Lux rummaged through half empty drawers in her now vacant room. She packed the last of her things in two duffle bags and threw them in the backseat of her new car. She stared back up at her house knowing that this was a chapter in her life that was ending for good. There wasn't much else to say other than goodbye.

"I was wondering when I'd see you again." Lux turned around to see her old class mate, Xia Sheng exiting her car. "Your parents said you weren't living here anymore. And that you'd be here today to pick up your graduation gift." She peaked through the window of the car and saw the duffles. "Gotta say, never foresaw you winding up with a gangster."

Lux's heart started to beat against her chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seriously? Did your accident knock some screws loose?" The news about Lux being in the hospital spread across the school and nobody knew much. The students that Lux used to tutor all signed a card showing their thanks and wishing for a speedy recovery, but the card never made it to her. It was ripped up and thrown away after Xia had taken it and said she'd hand deliver the card herself.

"What I do and who I'm with is nobodies business."

"I'd agree if it didn't have anything to do with Shorter Wong of all people." Xia's eyes darkened, "You do remember right? About what happened to my dad junior year?" Lux stayed silent. "Of course you don't. You were too busy winning first place in everything while I had to take a backseat and help my dad after Shorter and his gang nearly killed him."

Lux vaguely remembered the incident by over hearing whispering students in the halls. Something about Xia's father, Sheriff Sheng taking a leave. She didn't know why, and at the time she didn't concern herself with asking any questions. "Shorter isn't in jail for hurting your dad. So that leads me to believe that he didn't do anything."

"Well then that makes you stupid."

"Why are you even here?"

"To let you know that Shorter and his gang are going to pay for what they did to him and there's nothing you can do about it." Xia backed away to her car, "There's eyes everywhere Lux. And people talk. But I'm sure you already knew that." She gave one last glare before driving off, leaving Lux with more anxieties than she already had.

People talk, Lux repeated to herself. Too many words being spilt from flooding mouths, yet it's hard to tell where the leak is coming from.
________________________
"How much longer?" Lao grumbled from the passenger seat. He hadn't been able to keep his promise to Shorter about staying sober, so the gang thought it was best for him to go to one of the safe houses with Sing to detox.

"Just a few more minutes." Sing glanced over at his tired brother and sighed. It was tough to watch someone you loved fall deeper into a void with almost no intention of wanting to get out. No matter what Sing tried, whether it be nursing Lao back to health or being by his side during his withdrawals, he always found a way to relapse and score some more product. On enemy territory no less.  "How you feeling?"

"Cold." Lao shivered. He had his arms crossed tightly over his stomach to try and subdue the cramps in his gut, but it didn't help much. The swerving from Sing's bad driving didn't make Lao's nausea any better either. "Are you tryna kill us before we even get there?"

Sing concentrated on the road ahead, ignoring his brother completely.  He felt let down and disappointed. The anger was bubbling inside his chest and he was ready to erupt in a screaming fit but he knew it was too late for that . Sing didn't want to do this. After all this time he tried helping his brother, it just wasn't fair that Shorter had tasked him to do this of all things. Even though Lao brought it all upon himself, it was up to little brother to clean up the mess much like he did after Lao's vomiting episodes during withdrawal. It was now time to put an end to that once and for all.
_____________________
Lux had got back home to find another note on the counter. That's how Shorter tended to communicate when he'd leave suddenly. The piece of scrap paper read, "Won't be back until late tonight or tomorrow morning. Sunshine should be there already to keep you company. Love you." He ended the note with a sketch of a sloppy heart.

The bedroom door creaked open and out walked a blonde boy who was drying his hands onto his jeans. This must be Sunshine, Lux thought to herself. "Hi." He held up a hand and smiled, "Shorter told me to-"

"Yeah I read the note." Lux cut the boy off. "Where'd he go?" Sunshine stayed quiet. "Ah. You can't tell me." Lux stiffly nodded, becoming annoyed. The deal was that Shorter would inform her on things he felt she needed to know, but it had seemed like that rule was more in his favor if anything, considering she was still left in the dark. "Right. I noticed that Sing and some of the other guys are gone too. What's that about?" Lux went to the bedroom and plopped her bags onto the floor beside the bed, with Sunshine following behind her.

"Gang stuff."

"And you stayed behind because?"

