Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The air had a stale smell, I turned my nose up walking into his kitchen seeing the piles of dirty dishes stacked near the sink. The empty to-go plates, and empty boxes of beer filling the trash can.
I scoffed opening up his fridge seeing just cases of beers, a few half drank water bottles, lunch meat, and some cheese. I sighed moving the beers over. I took out the three bottles of half drank water pouring them out in the sink. I opened up the brown paper bags stacked with the groceries I had purchased for him, and began filling his fridge.
"Daddy," I called walking back into the living room where he, Maisen, and Anaiyah were. "You gotta do better taking care of yourself."
"I'm alright princess," He sighed touching my hand that rested on his shoulder. "Why y'all here anyway."
I shook my head, sitting on the couch arm. Our four younger siblings didn't stay with our dad, he kinda shut down and became a recluse about five years ago after he'd gotten shot. His mother, my grandmother had taken custody of me, my sisters Caliyah, Caitlyn, and our brother Cartier. Anaiyah stayed with her mom, and Madilyn never lived here anyway despite my dads' wishes. Maisen was already eighteen and out of the house.
Maisen ended up dropping out of college, and let the four of us stay with him and his girlfriend at the time, Lyricc. That lasted about six months until Child Services got involved and put us back into our grandmothers' care.
Caitlyn, Caliyah, and Cartier were still there since they were only fifteen now.
"Look," Maisen sighed taking the beer away. "You remember any Kassidys from around the time Essence passed?"
"Kassidy," He repeated shaking his head no. "Nah. I aint know no Kassidy."
"The name I was given was Kassia, Kassidy or something like that?"
"No," He shook his head once more. "Where you get this from? They gotta have given the name wrong. It had to been a nigga. No bitch was coming for me."
Maisen started recounting the story to our father, and us about the guy named Walter, he had found out had been the getaway driver the day my mother had died. How he'd gotten the lead on Walter. I sighed biting my lip. I was only three, almost four when my mother had passed and with Maisen getting so close to finding out what happened that day I now feared for his life and his safety.
"So it was a female," Maisen shrugged. "You gon have to think harder into who coulda had it out for you."
"Let's roll," Maisen nodded before walking out of the house.
