Capone

Prologue

prologue

Erin

The red and blue sirens flashed across me and Jaiden’s faces as we sat on the steps in front of our home, or what used to be our home. I held him tightly as he sobbed into my arms. The dried tear stains on my cheeks were replenished with more tears as the officers and paramedics rushed past us and into the home.

It was the home that me and Jaiden used to share with our parents for the past few years. It was funny how I remembered every detail of the day my father bought this home. I could still smell my mother’s sweet perfume as she twirled around, the sound of the dead leaves under our feet as we danced in the front yard, and my mom’s swollen stomach pressed against my chest as we danced carefree. We were so excited to finally have something of our own.

A home.

This home was supposed to be the start of our future, and I couldn’t be prouder for my family. I loved that we now had a home that we could make memories in, and it was ours. We didn’t have to live with someone or rent from slum lords who overcharged for shitty apartments. We finally had something that belonged to us.

In a matter of seconds, it had been taken away as I held onto my three-year-old brother. Thirty minutes ago, I screamed out for my mother’s life while witnessing my father take her life in front of me. There was nothing that I could do. While my voice worked, my legs were frozen in fear as my father tearfully put the barrel of his gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.

Blood and brain matter splattered all over our cream sofas and my face as he fell to the floor, his gun hitting the wooden floor beside him. My body violently shook while I stood there watching both my parents: dead.

My mind was screaming for me to run, desperately. It was my body that refused to move. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene that unfolded in front of me. One minute my mother was scolding me for my poor test grades and the next my father was holding a gun to her head while profusely apologizing before taking her life.

“Hey. My name is Detective Parker. I’m going to take you down to the station… are you hurt, or do you need any medical attention?”

Other than mental medical attention. I swatted away my thoughts and looked up at the Latina detective that resembled a younger Jennifer Lopez.

“No.” I swallowed down the words like molasses on a warm summer day. The words felt like they were burning my throat and I had only said one word.

She kneeled down so that she was eye level with me and Jaiden, who clung onto me like a koala baby bear baby onto its mother.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your parents. Your aunt is going to meet us down at the station.”

When my brain and body started to work together, I had managed to call the police and my aunt. Then, I grabbed Jaiden and walked out the front door to sit on the steps and wait for the police to arrive.

I didn’t hold my breath for them to come quickly. We may have finally had a home of our own, but it wasn’t on the best street. When they finally arrived, I was surprised that they had even come at all.

“Yeah,” was the only thing I could manage to say as I pulled myself up from the steps and reached down to pick up Jaiden.

Thankfully, Jaiden had been put down for bed before my father decided to change our lives forever. I would never be the same after witnessing something so brutal.

My parents were in love.

They loved one another and I couldn’t understand what was unfolding in front of me. A man who clearly loved his wife, sobbing and profusely apologizing while holding a gun to her head. None of it made sense to me as my body jumped when the first two shots rang out.

Detective Parker helped us into the back of her car, then went to talk to another officer that was on the scene. The entire block was outside watching as the coroner pulled into our driveway.

Many cars had pulled into our driveway, I never thought the coroner’s van would be one of them. Jaiden laid his head on me as we sat waiting for Detective Parker.

I wanted this to be a sick nightmare. One that I would awake from and never think about again. I would go downstairs, and my mother would be at the stove making breakfast while Jaiden terrorized the entire house. My father was always on the road for work, so it was rare that he was ever home to sit down and share a meal with us.

Everything was a blur when we made it to the police station. It was bright, smelled of coffee, and loud. So many things were happening at the same time. From the men in the holding cell, to the detectives shooting the breeze and the loudness from the television over near the lounge area. So much was happening, yet nothing was happening at the same time.

Detective Parker had us stand by her desk while she went to secure a quieter area for us. I held Jaiden while standing by her desk, distraught. How could I have prevented this from happening? There was so much I could have done to save both of their lives. Instead, I was stuck in fear when I saw the gun in his hand.

My body had failed me. I couldn’t move and the only thing that reacted was my heart. My heart felt like someone let a wild bronco run wild on the inside of my chest. Each movement my father made, the harder the horse ran.

“Yo, E!” I was pulled from my thoughts when my name was called. It wasn’t just my name that was being called, there was only one person with that voice and that called me by that one initial.

