Page 1 of Heart Of A Goon II

MENACE

Recommendation: Listen to “Without You” by Fridayy

My son didn’t like people.

He was just like me in every way.

We preferred it to be just the three of us: me, him, and his mother. Before we had been blessed with him, it was just me and Wonder. My son completed our small circle.

Now it was just the two of us.

He gripped me tightly as I stepped forward towards the casket. This shit couldn’t be real.

I wanted it to be a dream.

I spent the entire night trying to sleep because I wanted to wake up and find my wife in the bathroom. She’d be humming lightly while brushing her hair and leaving those curly pieces all in the sink. Shit like that would have given me a stroke. Whenever I entered the bathroom, her hair would be slicked back into a bun, and she would be sliding her glasses on.

Looking perfect.

Stevie is perfect.

Was.

Stevie was perfect.

My heart felt like someone was holding it in their hands and squeezing it whenever my emotions got to me.

“Hey, let me hold him,” Kora whispered, as Dennis reached for his aunt. She kissed his cheeks and then rubbed my back with her free hand.

“I wanted a private funeral, Kora.”

“This is private, Maverick. All friends and family who loved Stevie.”

My hands connected and I started rubbing them as soon as I came closer to the casket. I held back the tears as my eyes started to burn.

This wasn’t supposed to be her ending.

I envisioned us sitting on her island in our old age while she painted the sunset and I sat on the porch. We would have our grandkids surrounding us and she would love that shit.

Shit, I saw myself leaving this earth before she did. That had always been the plan even if I didn’t have the last say. I had lived a life without Wonder, and once she entered, I knew I never wanted to live one without her.

It sounded like someone was screaming my name in the distance. I could hear them, but at the same time I felt like it was all in my head. Kora’s hand rubbed my back, reminding me of what I had to do.

My eyes were blurry as I looked down in the casket and saw white. The screaming was closer as I looked at what should have been my wife’s face.

“Menace!” I heard Bean scream, and this time it was louder.

ZOYA

“Menace!” I screamed.

My heart raced as I watched my brother snap out of a trance. The vein on the side of his neck protruded as he shot at any and everything that moved.

I’ve never seen my brother display that kind of emotion.

He made his way across the room towards where Stevie was lying in a pool of blood. She was near the stairs that led to where Dennis was. A man’s body was sprawled across hers, and blood stained her satin dress. Her freshly curled hair covered the floor.

Menace put a bullet in the head of a man who rushed into the ballroom. Then he tossed his gun and Corleon covered him as he went to his wife.