Pretentious and misguided lawyer Leila discovers a new passion in her job when she is assigned to defend a sixteen-year-old boy for murder against the state. Unfortunately, what she presumes to be an open-shut case is more complex. The hottest rappe...
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The Los Angeles sunshine did nothing to help the sadness that had hit me after leaving my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. Smoke had been my best friend, and now he was gone, leaving an empty spot in my heart.
I'd gone to visit Smoke's mother, she was inconsolable and I felt like my presence was making things worse. I couldn't muster any tears for my friend, even if I wanted to, because ultimately I knew the streets would take him. Smoke meant a lot to me, even if I didn't always know how to express it. Losing Smoke felt like a heavy stone weighing down on me. His death would be something I'd carry with me for the rest of my life. When Rome heard about the cops sniffing around my penthouse, he hit the phones and dialed up my attorney faster than you can say 'court case'. I was booked solid with promotional activities for the release of my sophomore album and the last thing Rome wanted was a long court battle getting in the way of that.
Rome arranged a car to take me from LAX to my second home in Los Angeles. At one time, I thought Celine and Lyric would move out here with me, but Celine refused vehemently, stirring up yet another heated argument between us that eventually drove us apart.
Still, I had a podcast interview and late-night talk show appearance to focus on in a couple hours. There was no time to dwell on past relationships. That's when Esmeralda texted me; she wanted to see me later tonight in the Hills, which was no surprise since she was always trying to link up with me.
I knew the guy hosting the party well enough, but we weren't close by any means. All things considered, it might be fun. So why not?
I stood in his spotless Los Angeles crib, reflecting on the bittersweet solitude that enveloped me. I had a grueling few days of interviews and appearances to promote this second album and I was ready to rest before all that madness kicked off. But, just as peace descended on me, my phone started ringing. "Don't act like you don't know who this is," said an all-too-familiar voice.
I smiled despite the unusual sadness that the voice stirred.
"Celine, hey. How are you?"
"I'm alright. I heard what happened, Kaanon," Celine said.
I felt my stomach drop. I had been avoiding the conversation.
"Yeah," I said softly. "It's been hard."
"I'm so sorry," Celine said.
I closed my eyes and sighed. Smoke had been like a brother to me, and his death had hit hard. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.
"Did you talk to the cops?" Celine asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "They came to my place and asked me a bunch of questions. I told them I didn't know anything. Don't think they believed me."
Celine was silent for a moment.
"It's not your fault," she said finally.
I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't find it in myself. Smoke was dead, and I felt like I had failed him somehow.
