15. Gia
Gia
Giovani stood near the front door while I stared at the blood splattered across the front of his hoodie.
“Nothing happened.” His voice was quieter this time.
I searched his face, and I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.
“I wanna believe you.”
He swallowed.
“I ain’t lying,” he said defensively.
“You sure about that?”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
He looked away from me, and with one frustrated motion, he grabbed the bottom of his hoodie and pulled it over his head before tossing it onto the arm of the couch.
“Have you been up to no good in those streets again?”
I wasn’t naive to my son being outside doing God knows what.
When he and Tahari started leaving money on my nightstand, I knew something was up.
But this house operated on a don’t ask, don’t tell rule.
Tonight was different, though. Seeing the blood on his shirt and Tahari dropping in a couple of months ago with a bullet wound in his arm let me know that they had a lot more going on. He never answered my question.
I’m not saying that I approved of my son doing whatever he did in those streets, but I always slept a little better at night knowing that he had someone to watch his back.
“Where the frick to your frack?”
That finally got his attention.
“What?”
“Where’s Tahari?” I clarified.
The corner of his jaw twitched.
“He ain’t here,” he snapped.
I didn’t know what the fuck his attitude was about, but nobody in this house had more attitude than me.
“I can see that,” I snapped right back while folding my arms, “I’m asking where he at.”
“I don’t know, and honestly… I don’t care.”
I frowned.
“What happened?”
He shook his head.
“He made his choice.”
“What choice?” I was so confused, but I’m sure my son would clear everything up for me.
“He doesn’t give a shit about me.”
The hurt in his voice caught me off guard. I could tell that this was really bothering him because he was pacing the floor in front of me and venting. He needed to get all of this off his chest, so I sat quietly and let him.
“He got his little job. His little girlfriend. His new life. I’m yesterday’s news.”
I tried to reason with him because life was about growth.
“Giovani…”
“Nah.”
He cut me off.
“Matter fact… he ain’t even my brother anymore.”
Before I could respond, he turned and stormed down the hallway.
A second later, his bedroom door slammed hard enough to shake the picture frames on the wall.
Silence settled over the apartment. I stared down the hallway long after he’d disappeared.
He ain’t even my brother anymore. His words repeated in my head, and tears burned behind my eyes.
If only he knew. I had carried this secret for years because I truly believed it was the right thing to do.
I thought I was protecting my boys. Protecting their hearts.
I used to think that if they acted like brothers their whole life, what was the point in telling them that they really were.
Now, with them at odds, the information was vital.
It was probably the only thing that would help them mend whatever the fuck they had going on.
I wiped my eyes before reaching for my phone on the coffee table. Maybe I couldn’t fix Giovani tonight. But I could stop waiting to tell these boys what I should have years ago. My thumb hovered over Tahari’s name for a few seconds before I finally typed.
Hey, baby. We need to talk when you get a chance.
I stared at the message one last time. I was debating on sending it because it was late, but then he knew that I worked odd hours. I hit send and then placed my phone back on the table.
I let out a long breath before looking over at the hoodie Gio had tossed onto my couch. I sucked my teeth when I noticed it. During the shock of him coming home like that, I hadn’t paid much attention to where he had tossed this shit.
“Boy, out of all places.”
Some things never changed. No matter how old he got, he’d always find a way to leave me cleaning up behind him.
I made my way into the kitchen and opened the drawer beside the sink.
A nearly empty box of latex gloves sat exactly where I’d left it.
I slipped a pair on before grabbing a large garbage bag from beneath the cabinet.
When I walked back into the living room, I carefully picked the hoodie up between two fingers.
Although I had so many questions, I didn’t ask any more.
Not tonight. I wondered what had happened to the person whose blood this was, but I wasn’t ready to know.
I tied the hoodie tightly inside the garbage bag before carrying it straight out to the dumpster behind the apartment building.
I took off the gloves and tossed them in the trash too.
The cool evening air hit my face as I stood there for a moment with my hands shoved into my pockets.
I looked up toward the dark sky and whispered a quiet prayer.