Sunshine was specifically told by Shorter to keep his mouth shut. He didn't want Lux to worry about him or anybody. Knowing her, she'd do her own investigating and figure out things that she wished she hadn't. "I wasn't needed. And Shorter doesn't like the thought of you being lonely here."

"Would be nice if he told me that himself."

"Adjusting isn't easy." That comment caught Lux off guard. She turned around and stared at the boy, waiting for further explanation. He fiddled in his stance, burying his hands deep into his pockets. "Sorry it's not my place to speak."

"Does Shorter tell you anything?"

"About you guys? No. We were against him bringing you here. No offense!" He shot his hands outward in a defensive manner.

Lux raised an eyebrow. This boy was a lot different than the other guys she's met from Shorter's gang. This one was awkward and she could tell that he had a bigger soft side than the rest of them. If she could get anyone to flip on Shorter and give her updates on what he was doing, it'd definitely be Sunshine. Lux gave a soft smile, "None taken." She giggled, "Well hey, last time Smiley helped move around furniture while I was cleaning. Think you could give a hand with my unpacking?"

"Sure." The boy quickly got to folding, purposely avoiding touching anything that was underwear and bras. Last thing he needed was for Shorter to find out he touched his girlfriend's unmentionables. 

As they folded, Lux tried getting to know the boy better. He was eighteen years old and had been part of Shorter's gang for two years. He came from a broken family and lived with his uncle until he died when Sunshine was fifteen. After that, the boy found himself getting into trouble with the law, which was a disappointment to his teachers who described him as gifted. It was a shame to see his talents go to waste for a life of crime.

If Sunshine would have gone to her school, Lux was sure that they would have been friends. He was smart with a creative mind, kind of like her. He had mentioned that in his free time he liked to read and write stories in a journal that he'd keep hidden under his mattress. Lux chuckled at the thought of a bad boy gangster hiding something like that as if it were a diary. But the fact that he let information like that slip, told Lux that her theory about him was right. She could get information out of him if need be.

"I love reading and writing too." Lux added, "That stack of books in the corner are mine."

"Oh yeah I saw those. Most people read on their phones or tablets now. I personally prefer flipping an actual page."

"Same here. I always liked highlighting stuff and taking notes in my books. Even if it wasn't for a book report."

Sunshine felt like he had just met the girl version of himself. He was bummed when Shorter sacked him with babysitting but now it didn't seem too bad. After sometime, Lux had felt like Sunshine had let his guard down and decided it was time to squeeze some information out of him.

"I'm taking it as you and the guys are really close?" She asked, pouring a glass of warm tea for the two of them.

"Yeah we kinda have to be. Doesn't mean we all get along though."

"Yeah, Sing had mentioned that to me before."

Sunshine sipped the drink and put the glass down, "Yeah? What else has little Sing told you?"

Lux was smart, she figured Sunshine was also taking this as an opportunity to scope her out, just like how Ash did when they first met. She knew to be careful with her words. "Nothing much. The way he described things it seemed more like hazing the new kid to me."

Sunshine laughed, "Yeah, he's a good kid. A lot stronger than I expected."

"Meaning?"

He shrugged, "The whole car accident thing. We tried to kill him for thinking he was a rat and we were wrong. We made it up to him in our own way and Sing could have held it against us but he didn't. He put the gang over his own feelings and that's what you've gotta do. Not just him. It goes for any of us."

"Yeah. That wreck was something." Lux looked down at her arm with the now removed cast.

"I never apologized for that." Sunshine stood up. "I'm really sorry. If I would have known you were in the car, we would have called the hit off. I swear it." He bowed his head, "I hope you could forgive us."

Lux had convinced herself that the wreck was a big misunderstanding and that it was nobody's fault, but that was far from the truth. The fault was on the person who okayed the hit in the first place and included everyone who was involved. "I'm not upset about it anymore. It's fine. We've all moved on." Sunshine stayed silent as his posture stiffened. "What?"

"Nothing." Sunshine shook his head, "You're right. We've all moved on." He took another sip of the warm tea. "Tastes great."
__________________
Lao entered the safe house first. He stumbled inside, being half asleep and ready to lay in bed and start sobering up. This time things would be different. He told himself. This time he'd really change and be loyal to the gang.

Sing followed behind his older brother as he stepped into the bedroom at the back of the house. Lao was too disoriented to notice that the light had already been on when he opened the door and found his gang all gathered in the center of the room. He rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. "What the fucks goin on? Doing some typa intervention or something?"

