Trade

Chapter 27. Hundred Reasons.

Aaron Turner

My brother Kaine and I had a very odd relationship. We went at it every now and then and had come to blows a few times, but he always had my back when it mattered.

"You can't avoid him forever. I think he cares but that's a fucked up position to be in. He didn't want to hurt you and maybe what he was trying to say came out wrong and sounded fucked up" Kaine explained as he flicked a lighter back and forth until it sparked the blunt he was holding.

"I'm just exhausted. I can't look that man in the face and pretend like everything is all good. Fuck that" I responded as I lifted my gun up and shot a few times at a target.

Kaine took a long inhale of the weed smoke like he needed it before he could say anything further to me.

"Well you know he mad at me now because I went behind his back and told you what was up. I felt like you was man enough to handle it, guess I was wrong" Kaine said with a shrug and I raised an eyebrow.

"I am a man, but you can't just tell me some wild ass shit like that and expect me to just be cool and laugh it off. I've spent years bottling everything up, I'm really fucked up in the head and now this shit with Moses and his daughter is with us full time. It's just making me consider a lot of shit" I admit as I lowered the gun and put the safety on.

"Consider shit like what? Taking care of a baby is a big responsibility, you can't just not give your all. If you care about him you got to understand that she comes with that" Kaine explained.

"I know! You don't know what this feels like though, Ajani didn't have a baby by somebody else and you didn't have to deal with that. I love Sienna because I love him, and I want to be with him but everything just changed so fast. What if something happens to him, what am I going to do with her?" I questioned looking to Kaine for guidance.

He sighed and seemed to consider what I said before he scratched at his beard like an old man and began to nod his head.

"Give her up for adoption" he said simply and I frowned and looked away.

"I would never do that to her. She would depend on me, I don't even know anymore" I muttered as he handed me the blunt he held between his fingers.

There was a chill air that was coming in through the windows of this condemned building we were in. The huge windows were missing and it was a place I felt like I could think and scream and yell as loud as I wanted to.

"I know you wouldn't, so you need to man up and do what you need to do. You're practically a father now, it is what it is. All you can do is love her and get better mentally for her. If Moses sees that love that you have for her that's only going to make him love you more" Kaine said as he snatched the blunt from me and took a hit.

"Facts" I said with a nod. He smirked as he looked at the time on his Rolex and then sighed.

"Wanna go back to my place to get something to eat?" Kaine questioned as he turned to walk away.

I noticed a light on his shirt and assumed it was because of the light reflecting from the window, until it moved to his forehead.

I shoved my brother onto the ground as I bullet shattered the last cracked window in the condemned building.

"I got you" I assure as I looked down at him. He appeared fearful that he'd even been caught out in the open without a weapon to defend himself.