"So are y'all coming to my house tonight?"

"I don't know man. You know how Lonni is." I explain to Carter, my homeboy.

"Y'all ain't been over since we was kids. I got new games and stuff." He tries to convince me.

"If I do. I have to talk to La'rey and we have to ask Lonni." I shrug.

"I don't get why y'all don't just come. You know he got a problem with my brother. He gonna say no." He pouts.

"I have never heard him speak about Theo in a bad way." I lie. He's my best friend so...

"He does. Ever since Hyden--" He stops at the realization of saying my brothers name. "I'm sorry Fazo.."

"It's okay." I slouch back in my seat, ready for the bell to ring.

For the rest of the period I didn't speak. I hate to think about Mahyden and him being deceased. I can't believe he's gone. I don't believe it. I wish he would come back, visit me in my dreams, or something. He always took care of us, so why leave us behind. I hate him for it. I swear I do. He left me. He left us. La'rey still has faith but mines is slowly deteriorating. I'm starting to resent La'rey too. I always felt like he was favored over me. Jalonni pays more attention to him, he always wants to be around him, and where does that leave me? Pretty soon Faizon will leave too.

I'm knocked out of my thoughts when the teacher shakes me. I look up at him puzzled.

"The bell just rung for you to leave. You okay?"

I look around the class and nod. I grab my things and walk out of the classroom. La'rey always waits for me by the class but he stayed home today. I place my things in my locker, and shut it. I begin walking to my bus. I hear my name being called down the hall, so I turn around and see Carter.

"So you can come?" He badgers.

I hesitate before answering. "Yeah. I'll ride your bus."

I know I just lied but Carter is my Bestfriend. I can't continue to put him off or I'll be alone. I have no friends. La'rey knows everyone and I'm just his sidekick. Maybe if I start being more rebellious Jalonni will love me too!

I've started slacking off in school. I'm super tired nowadays, and I don't get waken up. If I don't wake myself up Jalonni will force Faizon not to wake me up. Jalonni truly wants me to fail, but no matter how much he hurts us. I can't bring myself to hate him. He's still my brother and my caretaker.

I turn to the side of my bed, and sit up. I stretch and stand up to use the bathroom. After I release myself, I go back to my bed, and slide on my pajama bottoms. I barely wear shirts in the house. I open my door and go downstairs to get something to eat. Once I get to the bottom I see Jalonni sitting on the sofa with some dude. They were both in uniform.

They both looked back at me, and his friend nodded while Jalonni just mugged me. His usual expression. I walk into the kitchen and grab me a hot pocket to eat. I heat it up, and return to the dining room to finish eating. Jalonni and his friend walk into the dining room, and sat down to eat their Chinese food. I didn't even blink an eye. Jalonni hasn't spoken to me since that beating I received three days ago. I'm marked as the rebellious one to him.

"You know I went to North Carolina for that case right?" His friend starts talking to him, with a mouth full of food.

Very disrespectful.

"Yeah." Jalonni's deep voice uttered.

"That night we went out to the club. A strip club at that, and I got a dance from a stripper." He laughed.

Jalonni chuckled. "How was it?"

I was done with them now. I started finishing up my food so I could leave the table.

"Man, it was banging. Shorty had me about to have a stroke but it's something strange about it though." He replied.

I was at the last few bites of my second hot pocket. He was urking my soul talking with his mouth full.

"What happened man?" Jalonni asked, impatiently.

The dude sighed. "You gonna think this is crazy man but the stripper dead ass looked like your brother."

I coughed up my bite I had just swallowed causing them to look at me crazy.

"You good lil bruh?" His friend asked me, while Jalonni stared.

I nodded yes.

"Finish what you was saying." Jalonni motioned to him. Now giving him his full undivided attention.

"The boys and I went to just take a load off. Some of them went to the girl side. I just had to go to the male side since it was equally packed." He stops to eat another bite. By now I'm eating slowly and Jalonni is staring intently. "So, we got in there and most of the strippers was basic. He walked over out of nowhere, and asked did we want a dance. I got a dance from him and shit, but I couldn't help but stare at him. After he danced on me I asked what his name was and he said Darrien. So I don't know if it's him or not."

I was shocked and I glanced over at Jalonni to see an unreadable expression on his face. He stared at the table in deep thought for a minute. I had to speak up.

"That's bullshit!" I slammed my hand on the table. "My fucking brother is dead and you want to play like he isn't."

Jalonni looked over at me still with no emotion or expression.

"Calm down. I was just saying." His friend tries to explain but I was livid.

"NO! Don't say shit about my brother. My dead brother. Jalonni you're just gonna sit there and listen to this shit?" I turned questioning him.

He still continued to ignore me.