"You could call it that." Hook said.

Lao stayed still in the doorway. "Come on in." Shorter ordered. "Now." He noticed that each one of his "brothers" were strapped for this occasion and quickly realized that he was in danger.

Lao took a step back to feel the barrel of his brothers gun pressed up against his head. "Do what he says, Lao." Sing spoke in a low, hurt voice.

"What the fuck, Sing?" Lao shook, looking over his shoulder. "I'm your brother."

Sing squeezed his eyes shut before shoving Lao into the room and shutting the door behind them. He was quickly grabbed by Viper and Smiley who forced him down to his knees as he was surrounded. "Start talking. And this time I want the truth. No more lies." Shorter stood over his right hand man, giving him a chance to explain himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shorter pulled a fist back and hit him in the jaw. Lao's lip busted, blood dripped down his chin and onto the wooden floors. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up, "I'll say it one more time. Tell me the truth. Tell me about the drugs. Where you got them. Everything."

Lao dropped his head in shame. He had no choice. "I bought it from someone in Arthur's gang. Cops had been roaming around all of Chinatown, I didn't know what else to do."

Shorter glanced over at Viper who nodded his head. That was the truth. Lao figured a serpent must have seen the deal go down and ratted him out, that's why he was in this situation. He hoped that his honesty would cause Shorter to be lenient with his punishment.

"Now tell us about the first time you got picked up for heroin." Shorter asked.

Lao felt his stomach twist. "What?"

"You deaf?" Hook asked, "Boss asked you to explain what happened when the cops found heroin on you."

"I-I don't know what you're all talking about. I haven't been arrested for heroin." Viper shook his head which was the go ahead for Shorter to strike him again. Sing looked away and caught the attention of Hook who nudged his chin forward to keep watching. "Okay, okay... Wydell brought me in. It wasn't enough for him to hold me so I was let go."

"You're not telling me the whole truth." Shorter kneeled down to Lao's level. "Why won't you stop lying to me?"

Lao's eyes began to sting. He lowered his head as tears embarrassingly streamed down his face. "I'm scared." He admitted. Sing swallowed a gulp. He so badly wanted to go save his brother but he knew he couldn't. He had been trying to save him for so long yet Lao only made things worse for himself. Sing couldn't forgive him for this.

The boy stared up when he heard the cock of Shorter's gun. "Do you wanna die with all of those secrets? Or do you wanna clear your conscience?"

Lao glanced over at Sing, almost as a cry for help but was met with cold eyes instead. He had officially lost the only family he had left. "They wanted me to work for them." He finally admitted, seeing no point in saving himself now. "To be a rat."

"And what did you tell them, Lao?"

"I told them about the stash house. And the deal with Ash's gang." Hook did a subtle, disappointed sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Sing.

"Anything else?" Shorter asked.

Lao thought back, figuring that they already knew everything. "I told them about Lux."

Shorter's knuckles turned white when he clenched his fist after hearing his girlfriend's name get brought up. "What about my Lux did you tell them?"

"That if they wanted any information about you, to keep an eye on her. That she'd be of more use to them than I was."

"You tried setting up an innocent girl because you were too much of a fucking coward to just tell me what was going on with you."

"I'm sorry! I-"

"Don't say you're sorry!" Shorter screamed, causing some of his men to take a step back. "What happened after that?"

"They thought I was wasting their time because she didn't go near you once while she was under surveillance."

"Surveillance..." Shorter repeated, his lip curled into a snarl. "Get him up." Viper and Smiley forced Lao up to his feet. "Wanna know something about that girl who you wanted to shift the blame onto? She found you strung out and she dragged your body to the couch and made sure you were safe and warm."

The thoughts were hazy but it was all coming back to Lao. That angel he saw wasn't anything other worldly at all. It was Lux. He put his faith in her and she betrayed him. "She told you..." Lao felt a sudden rage surge through out his heroin starved veins. "That whore ratted me out!"

Before Shorter had the chance to strike again, he was shoved to the side by Sing who punched his brother instead. "Don't you ever call her that! She knew what you did, you bastard and she still didn't say anything! You wanna blame somebody then blame yourself!"

"You're taking a stupid girls side over your own brothers?" Lao spit blood at Sing's shoes, "How could I ever call you my family?" He grimaced.