“Lord, please don’t let me be too late. They are brothers, and I can tell that they need each other right now.”
With one last glance toward the parking lot, I headed back inside, locked the apartment door behind me, switched off the living room light, and turned off the television. Tomorrow… everything might change.
TRIGGA
The drive from my apartment to Doral took a little over forty minutes, but I didn’t mind.
When Ms. Gia texted saying she wanted to talk, I already knew where we were going: Red Lobster.
She’d always loved their cheddar biscuits.
I couldn’t remember a time when we’d eaten there and she didn’t leave talking about them.
By the time our food came, she’d barely touched the shrimp scampi sitting in front of her.
Instead, she just kept looking at me. Not in a strange way.
She was just studying me. It was like she was trying to read me. I finally set my fork down and smiled.
“What?”
“Hm?” She blinked.
“You keep staring at me.”
A small smile crossed her face.
“I know.”
“So, what is it?”
She leaned back in her chair before letting out a quiet sigh.
“You look so much like your daddy.”
“I appreciate that,” I smiled.
I really did. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t miss my father.
He wasn’t perfect. None of us were, but he loved me and raised me right, and I never questioned that.
She smiled back, but something about it felt forced.
Her eyes drifted down to her untouched plate before finding me again.
She still looked like she wanted to say something. So, I pushed for it.
“You ain’t ask me to drive all the way out to Doral just to tell me I look like my daddy.”
A quiet laugh escaped her.
“No, I didn’t.”
I watched her facial expression change, and instantly I thought of something happening to Ghost. After knowing what he had going on last night, I had called him and texted him a couple of times, but he didn’t respond.
“Then what’s wrong?” I asked.
She took a slow sip of her mixed drink before setting the glass back on the table.
“Giovani came home last night. He had blood all over his hoodie.”
I wasn’t shocked. I knew exactly where he was last night, and I knew that he wasn’t there to ask Reemo to leave him alone.
He was there to make a statement. Ghost had been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders lately, and every time I talked to him, he looked like he was sinking a little deeper.
“I know you don’t approve of him being in the streets,” I said.
“I never have and I never will.” Her answer came without hesitation.
She paused for a moment before continuing.
“But I used to worry a little less.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Because I knew his brother was beside him.”
A knot formed in my stomach because I already knew where this conversation was headed.
“I’m trying to change my life around.”
“I know, and I love that for you.”
She reached across the table and rested her hand over mine.
“I’ve prayed for this. I’ve prayed for God to pull you out of that life. For him to grab both of you and give you both a fresh start.” Her eyes started to water. “But every time I look at Giovani, I see a little boy who’s still waiting on his brother.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I can’t keep saving Ghost from himself. I’m finally doing right. I got a job. I’m back in school. I have somebody that loves me. If I keep putting one foot back in them streets every time he calls… I’m going to lose everything I’ve been trying to build.”
She squeezed my hand.
“I understand. I truly do, but that’s your brother.”
“I know,” I admitted.
It didn’t matter how many times Ghost and I fell out.
He would always be my brother. He and I had been through some shit.
I chalked our current state up to me growing and him staying stagnant in the same position.
I figured that he would come around when he started to want something better for himself.
“No…”
She slowly shook her head.
“You don’t.”
“What do you mean?” I said with a raised eyebrow.
She pulled her hand away and folded both of hers together, almost like she was praying.
“I should’ve told you this years ago.”
“Told me what?” I questioned.
She looked me dead in my eyes.
“I should have told you the reason your daddy always looked after Giovani.”
I frowned. Ms. Gia was dragging out whatever she wanted to say, and honestly, it was starting to piss me off.
“You always thought he was just helping a little boy from the neighborhood.”
I nodded.
“Yeah. He used to say Ghost already had enough against him and he ain’t want him feeling left out.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“That wasn’t the reason.” She took a shaky breath. “Your daddy wasn’t just being kind. He was trying to love his other son the only way he knew how.”
I felt my heart stop, and suddenly the room started to spin a bit. I took a long blink to gather myself.
“What?” I finally asked.
“Giovani has the same father you do.”