"Let it out, just let it all out," he told her.
He knew she would probably be a little fucked up for a little while. Especially since this was her first kill. Dream wrapped her arms around him and cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She felt partially relieved now. Shaq would be the least of her worries.
After he finished letting her cry, Carmelo washed Dream from head to toe before they got out of the shower. While the clean-up crew was there to dispose of Shaq's body, Dream stayed in Summer's room.
"Dream," Carmelo called out to her as he walked in the room with a bag.
"Huh?"
"I packed you a bag. We’re not sleeping here tonight. I want you to know I'm very proud of you for being courageous tonight. Not a lot of females would have done what you did. I know this won't be easy for you to deal with, but I'm here for you every step of the way," Carmelo assured her.
Dream just nodded her head, knowing he meant every word.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was a good thing that Dream opted out of putting her house on the market once she moved back in with Carmelo because for two weeks after the incident with Shaquille, that’s where they called home. Melo’s clean-up crew were the best at what they did so when they finally did decide to go back to Carmelo’s, it was as if nothing ever happened.
One would have thought Dream would have felt some type of way moving back into the home where she killed someone, but she didn’t. She didn’t lose an ounce of sleep over it. If anything, killing Shaquille helped her further along in her recovery process. She no longer had dreams of him coming and taking her again. Sleep was as peaceful as it was before all of that happened to her.
Things between Carmelo and Dream were even better. It seemed like with the death of Shaquille, she was able to let go of a lot of feelings that she was harboring, which in turn reflected on how she dealt with Melo on a day-to-day basis. They were doing an amazing job of raising their kids together and an amazing job at getting to know each other all over again. Those days, Dreams was looking forward their wedding, which Dream and Summer were about to start planning.
Summer was happy as well. All she really wanted was to be left alone by Alexandria and for her father and Dream to be happy together again. After Dream put the paws on Alex, she stayed far off of Summer’s radar. And Dream and Melo were good, so Summer was happy. She secretly wished that things could have gone down better between them and her uncle, Caiden. She couldn’t voice that to Carmelo, though, because whenever she mentioned Caiden’s name, he lost it. Summer felt that she was old enough to make decisions for herself so she decided to take matters into her own hands when it came to Caiden.
<><><><>
Summer took her key out of her bag and stuck it in the lock. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever she was about to walk in on. As she walked through the front door, she was highly disappointed at the sight before her. There, on the couch, asleep with his mouth wide open, was none other than Caiden Love. To make matter worst, he had three open and empty liquor bottles lying on the floor in front of him.
“This place is a mess,” Summer huffed as she dropped her bag on the love seat.
Summer picked the bottles up off the floor and took them to the kitchen to throw them in the garbage. When she reached the kitchen, there were more bottles on the counter.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Summer sighed.
She just shook her head as she cleaned up the kitchen before going in the refrigerator to see what she could fix her uncle because she could tell that he hadn’t been eating. His clothes were baggy and his face was slowly starting to sink in. Realizing that there was nothing in the fridge, she opened the freezer to see what she could find in there.
Finally deciding on some sirloin steaks, she took them out the freezer and put them in some hot water to make them thaw faster before walking back to the living room. She walked to the couch and bent down to shake her uncle to wake him up.
“Uncle Cai, wake up.”
Caiden stirred a little but he didn’t wake up.
“Caiden Love!” Summer yelled as she forcefully pushed his body, making him fall onto the floor.
“What the fuck!” Caiden yelled, as he looked around dazed and confused.
He had to grab his head to try to calm down the major headache he had as a result from a hangover. Once the room stopped spinning, he looked up to find Summer standing over him with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.
“Summer?” he asked to make sure he wasn’t still drunk and tripping.
“You need to get up, get in the shower and put some clean clothes on. Get yourself together, sir, like today,” Summer fussed.
Caiden was so happy to see Summer that he didn’t know what to do. If he didn’t have a damn headache, he probably would have jumped up and pulled her into his arms. The last time he had seen her, she had stopped his brother from putting a bullet in his head while he was left sitting on his front lawn.
“Come on, get up,” Summer said as she extended her hand for him to grab a hold of.
Caiden placed his hand in hers as Summer helped him up. He stumbled a little and Summer just shook her head. Her uncle was worse off than she initially thought he was. She knew he had to have been doing bad, but she never would have guessed it was that bad.
“You need me to help you up the stairs?” she asked.
“No, I'm fine,” he told her.
“Okay, take something for that headache while you're up there,” she said.
Caiden knew he had to pull himself together. He hated that Summer had to witness what his life had been like for the past few months since the day she walked out of the hospital with Carmelo. While Caiden was up there getting himself halfway decent, she started making him something to eat.
As she was preparing the steaks, her phone started ringing. She could tell by the ringtone that it was her dad. Instead of answering it, she let the call rollover. She knew if she answered and he questioned her about her whereabouts, she would have to come clean and ten times out of ten, he would make her come home or come over and show out. Any other time, she would never go against her dad, but this was something she felt she had to do.
