by Jahquel J
A Staten Island Love Letter 2: The Forgotten Borough
Jahquel J.
Copyright © 2019
Published by Urban Chapters Publications
www.urbanchapterspublications.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher. This is an original work of fiction. Name, characters, places and incident are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Contains explicit languages and adult themes
suitable for ages 16+
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Synopsis:
When you’re at the top, people question why? Zeek and Zoe moved to Staten Island to lay low, but instead found out that there was money to be made there. Wanting Ghost’s position in the street, they’re willing to do whatever to get it, including killing whoever means the most to him. When Zeek makes a call that he thought would end Ghost, but could possible end him too… what happens?
Ghost wants to know, who would try him and his family this way? Tearing Staten Island apart to find answers that may lie in the hands of Liberty, who heard a one-sided conversation that Zeek had previous to Staten and Summer being gunned down. Liberty has her own fair share of skeletons, but once those skeletons start to fall out the closet, she has no choice but to come clean to her sister and mother.
Freedom knows she needs to talk to her twins about their father, but fights hard trying to figure out how. With Mama Rae in her ear, she realizes that she has no choice, but to tell her children that she has lied to them their entire life. Zoe isn’t willing to leave Freedom alone. He’s willing to do anything to get back in her good graces, that even includes trying to end Ghost.
You don’t mention Staten Island without mentioning the Garibaldi family. Ghost and the Garibaldi family go back for years. When chaos erupts on Staten Island, Messiah laces up her Timbs and gets ready to go to war. This time she’s not alone… her daughters are joining her.
Kiss’ paternity of her child is still a mystery to Priest. The person who actually fathers his niece’s child is the last person he expects. Juggling his own personal life and trying to raise three girls, Priest might reach his breaking point, especially when Justice breaks his heart for the final time.
Y’all were sleep on the forgotten borough, but it’s safe to assume you’re wide awake and ready for the explosive sequel to this series. Pay your toll, sit back and welcome to Staten Island!
Playlist:
Midnight Train – Sam Smith
Super Star- Luther Vandross
Every Time You Go Away – Brian McKnight
All of Me – Lloyd ft Wale
I Am – Mary J. Blige
Hold On – Lil Kim ft Mary J Blige
I’ll Forgive You – Bobby V
Kiss It Better - Rihanna
Comfortable – Lil Wayne
Emotion – Destiny Childs
Note From Author:
Book two of this series almost took me out. I pushed this date back so many times because I wanted this to be perfect. Book two is emotional and it deals with a lot. Everything about the emotion displayed in this book is so real. I took the emotions from trauma I’ve been through and added it all into this book. I sat up crying real tears over this book. I think this is the most emotional book I’ve ever written in my entire life. I hope you all enjoy it fully.
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1
Freedom
Ghost tossed my phone down and made a beeline for the door. He hadn’t said anything since he ended the call with Liberty. My mother stopped praying in the middle of Ghost screaming on the phone at Liberty. Mama Rae rushed out behind him. I picked up my phone and looked at the shattered screen. This was the second time that I would have to replace my phone.
“What is going on?” my mother questioned.
“I’m going to find out,” I replied and exited out the room. When I came into the hall, both Mama Rae and Ghost were quickly walking down the hall toward the elevators. “Gyson!” I yelled and lightly jogged over to where he and Mama Rae were standing.
“Right now isn’t the time, Free. I gotta head back to Staten Island… Staten and Summer both got shot,” he revealed, and I gasped. Tears immediately came to my eyes and I felt faint.
“I’m coming with you,” I said and grabbed hold of his hands. There was no way that I was going to stay here and be updated via phone.
Who would shoot a child? I could understand Staten. I’d be a fool to question who would shoot him. Staten was in the streets and there was a long list of people that probably wanted him dead. But, a baby? What did Summer ever do to anyone? I could tell that Mama Rae was a ball of nerves and on the verge of a breakdown. I touched her shoulders and she grabbed my hands and squeezed them.
“Who would do this?” I questioned as the elevator took us down to the parking garage. There were all kind of thoughts running through my head.
“Yo, right now isn’t the time for the questions,” he barked as the elevator doors opened. I understood his mind was on ten, but I wanted to know who would do something like this to Summer.
“I just want to know if we’re safe, Ghost! I was seen with you and I need to know if me and my kids will be safe.” It sounded selfish and when it came out I regretted even uttering the words. Still, I needed to know if my life was in danger.
“Right now isn’t the time, baby,” Mama Rae told me as Ghost continued to walk ahead to the car.
