Chapter 9Ciara

Chapter 9

Ciara

My heart pounded as I jumped off my motorcycle and stood looking at the basketball court where they killed Cory. On wooden legs, I moved closer. As I pushed open the gate, tearing away the yellow crime tape which the police had put there, I saw a huddled figure in a mint green hoodie sitting in one corner.

A head lifted upon my approach to reveal Cory's best friend Garry. He looked grief stricken and forlorn, his eyes bloodshot and swollen. A knife twisted in my gut for him, and I briskly walked over. He was the last tie I had to my brother, and he was as lost as I was.

"Garry, what are you doing here?" I asked softly. "Why aren't you in school?"

He stood, his eyes brimming with fresh tears. I stepped closer and pulled him into my arms. Rage roiled through me, strengthening my determination to find the one responsible, even if he was just a kid himself. The tears he'd been trying to hold back came in a torrent, causing his body to shake uncontrollably.

"Let it out, it's gonna be okay."

"It-it-it's my fault," he sobbed. "If I'd been here, they probably wouldn't…."

I stepped back and gripped his shoulders. "What could you have done, huh?"

"I-I-I maybe, I-I …"

A sigh released from me, and I pulled him back into a hug. "It's not your fault. But you gotto calm down and tell me everything, from the beginning when this all started. Everything."

We left the basketball field, and I took him on my motorbike to a nearby hamburger place. I ordered an iced Americano and insisted that he have something to eat when he said he wasn't hungry. He ended up eating half a burger and a few of his fries. Then it was time to talk.

"We always knew that Marco ran with a bad crowd, talking about his brother and cousins. He said his uncle was the big boss that could make anybody disappear," he said. "But he never really bothered us at first until Sasha started asking Cory out."

"Who's Sasha?"

"The girl Marco likes."

I nodded. "So, Cory liked this girl too?"

"No, he liked Marsha. But Sasha wouldn't leave him alone and Marco didn't like that."

"And that's when all the bullying started?"

"Yes."

I laughed softly, closing my eyes a second to let this process. "So, my brother got killed for a girl who he didn't even like."

"Miss Ciara. I heard that Marco won't be coming back to school. He's gone."

"You don't worry. I'll find Marco and make him pay."

"But it wasn't Marco who killed Cory. It was his brother and some other dudes. I heard that his cousin was there too."

"Marco wasn't there?"

He looked at me in confusion. "Yes, but it was his brother who shot Cory. Marco came after."

"Garry, you're a nice kid, but you don't know how this wicked world works. Whether Marco pulled the trigger or not, he killed Cory. Got it?" He lowered his eyes and took a deep breath as though he was about to cry again. "Now tell me what you meant earlier at the court. You said you weren't there."

"Mr. Ried asked me to stay back after school to finish my science project because it was due. Marco was also held back at school but left before me because I had to go use the bathroom. When I got there, Marco and his friends were just outside the court. His brother and friends were inside with Cory. When Cory was shot, they got away in a car."

I took Garry's hands in mine. "Garry, listen to me. If Marco hadn't called his brother, none of this would have happened. So, Marco is to blame. You had your project to complete for school. This isn't your fault, none of it is. The bully is to blame."

"Yes ma'am."

"And you gotta promise me to go to school. Make Cory proud. And please don't ever call me ma'am again."

He managed a smile with his response. "Yes, Miss Ciara."

We chatted some more about all the times Marco bothered Cory and how my brother feared that I'd do something drastic on his behalf. He was right. If I'd known about all the times Marco took his money, talked about our mother, or bothered him about any damn thing, it would have been Marco in that morgue.

After a couple of hours hanging with Garry, I dropped him home and promised to let him know when the funeral would be. I was waiting for the autopsy to be completed before I could bury my brother. Although the medical examiner had pronounced him dead and we all knew that he was killed with a single bullet to the chest, it was standard procedure to do the autopsy. I wanted that part of this crap to be over so I could concentrate on more important things, like slitting Carlos' throat.

I wasn't sure what I would do to Marco. I knew he needed to feel some pain for what he did, but Garry's voice kept echoing in my ear. Marco didn't do it.

"The fuck he didn't!" I snarled into the wind as my motorcycle burned the pavement. "I will snap his freaking neck as well. And that Pretty Boy Mike was there too. That family will pay for this."

Garry was just a kid. What the fuck did he know? He wasn't the one being bullied because of a situation he had no control over. I was tempted to get pissed at Garry as well for trying to defend Marco, but I supposed he was just being honest about the situation. Still, if Marco had been a good student and not a brat, none of this would have happened.

Anyway, I pondered what Garry told me about Marco's uncle. Luca had figured that Pretty Boy Mike was not the actual leader of the gang. He was a stand in, which was normal for many factions to protect the leaders' identities. I was curious to know if the uncle was the real boss or not and if he had anything to do with this. What a shame if all of Marco's relatives had to die for his mistake.

Oh well…