When she turned around, Caiden was walking into the kitchen. He looked a little better than he had, besides the fact that his eyes were bloodshot and he needed a haircut really badly.
“Have a seat while the food is being cooked. I know you haven’t been eating and that’s not cool. You really need to take care of yourself. All that liquor is going to kill you,” Summer fussed.
It was crazy how the tables had somehow reversed and she was acting like the parent while he was acting like the child. She didn’t mean to badger him, but she needed him to get it together.
“I don’t have nothing to live for anyways,” Caiden mumbled.
“How come you don’t? Look, I know finding out that the child you raised from birth isn’t really your daughter but instead your niece is hard, but it’s not the end of the world, Uncle Cai. You can still be in my life.”
“How? Carmelo acts like he doesn’t even want me around you. Then to find out the way I did was really fucked up,” Caiden spat.
“That may be true, but you can’t put all the blame on your brother. Alexandria played a big part in this, too. As far as I know, everyone really thought I was yours but Alex knew out the gate that wasn’t the fact. Had I not overheard her talking to Nana about it, I never would’ve known and neither would have my dad,” Summer explained.
Caiden knew she was right but that didn’t make his pain any easier to deal with. He felt a little better knowing Summer was there for him but he knew it wouldn’t last long if Carmelo had a say in the matter.
After fixing his plate, Summer stayed with her Uncle for a little while longer and talked with him. She would be lying if she said she didn’t miss him also. Even though the months leading up to her shooting were rocky for them, she didn’t love him any less. She just hated that he
was over here killing himself slowly so she was going to make it a point to check on him regularly.
<><><>
When Summer got home, she knew it was about to go down. She had three missed calls from her dad and two missed calls and a few text messages from her mom. She would rather bump into her mom first and deal with her than her dad. She knew Dream wouldn’t be as hard on her, whereas Carmelo would go straight for the gusto. She quickly tied to tiptoe to the stairs and go straight to her room, but that plan failed miserably.
“You might as well tiptoe your ass right on back here,” she heard her dad say.
She said a quick silent prayer before slowly turning around to face the music. She walked to the den where her dad was sitting holding CJ. She glanced at her mom and Dream sent her silent message letting her know Carmelo was pissed.
“I call, you don’t answer. I text you, and you don’t text me back. I know you better have a good ass explanation for this shit, or those car keys will be mines,” Carmelo told her.
“Actually, I do have an explanation. I couldn’t get to my phone because I was a little busy,” Summer said as she bit her lip.
“Busy doing what? School got out four damn hours ago, Summer!” Carmelo barked.
“I was with Uncle Caiden!” she blurted out.
Dream shifted in her seat a little at the mention of Caiden’s name.
“Caiden? The fuck? Summer, are you serious right now? Fuck was you doing over there without my permission?” Carmelo asked.
Dream couldn’t take it anymore. This whole situation was making her uncomfortable and bringing back memories she didn’t too much care to have. She took CJ from his dad and walked out of the room.
“I didn’t know I needed permission to see my family,” Summer said dryly.
Carmelo looked at her like she had lost her mind. She knew then that now wasn’t the time for her smart remarks or smart mouth, so she let it go.
“Look, dad, I know he’s not one of your favorite people right now, but the fact remains that he’s still blood. I was taught that you never turn your back on your family. You seen it yourself that he’s not doing too good. All I wanted to do was go talk to him. When I got there, I seen how bad off he was and how much of a mess the house was, so I helped him get it together and stuff. Regardless of what you two went through, he’s still your brother. He needs somebody to be there for him, too, dad,” Summer said.
She felt as if she was pleading her case. She knew he would most likely be mad but she didn’t care too much at that point. He had played a big part in her life and she didn’t just feel right leaving him out there like that. She needed her uncle to know that she still loved him and she didn’t want the results of a paternity test come between their relationship.
“Sum, just go upstairs and chill out for a minute,” Carmelo told her.
Summer walked away feeling a little defeated. She should have known her dad and his stubborn ways weren't going to agree with anything she just said.
Dream was in the kitchen cleaning. There really wasn't anything dirty in there but she had to clean the counters to keep her mind off of things. She had tried too hard to forget about what happened to her while Shaq and Caiden had her locked up in that room but it seemed as if it was to no avail. The memories played over and over and over again, no matter what she was doing.
“Yo, Dream!” Carmelo yelled.
“Huh?” she asked confused as to why he was yelling.
“What is wrong with you?” he asked accusingly.
“What makes you think there's something wrong with me, Carmelo?”
“Maybe because I've been standing here for the longest trying to talk to you and the only way I could get your attention was to yell,” he told her.
“Okay, sorry. My mind was somewhere else, but you have my full attention now so tell me what's up,” she said.
“We need to discuss the situation with Summer going to see Caiden,” he explained.
Carmelo noticed a look flash on Dream’s face as he mentioned his brother’s name. This situation was going to have to be placed on the back burner for now because he had other things to worry about.
