooklyn what Nicole and Jacob witnessed then asked her if she wanted to see Cleo. Brooklyn slowly nodded and the detective took her where Cleo was laying in his body bag.
A paramedic opened the bag, allowing Brooklyn to look inside. Tears escaped from her eyes as she looked at Cleo's cold and pale face. She bent over slightly and gave his forehead a soft kiss. She nodded to the paramedics, letting them know that they can take him away.
"What now, mommy?" Nicole asked as they walked away.
"We're gonna keep fighting, baby."
-
-
-
-
-
No, this isn't the end. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be, but it will be a short story/series.