We hadn't gone back to the crib since the ceremony. Tyler still hadn't come back home in days which started to make us worry, even Sha. On the bright side, mum had finally restarted working.

It was a normal afternoon after school, Jessie, Tyrell and I were in the living room and Sha was in her room, probably applying for jobs. I texted Neesa for updates on Cash but they were none.

Aneesa: Nate is staying at his house with Izzy and Kyle.

Me: Who drove them there ?

Aneesa: Asad.

Me: Oh right, he has his license...* So it's just you two alone at the crib now

Aneesa: Everyone went back to their homes... It's just us two

*It's November 22'58.

Nate and Tyrell are 11.

Izzy is 14.

Kyle is 15.

The Daoudi twins and Tamika are 16.

Tanisha is 18.

JJ is 25.

Rayan is 26.

Diego is 28.

After a while, Tyrell got up the sofa and walked towards Sha's room. "Yeah ?" yawned Tanisha as she heard knocking. Tyrell entered the room but stood by the door he had just closed. "What ?" She gave him a head nod signaling him to proceed with his request.

"You're the new Leader. Please let me join." he said.

"No." she shook her head.

"Why ?" He pouted, moving closer to his sister. "I also want to be part of the Silvers Gang !"

"No, Tyrell. You're too young to be a part of that.."

"Klaewkla is my age and he's a part of it."

"Nate is a different case." She explained, raising her voice slightly.

"I was already a part of it since I was born, I just want to make it official and be part of the activities." pleaded Tyrell.

"Those activities are the reason why Denzel is gone, Tyrell ! I can't let you be part of it !"

He lowered his head and his voice became small. "I'm still here, I can help..."

"Gang banging is wrong." sighed Tanisha.

Tyrell raised his head up, frowning his brows. "But you're still doing it..." he retorted.

She sighed once again. She knew no matter what she said, she could not convince him to see the situation from the same eye. "Nobody's doing it, we're just tryna recover right now..." she added getting off her bed. She attempted to near herself to him but he backed away, leaving a bigger margin than before between them.

"It won't end just because you're recovering, Tanisha..." He then concluded.

"He's back !" I say to them, barging into the room. Both of their eyes shifted to me.

"Who ?" asked Tanisha.

"Who else ? Tyler !" I replied.

Why aren't they reacting ?

Both of them stood stolid. I didn't expect much from Tanisha but I couldn't comprehend the monotone expression that was on Tyrell's face. Even with his quizzical reaction, he was the first one to leave the room.

"What were y'all talking about ?" I asked Sha.

"I'll tell you after. Let's go see this man." she answered as we walked towards the living room. Mum was also there.

"Dad." said Tyrell, speaking in a monotonous tone. He stopped in front of him, blocking his attempt to a hug.

"I understand why you might be angry towards me. It's totally natural, Tyrell." affirmed Tyler.

"Did momma kick you out ?" asked Tyrell, not changing the tone of his voice.

"No, I chose to leave."

He turned his head in JJ's direction, bitterly acknowledging his father's words. "Jessie ?"

"Huh ? Yeah ?"

"Can you please drive me to Nate's house?" Jessie nodded her head in agreement and shyly walked to the entrance, avoiding the intense stare Tyler was giving her.

"I understand your anger, son..." sighed Tyler as his expression hardened. "...but walking away isn't the solution."

"Ironic coming from him." whispered Sha, next to me. I rolled my eyes. The audacity this man had to utter nonsense with such pride.

"I'm not angry, I'm just choosing to leave. Can we go Jessie ?" asks Tyrell as he advanced to the entrance as well, going around his father, avoiding his scowling face.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Yeah." Replied Jessie. They put on their coats and walked out the house.

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"I'll pick you up whenever you're ready. Just call, okay ?" mentioned Jessie as Tyrell got out of the car.

"Ye. Thank you."

"Try to forgive your father...He's the only one you have and nobody's perfect." She continued. He nodded stiffly and entered the home.

