𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇.

thirty-five.

𝐤𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞 𝐣. 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐬
𝙰𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙻 || 𝙱𝙰𝚃𝙾𝙽 𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙴, 𝙻𝙰.
-

In life I knew that there was only one way out which was death. I had known that my entire life and I grew up in the church, so I knew the only two options after death. But before the last year, I had never lost any of my immediate family or someone that was significant in my life. I had lost random cousins I never spoke to, and old members of my church, but before the loss of my mother a death had never hit that close to home for me.

In four months I had lost the two most significant people in my life. I never talked to many people, but the one friend that I did have was named Khayri. He was the first person to ever speak to me in high school, the first person to ever give me a nickname, the first person to fight for me, and the list of firsts could go on and on.

Because he was my first real friend.

Three weeks passed after Khayri's death and I had still made zero progress. I still cried over the slightest memory, I was still searching for an exact reason as to why, and I hadn't been staying on top of my important priorities such as my valedictorian speech, or finalizing the school's yearbook since that was my job as an editor.

I was falling down into a dark hole of depression that was extremely difficult to steer away from. There was nothing that could even give me temporary happiness, not even Neno.

Everything was so sad.

"I mean, here's some stuff. I know he would never let you have this hoodie, and if he were here he would tell me to stop touching his shit," Yanni laughed as she handed me some of Kha's stuff. "But here you go, have this one too."

I was helping Yanni clean out Khayri's room so that she could slowly start making it into the nursery for her baby that was on the way. She was letting me have whatever of his that I wanted.

"You don't want this stuff, Yanni?" I asked her, looking at the box filled with clothes, pictures, personal belongings that she had given me.

"Nah, it makes me sad. I gotta get rid of it because it's fucking with my mental." She huffed and rubbed her temples.

"You made sure Hallie don't want anything—"

She cut me off, "Hallie doesn't even want to be at this house. She say that she hates it and that it carries nothing but bad memories now. She been with her friend, ain't seen her in days."

I nodded my head in understanding of Hallie's feelings completely. She had spent majority of her childhood watching her ill grandmother cling onto life in their living room, then her older brother is found dead in the room across from hers.

All of that is hard on someone that's not even thirteen.

"That makes sense. Just give her time and shit."

Yanni huffed in frustration, "Then I have the nerve to be pregnant through all this bullshit. I'm gonna lose my damn mind, KJ."

"Let it be motivation for you to keep going. When that baby comes I already know ya'll are gonna be best friends." I laughed just thinking about it.

"I hope so. My biggest fear is my kid not liking me or some shit.."

I moved over the bed so that I could organize his shoes so that they could be put into storage, "Your baby is gonna love you, boo."