I huffed and walked off. I couldn't bear to listen to him and his lies anymore. Jalonni not saying anything was questionable to me as well. Did he know something I didn't? I mean he is a cadet police officer. He could have doubts about Mahyden still being missing. It was too much for my ears. I look over at the time and it's 4:30. Where the hell is Faizon. School let out at 3:00. I just hope he hasn't done anything crazy.

I pick up my phone and call him. The phone rings and rings but he doesn't answer. I start to panic because he knows how Jalonni is about us coming straight home. Why does he always have to be difficult? I pick up the phone again and dial his Best friend Carter's number. The phone rings and he immediately picks up.

"Wassup?" Faizon answers into the phone.

"Are you fricking crazy dude? Where are you?" I ask in a frenzy.

"Over Carter's house." He says, nonchalantly.

My eyes bulge out of my sockets. "Without asking. Are you insane?"

"Why is Lonni looking for me?" He asks.

"No but--"

"Okay well when he is let me know."

He is seriously bugging.

"Faizon that's bad thing. Why are you acting like this? Come home."

"Because maybe he will love me if I start acting like you. You get all of the attention when you're bad."

I sigh because I know why he is doing this. "You didn't take your medicine did you?" I ask, sadly.

"I don't like it. I can't be happy with it."

A happy Schizophrenic is something new.

"Faizon you need to come home and take your medicine. You're not thing about this."

"Do you think that Jalonni hates me?" He asks, out of the blue.

"What? Faizon look..." I sigh. "Come home and take your meds so we can talk. I have something crazy to tell you."

He sighs heavily on his end. "Okay. I'm coming." He says lowly and hangs up.

I don't understand him sometimes. He my brother and I love him no matter what but sometimes this disorder takes him over. I don't understand when it started or if anyone ever knew because I surely didn't. By me being the oldest twin I constantly have to look out for him. I wouldn't know what to if my brother got hurt.

After La'rey had his little outburst and ran off I just sat back in thought. Normally I would've knocked his ass out but he was right this was a little far fetched.

"You say you saw him in North Carolina?" I ask, after my prolonged silence.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I don't know man." I shake my head.

He leaned over and whispered. "Come on man. You know good and well he isn't dead. They never found him."

I probably just did.

"I know that but Gav. Okay how would he have gotten there?" I ask.

"I just told you he may be a stripper." He repeated.

I sit back and rub my chin. I don't know what to believe. "I'll look into it. What was the name of the club?"

"Little Dell's " He quickly responds.

"What was his stripper name?"

"Ri$kay." He squints and sits back. "So you do believe me?"

"Not really but I'll look into it." I answer, and glance over at Faizon just now coming through the door. "Come in here boy." I demand. Has he lost his mind?

"Where you coming from?" I ask.

"I was with Carter." He answers.

My eyes widen. "Who? You talking about that nigga lil brother? " I want to clarify before I beat his ass.

La'rey comes down the stairs.

"Yeah he's Theo little brother. We was just studying Lonni. I swear." He tries to explain innocently.

"So you disobey what I told you not to do huh? You just said fuck it didn't you?" I stood up from my chair to approach him.

He started to step back from me. La'rey came and jumped in front of him. "Lonni stop it. He didn't didn't take his meds."

I look at La'rey like he had three heads then back at Faizon. My rage I wanted to release on them was unbearable. I turned back to Gavin at the table. "You up for a trip back up to North Carolina soon?"

"We'll see." He answers standing up, throwing his trash away.

I turn back around to face the twins. "I'll deal with y'all later. Get him out of my face."

They scurry up the stairs out of my sight. I don't understand why I'm mad but I know what's causing my rage to build. Mahyden. I flashed back to the last thing I told him before he decided to run off.

"I'll find you."

And I think I just did.

Gavin and I leave to go back to the training station. I needed to get my mind back on work before I explode. A part of me knows there could be a strong possibility that Mahyden is still alive. Another part figures that he would have at least contacted someone back home if he was. Either way if I find him that ass is mines. He really thought he could disappear and I wouldn't find him? I got him check and mate.

"Yo Roy..." I call out to my fellow officer walking down the hall.

"Wassup Jalonni." He turns around.

"You still work in the filing department? " I ask.

"Yeah..." He furrows his eyebrows at me.

"I need a favor.. "

He starts to shake his head. "What is it now?"

"I need you to pull Mahyden Zonilli's case file for me."

He pulls back from our conversation. "I don't know man..." He hesitates.

"Come on man. I'll give you what I gave you last time." I whisper, licking my lips.

He sighs heavily. "Okay... Meet me here after your shift."

"Alright..." I smile brightly. "Thanks man..." I dap him and walk off.

Let the search begin...