"Where was he?" Aunt Shay panted.
"Ma'am, we're trying to figure that out now." The officer sighed as he took notes at the hospital.
Everyone was already at the hospital. How did the police get to the hotel? Nobody called them. Abel left and went to a secret location, while Kayson came home to Aunt Shay's through a taxi. He came back during the middle of the night to establish an alibi and for everyone to think that he was still at the house. An hour later, the police called Aunt Shay and notified them. Within the next hour, all of us were at the hospital. Everyone, accept for Q and Asha. [They couldn't go because the media around them was too hectic.] It was something that we still did when something terrible happened to one of us. As Kayson, Madilyn, Madison, Aunt Shay, Isaiah, Iyana, and Aunt Shay waited at the hospital, me, Carlos, and Stacey arrived there as well. I left JJ with Kathy for the night.
"We know who did it!" Aunt Shay barked. "It was that Indian son of a bitch! The kids know his name!"
"What was the name?" The officer asked as he walked over to them.
"We don't know if he did it for sure!" Lily growled as she looked up. "I can't just give his name away!"
"His name is Abel McCay." Iyana mumbled, looking down. "His name is Dad...."
Lily and Kayson gave Iyana a shocked look as the officer wrote his name down.
"We'll find him and interview hi-"
"No you won't." Isaiah mumbled, keeping his arms folded as he stared off at the ground, slumped in his chair.
The officer gave Isaiah a weird look in confusion.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"All you're gonna do is come here, interview us, tell us that you're going to investigate, then put this shit aside like y'all do EVERY OTHER case us Schaefer niggas bring to y'all, including the case with my kids kidnapping, who are sitting here alive in this hospital." Isaiah growled, looking up at him. "So what I'm gonna do is find this son of a bitch and kill him myself."
"Sir, if you do that, that's a first degree murder char-"
"So fucking what." Isaiah said in a sinister tone. "I'll take the fucking charges."
As the officer walked off, me, Carlos, and Stacey crept up to Isaiah as Aunt Shay followed Noah's nurse.
"Wow." I gasped as I looked over at the kids. "Is that really Kays, Lily, Maddy, and Iyana?"
"Yeah." Isaiah groaned. "That's them."
"You ain't sound that happy, nigga!" Stacey chuckled lowly. "Them is yo' kids! Be glad that they still alive-"
"No, Stacey. They don't even wanna be around me." Isaiah growled. "They that Indian man's kids...."
Carlos scrunched his eyebrows, giving Isaiah a weird look.
"Why you say that?" Carlos asked.
Carlos glanced down, taking a deep breath and looking over at them.
"Some man kidnapped them, just like the nigga said before you and Noah killed him. They were in Saudi Arabia the whole time." Isaiah sighed. "He took my kids, raised them, and now they ain't interested in meetin' none of us. He robbed me of my parenthood, man..."
Carlos pulled out his phone, then started texting a few people.
"I'll tell niggas to get on it." Carlos said.
Unfortunately, the doctors weren't able to give us any new news on Noah's condition. All they said is that he's stable, but wasn't looking too good. The two bullets missed his spine by inches, so they had to work the bullets out by not damaging Noah's nerves.
Everyone was forced to return home for the night and pray for the best the next day. By the time they got home, it was 6:11am. It was still dark outside. Once everyone got back inside and went to sleep, Kayson sat up in the bed, clutching his fingers and nervously shaking his leg. Madilyn placed the blanket over the lower half of Madison's sleeping body, then lifted up and glanced at Kayson.
"Kays, what's wrong?" Madilyn asked.
Kayson shook his head, still shaking tremendously.
"I fucked up, Madilyn..." Kayson mumbled lowly. "I fucked up."
"What happened?"
Kayson slowly stopped shaking, turning to her.
"Madilyn, you gotta keep this between me and you." Kayson said in a serious tone. "Don't tell Lily, Iyana, or anybody else. Alright?"
"I will." Madilyn added. "I promise."
Kayson started tearing up, gazing out of the window.
"I didn't know that that was my fathers brother......my uncle..." Kayson mumbled again. "I thought that it was Isaiah."
