Thick as Thieves | j.b. a.g.

Chapter Twenty

-Justin's P.O.V.-
Trusting Flash with Paris, I drove to the basketball court. Derick was shooting goals with a basketball. The chains that were the net, made a rattle sound every time he shot a basket. I watched as he made another goal.

"Nice shot." I complimented.

 Derick gazed over at me and then back at the basket, making another shot. The ball bounced over to me. Catching it, I dribbled it a few times before making a goal.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

The ball bounced back to me. I kept a hold of it as I slowly walked towards him. 

"I came to say thanks."

I tossed the ball to him. He did not catch it as he kept a hard stare on me.

"It's nothing. I at least owe you that." He took his gaze off me to look at the hoop.

I sighed. I needed to say what I've been wanting to say ever since yesterday when I read the note. I even thought about it on the car ride here, but when it came to speaking, no words came out.

"Look, Derick," I paused to make sure I had his full attention, "I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you."

"Why? I deserved it. I killed her.." he trailed off. I shook my head.

"No, you didn't. The doctors did test and they told me she had a brain problem. It made her go into a coma and eventually..." I couldn't even finish the sentence without tears threatening to break loose. Derick already had tears in his eyes. His hands were formed into fist.

"You know, there's not a day that goes by where I don't think of her. There's not a day where I don't feel guilty for the pain I caused. All I do is fuck shit up. Now, she's gone. I can never undo the damage I caused." Tears streamed down his face as he spoke those words. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't your fault."

"Whatever."

Silence fell between us as he made more basketball shots. I had more things to say, but did not know how to say it. This is not Derick's fault. Yeah, I am not happy about him loving my capture, but it was wrong of me to take all my anger out on him. He is hurting like me. That's one thing we have in common, right?

"I'm inviting you to come back home, Derick. It's not safe for you to be out on the streets."

"Since when did you care about my safety?"

"I've always cared! You're part of my crew. I'll always care. No matter how much you frustrate me."

He softly chuckled. 

"I think we both know it will be better if I stayed gone."

I took in his words. He wasn't totally wrong. But he's still one of my men. I need him. He's a valuable member to my gang just like everyone else.

"And we both know that rival gangs are just waiting to kill you off. So, you can either come home with me where I can keep you safe, or you can stay out here where people are just waiting to hurt you."

Derick thought for a moment before speaking.

"Okay, I'll come back home."

♛

"Okay, boys. I know I've been gone for awhile, but time off work is over. We have to get back into the business. Drug shipments are getting pricey and our bank account is starting to look like it's been on a 'no carbs' diet," they chuckled at my joke. "But on a serious note, we need to get back to work quickly. Do a few drug deals here and there until we get back on our feet."