Between Family

by Erin Trejo

  “You killed him?”

  He nods his head.

  “It wasn’t just him. There was a shootout. I went to fire, he grabbed him Bri. He fucking grabbed him like a goddamn coward and I killed him. I fucking killed that kid.”

  My heart sinks in my chest.

  “What do you mean?”

  His eyes are wild as he tries to focus on me.

  “I shot. I fucking fired the shot Brianna. He grabbed the kid. He was just a little boy and he pulled him in front of him. The first bullet hit him Bri. He fell. Right there in front of me. Fuck.”

  His hands fall from my face as he stalks around the room tugging at his hair, the tension is thick. I gasp for air knowing that he would never hurt a kid.

  I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower knowing that I have to be the calm one now. I reach into the cabinet and grab a bottle of Xanax and pour a few into my hand. I grab the glass off of the counter, fill it with water, and walk back over to him. He shakes his head when I hold them out to him, but he eventually takes them and pops them into his mouth. I reach for his shirt and pull it up and over his head. He watches me unsure of what’s happening right now. I lead him into the bathroom. It wasn’t too long ago that he was doing this for me.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I whisper as I pull him toward the shower.

  He finishes pulling off his clothes and climbs in. I stand there unsure of what to do next.

  “It doesn’t matter now does it?” he asks as he lowers his head to hang it between his shoulders.

  “Of course it does. You’re right. He was a coward. He shouldn’t have grabbed the kid Tucker.”

  “But he did. Now he’s dead too. I killed a kid Bri. I fucking killed him,” he says through the sobs that shake his body.

  I want to hold him. I want to wrap my arms around him and tell him that everything will be okay, but it isn’t. Nothing is okay in his mind.

  Tucker wouldn’t harm a child. That was never his style. So what do I do? I climb into the shower, fully clothed, and wrap my arms around him and hold on tight while he cries.

  I do the same thing that he’s done for me.

  Chapter 22

  Dante

  Our lives have been crazy. It’s been one thing after another. It seems like we’re stuck in fast-forward most days. Tucker’s lost. He’s a complete mess. He drinks and does more drugs than I’ve ever seen him do. Most days he just drinks until he passes out. It kills a part of me to see him like this. I know he’s hurting from what happened. I know he feels that shit too deep too.

  “We need to talk to him,” Bri says as she wraps her arm around my waist.

  I blow out a breath as we both stand in the kitchen watching him on the back porch. He just sits there. He has his back to us with a bottle of vodka in his hands.

  “I know. Come on,” I tell her.

  Bri moves first and walks out the back door when she suddenly stops. I nearly slam into her back when she gasps. I move around her to see what she’s seeing.

  “What the fuck is this Tucker?” I ask when my eye fall to the gun in his lap.

  “This is the only way I can make it stop Dante. I can’t fucking do this. It’s too much.”

  “You can do this. You will do this. You need to refocus on what’s important Tucker. Look at her,” I snap.

  He doesn’t move, so I do. I grab his head and force him to look up at Bri. His eyes are glazed over like they always are, but I force him to look at her anyway.

  “She’s yours man,” he slurs.

  “She loves you too Tucker. Think about what that shit would do to her.”

  Bri’s eyes tear up as she moves to stand in front of him. She slowly kneels and grabs his hand in hers. I release the hold I have on him and step back as he pulls his gaze to hers.

  “I do love you Tucker. So very much. You know that. After everything we’ve been through, please don’t make me go through life without you too.”

  Her pleading nearly rips my heart out of my chest. I won’t lose my brother to this. Not like this. I just can’t.

  “I don’t know how to make it stop Bri. I fucking killed that kid. Just a kid,” he cries which rips me to shreds.

  “It wasn’t on purpose Tucker. We know you would never hurt a kid. Come on man. Let’s just go inside and talk about this,” I’m begging him now.

  My chest is tight, but when he looks up at me and asks his next question, I nearly break.

  “Would you forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive you for. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “You don’t hate me?” he asks.

  His eyes are just as sad as his tone. I hate that he feels like this. I hate that this is what our lives have become.

  “I could never hate you Tucker. Come on,” I hold my hand out for him.

  He looks back at Bri and she nods her head before he passes me the gun in one hand and grabs my other hand with his own. I help him up as Bri takes a step back to give us space. We walk inside just like that. He stops, spins around, and hugs me tight. I pull him in closer and hug him back.

  “I’m sorry Dante. I’m so fucking sorry,” he whispers.

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  He sniffs a few times before he pulls back and grabs Bri. I step back and watch the two of them when I hear him whisper, “I love you Bri.”