"You never really saw me as family. If you did you wouldn't have let me take the fall when everyone thought I was the rat. You were just gonna keep your secrets to yourself and hope that everyone would forget, right? It would have been so easy but you fucked up again."

"What are you saying?"

"That person you bought from wasn't some random from Arthur's crew." Shorter put his hand on Sing's shoulder and moved him back. "And you remember that fucking cop, Voight right? He's pretty fond of my Lux. He reopened her case, did you know that?" Shorter then took off his shades, a dark glare casted upon his eyes. "You worked with the cops. It was your fault that they found our stash house. You were the one we should have been suspicious of instead of Sing. Everything that happened doesn't start without you."

Lao stared up at his Boss. He wanted to hate him. He wanted to hate his whore girlfriend. He wanted to hate his gang. The rage left his body and all that was left was a broken shell of a boy. Lao wanted to make things right but what left his mouth wasn't an apology. "Please don't do this to me Shorter! Let me make this right! I'll do whatever you want! Just please, please don't kill me!" He sobbed, trying to pull away from the boys restraining him.

Shorter stood up straight and took a step back, cocking his gun in the process. "I'm not going to kill you, Lao." the sobbing boy almost sighed in relief until he saw who Shorter passed his gun over to. "Finish it."

Sing gripped the handle of the gun with a shaking hand and held it up to his brothers forehead. Images flashed through his mind of he and Lao as children. He saw a time when he could have been around five years old, and Lao had stolen some snacks from a bodega for them to eat by some old train tracks. Another time was when their mother passed away and Lao had held Sing as he slept to get his baby brother to stop crying. He hated how all of this was coming back to him now. It made it so much harder for when he inevitably pulled the trigger.

Lao hit the floor as fast as the life left his body. The bullet went clean through his head, exiting out and hitting the wall behind him. Blood poured out through his wounds, painting the floor beneath him a dark shade of crimson. The boys just watched as the puddle spread out towards the tips of their sneakers.

Sing's hand grew limp from the weight of the gun. His fingertips were barely hanging on until Shorter reached out for the gun and tucked it behind his back in the waistband of his jeans. The boys watched as Sing stared down at his brothers body without showing a drop of emotion. He blinked slowly before leaving without a single word.

Shorter's eyes followed the boy then turned his attention back to his gang who all started to slowly back away from the body. "The cops'll find him." He said, "Let's get outta here." The boys listened, following closely behind their boss. Hook was the last to leave, stopping in the doorway and looking over his shoulder. He pressed his thin brows together and sighed, pulling his hood over his head and joining the rest of the guys. He could only imagine what Sing was feeling and wanted no part in experiencing that pain himself.
______________________
"You're back." Lux sat up to see Shorter walk through the door a lot earlier than she had expected.

He was surprised to see Lux still awake given it was already going on four in the morning. She was always in bed by ten and winding down for the night at eight like she was still on a school night routine. "I thought you'd be asleep." The comment came out sounding more like a question due to his confusion.

"I was planning to but your friend and I got to talking about books and science. Which you know is my favorite subject and time sort of got lost."

Sunshine glanced at his Boss who he could tell seemed indifferent about the situation. He quickly realized it'd be safe to downplay the current events that had taken place between himself and Shorter's girlfriend. "Yeah," he scratched the back of his head, "You may have found someone who's a bigger brainiac than I am, Boss."

"Mhm." Shorter hummed, walking towards the two. Sunshine stood up as a sign of respect as his Boss approached. "Thanks for being here and keeping Lux company."

"Of course. You guys finish off what you needed to?"

"It's done." Lux noticed Sunshine's demeanor change. His shoulders slumped down and forward, and she could have sworn she saw his lip quiver. Shorter put a hand on the boys shoulder and said, "Get some rest. We got a lot of shit to do tomorrow."

"Yes sir." He saw his way to the door and had one foot out the room until Lux called out his name. He turned around to see her standing up from the couch smiling.

"Goodnight. Hope I get to see more of you."

Sunshine felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck. His eyes darted over towards Shorter who he could tell was squinting at him through his sunglasses. "Ahhh, I'm not that exciting to be around according to the guys. Right Shorter?"

"I don't know. I've learned to appreciate brainiacs." Shorter joined in on the subtle joke.

"Anyways. Night guys."