“Alright, come here,” he said as he pulled her to the table and sat down with her on his lap. “Tell me what's wrong, and you better not lie to me.”
Dream knew how Carmelo was, so she really didn't want to tell him what was wrong, knowing he would probably try to leave and go kill his brother. She really didn't want to be the reason Mama Love ended up losing one of her sons at the hands of her other son.
“Spit it out, Dream, because we can sit here all day. Don't matter to me.”
She turned to look him in his eyes. “Melo, promise me that you won’t doing anything after I'm finished telling what I'm about to say.”
“I can't promise you that, Dream, and you know it,” he told her.
“Then I'm not saying anything,” she said as she tried to get up.
“Okay, I promise,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
Dream took a deep breath. “I never told you, but Shaq wasn't working alone. Caiden was working with him. He didn’t rape me, Melo, but he was there… He watched… I know I should have said something, but I just didn't feel right getting…”
Dream trailed her sentence off when Carmelo stood her up and got up from his seat. A flash of anger spread across his face as he remembered Caiden mumble Dream’s name. He cursed himself for not putting two and two together but it didn’t matter because he was about to retribution. Dream watched as he walked out of the kitchen before listening to everything she had to say. This is the exact reason why she didn't want to tell him in the first place.
“Melo,” she called out to him as she followed behind him. When she caught up to him, she turned him around to face her. “You promised you weren't going to do anything. He's your brother, Carmelo! Everything is in the past now,” she was saying anything she could think of to stop him from doing something crazy.
Carmelo looked at her with cold eyes before turning to leave.
“You promised!” Dream yelled just as the front door was shutting.
Summer stood silently outside of the kitchen with words caught in her throat. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Part of her didn’t want to believe that Caiden would do something so low, but the bigger part of her knew that Dream had no reason to lie. She grew so much more respect for Dream because she knew she was willing to keep Caiden’s name out of it just to keep more drama from erupting amongst the brothers. Dream was selfless, and while Summer admired that, she was still angry. She flew back up to her room, taking the stairs two at a time. Once she reached her room, she flopped down and picked up her phone.
Her first thought was to call Caiden, but she still couldn’t formulate words so she opted for a text.
You are a sick individual. How dare you help Shaq cross your own flesh and blood? Then to watch him rape the only woman who had been a mother to me besides my nana. What type of person are you? When no one wanted anything to do with you, I was there. You had to know how this would hurt me but you didn’t care. Whatever my FATHER does to you, you deserve it. I hope I never see your fucking face again! I hate you!
After sending the message, Summer automatically put Caiden on the block list. She didn’t want to hear any sorry excuse he was going to provide. She was done. The only thing that she hoped at that point was that whatever Carmelo was going to do, for him not to get caught. She thought about how Dream may have been feeling and set out to find her.
In their bedroom, Summer found Dream and CJ lying in bed watching DVR’d episodes of Mickey Mouse Club. It was CJ’s favorite show. Summer climbed in the bed on the other side of her brother and lay there in silence for a little while.
“I’m sorry for what Caiden did to you. I overheard you telling dad. I’m sorry he allowed Shaquille to hurt you,” Summer blurted out before bursting into cries.
“Stop it, Summer Love. None of that is your fault and you h
ave absolutely nothing to cry about. This is why I didn’t want to tell you or your father. I didn’t want to add more strain to an already strained relationship. I was dealing with it on my own but I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Carmelo didn’t leave me a choice.”
Summer didn’t say anything. Instead, she snuggled under her baby brother and watched TV with them until all three of them passed out.
<><><><>
It was well after three in the morning when Dream found herself creeping down the steps. CJ usually woke up around three thirty or four for something to eat, so she liked to be prepared so that he wouldn’t fuss. Just as she was about to turn the corner to enter the kitchen, the front door opened. She backtracked to the foyer and when she saw Carmelo, she ran into his arms and assessed him for damage.
“Are you okay?” Dream asked as she searched his body.
“I’m straight, Dream, chill. That nigga wasn’t there, but on my mother when I catch him, it’s over. All that ‘we family’ shit went out the window when he thought it was okay to cross me.”
Part of Dream was relieved that Caiden wasn’t home. She wanted to put it all in the past and move forward with her family. Wherever Caiden was, he should have been thankful for the message Summer sent because it saved his life.
“Baby, let’s not talk about it, okay? I really just want to forget about it and move on.”
Carmelo agreed for Dream’s sake, but in the back of his mind he knew that it would never be over. Whenever he caught up to his brother, it would be on. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
“Aight, what you doing up? Little Melo up?”
“No, I just wanted to have his bottle ready for when he got up,” Dream said.
“Go back to bed. I got it.”
“You sure?”
Melo nodded and watched as Dream headed toward the stairs.
“Aye, Dream,” he called out.
She stopped midstride and turned around. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she responded before heading up the rest of the stairs and retiring back to bed.
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