Madilyn's eyes widened as she gave him a serious look.
"Kayson, did.......did you shoot him?" Madilyn stuttered, talking a little lower.
Tears fell down his eyes as he bowed his head and closed his eyes, nodding quickly. Madilyn's mouth dropped open as she got from under the covers, sitting by his side.
"Wha.......what happened?" Madilyn gasped. "Why'd you shoot him?"
"I went to my dad's hotel room because I heard Isaiah say that he was going to kill him sometime soon." Kayson said in a nervous tone. "So when my uncle walked through the door, I shot him. Turns out he wasn't Isaiah..."
Kayson sniffed, wiping his tears again and shaking his head even more.
"He was going to kill my dad, Madilyn!" Kayson continued, wailing lowly. "I couldn't let that happen! I couldn't...."
Madilyn hugged Kayson as Kayson cried hard on her shoulder. He was so filled with remorse and regret that he couldn't bare to live with himself at the moment. Even worse...
"Lily won't even talk to me." Kayson sniffed. "I could go to jail and miss out on Madison's life-"
"Hey! You're not going to jail, alright?"
Madilyn looked at Kayson, looking in his eyes.
"You have to come clean with your real dad." Madilyn prompted. "It's the only way you're gonna feel that weight lifted off of your shoulders-"
"I can't do that, Madilyn!" Kayson chanted. "Are you crazy?"
"Why not?"
"That's his brother, Madilyn! He'll kill me. Literally!" Kayson chanted. "Either that, or he'll turn me in. Did you see how distraught my grandmother was?"
"If they really loved you like they preach that they do, they would accept your wrongdoings, no matter how bad and how harsh it is." Madilyn said. "Remember, you're their blood too. Alright?"
Kayson took a deep breath, looking back up at Madilyn.
"I'll tell him tomorrow morning." Kayson said.
3 days later, we got yet another miracle. Noah was conscious again. Now that he was awake, police decided to ask him questions. He answered "I don't know" to all of them. After everybody got done visiting him, Isaiah came in to talk to Noah by himself so that no one would be in their business. With his eyes half opened and his face a little pale from losing blood, he managed to glance at his room door, watching Isaiah walk inside.
"Hey....." Noah said in a weak tone.
"Hey." Isaiah answered as he sat next to Noah's bed.
Noah struggled to keep his eyes open as he closed them for relaxation.
"The doctors said that.......I'm not cleared all the way out yet...." Noah whispered, keeping his eyes shut. "I lost a lot of blood."
"That Indian nigga shot you, Noah?!" Isaiah growled. "Me and Carlos already on the lookout for that son of a bit-"
"Kayson shot me, Isaiah."
Isaiah froze. His eyes widened and his mouth opened as those words slipped from Noah's mouth.
"What?" Isaiah said in a breathless tone, sounding like someone knocked the wind out of him.
Noah took a deep breath, opening his eyes halfway.
"He said that he knew that you were coming to kill his adoptive father, so he shot me as I went after him." Noah sighed. "I couldn't contain my anger. I'm sorry that I went to the hotel anyway."
Isaiah turned towards the door, scrunching his eyebrows in anger.
"My own son, was actually willing to kill me for him..." Isaiah growled lowly.
"Isaiah, don't be mad at him." Noah said in a more raspy tone. "He was only protecting the person he's closest to-"
"Don't be upset? Don't be upset!?" Isaiah scowled as tears of rage flew out of his eyes. "My OWN son was about willing to kill me for a man who ain't do shit for him during his most crucial years!"
"Isaiah you have to understa-"
"I don't care if he breastfed Kayson from birth! He is NOT his child! That's my child! My son! And I just found out that my son was going to kill me for another man who ain't contribute into NOTHING in terms of making him!" Isaiah barked. "There ain't shit that you can say that can make me feel better, Noah! It ain't shit that you can say that'll comfort me right now! Nothing!"
Noah wanted to cry himself, but he was in too much pain. He looked at Isaiah as he sat down in his chair, placing his fingers by his mouth and shaking his head.
"Don't turn him in, Isaiah." Noah whispered. "That's all I ask."
