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stick around for the end of the chapter!
𝑻𝑾𝑶 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 WAS the number of people who showed up to Jesse's funeral—the same number as the amount of time it had taken for Christiana's life to completely... fall apart again.
It had been two weeks since Jesse was laid to rest, and Christiana hadn't gotten any closer to accepting the reality. Mia wasn't sold on the idea of the funeral. She'd said it didn't feel like a celebration of Jesse's life if it was just the two of them there—and she was right, to some degree. Dom had apparently been let go by Brian, Letty and Leon had disappeared, and Vince was nowhere to be found.
But Christiana had insisted. Jesse deserved a proper send-off, no matter how small it was. She was grateful Mia had come too, even if it was partly out of obligation. Before the funeral, the two of them had a heart-to-heart, each apologizing for their past behavior towards Brian. Still, Christiana had no idea what had happened to him either.
It was quiet now. Too quiet.
The funeral was two weeks ago, and Christiana was still struggling.
She was back at work, though she didn't quite know why. She was running on a few hours of restless sleep, her body protesting the lack of food. She needed a distraction, so she buried herself in the routine of helping customers shop. Anything to forget what had happened.
The store was slow, which she welcomed. She let her head rest on the counter, hoping for a break from the persistent headache that had been pounding behind her eyes. It didn't last long.
The door swung open, and Mia walked in, her presence cutting through the haze of exhaustion.
"Hi, CJ," Mia greeted, her voice light, but there was a note of concern behind it.
"Hey, Mia," Christiana replied, her voice flat. She didn't have the energy for anything else.
Mia leaned against the counter, looking at her with an almost motherly patience. "You want to go out for lunch?"
Christiana blinked, struggling to focus. "I'm fine. Had a big breakfast," she said, her words half-hearted.
Mia raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Oh, really? What did you have?"