We both stopped when he spun around and looked me in the eyes. “You worried about your life, but didn’t give a damn about me or my kids’ lives when you hid them from me! Freedom don’t say shit else to me about what the fuck you need to know!” he roared and then turned back around.
I looked at Mama Rae and she shook her head to let me know that it wasn’t her who had mentioned anything to him about the twins. Even still mad, he held the door open for me and then his mother. Soon as he got behind the wheel, he pulled off like a bat out of hell. I leaned back and closed my eyes regretting that I had even said anything. How long did he know about the twins? And why was today the first day that he mentioned it to me? Was that why he continued to probe and ask about the twins’ father? Either way, my heart was beating out of my chest and I didn’t know how to approach the situation. I wish Justice was awake to vent to. We had been so busy praying and trying to get on with regular life that I hadn’t had a chance to miss my sister. I was angry with her. So angry t
hat she would continue to be with a man like Todd. A man that didn’t give a fuck about her and tried to end her life.
“Ghos—”
“Free, I’m not gonna do this with you right now. My fucking daughter and brother are fighting for their lives. Say nothing else,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I’m jus—”
“Aye, what the fuck did I just say? Right now isn’t the time,” he warned me and continued speeding. I prayed we didn’t get pulled over heading back to Staten Island.
Ghost flew through the tolls and the highway and made to Staten Island in record time. When he pulled into the parking lot, he didn’t bother to park. Mama Rae jumped out with him while I climbed over the seat to go and park the truck. I was so scared about everything going on that I parked and quickly jumped out the truck to run inside.
“Hi, Summer Davis… her father just walked in five minutes ago,” I stopped at the reception desk.
“Walk through those doors,” she pressed the buttons and the automatic doors opened. I quickly scanned the halls and found Ghost at the nurse’s desk yelling.
I ran over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Babe, calm down…” I pushed him away and looked at the nurse. You could tell she was afraid that this big black man was screaming at her.
“His daughter is Summer Davis,” I softened my voice and stared at her.
“I’m not sure I’m her nu—”
“Ma’am, you have a computer with hospital information on it. Tell us which part of this hospital his daughter is in.”
She sat down in the chair and typed in the name I had just told her. “She’s in surgery right now. Go to the second floor to the surgical unit,” she wrote down something on a pass. “Hand this to the nurse up in surgical,” she informed me.
“What about Shaliq Davis?” Mama Rae spoke up. My mind was on getting Ghost to his baby and making sure she was alive.
The nurse started to type then stopped. “How do you spell that, ma’am?” Ghost was pacing and cursing under his breath while trying to hold his composure.
“S-h-a-l-i-q,” Mama Rae spelled, and she typed it into the computer. “He’s out of surgery and he’s in the ICU. Only one visitor at a time.”
“Ma go be with Staten and I’m going up to wait in the surgical wing,” Ghost said as we both headed upstairs.
When we got upstairs I handed the paper to the surgical nurse and she nodded to the waiting area. My palms were sweating, and I was praying hard that this little girl made it. She didn’t deserve to die. Ghost and Staten chose this life, she didn’t. Ghost paced the waiting area talking to himself. There was another family waiting and I could tell with each time he punched his hand and mumbled something, he was making them nervous. I walked over to him and gently grabbed his hand and held it to my chest. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was scared like she was my own child in that operating room. Still, I needed to put my feelings aside and remember that Ghost was her parent and it didn’t matter how I felt, he was feeling ten times worse than I was.
“Move Freedom,” he lightly shoved me away from him. I stood there and closed my eyes because I knew he was hurting and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. Then, add that he just called me out about having the twins and not telling him about it. It was all too much to handle right now for him.
“Should I call her mother? I know you’re not in the position to talk right now,” I said, barely above a whisper.
He turned around and stared me right into the eye. “Nah. What the fuck would you call for? Yo, on the real, Free, why the fuck are you still here?”
“You’re angry. I’m not leaving you until I know your daughter is fine,” I folded my arms and went over to the chair. “Sit down. You’re making them nervous,” I nodded over to the family.
“Fuck them and fuck you!” he roared as he stared me in the eyes. My feelings were hurt, and tears were burning my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“You don’t mean that.”
He turned around and walked over to me quickly. “Nah, I mean that with every bone in my fucking body. You left me and knew you were fucking pregnant. Then hid my seeds from me for years,” he loudly replied. The family that was so nervous moments ago were all too intrigued now.
“Mind ya’ll fucking business!” I yelled and turned my attention to Ghost. “I had no clue that I was pregnant when I left.”
