Kross bit down on his bottom lip as he raked his mind, trying to figure out how he was going to tell Aniyis that his mother had passed away. Cassie had always been truthful with Aniyis about everything. She took pride in not keeping secrets from her son,so whenever he asked why his father wasn’t around, she made it clear that Kross made some bad decisions that landed him behind bars, but what he did shouldn’t define who he was as a person. She kept Aniyis protected, but never to the point where didn’t know what was going on. Kross knew that if Cassie was here, she would reveal the truth to Aniyis, but in a way that would still preserve his innocence. Kross feared that after the coma, Aniyis’ memory would be in question. Having to be the one to make him relive the trauma of what happened to Cassie was hard as hell, but it was something he had to do.
Kross rose from his seat and got into the hospital bed next to Aniyis. He pulled him in close before sitting a kiss on his forehead.
“Mommy is gone, Niyis,” Kross throated out, suppressing the sharp pain the truth inflicted on his heart. “She’s not here with us physically anymore, but she’ll always be with us here.” He placed his hand over Aniyis’ chest, indicating that Cassie would always be in their hearts. He could see the anguish and pain that masked his son’s face. It was evident that his young mind was working overtime to make sense of what his father had just told him.
“Mommy needs you to be as strong as you were while I was away and it was just you and her. Now, it’s just me and you, and we gotta make sure we’re doing right by her and making her proud.”
Without uttering out a word to his father, Aniyis nestled himself closer to him and rested his head on his chest. Immediately, his whimpers full of pain and agony for his mother sounded through Kross’ ears. Aniyis’ pain now went beyond the physical. It was mentally and emotionally damaging to be hit with the hard truth of his mother’s death. Without Cassie, Aniyis and Kross were left empty.
Chapter Twelve
Kross shifted his eyes from the road and set them on the rearview mirror to catch sight of Aniyis in the back seat. After a few weeks of observation, his medical staff gave him clearance to go home. He still had physical therapy sessions to attend, and his mobility was still a work in progress, but other than that, Aniyis was doing well, and Kross was grateful. His nurses threw him a small celebration in the hallway as Kross wheeled him out of the hospital, and it brightened up his spirits a little. But now, only a few minutes away from the hospital and headed in the direction of the cemetery, Kross could see the light he once had in his eyes diminish.
Since he revealed to Aniyis that Cassie didn’t make it, the only thing baby boy requested of his father was to go visit her. His mom meant the world to him, and although she wouldn’t physically be there, he wanted to feel as close to her as possible. Kross contemplated for a while whether allowing him to go visit Cassie while he was recovering was good idea. He didn’t want to send his child through a whirlwind of emotional distress while he was working hard to get back to the child he once was. After some prayers and asking Cassie for guidance, Kross agreed on the visit. When the roles were reversed, she made sure thatAniyis came to visit him no matter how hard it was for her, so he had to do the same.
“You good back there, Niyis?” Kross turned the music down so he could hear his son’s response.
“Yeah. This car fly.”
A chuckle sounded out of Kross as he nodded his head, agreeing with him. “It is. You remember what car I told you I was gonna cop when I got out?”
“Hm, you said a Maybach. Daddy, this a Maybach?” Aniyis leaned up in his seat as he took another look around the car in awe.
An ear-to-ear smile spread across Kross’ handsome face. “Hell yeah, son. Everything I told you I was gonna do when I was locked up, I’m gone make sure I do it.”
“I wish Mommy was here to see this car,” Aniyis let out, instantly causing the smile on Kross’ face to fall. Averting his eyes from the road briefly to glance at the mirror, he could see Aniyis holding his head low as he toyed with his Fortnite action figure.
“Me too, ‘Niyis. Me too,” he sighed deeply.
A silence fell over the father and son duo, which prompted Kross to turn the music back up. Together, they rode to the smooth tracks of Rod Wave all the way to the cemetery.
“This where Mommy is?” Aniyis asked as he peered out of the dark tinted window.
He wasn’t familiar with death, so he had never been to a cemetery. Kross hated that his first introduction to one was for his mother, but those were the cards they were dealt.
“Yeah. Ain’t nothing to be scared of. I’m right here. I used to come here to visit my daddy when I was your age.”
“How did your daddy die?”
Kross pursed his lips, knowing that he had to remain truthful with his inquisitive son. “He got shot.”
“Just like me and Mommy?” Aniyis questioned.
“Yeah,” Kross sighed with a light nod of his head.
After killing the engine, Kross stepped out of the car and maneuvered to the trunk to pull out the wheelchair Aniyis was restricted to until he made more progress in physical therapy. Aniyis, who was typically a big ball of energy and liked to run around, hated the wheelchair. He spent the first week crying hysterically about having to use it. Now, there were a lot less tears. However, his attitude about the chair never changed. As soon as Kross made his way around with the chair and opened the door, he heard Aniyis smack his lips loudly.
“You knew what it was when we got here. Hop in the chair, little man,” he chuckled as he unfastened Aniyis’ seatbelt.
He decided not to give his father a hard time and got into the chair without all the theatrics. In hand, Aniyis carried a few of his action figures and a few cards he made for his mother. Kross managed to balance holding a large arrangement of roses in one hand while the other hand was used to steer Aniyis’ chair. As they made it to the entrance of the cemetery, Kross smacked his lips low enough that he wouldn’t catch Aniyis’ attention when he noticed Remedy make her way to her car. Every run-in he had with her was always wild as fuck, and he was praying that her ass just went about her business in the presence of his son.
As they bypassed each other, Remedy had the urge to stop and confront him about the chaos that had been going on at the barbershop since she didn’t fall in line and pay him what he demanded, but she bit her tongue once she noticed little Aniyis in the wheelchair.
“Daddy, you think I can leave Mommy one of my toys?” Aniyis asked as Kross continued to push him along the cement path.
A light chuckle spilled out of him as he nodded his head. “Fa’sho, little man. I think she would like that.”
Hearing him interact with his son was the only thing sparing him from the lethal tongue-lashing Remedy was ready to give him. She would just have to catch him some other time. Kross was grateful that she had at least a little bit of sense. He didn’t want his son witnessing the cutthroat side of him. He was too young for that.
