29

                                    

                                          
Giovanni Haynes 
                          
                               3:00 am Thursday morning we received tragic news from the hospital. Stefano Amendola past. Father hug mom as she cried for the lost of her younger brother. I stood leaning against the wall of the living room as weeping were heard around the room. 
                          
Rayan and Luca were still sleeping but Haylie who had been sleeping in her parents bed was woken up by the loud cry of my mother when the news was received. She now lay in Bentley arms sobbing. 
                          
My mother and I was suppose to visit him in the morning. She was going to bring him more clothes and he had asked me to bring him an entire box of pop rocks; joking about not being able to eat his favourite candy once he was dead, something I didn't find funny. 
                          
I thought of all the time I wasted loathing him all because of one evil woman. The very same woman who didn't even visit him once while he was in the hospital. Then the imagine of Luca when we tell him that his father was gone. He's so young he won't understand but as days go by he'll start to realize that his father was never coming back, what would he make of it then. It was very clear that his mothers' absence had already gotten to him. 
                          
Mateo sat in the sofa looking like his mind was far away. Father however stood still holding mom with a void expression. He wasn't a fan of Stefano and neither was he which makes me wonder if he was feeling any remorse. Whenever they cross paths they would get into a brawl. I am not aware of how the bad blood came along but I remember mother saying once that they were both hard headed and nothing she tries will make them get along. 
                          
            We stood watching as Stefano Amendola was being laid to rest. Luca stood holding Mateo hand as he watched what happen. There was no telling what that poor kid must have been thinking. When we broke the news to him a day ago all he did was nod and said. 'Daddy's in a better place.' That was the last thing I expected a four year old to say after telling him he wouldn't be able to see his father again. 
                          
What surprised us all was Jasmine who showed up in the church and taking one of the seats assigned for family. She didn't care for Stefano despite of them not being together yet here she stood in all her demonic glory with not a single hair out of place. 
                          
After the funeral was over I approach her. "What are you doing here?" 
                          
Mateo and Bentley came standing next to me as the three of us wait for her answer. 
                          
"We didn't get to finish our conversation the last time I saw you—"
                          
"You went to see her?"Bent says. He was always the last person to know what's going on, which makes me wonder how he is able to run a billionaire company without any trouble. 
                          
"That's besides the point, brother." I remove the dark glasses I was wearing for this woman to see the glare directed at her. "I won't repeat myself Jasmine."
                          
She looks ahead at Luca who was in my mothers' arms. "I can't be the mother that I should be to Luca. I was not cut out to be a mother, I'm horrible at it. Whenever he cried I would start to panic because I'm not sure why he's crying. I remember this one time, he was hungry and I gave him a cookie, it was only when he started to choke on it I realize that I shouldn't have given a four month old a damn cookie. He doesn't deserve someone like me in his life."
                          
"Damn straight he doesn't." Mateo says. 
                          
Jasmine nods. "I deserve that. I want him to live his best life and I can't give him that."