It was time to end this shit.
I arrived back in Muskegon around seven that evening. Checking his location on my phone, I saw that he was at his bar, which he hadn’t opened yet, and was double-parked in front of it. I got out and hurried toward the door, kicking that bitch open.
“Damien!” I yelled.
When I walked past the wall and into the bar area, his goons were standing around him as he sat at the table with a drink in one hand and a blunt in the other.
“I heard you was looking for me. Here I go…” He laughed.
“Tell ya bitches to stand down, Dame. This is between me and you.”
“Between me and you, huh?” He stood, taking his shot to the head. “You're right. This shit is between me and you. Cain and Abel.” He waved to his crew, and they put their guns down. “Y’all niggas beat it. I need to kill my brother in peace.”
They all filed out of the bar and left Dame and me alone.
“I didn’t want this shit for us, D. I always wanted to keep you protected from the shit ya pops was putting in ya head. I never even knew you had a mental condition until now. He played on that and had you slowly beginning to hate me.”
“I always hated you! I was just good at hiding it because I wanted to convince myself that Senior was wrong about you. You always had the better life, the better pops, the most money, all the cars and bitches at your disposal… I had to follow in my pops' footsteps to get aportionof the shit you got so effortlessly handed to you. It wasn’t enough that you had every-fucking-thing. You had to take my bitch and my daughter too!”
He walked up on me as we stood toe to toe. His glare was menacing while a slow smirk lifted on my face. “And I’m hitting that shit so good, I got both of your girls calling me Daddy,” I said, taunting him.
“Fuck you!” he roared, ramming against me until we both fell to the floor.
I was the first to gain my footing and began delivering blows to his face. “How’s it feel to be helpless?”
“Fuck you!” he repeated, trying to punch me as I hovered over him.
“No, fuck you! You weak-ass coward. Come on, Dame. Beat my ass like you beat on Jela… like you beat on our fuckin’ mother!” I yelled, lifting him to his feet.
I wanted him to have a fair chance to fight me back, although I knew he wouldn’t win anyway. He swung at me, but I grabbed his arm, chopped him in the neck, and kicked him in the stomach. He flew back into the bar, and I grabbed the glass fromit, smashing it over his head. Blood leaked from the new wound as he pulled a switchblade from his pocket. I saw it coming and dodged it. He kept swinging the knife at me as I moved around the tables, trying to find the right angle to grab it from him.
“I’ma kill you, then that bitch, and bury y’all asses right next to each other!” he shouted, his eyes unfamiliar to me. My brother was gone.
He came at me with full force, catching me on the shoulder with the blade. I could feel my skin split open, but I couldn’t think about the pain because I had to be quick on my feet. He lifted his arm and tried to aim for my chest, but I was able to grab his hand and twist his wrist, hearing his bones crack. He dropped the knife as I pushed him back. I picked it up just as he tried to attack me again. When he made it to me, I tried to move, but ended up plunging the knife deep in his chest while wrapping my other arm around him.
I could hear him cry out and feel his body becoming weak. Tears came to my eyes as I gave it one final thrust, ending my brother’s life. I dropped to the floor with him, holding him in my arms, and pulled the knife from his chest. Blood spilled from his body and head, and my chest grew tight.
“Fuuuuck!” I bellowed. An audible cry left my being as I pulled him closer to my chest. “Fuck, Dame! Fuck!”
I held my brother’s lifeless body in my arms and rocked back and forth while tears continued to pour down my face. I hate that it had to come to this. My brother—my first best friend—was gone, and his blood was on my hands. As I sat and wept over his dead body, I could hear hurried feet come over to us.
“Tru.”
It was Law. From my peripheral vision, I could see him kneel beside me.
“Fuck, man,” he mumbled. “Tru, we gotta go. Brick and Simuel will take care of him.”
I slowly nodded my head, using my fingers to close Dame’s eyes, and kissed his forehead. I allowed myself to release him and stood to my feet.
“Don’t leave him in the streets,” I told Law, placing my hands on his shoulders. “Take care of my brother. Okay?” I told Simuel and Brick.
They nodded. “We got you, Tru.”
I took a few steps before I stumbled a bit, and my vision became blurry.
“Truce!” was all I heard before I went crashing to the floor, and everything faded to black.
I woke up in a bedroom that didn’t belong to me. As my eyes focused, I saw Neveah sitting in a chair beside the bed, asleep. I groaned, grabbing at my shoulder and feeling the effects of where Dame had caught me with the knife.
