Letters To Shay||✓

chapter ten.

The picture above or to the side is of who I imagine as Duke Silvereid. Oh my my I'm envious of Keyonna rn. He's hot. Anyway enjoy the chapter❤❤

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I don't know when I slept, or when I woke up, because I felt like I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I would hear Duke's voice, and then Apollo's, then some Alessia Cara Music. I felt like I was carried several times. I smelled my brother's faint cologne. I heard my dumb sisters' voices. I heard Keith and my mom's loud yelling and then silence. I finally slept off- again.

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"Did you get any sleep?" Apollo asked Duke, his red cup in his hand. Leave it to Apollo to use alcohol as a mouthwash. Duke grunted and gave his brother a dirty look. Apollo didn't move from the doorpost he was leaning on, but he smirked, sipping slowly from his cup.

"That's not important. Are you going to help me carry her to the car or not?" Duke was frustrated. It was understandable. He hardly slept; cursed with nightmares of Ave, and now Keyonna. Stephanie really was awful.

"Did you just ask me to carry a black kid? Are you insane?" Duke pinched the bridge of his nose. Asked the guy who drank alcohol at three am in the morning, he wanted to say, but didn't. He sighed in exasperation.

Keyonna had tossed and turned all night and had let the shorts shift as a result. The first thing Duke saw the moment he pulled back the blanket on her was her healing cuts and he gasped. "What? Is she wet? Is that new to you?" Duke flipped his brother the bird and sat Keyonna up, carrying her on his back. With a cringe he picked her bra and put it in his pocket, doing the same with her phone. "Nice pick, though. She's a thick one."

"Shut up, dickhead." Apollo stepped aside and let Duke pass. He was tired and felt it, too. It was three am and Keyonna's brother, Keith, had made him promise that he'd have Keyonna home by five. It was an hour drive back to their estate and he wanted to be quick.

Opening the door, he sat a drowsy Keyonna on the seat and adjusted it so she'd be lying back, and shut the door softly. Apollo was already standing behind him with a bag containing Keyonna's clothes. The maid looked out from the window, before disappearing back into the house. It wasn't really bright out, but Duke could see the look of disapproval on his brother's face. "I don't care what you think about her, Apollo; everything doesn't have to favour you."

"But I hadn't even said anything."

"NO, you haven't. But you were thinking it." Apollo shrugged in response. He knew Duke was right. He looked away and thrust the bag in his younger brother's hands. "I'll see you when I see you, brother." Duke spun on his heels and entered the car.

"Duke?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me when you get home. Tell dad and Steph I said hi." Duke nodded, started the car and drove off, leaving a trail of dirt behind. Apollo watched him drive off with his cups to his lips and a shake of the head.

Unknown to many people, Duke loved Alessia Cara's music. He loved her lyrics, and he loved the way her voice was able to carry the message in each song across. It made him a die-hard fan. But many people didn't know that. One look at him and he was labelled the bad boy that loved heavy metal and chain music. He never bothered to correct them.

There was mild traffic because the thunderstorm had caused some damages on the highway, so it took longer than planned to get to his destination. So at 4:45am sharp, Duke was setting his car to park. Not surprisingly, Keith Brighton had a beach chair on the lawn with a flask of hot cocoa to keep him running. He called his sisters to come out; for their prodigal sister had returned. Almost immediately, Keyonna's two sisters ran out of the house, wearing robes and scarves and mammy slippers, towards the car. Duke had carried Keyonna bridal style and gave her to Keira, her first sister. The two of them quickly scurried inside, shutting the door behind them. Duke brought out Keyonna's school and clothes' bag and walked across the lawn to give it to Keith.