Chapter 28 #2
“This shit probably awkward as hell,” Kross chuckled with a shake of his head.
“I know I probably wasn’t your favorite person, especially when I was collecting paper from you, but I did respect you.
You stood on morals and principle more than anything.
No matter how many times I tried to get you to fall into the life of making fast money, you stood tall on your beliefs and shut me down every time.
You were one of the few real niggas we had left out in the city, and I’m sorry if I caused you any stress during your life while you were pushing money my way.
I got the blessing of getting to know your daughter and looking out for your son and wife.
They’re some good people, and I shouldn’t have expected any less since you were a good guy.
Your kids and your wife talk about you with so much respect and admiration, I aspire to be that way for my son. ”
He let out a short sigh before continuing.
“Remedy was a light during one of the darkest times in my life. Now that I haven’t heard from her in three months, the pain that I’m feeling is making me realize that I really loved shawty.
I’m hoping and praying that she has a safe return home, but in the meantime, I’m gonna try to get Melo’s hardheaded ass out here to holla at you. ”
Kross knew Deno would have preferred either Melo, Remedy or even Ava to visit him, but he just wanted to show up for him for Remedy’s sake.
He knew how much her father meant to her, so him doing this would’ve meant the world to her.
He gave Deno a proper goodbye before leaving the cemetery.
Paying his respects to everyone he lost in his life was emotionally draining most of the time, but today, it replenished him.
He was getting back to himself after three months of spiraling, and it felt good.
From the cemetery, he headed straight to Remedy’s shop.
He felt obligated to keep it open and take care of it for Remedy.
He didn’t mind it all. It wasn’t until last month that Kross got all the barbers used to him coming around instead of Remedy.
Her disappearance struck the news, so the whole city was aware that she was missing.
Kross was glad that Remedy’s employees found out about her vanishing through the news instead of him because he honestly wouldn’t have been able to deal with the number of questions they would’ve had for him.
He dealt with getting interrogated by the Feds.
He didn’t have it in him to answer questions from anybody else.
It was like an unspoken rule not to mention anything about Remedy in the shop while Kross was there.
The barbers were able to put two and two together and figured out that Kross and Remedy had been seeing each other at the time she disappeared, which was why Kross shut down whenever they mentioned her.
He was hurting. He just didn’t know how to express it, especially in the midst of a situation that was so fresh like the one he had with Remedy.
Upon entering the shop, he was pleased to see that business was booming.
Over the last three months, he turned it up a notch at the barbershop with a few renovations Remedy had noted on her desk as just ideas.
He turned them into reality for her, hoping that if she did return, she would be surprised by them.
“What’s good Kross? You getting a cut?” He was greeted at the door by Pierre, who had been doing a great job filling in for Remedy.
Kross dapped him up while shaking his head. “Nah. I’ll slide through this Friday with Aniyis and Melo,” he assured him.
“Bet.” Pierre nodded. “We got some electric issues in the guest bathroom. Wanted to know if you could have somebody take a look.”
“Fa’sho. I’ll have somebody out here by the end of the week. Everything else good?”
“Yeah. We’re surviving. Still ain’t heard from her?” Pierre asked, referring to Remedy.
Kross shook his head. “Nah. But we gone keep the shop going for her. I just came through to tap in. Hit my line if you need anything.” He said his goodbyes to Pierre and the rest of the barbers in the shop. Just as quick as he came, he left.
Kross was procrastinating a little bit because he knew if he headed home, he would have to continue packing up the condo for his move.
He managed to pack up all of Aniyis’ room, along with the furniture in the living room.
What he was dreading was Cassie’s things.
He didn’t really know what to do with them.
In the meantime, he decided to just set them up in a storage nearby.
Instead of heading to the condo, he headed to his mother’s house.
Lately, being around family had been the only thing that kept him sane.
He was grateful to have restored his relationship with his mother because if he didn’t have her, he didn’t know what he would’ve been doing when it came to Aniyis half the time.
When he pulled up, he noticed Ezekiel’s Lambo was parked out front.
He made his way to the door, and his knocks were answered by Melo.
