“Where was I?” she asked, her chest igniting with rage. “Where were you?” She shouted. “I was at work, trying to make sure she had food in her stomach and warm clothes on her back! I couldn’t be everywhere at once! I just needed a little help,” Alani cried. She was melting down, her shoulders shaking, as she cried into the phone. “Lucas was supposed to watch her. This is all my fault. I should have been there!” Her admission of guilt was so heavy that Cream backed down.

“It’s not your fault, La,” he said, as he sniffed and cleared his throat. She could hear him trying to keep his composure. “I swear to God, I’m going to murder the niggas responsible for this shit. It’s over for niggas.” He was riding waves of emotion, going from rage to sadness in seconds, as he tried to process this. He had called to say, ‘I love you’, not to hear this. Now, he wished he could rewind time to moments before when he hadn’t known...when his world hadn’t been rocked by this news that his brain couldn’t process. It made no sense. In what land did little girls die behind some street beef? In the land of Flint, Michigan. It happened every day, but Cream had never thought it would happen to him. “Niggas are about to bury their moms, their kids, their fucking baby moms. Whoever had anything to do with this is going to feel me.”

“You have one minute left.” The automated operator had placed them on a countdown.

“When is the funeral?” Cream asked.

“I…I don’t know. I can’t afford... I don’t have insurance. She’s laying on a cold slab waiting for me, Cream, and I don’t have the money to bury her,” Alani whispered.

“I’ll see what I can do, La.”

Alani sighed because she knew he wouldn’t come through. He had been seeing what he could do for two and a half years; and so far, he hadn’t done shit. She knew now was the one time she couldn’t chastise him because she couldn’t do a damn thing either. Somewhere along the way, the two of them had failed as parents.

“I’m so sorry. I love you. I do. Come see about me, La. I need to see you after some shit like this…”

CLICK

Their time was up and Alani closed her eyes, feeling even more hopeless than before.

10

Ethic walked into the funeral home and he could smell the scent of death in the air. It had a distinct odor; one that reminded him that his time on this earth was borrowed. One day, he would have to pay it back. He only prayed it was no time soon. A woman greeted him, her eyes friendly as she said, “Good morning. How can I help you?”