Page 75 of Don't Kross Me
“Well, okay. You boys be safe.”
“We will, Ma,” he assured her before sitting a kiss on her cheek and leaving out the kitchen.
Together, the boys headed out in the direction of the condo. Aniyis opted to stay behind with Ezekiel because he knew he wouldn’t help them with much of anything.
Melo looked out the window while they were coming up on the billboard with Remedy’s missing poster plastered onto it. It was right at the exit of the interstate and hard to miss. It had been up for the past three months, and there hadn’t been any tips reported regarding anyone seeing her dead or alive. Kross felt his energy shift in the car, and his did as well. Not knowing what happened to her fucked with both of them.
“You think he killed her?” Melo asked as he hung his head low.
“I-I don’t know,” Kross sighed deeply. He didn’t want to speak the wrong thing into the atmosphere, but he also didn’t want to hold onto too much hope just in case things didn’t turn out how he would have liked.
Melo leaned back in his seat before running a hand down his face. “Remedy’s a fighter. I know my sister’s alive somewhere. When I find her, I promise you I’m gone kill Tone.”
“You’re sixteen,” Kross reminded him. “Remedy wouldn’t want you catching a fucking murder charge. I did time with young niggas like you, and some of them won’t see the light of day. You got a full life to live. “
“Ain’t shit to really live for out’chea.”
“Yeah, I used to think like that too, and shit went bad for me. I ain’t saying life get easier, but if you crash out so soon,you’ll never get to experience the good out of life. I think Remedy would want you to.”
Melo pursed his lips as his sister weighed heavily on his mind. He wanted to do right by her, but the pain he was feeling was suffocating. He could only push through it for so long before he snapped.
They arrived at the condo and began tackling all of Cassie’s things they needed to move to the storage Kross got. He had a heavy heart while packing up her things because a part of him felt like he was leaving her behind, but the other part of him knew this was a necessary step for his healing and growth.
“Aye, what’s this?” Melo bumped his brows together as he held up a black envelope. “I moved that vanity over there, and this was underneath it.”
Kross exhaled a heavy breath. This was one of the reasons why he had been procrastinating on moving Cassie’s things. It was like she was taunting him from her grave by having him find things around the condo that she hid while she was alive. The more shit he found, the more fucking questions he had that would forever go unanswered. He walked over to Melo and grabbed the envelope out of his hand. Opening it up, he pulled out a card that had a short message printed out on it.
I know where you lay your head down at night.
– Scrap.
Behind the card was a receipt for the floral arrangement Kross assumed the card came with. It immediately made him remember the time when Aniyis mentioned that Cassie used to receive flowers from somebody. She lied to Aniyis about the person sending her the flowers liking her so he wouldn’t be exposed to the threats she was receiving.
“Who the fuck is Scrap?” Kross questioned aimlessly. He knew whoever Scrap was, he had to be the one behind all the messages he found in Cassie’s phone, which meant he was the other nigga who was possibly Aniyis’ father. If he was the one who killed Cassie, why the fuck would he shoot at her while Aniyis was in the car?
“Scrap? I know a Scrap,” Melo said, instantly catching Kross’ attention.
“He from ‘round here?”
Melo shook his head. “The only Scrap I know from Chicago. He’s that fuck nigga Tone’s big homie. He run Zone 7. I used to hear them chop it up on the phone all the time.”
Kross could feel his blood begin to boil and pump within his veins. All this shit was making perfect fucking sense now! As painful as it was to figure things out this way, Cassie left all these clues behind because she knew Scrap was after her and it was only a matter of time before he acted on all his threats. She didn’t have it in her to tell Kross because she knew the pain she would bring him when she admitted that she wasn’t certain if he was Aniyis’ father. She thought time was on her side because Kross was getting out and they would be purchasing a house far from Miami to live peacefully. She would finally have her protector by her side and be living the dream life he promised her. She would have never expected to die the night before he was released. It was like everything she had hoped for was snatched away from her in a split second.
Scrap despised her for exiling him out of Aniyis’ life and having Kross claim a child he was certain was his. Cassie had been running from him for years, and once he caught her, he made sure to take her life in the process.
“You good?” Melo sat a hand on Kross’ shoulder. His eyes had gone dark as he stood with the card in hand and his jaws clenched in rage.
Kross’ nose flared as he let out a sharp breath. “Nah, I just found out who fucking killed my lady,” he throated out coldly.
“Damn, fam.” Melo shook his head, sympathizing with Kross.
Once again, all this shit was hitting him all at once, and he had no choice but to stomach it and figure it all out.
His phone going off in his pocket cut through the thick silence that circled him and Melo. He tossed the envelope aside and decided he would deal with that later. He answered the call and held the phone up to his ear.
“Hello.”
“Hello. I’m Kendra, a social worker here at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Am I speaking with Mr. Kross Hunter?”