Around 1:01am, Kayson heard Madison whining. He got right up and smelled that she shitted in her diaper. [Lord, I'm so glad that that phase with JJ is over.] Kayson grabbed her diaper bag and walked into the living room, noticing that Isaiah was sitting on the couch, staring blankly and angrily at the wall.
"Hey uh, can I talk to you?" Kayson asked.
Isaiah didn't answer him. He didn't even look at him. He continued to stare at the wall, not answering him. Kayson sat next to him on the couch and placed Madison on the couch, placing her pacifier in her mouth and changing her diaper.
"It has something to do with my uncle." Kayson said. "And the shooting."
Isaiah didn't move. At all.
"I had a confession. I.......I shot him. I heard you talking about killing my father, and I made a mistake and shot him." Kayson sighed as he wiped Madison's bottom. "I thought that you guys were going to kill him, so I shot in self defense. I apologize."
Isaiah slowly turned to Kayson, murmuring something before he got up.
"I'll get you your ticket to Saudi Arabia." Isaiah growled as he walked upstairs. "All of you."
"But but wait!" Kayson said, standing up. "I had something else to say-"
"Well you know what, I don't care. At all." Isaiah growled. "I'm sending you back to Saudi Arabia, just like you asked. Alright?"
Isaiah grabbed his things and walked out of the house, driving off. Kayson could tell that in his demeanor that he was hurt in Kayson as a father. Kayson thought about Madison attempting to kill him for another man and instantly understood how Isaiah was feeling.
But Isaiah didn't let Kayson finish. Kayson pulled out his phone, calling Abel.
"Hello?" Abel answered.
"Dad, where are you?" Kayson asked. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."
Abel told Kayson where he was hiding out at, then Kayson placed Madison in a car seat, got a cab, and headed out there. The cab took Kayson and Madison out into another rural and ghetto neighborhood. The cab pulled up to an abandoned house, catching Kayson off guard.
"Is.........are you sure that this is the place?" Kayson asked in a confused tone.
"Yeap." The cab driver said. "1413 Bickers Street, right?"
"Yeaaaaahhh...." Kayson said in a slow tone, looking out of the neighborhood.
"Well, we're here."
Kayson grabbed the Madilyn and her car seat, then walked into the abandoned home. He looked around the dark and dimly lit home, looking for Abel.
"Dad?" Kayson called out.
"I'm upstairs."
Kayson walked upstairs and into the main bedroom. He sat Abel, lying back and watching TV on the small box.
"This place still has electricity." Abel smiled. "They'll never find a high class maintenance man like me out here."
Kayson sat down on the end of the bed, cradling Madison on his shoulders. Kayson glanced down, watching Abel flip the channels on the small TV.
"Do you even feel......remorseful for what you did?" Kayson growled, not giving Abel any eye contact as he rubbed Madison's back.
"What are you talking about, Kays?"
"About........about taking me, Lily, Iyana, and Madilyn away from our biological parents? How does that feel?" Kayson asked in an agitated tone. "To rob a parent of their child's childhood?"
Abel's facial expression went blank as he lifted up in the bed.
"Kayson, I told you that I that I was sorry for that." Abel growled. "What are you gonna do? Keep bringing it up?"
Kayson gave Abel a serious look as Abel laid back in the bed.
"Don't worry, Kays. This trip will be over in no time." Abel chuckled. "That way we can all go back home and return to our lives. Alright?"
As Abel kicked back and continued watching TV, Kayson shook his head, turning away.
"I'm afraid not, Dad..." Kayson mumbled.
"Why not?"
Suddenly, the door to the room was barged open as 6 officers ran in and pointed their guns at Abel.
"Get down!" The officers yelled. "Get down on the ground right now!"
Abel placed his hands up as he dropped on his knees, looking at Kayson in disbelief.
"You......you turned me in?" Abel asked in a sad tone. ".....Kayson.."
Tears ran down Kayson's eyes as he shook his head. His heart ached as he clutched onto Madison, shaking a little as he turned in the man who raised him.
"I'm so sorry, Dad." Kayson whispered as he watched the officers cuff him. "Thanks for everything."