Written in Chance

~ 22

Chapter 22 |

Michael's Pov

Kyela hadn't spoken the whole way home, and I swore I'd never seen her so shaken up except for the day we met. She stared out of the car window even as I turned into the neighborhood. Bright blue and red lights flashed behind some houses, but I didn't think too much of it until I turned down the street.

The row of houses that Kyela's mother lived on had police cars parked along the street. There was an ambulance there, and my heartbeat quickened.

The rest of the street was partially blocked off, so I stopped the car and looked to Kyela. She was absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip, and I knew what she was thinking.

"Do you want to stay here while I check things out?" I asked.

She shook her head and started taking off her seatbelt. Before she could open the door, I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"It's my mom. Look," she demanded, "She's got Kees."

Sure enough, I saw Brandy walking away from the ambulance with Kees in her arms.

She bolted from the car as fast as she could, and I sighed as I got out of the car to catch up to her. I jogged up behind her, and we were both stopped.

"Excuse me, ma'am. You can't enter this area until the detectives are through examining the crime scene," the officer said.

Kyela sighed, "Crime scene?" She peered over the officer's shoulder and then looked back at him. "Listen, that's my mother, and she's babysitting my son. This is my husband right here. I need to get in there," she pleaded.

The officer looked around before nodding to the both of us. We bypassed him as quick as we could to get to Brandy and Kees. Kees, who was already crying, screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the two of us. He reached out for me, and I gladly grabbed him up from Brandy who also looked shaken up.

Kyela placed her hand on her mom's shoulder.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" Kyela asked.

Brandy shook her head. "I think it was a drive-by. I'm not sure," she said quietly.

"A drive-by... Mom," Kyela whispered. She embraced her mom fully and finally Kees had calmed down.

I examined his body and saw tiny white specks in his hair, which I concluded were pieces of glass upon closer inspection. I dusted them away and dried the tears from his face. I don't know what I'd do if he had gotten hurt from this.

I looked to Kyela while she consoled her crying mother, and my stomach churned. Of course, the answer was obvious. They knew where Brandy lived, and they'd do anything to get our attention. Now, Brandy was a target. I wonder if they knew our son was in there because if anything happened to him...

I touched Kyela's shoulder gently, and she looked up at me.

"Maybe she should get some of her things and come home with us," I said quietly.

Police officers were zooming all around us and speaking into their walkie-talkies, but Kyela was completely in tune with what she needed to do. She looked at her mom and moved some of her hair out of the way.

"Ma, you're okay with that, aren't you?" She asked.

Brandy nodded, and I looked around the yard with everybody whizzing around it. I had to do something.

• • •

I rubbed my temples as I walked out of Kees' bedroom. The house was filled with silence aside from the murmurs coming from the guest room across the hall from Kees' bedroom. I tiptoed across the hardwood and poked my head into the door.

"Were they after me? Did I do something?" Brandy whispered.

Kyela, who was reorganizing the bed, looked at her and sighed, "You haven't done anything, Ma. There's just some... sad people out there who have nothing better to do."

Brandy put her head in her hands and shook her head back and forth. Kyela stopped what she was doing to hug her mother. She pushed her hair out of the way and rubbed her mom's back.

"Try to get some sleep, okay? I'll leave the light on," Kyela said.

She gripped her stomach as she walked out of the room and shut the door until only a sliver a light shined in the hall. She sighed, "Do you want to explain what you're going to do with the asshole at the store?"

Frankly, I didn't know she saw me, but she kept walking and making her way downstairs. I followed closely behind her.

"Why didn't you tell me all of that before?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I already told you that I was going to, but I never got the chance," she told me.

She stopped to take a deep breath at the foot of the stairs.

"Well, I don't know who he is or what he wants-"

She sighed, "That's what you need to figure out then."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" I growled. She furrowed her brows at me, and I sighed, "I have a lot on my plate, and you know that. We don't even know if this is related to him at all. It could be anybody because we are back where we started!"

She exhaled and turned around. "I'm calling Noah," she said simply.

I rolled my eyes. "And who's that?"

"My friend from New York... He's ahead of the crew up there. I've had that in place since I found out I was pregnant the first time," she explained in a flat tone.

I followed Kyela into the bedroom and then the bathroom where she started to undress. I sat down on the covered toilet and stared at the wall in front of me.

"I don't need his help," I declared.

She scoffed, "Apparently, you don't know what you need..."

"I know I don't need his help," I snapped.

She grunted loudly and aggressively leaned on the bathroom counter. "Michael! How could you possibly not need any help? You don't have me to help you, and who knows what your brothers' take on this is! You and Janet, if she's even available, cannot do this alone. I know it's a lot shit, so get your head out of your ass and let me do what I can," she demanded.

I held my hands up in surrender, and she just rolled her eyes at me and looked away.

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It's almost Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. I'm thankful for all of you, my readers. Even though it took a month to get this chapter out, I know you're still there.

qotd: what's your dream career?