PURE HEROIN

XVIII.

18 | Pure Heroin

Caine stared at Fredo dumbfounded as he coughed up blood, the red substance trickling from his mouth. The gun slipped through his fingers falling to the ground as he looked down, his hands finding the gaping hole in his chest. His body staggered tipping forward crumpling to the floor.

Fredo glanced at the door noticing a trembling Exodus who stood frozen in the doorway. Between her fingertips she clutched a .22 caliber. Exodus found herself in a slight daze. Somehow even after all those times she had practiced with Carl it never really prepared her for the real thing.

The gun seemed to feel heavier in her hands, like it had been suddenly weighed down by the possibility that she had just killed Caine. Fredo walked over to Exodus and gently pried the gun away from her hands.

"Did I kill him?" Exodus whispered still looking at the crumpled body on the floor.

Fredo hovered over his body using his foot to push him over. "No, you didn't shoot him in any fatal place. He's conscious, just bleeding to death." Exodus couldn't understand how Fredo was being so calm about this. This was crazy. He was crazy. She had to be still dreaming.

Fredo crouched down smiling at Caine. "I know you have something to say ?" He mocked. Caine's response was to cough up more blood. Standing up he pointed the gun at his head and squeezed the trigger. Exodus leaned over into a potted plant close by bringing up the contents of her stomach at the sight of pieces of Caine's head exploding.

Fredo gave her a few minutes in the bathroom to get herself together before they were on their way to the hospital to see Aj. Exodus leaned her head against the car window still feeling slightly nauseous. While Fredo was talking on the phone getting someone to take care of the mess in his office.

The drive seemed to take longer than it actually was to Fredo. He supposed it was because it felt like ages since he had last seen his brother awake. The moment still seemed surreal even when Fredo stood in the front of his hospital room door. He could hear the murmuring of a couple different voices.

When he pushed the door open he noticed that everyone was already there excluding him and Exodus. Aj was sitting up in the bed while Lolita was showering his face with kisses.

Aj's hand slyly moved to touch her ass before Rello slapped him the back of the head. "You just woke up don't make me have to send your ass back to sleep."

Aj just laughed him off flashing the same dazzling smile that Fredo used on rare occasions. Now seeing him awake Exodus concluded that he did strongly resemble his older brother in looks but she could already tell personality wise they were polar opposites.

Fredo moved closer to the bed crushing his brother and Juels in a hug. Exodus stood in the corner of the room feeling slightly out of place. Lolita was sniffling leaning into Rello's side, Gunplay was eating a Snickers and Eli stood with his hands in his pockets.

Her eyes lingered on Eli for a bit. Besides the small cut on his lip you could hardly tell that he had gotten in a fight recently. She just hoped that Fredo wouldn't do anything now that they were once again in the same room.

Exodus watched them all converse together and she could clearly see how close their lives were intertwined. Though not everyone was blood related they all shared a bond that went deeper than what appeared on the surface.

Aj was in the middle of saying something when his eyes curiously found Exodus. He stared at her as if seeing a ghost. Exodus looked behind her before meeting Aj's gaze again, she had no idea why he was looking at her like that.

Fredo noticed Aj's break mid-sentence and followed his gaze to the thing that had caught his attention. Exodus rubbed her nose nervously. She wanted to know why everyone was suddenly staring at her.