“But, you found out and didn’t come back home and say shit to me. Even now, you still wasn’t going to say shit if Staten didn’t run into your sister earlier and put me on.”
“It doesn’t matter. I had to do what was best for me and my kids. I didn’t want them in this life. Look what happened to Summer because of the life you live.”
My words hurt him, and I could tell from the expression that the guilt was eating him alive the moment Liberty had called him. “I came up here as fast as I could,” Liberty interrupted our argument.
“Sissy,” I cried as I ran into her arms and sobbed.
“What the fuck are you crying for, Free? It wasn’t your child that was shot,” Liberty shoved me and went over to Ghost. She briefly hugged him and then held his hand. “She had four bullets removed with the first surgery and they decided to leave the last one in because it was too risky to remove. The bullet moved and they needed to remove it as soon as possible,” Liberty explained everything to Ghost. “I’m sorry, Ghost. I told them to do everything they could to save her life.”
“What is gonna happen now?”
“You still here?” Ghost looked at me. “For real, you need to dip, Freedom,” he scolded. I felt so small standing there in front of him.
Grabbing my purse from the chair, I turned and looked at him. “Say no more,” I turned and headed toward the elevator. I prayed that Summer made it through surgery, but I now saw why I kept my distance away from Gyson.
“This isn’t about you, Free. Why are you making this about you when you should be here trying to console him? His brother and daughter were both shot, and he can’t be with both. Be there instead of making shit about you,” Liberty said as she walked up behind me.
“How am I making this about me? You see how he’s talking to me,” I whined.
Liberty crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at the same time. “I love you, Free. You know I do, but right now I don’t even want to deal with you. Go home to the twins,” she told me and turned to walk away.
“He knows about the twins, Lib.”
“And you think right now is a perfect time to discuss this? So what if he knows? He should have been fucking knew. Go home, Free,” she scoffed and turned to walk away.
I ordered an Uber and went to sit downstairs to wait. As much as I was trying not to make this about me, it was hard. My feelings were hurt, and I needed someone, anyone to hold me. The cold whipped across my face and stung. Except, it was nothing compared to the pain I felt inside of my chest from what transpired.
“What are you doing out here?” Mama Rae came and sat down beside me. “It’s freezing out here,” she shivered and pulled her coat over her one hand. The other hand held a cigarette; Newport 100’s. She had been smoking them since before I left Staten Island, ten years ago.
“How’s Staten doing?” I switched subjects. There was no need for me to get into why I was sitting out here waiting on a Uber.
Mama Rae took a pull from her cigarette as her legs shook. “Staten has always been my tough boy… you know? Ghost has always been the brains, but it was Staten who could take a hit and jump back up like it never happened,” she continued to puff on her cigarette. “Right now, I don’t recognize the man lying in that bed,” she sobbed. Pulling her into my arms, I hugged and kissed her.
“I’m so sorry, Mama Rae,” I sniffled and rocked her in my arms. The Uber pulled up and I sat there like I hadn’t just ordered it.
She sniffled and flicked away the ashes that accumulated on her cigarette before taking another pull. “It’s so hard seeing him that way.
I’m used to him being the one to hold us together.”
“Who would do something like this?” I questioned more to myself than to Mama Rae. There was a code when it came to the streets. Mothers and babies were off limits. Whoever that had the balls to do this, clearly didn’t give a shit about the code.
“I’m not a fool. I know where the money, houses, cars and jewels come from. Gyson has businesses, but I know how he got those businesses. I’m not naïve enough to believe that no harm would ever come to either of my sons…” she paused. “But, to my grand babies too. Help it make sense to me, Free,” she sniffled and continued to puff on her cigarette.
“You know Gyson is going to tear Staten Island apart trying to find who did this,” I continued to rub her back.
“Mama!” Mirror ran up to us and hugged her tightly. “I heard about everything,” she replied as she looked over at me.
“Summer is in surgery and Staten is in the ICU,” I informed her.
“Who would do something like this?” she looked from her mother to me. If I knew I would have told her, except I had no clue.
“We don’t know, Mir. Go inside and see your brother, then go get Rain. He hasn’t woke up yet, but you can go in there and see him.” Mama Rae kissed Mirror on the forehead.
“Mama, I don’t think I can go in there alone… you have tears in your eyes,” she wiped her mother’s eyes.
“There’s only one allowed at a time,” she replied. “Go inside and sit with him, baby girl,” she kissed Mirror on the cheek and sent her inside the hospital.
She flicked the butt of the cigarette and then lit another one. “First Justice, now this. How much more can we take?” she sighed as she took a pull of the cigarette.
