A New Kind of Thug Love (Thugs can love sequel)

Epilogue

Five years later

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Shad POV

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It's been a long time coming. After the drama ended with Toya everything was like a blur for a bit. Everyone basically fell off from each other. We all took Rashid's death hard. I admit, I didn't like him much when Toya disappeared but that wouldn't change the connection we had.

For a long time all I had was Toya and Malik. When I met Rashid at football camp he was like a mentor to me. A big brother. I may have pretended to be upset when they dated but I was really hype about it. He made her happy. It made me happy to see Toya slow down for once. Enjoy life and be a kid. When Toya was the mother in my life, Rashid was the dad. At least, for a short while.

After Rashid's death me and Malik stopped selling drugs altogether. We were both offered sports scholarships too. Apparently, someone sent in a clip of us playing in middle school and we had enough promise to be playing college ball. I played all through college but never committed enough to go pro. That wasn't my dream. I took a liking to photography. I spent a lot of my time abroad taking pictures of everything. When I came back a year ago Jaheem offered to sponsor me and get me a photography business. Now I take pictures professionally.

Oh, and I have a girlfriend. She came into my life shortly after Rashid died and really helped keep my sanity even when I was way too difficult for a normal person. Toya loves her. I think Britt was low key jealous I had to end our relationship. But she'll be good. Big daddy Shad will always have love for her. Well, that's the gist of what happened with me. I have some important business to handle so I'm going to slide on out here.

Malik POV

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Rashid's death changed me. I was so pissed at him. When he died, it was like our family broke up. No one hung out as much or talked to each other. I completely shut down and did some dangerous shit. I smoked weed all the time and drank my weight in liquor. Fucked around on people and hung with the wrong crowd. I hadn't even talked with my twin for a few years. That's how strained everyone was. And since I went to school in a different state and rarely made an appearance, it's not like anyone noticed.

I was going down a dangerous path. It wasn't until I got into an accident that everyone knew I was fucked up in the head. I drove drunk and ended up ramming into a car. Fucked up my knee so I can't play sports ever. The person I hit luckily survived. In fact, they were the ones that helped me the most in recovering. I also went to a psychiatrist to help with my problems and I'm now going on two years sober. I'm back at peace with my life and my family.

I'm also a carpenter. I'm currently working for a company to get some more experience. I then would like to own my own business. With the support of my loved ones I know I can do it. That's it with me I guess.

Britt POV

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It was so hard to let Rashid go. I spent most of my time consoling Xavier since he took his death hard. It broke my heart to see him so broken. It was even harder because he would drift away from everyone. I felt like I couldn't save him.

When Rashid died he transferred custody of Chase to us. He planned everything out thoroughly. The only thing he wanted in return was for us to keep Quan updated. I wasn't there to tell him what happened to Rashid. Xavier went on his own for that. I respected his decision, although I was more than a little curious.