I slowly turned my head toward where the holding cells were and scanned the area. There were a bunch of men shoved into one cage. It reminded me of an animal shelter with the way they were all clinging to the bars and screaming obscenities. My eyes fell on Naheim.

Naheim.

I rushed over toward the holding cell still holding onto Jaiden and looked at him standing there. His rich brown skin glistened under the shitty light that they had above the holding cell. His knuckles were white from how hard he was holding the bars of the cell. Naheim was a stickler about getting his hair cut, and his overgrown hairline had showed me he had more pressing issues at hand that going to the barber shop.

“What the fuck you doing here?” he whispered, looking behind him.

“My…my,” I babbled like a complete fool, unable to put together a complete sentence. My hand made its way to the bar, touching his hands.

“E, tell me what the hell happ—”

Detective Parker came over and gently put her hand onto my shoulder. “Let’s get you and your brother somewhere quieter.”

I held onto Naheim’s hand as she ushered me away from the cell, eventually letting go of it. “I…”

Again, my words were stuck in my throat seeing him behind those bars.

“E, I’m gonna be going away for some time…I’ll write you when I get up top.”

Everything was a blur as Detective Parker guided us past a sea of desk and upstairs where it was quieter. She walked over toward the stainless-steel fridge, grabbed out a few drinks and sat them on the wooden table. Jaiden remained on my lap, yawning, and becoming fussy. When he saw his favorite soda can, he settled down and grabbed for the can like his life depended on it.

I couldn’t help but to wonder if he knew what had happened tonight. Did he hear the shots when they rang out? When I went to get him out the bed, he was still fast asleep. So many things ran through my head before and now they were swarming. My father taking both his and my mother’s life, seeing Naheim in the cell, and now sitting across from this detective made my stomach sick.

I stared at the can of Minute Maid, and then to Parker. She slid down into the seat across from us and pulled out a small pad. Not even an hour after I witnessed my parents murder-suicide, she wanted me to recount what happened.

“I know it seems like a lot to have to speak about what you have just witnessed. It’s always best to talk about it while it’s fresh,” she tried to convince me. “The minute you start to feel overwhelmed, we can stop and table it for another day.”

I sucked back my breath and focused on the wooden table while tears fell down my face onto the back of my hand. Parker listened to everything as she jotted down notes and asked me a few questions. When she felt I’d had enough, she closed her pad and touched the back of my hand while pushing tissues toward me.

“This was very helpful, Erin. I hope we’re able to find out why your father did this… give you some closure.”

Closure would be my father walking out the front door and never coming back. Closure wasn’t finding out why he took my mother’s life and then his own in front of me. She acted like if I found out his reason tomorrow that would solve anything. What would it do? Me and Jaiden would still be without our parents and life would never be the same for us.

That wasn’t closure to me, and it would never be. My mother’s eyes were so scared as she begged, pleaded, and clawed to get away from my father. She didn’t want to leave this earth, and she really didn’t want to leave her babies behind.

“Erin, Jesus, I got here as fast as I could,” my aunt Josephine rushed up the stairs with my cousin Ryai right behind her.

Josephine kneeled down, wrapping her arms around both me and Jaiden with tears in her eyes. My aunt was my mother’s older sister by two minutes, and she was quick to always let you know.

It was a running joke with my family how Josephine referred to herself as my mom’s older sister, although they were twins.

“Auntie,” I stammered, my voice unrecognizable to even me.

She rubbed my back while holding me tighter. “Don’t worry about anything. We have more than enough room for you and Jaiden. You will be with family.”

My aunt was a nurse with a daughter of her own. My mother and aunt used to be close, however, they fell out years ago. That didn’t stop me from having a relationship with my aunt and favorite cousin, Ryai.

I watched as Detective Parker signaled to my aunt. She kissed my forehead and walked over toward where she was so they could privately talk. Ryai took her place, hugging me tightly while kissing the side of Jaiden’s face. We didn’t need to exchange words because she could feel how I felt. It was written all over my face and my trembling body.

“Naheim told me to tell you that he will write to you the minute he’s settled upstate.” Ryai continued to rub my back.

My face turned to look toward her, concerned. She gave me a knowing look and allowed me to rest my head onto her shoulder. I leaned on my cousin’s shoulder knowing the rest of my life was forever changed.

My plans to go away to college were gone. Jaiden needed me.

I was all he had left…