A chuckle drifted out of Kross as he dapped Melo up.
“What you doing here, jit?”
“Andres made me and my mom come to church for Mother’s Day. Your mom said she was cooking after their service, and I ain’t turning down no free food,” he told Kross while rubbing his stomach.
“I feel you. But who casket sharp suit you got on?” Kross clowned while pinching the material of Melo’s starched slacks.
Melo smacked his lips. “Andres got me right. I’m clean as hell.” He did a spin, allowing Kross to see the ensemble to its full entirety, prompting him to double over in laughter. “Nigga, you hating.”
One thing Andres was going to do was get somebody to go to the church. The only person he had yet to convince was Kross. “Tell you what. I’ll take you to go get tailored for a nice suit ‘cause we can’t have you going out bad like this.” He shook his head at Melo.
Kross being in Melo’s life brought him into better spirits.
He was still dealing with losing his father and Remedy’s disappearance, but he finally felt like he had a family unit to lean on.
Raquel and Andres welcomed Melo and Ava in with open arms. They were living comfortably at the housing duplex, and Kross did his part by making sure they were good because he knew Remedy would have wanted it that way.
Melo was in a pivotal point in his life as a sixteen-year-old boy, so having male figures like Kross, Andres and sometimes even Ezekiel made life a lot easier.
With the help of Raquel, Ava was able to get Melo signed up for online school, and he’d been doing good in his classes all while making sure his mother was okay.
Kross was just blessed that he was in a position to keep shit from falling apart in Remedy’s absence.
Melo agreed on the plans to get a new suit as he followed Kross to the living room. Ezekiel was hooked up on the game playing with Aniyis, who was giving him a run for his money.
“Let’s go! I told you! You can’t beat me, Uncle Zeek!” Aniyis exclaimed as he jumped up and down on the couch.
Kross laughed since he knew Ezekiel to be a sore loser, even when it came to playing against kids. “Man, whatever. This game weak as hell anyway,” he scoffed while tossing the controller aside.
“Nah, you just sorry and can’t take my son,” Kross teased while high-fiving Aniyis.
Ezekiel cut his eyes at Kross. “Man, shut up. Ain’t you supposed to be moving?”
“I am, but I ain’t trying to deal with all that shit right now, especially when Aniyis said he gone help but all his ass do is kick back and watch me move shit,” Kross scoffed, prompting Aniyis to throw his head back in laughter.
He was grateful that Aniyis managed to have a full recovery.
After a few months with his crutches, he managed to excel in physical therapy and returned to walking without any assistance.
Physically, his son was back, but mentally, he was still struggling.
Day by day, it got better, but Kross could tell Aniyis was emotionally scarred, and no matter how much time passed, losing his mother and being shot in the process would forever devastate him.
“I’ll help you,” Melo offered with a light shrug.
“‘Preciate it, man.”
After chopping it up with Melo and Ezekiel, Kross navigated to the kitchen where Raquel and Ava were cooking.
He would’ve never thought his mother and Remedy’s mother would have gotten so close, but they did.
Raquel was patient with Ava and didn’t consider her mental disorder a burden.
She quickly learned that Ava just needed stability whenever she was between her realities, so she tried her best by offering that sense of normality and stability now that Remedy wasn’t around.
It really did take a village, and Kross was grateful his family was so open to helping Ava and Melo, despite not knowing them long.
Kross greeted his mother with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Happy Mother’s Day, Ma.”
“Awe, thanks, son. I got the flowers you sent to the church. They were beautiful.”
“I’m glad you liked them. Just wanted to show you some love and let you know I appreciate you and everything you do for me and ‘Niyis.”
Raquel thanked him once more with her vibrant smile.
Kross turned to Ava, and they eyed each other.
Their interactions were very minimal simply because Ava could never remember him, even if she saw him the day prior.
He tried getting her to remember him once, and it just went bad, so he took Melo’s advice and allowed Ava to lead the interaction whichever way she pleased.
“You know, my daughter Remedy is in school in Tallahassee, and she’s single. I think you two would look good together,” Ava laughed. “She should be coming home from campus soon.”