"Asad ?" said a voice as Tyrell closed the door behind him. It was a familiar voice and he rapidly realized that it belonged to Kyle. He took off his shoes and coat and walked into the living room. Isabel was sitting on the couch, head looking back to check who had entered the house. "How'd you get in ?" asked Kyle. Contrary to Izzy, he wasn't seated.

"There's a key under the rug..." replied Ty.

"There's a key under the rug !?" repeated Kyle, slightly squealing on the last word.

Tyrell turned his head in Isabel's direction. "Where's Klaewkla ?"

"In his room..." answered Isabel, pointing to the room door.

His eyes then shifted to the door in question. "How is he ?"

She got up and stood next to Tyrell. He might've been only 11 years old yet they had the same height, being both at 1,63m (5'3"). She sighed while crossing her arms before beginning to speak. "We tried talking to him but..." She halted her sentence midway as she took notice of his facial features. "You don't seem well either ?"

"I'm good." He replied briefly while walking to his friends' room door. He knocked once and there was no response. He knocked on his door a second time and there was still no response.

"He might be asleep." commented Kyle. Ty knocked again.

"Who is it ?" grumbled a voice inside.

"It's Tyrell..."

"The door's open..."

"I guess he wasn't sleeping." mumbled Isabel, walking back to the sofa followed by Kyle. Tyrell looked back and shrugged. He then walked into Nate's room.

The curtains in the room were closed and you could tell that the room hadn't had a taste of fresh air in a while. Nate was lying in his bed most likely in the same clothing he wore the day before. His hair was also a mess which is uncommon for him as he always took good care of his weave. His eyes were practically shut when Tyrell turned on the light as he entered the room.

"You look like shit, Klaewkla." He commented, shortly glancing at his surroundings.

"Even in my state, I'm better looking than you." chuckled Nate in a croaky voice.

"How are you holding up ?"

"I'm perfectly fine as you can see."

"Klaewkla."

He straightened himself up as he heard the seriousness in his friend's tone. "What do you want me to say ?" He replied a little despondent.

"Anything. Anything on your mind." answered Tyrell, sitting down on the bedside.

"I don't think I can even sort all the shit that's on my mind. He left me, man..." he began to speak. His voice quickly broke as he uttered more words. "I don't fucking know why...Did he think I'd be ashamed of him for not becoming the new leader ? Did he not want me to see him cry ? I just don't get it. I can't understand why he would do that... No note, no nothing... I'm his son... His fucking son and he just left me behind... I don't get it... I just don't get it..." he weeped. Water also started to build up in Tyrell's eyes.

"I knew how much her death broke him." Nate continued, referring to Skylar. "I could sense it in his eyes even when he tried to hide it. It hurts... It hurts to see my dad like that. It hurts even more that he left..." He hid his face in his hands. A tear rolled down Tyrell's eye. He rapidly wiped it off before wrapping his arms around his friend's trembling shoulders.

"Do you..." blubbered Nate as he started to wipe the tears off his face. "Do you think he'll come back ?"

"He loves you a lot, he'll come back for sure. Klaewkla Nate Yamazaki, son of Shigeru Yamazaki. You have his name, you're his son, he'll never forget nor abandon you."

"Word ?"

"Word. He just needs some time to process everything. He's probably fighting not to call you. You know how he is. He has to act tough, especially in front of you." reassured Tyrell. More tears streamed down Nate's cheekbones. Tyrell stayed by his side until he had fallen asleep. He then got up and picked out a new set of clean clothes out of Nate's closet and placed them on a chair.

"Please insist on him taking showers, coming out of his room, eating properly and socializing. You know it ain't like him to stay alone." commented Tyrell as he got into the living room. "Where's Kyle ?" he asked, noticing he wasn't in the room.

"He's in his room." answered Isabel

"He's staying in Cash's room ?!"

"No, nobody's going in there." answered Isabel, firmly.

"Then where're you sleeping ?" She looked down, pressing her lips tight. "Here ?"

"No..." she replied in a weakened voice. Tyrell tilted his head as confusion clouded his face.