  “I’m going to bed,” Tucker says as we both stand there watching him walk away.

  “He’s okay,” Bri whispers.

  I nod my head, lead her through the house, and take her up the steps. Once we’re in my room I close the door and pull her into my chest.

  “I’ve made a shit ton of mistakes in my life, princess. You are the best thing I’ve ever done.”

  “I don’t want to live around here anymore Dante. I don’t want to go back to that house. Ever,” she says softly.

  I press my lips onto the top of her head and sigh.

  “We’ll find a new place. You don’t have to go back. From here on out we go forward.”

  She pulls back, reaches up, and grabs my face in her hands. She pulls me closer to her and then kisses my lips. Her lips are sweet just like she is. I walk her backwards until her legs hit the bed and she falls back laughing. That’s the sound that I always want to hear coming from her. I climb on top of her and press my cock against her. Bri moans and raises her hips to meet mine.

  “You want me?” I ask her.

  She bites her lip and nods her head. Fuck do I love this girl. I smirk and kiss her again while letting my tongue dive into her mouth. I’m teasing her. She reaches between us and grabs my jeans to undo them in record time. I shove them down and slip my fingers under the front of her little skirt.

  “How many times are you going to do this?”

  “Do what?”

  “Tease the fuck out of me by not wearing any panties?” I growl which causes her to laugh.

  I kick my jeans down my leg and shove them off with my feet. I get into position and thrusts into her.

  “You feel so perfect,” I groan as I fuck her into the mattress.

  With each thrust of my hips I’m further into her. I’m lost in all that is Brianna and I never want to lose that.

  Epilogue

  Brianna

  “I don’t know. I think he’d like it,” I tell him as we set the flowers down on his headstone.

  I take a step back and smile at it. It’s been a year. It’s been a long, hard year for both of us. After that night with Tucker where Dante took the gun from him we all became even closer. I confided in Dante even more than I had before. He was home to me. He was my safety. He was everything I’d even possibly want.

  “Pink flowers?” he asks raising his eyebrow.

  I giggle, “Why not? Pink is so manly. So is purple.”

  “You didn’t buy any purple. All you bought was pink,” he says with a laugh.

  “Tracey would have loved them,” I tell him.

  He wraps an arm around m
y waist and pulls me in closer.

  “You’ve come so far. I don’t know anyone that would be able to overcome everything that you have. You had so many things playing against you.”

  My chest tightens.

  “So did you. You didn’t come out so bad yourself.”

  “Do you think they’re together?” I ask looking up at him.

  I know this is just as hard for him as it is for me. Our lives were a mess. We lived through things that no one else should ever have to, but we fought our way through it. We did what we had to do to move forward. Dante said we would and we did.

  “Yeah. I’m sure he’s still trying to put his moves on her,” he says with a sad smile.

  Tucker actually did it. He killed himself that night. He wasn’t able to handle the pain of what he did. We didn’t realize he had taken so many pills before he had gone to bed that night. He never woke up. The paramedics said that he went peacefully just like every other night he went to sleep. I don’t believe that though. He had too much turmoil in his heart and mind. He was haunted by what he did and I hated that for him.

  We tried though. We tried to make it better, but we both failed in our own ways. Dante always tells me that there was nothing we could do. I don’t know if I believe that or not. I want him here. I want him in my life just like he always had been, and I guess in some ways he still is. I see him in Dante all of the time. The little jokes. That glint in his eye.

  “Are you okay? You’re staring at me again,” Dante says breaking my moment.

  “You’re so into yourself. You always think someone is looking at you,” I tell him with a smirk.

  He grabs my hand and leads me to the car.

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asks me once more as he pulls the car door open for me.

  I inhale the crisp air before I nod and climb inside. Dante leans in and kisses me quickly. I watch him as he walks around the car to take in our city for one last time before he climbs in.

  “Are you sure?” I ask him the same question he asked me.

  “We need a change. I refuse to let my kid grow up like this. I’m too old to keep running the Kings princess.”

  “You’re not that old,” I giggle.

  “I’m ancient for the gang life. I can’t change who I am or what my last name is. I can’t replace this crown tattoo on my wrist because this is who I am, but I can change the type of man I am. You deserve better than this. This,” he says rubbing my belly, “deserves more than this.”

  I smile as he starts the packed car and starts to drive off. It saddens me that we’re leaving the only place that we have ever called home. It saddens me that we’re leaving behind the only lives we’ve ever known, but I’m also happy that we are moving on to new things. I glance in the mirror one last time saying goodbye to the place that made us who we are. Dante grabs my hand. I look over to him and he smiles at me.

  “Absolutely nothing will come between me and my family ever again.”

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