Zaria
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“Z, you sure you want to do this?” June asked.
I knew the day would come, but I didn’t picture it like this. Although this wasn’t my first kill, it was one that wasn’t guided by June. Shantel stood there shaking her head in fear. I let out a slow breath as my arms slowly lifted.
“I’m sure,” I mumbled.
Shantel let out a scream, but I didn’t care, just as she didn’t care that she came into our lives wreaking havoc. Letting her go crossed my mind, but then the idea of her still coming around did too. She wasn’t going to stop, so this was the only option.
“Nothing was supposed to happen to her!” she cried. “I-I love her. I wanted her to see, but-but it was supposed to distract you. Clark said—”
June stepped forward. “Clark, what!” he roared. “He set this shit up?” he asked as he dropped his head. “Sweetheart, I’m—"
As Shantel trembled and sobbed. I cocked the choppa back, moving June out of the way, leaving only inches between us. “I don’t care about Clark. I don’t care about this fucked up cult, and I don’t care about you either.”
June came behind me. “Baby, you do what you got to do. If you can’t, I’ll—”
Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
I aimed, firing into her legs, ripping them clean off. Shantel dropped to her knees. Her mouth opened, tears streamed down her face, but nothing came out as her body slowly rocked back and forth. I moved closer, still aiming my gun at her.
“The difference between you and me, Shantel? I will kill for my kids with no question." I leaned forward and whispered, “Samara told me you threw my fucking son. Now throw this, bitch.”
Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Her body shuddered side to side as I let the bullets rip through her skin. The smoke lingered from the barrel as I stood there until her soulless body dropped. I sucked in air as tears rolled down my face, and the moment I felt June’s arms wrap around me, I fucking broke and screamed so loud.
“No more. Baby, you did your job,” he whispered in my ear. “It’s almost over. I fucking promise.”
“Miss, are you okay?” I heard someone say behind me before feeling the nurse's hand.
I gave her a weak smile as I nodded. Since killing Shantel, it had replayed in my head constantly.
The weight of someone’s blood on my hands was heavy.
It made me somewhat understand why June felt the way he often did.
Also, knowing what happened to Samara worried me because she really hadn’t said much since then.
I knew her healing process wasn’t going to be easy, and I wasn’t sure how that would affect her and Dio, who was already unstable.
Today, however, I wanted to put it all on pause because it was Father’s Day.
The original idea was to do something special for June, but with Savior still in the hospital, the plan changed.
I watched through the small window as June bounced Peace on his lap while Savior slept.
Taking a deep breath, I entered the room.
“Happy Father’s Day, baby!” I squealed.
He looked up at me, and for a second, he almost looked like he did when he had cancer. “Is that for me?” he asked.
I nodded as I walked the balloons and cake over to him. “I know this wasn’t what you were expecting for your first Father’s Day, but—”
“As long as I’ve got this, a nigga is happy. Thank you, Z.”
Peace pulled on his beard. “Da, da, da,” he said while drool left his little lips.
June’s head swung to Peace before he looked at me with glassy eyes. “Z, he’s saying Daddy. He’s fucking saying it.”
The happiness on his face made me tear up. It was an indescribable feeling.
“Da-da. Da-da!” he said it again, and June lost it. The tears he had been holding back suddenly appeared on his face. Small whimpers from Savior drew our attention.
His little chubby face smiled. “Da-da,” Savior said.
“Is this like some twin telepathy type shit? Daddy’s right here, Savior. I’m right here.”
My giggles turned into sobs because, although this wasn’t what I envisioned for Father’s Day, somehow God had made it the most special day in June’s life.
Even though I knew we weren’t completely past our troubles, especially with Clark still around, I was sure that, at least for today, June Chevy Calloway was one happy man.