A Dream Turned Into A Nightmare

Chapter 1

LEO

A Bond that is the most sacred in the whole world .

A Bond that has brought me nothing but happiness and joy .

The joy that he brought is nothing compared to the pain that came after his death .

It's almost a year since my brother's murder and my mother has yet to heal . Things have not been easy at home both financially and emotionally ,mom had been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and wasn't employed for 2 months . Every now and then she get down but she's trying to get back on her feet now . And so am I.

                                                                        ***********

It's 5:00 in the afternoon and I'm hungry , Sometimes I go over to my friend Brittany's house for food or to Mateo's deli .

As I kick around the snow on the sidewalk I spot a mural for my brother . It was a picture from our family photo album of him in a black hoodie and a name chain that read "LEO" . This was my favorite photo of him because we had fun that day at the park when I took these pictures of him using my Sony A7R camera .

That was my first ever camera that Leo bought me for christmas after I told my family that I wanted to be a photographer . I remember him being the only one supporting my dream instead of doubting me .

I finally get to the corner store and as I swing the door open I spot a guy not much older than me narrowing his eyes at me but i ignore him and walk to the counter. "Hey Teo , let me get a chicken cutlet on a roll ; no cheese and a lil black pepper"

"Got you , how's your mom ?" he says while wrapping the sandwich.

"She's doing a little better" I smile

Although my mom isn't completely back to her old self she has been getting up and moving about. I guess that is good right ?

"Here you go Lee" Mateo says handing me the sandwich . I scrambled through my bag "How much do I owe you?".

"You don't owe me anything, go before i kick you out " he chuckles .

"Thanks Teo" I say in his ear as I embrace him .As I hug him I peer over my shoulder to see the same guy looking at me ,but I don't recall seeing him before now .I walk through the back exit and through the backlot of the store .

I im finally a couple blocks away when I hear the spark of a lighter .

" Yo c'mere , where u going ?"

I turn around to find "Deli Boy" lightning a blunt ."What do you want" I yell from a distance

"Im Tyler , and Ion want nothing from you I just wanna talk"

"Talk about what ? You don't even know me" I say crossing my arms .Then it finally occurs to me that people always talk of a guy named Tyler who was seen around my brother but I suspect it's not for good reasons .I turn around and act as if I'm interested .Maybe I could find out more about my brother.

"So wassup , whatchu gotta say my sandwich getting cold" I say raise the bag .

"You look familiar ma , why you out here by yourself ?"

"I be around but I don't remember seeing u at all . Don't worry about me , I could handle myself" I say narrowing my eyes. It's something about his energy and that smirk . It's as if he is just waiting for the right moment to lure me in .

"Oh really" he said grabbing me by my hoodie leaving little to no space between us . I try fighting him off but his grip is so strong to the point where I feel all my air getting away from me .

"Let go of me nigga wtf is wrong wit you" I say struggling in his grasp.

" Your fucking Brother fucked wit my money when he was alive but i guess u gonna have to pick up the slack bitch!"

"Yo what the fuck you doing bro" A voice yelled

Tyler released his grip and I reach up to rub the sore area on my neck .I turned to find a handsome tall boy with dreads I swear he is the finest man I ever seen .

Gorgeous

"Khalil , what you doing here bro?" Tyler looked confused

"What am I doing here? What are u doing grabbing up shawty like that , what the fuck is wrong with you " he says pushing Tyler away from me .

"I got my reasons bro , u know this already"

"Nah bro, I don't know." he says mocking his tone. "Get the fuck outta here before i fuck you up"

"Thats how it is Lil ?" Tylers scoffs

"Yea thats how it is"

" Alright , but imma catch you , WATCH!" Tyler points at me as he backs away .

As he walks away I let out a breathe I didn't know I had in .Before I can catch my breathe the tall guy looks down at me . "Well , Im Khalil and u are ?"I find myself looking up to the biggest smile and prettiest hazel eyes  . "Im Laya , thanks for that " I say smiling

" No problem , it's getting late your family not worried?"

"Nah not really , I live with my mom but she hasn't been well since my twin passing .... it's a long story" I look down feeling that I over shared .

"Twins Huh , Fraternal or Identical?"

"Fraternal , he was my brother ; or is because he is still with me in spirit " I say as I look down smiling .

"Did you eat yet?"

"Nah , I bought a sandwich but I hadn't gotten a chance to eat it for obvious reasons " I say laughing .

"I was gonna offer to take you out but I guess there's no need"

"Raincheck?"

"Ok sounds great , lemme get your number " he says holding out his phone

I type my number in and as I type the number I feel his gaze on me and I can't help but look up into his eyes ."See you around Khalil"

"I hope so" he says smiling without breaking eye contact .

                                                               ************

Fiddling with my keys I open the door the house and close the door

"Mom, I got sandwiches from Mateo "I. look around the living area and kick off my shoes at the bottom of the steps before walking up.

"Helloooo Ma " I yell

That's weird usually she's here ..........