"Where ?" asked Tyrell, dumbfounded.

Isabel slowly slid down in her seat. "In his room.." she mumbled, covering her face with her hands.

"Nate's room !?"

"Can you be any more oblivious ! I sleep with Kyle !" she smacked her palms on the couch.

"You sleep with Kyle !?" repeated Tyrell, eyes widened as if he had discovered the reason why the first human to milk cows found themselves doing that.

"No ! No, I'm not sleeping with him ! Not like that ! We just share the same bed !" She hid her face in her palms again. "It's not making things better is it ?"

"I didn't know you had a thing for him..." mumbled Tyrell.

"What ?"

"Nothing."

"Don't mention it to anyone." she warned. "Anyways..." She signaled him to sit beside her. " You need to get shit off your chest too, I can tell." says Isabel

"Nah I came here for Nate." He replied as he sat next to her on the sofa.

"Don't bullshit me Ty. Did your dad come back ?"

"Mhm, an hour ago."

"You must've been happy to see him."

He paused before answering. His emotions were rising again. "I don't really know how I feel seeing him." Isabel raised a brow. "Ever since Denzel left, our house hasn't been peaceful. I don't want to admit it but it's because of dad. He's always fighting with mom, blaming everything on Denzel and her. He can't be that oblivious..." His brows narrowed as he talked. "And Tanisha... I just don't get why she can't let me join the Gang."

"Nate has always been like a younger brother to me. We may not be blood related but I feel like a bigger sister when I'm with him. As an older sister, I get why Tanisha doesn't want you to join." Irritation crossed Tyrell's facial features and Isabel noticed right away.

" I would literally die if anything happened to my younger brother so I obviously wouldn't have him somewhere where I know he could easily get hurt." she explained, defending her previous words.

He got up and walked away from the couch. "I know I'm not the smartest but I'm not an idiot. I know how this gang shit works. I've been in it all my life, Izzy." He raised his voice, slamming his palm a few times on his chest.

She got up and hurried toward him. "I know but-"

"Don't say but if you dig what I'm saying !" he interrupted her as he inched backwards. " I also have lost people in my life ! I lost my fucking brother ! My fucking blood, yo ! I'm not scared to die if I can fight by the side of my loved ones ! I'm not fucking scared to die !" he sniveled. Isabel hugged him as the tears in his eyes began to flow down his face. His arms remained at his sides while his shoulders trembled. "I ain't scared, yo..." he cried.

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If I told you that Mum and M. Smith fought again the moment Tyrell left, would that surprise you ?

The noise that managed to leave us for a short while had re-entered the house. Words like "Why ?", "Fault", "My", "I", "Never", "You", "Hate" emerged out of the thousands of things they said. Sighs, eye rolls, yells, stomps were also part of the many actions they did. It lasted all evening and I bet that if they hadn't gotten tired, it would have continued. Tell you that even when Tyrell came back, they were still throwing themselves at each other.

The morning was pretty quiet as mum had left early for work, we had to go to school and M. Smith was still dead asleep on the couch. The next few days were also calm. I'm pretty sure Ty's parents purposely changed their schedules so they wouldn't have to see each other. Some days we ate dinner alone, other days with alone with Tyler and others alone with mum. Never did we eat with both of them together.

I have to chuckle a little 'cause I'm out here saying days as if there were that many. That shit only took 7 days. November 17th, JJ, Sha, Ty and I find out that Tyler had moved out. Apparently he was signing the lease of his new crib during the days where he went MIA. Also, Mum and him had already filled in their divorce papers almost a year ago but were reconsidering whether or not to finalize it. Some bullshitty lie talkin' 'bout "Tyrell", "We thought of you kids", "Tyrell", "We still care about each other", "Tyrell".

Anyways, what happened with Denzel was their last straw and they broke it off. We would now only get to see Tyrell every other week as his father moved to the East side of Naire. His father even made him switch schools to be with those bratty "my daddy owns this" East side Naire kids.