"He's nice." Lux commented when the door closed. "It was like I was talking to the boy version of myself." She tapped the screen of her phone to see it was now four in the morning. The girl yawned with a stretch and figured now was a good time to go to sleep.

"Lux." Shorter caught her wrist. "We need to talk."

"Shorter can it wait until later? I'm sleepy." Lux suddenly felt her energy drain. The day had caught up to her.

"It's important." Lux squeezed the bridge of her nose in annoyance and dragged herself to the bedroom, plopping down at the foot of the bed. Shorter joined beside her. "Look, I know this whole thing is an adjustment with you moving here and wanting to be more involved in my life." He said referring to the underworld aspect of things. "And if that's the case I need you to be honest with me, alright."

Lux tilted her head.

Shorter sighed, "We found out that Lao was a rat and had been talking to the cops."

"Oh." Was all Lux managed to say.

"You don't look surprised." He noticed.

Lux shook her head and stammered, trying to think of what to say. "No, I mean- I didn't think... What happens now?"

"It's finished."

Lux felt her skin run cold. Her eyes shot down to Shorter's hands that had fresh welts on his knuckles then she noticed how his shoes had small blood splatters on them. Suddenly the warmth of her tea and dinner started to slither up towards her mouth. Her throat and stomach began to tighten, squeezing up whatever contents were in her system. She tripped getting off the bed and ran to the restroom, slamming the door behind her. Lux pushed up the toilet cover and fell to her knees as she threw up. After getting herself together and rinsing her mouth out she rejoined Shorter in their room, where he hadn't left his spot. She held her chest and tried t0 breath.

"Lux..." he reached out but she backed away, still trying to regulate her breathing.

"You killed him..."

"I didn't."

"You had Sing do it... Didn't you?"

"It doesn't matter." Shorter took off his sunglasses so Lux could see how serious he was. "Were you ever gonna tell me that you're best friends with Arthur's girlfriend?"

"I don't know who that is." She tried to lie even though she knew it wouldn't work.

"Lux, I'm so serious right now."

"You never told me about him." Lux defended herself. "And who I'm friends with shouldn't concern you."

"That guys tried killing me before Lux. He's killed my guys. He's tried killing Ash! And you thought it'd be a good idea to be friends with-"

"Don't talk to me like I'm some child, Shorter!" Lux stood up, "I came here to feel free but you know how I've been actually feeling? Caged up. You have me just sitting here and being watched by your guys and for what? Do you not trust me or something?"

"You keeping Fang a secret gives me a reason to not trust you." Shorter argued back.

"Don't do that." Lux shook her head, "Don't turn this around on me. Yeah, I knew about Arthur. And you know what? Fang knew about you too. We decided to stay friends because we care about each other. And we weren't about to let you guys ruin that for us."

"It's dangerous to be-"

Lux cut him off, "It's dangerous for me to be with you! But I'm still here..." she sighed, "I'm still here because I love you."

Shorter couldn't find any words to argue against that. Lux was right. "Lao was buying drugs from Fang. He was probably too strung out to notice she's Arthur's girl." He explained, "Apparently some of his guys knew about Lao being a rat too since he bought from his crew the first time he got picked up and was back on the streets a few hours later."

"Fang ratted Lao out because I got hurt..."

Shorter gave a slight nod.

Fang had managed to set a secret meet up with Hook and Viper to inform them of what had happened. They didn't believe her at first and thought this was just Arthur using his girlfriend to get the Chinese Mafia at each others throats while he plots. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

Lux covered her mouth to hold in a sob, "I didn't want him to die... He was sorry for what he did and I forgave him, Shorter. I forgave him. Why did you-"

Shorter pulled Lux into his chest as she cried into him. "I know you did. But we couldn't. He risked all of us going to prison because he wanted to save himself."

Lux pulled away and looked up with red, almost swollen eyes, "He wanted to save Sing." Lux wasn't going to pretend that she knew Lao well, but she did see him in such a vulnerable state. He was shaking and terrified. If the guilt eating away at him was any type of living organism then it would have been a parasite. That boy was scared and didn't know what else to do. She turned a blind eye to his mistakes because she felt in her heart that he didn't mean for any of that shit to happen the way it did. Unfortunately, people in Shorter's world weren't as forgiving.

"It's more complicated than that." Shorter tried to explain how every action Lao made affected not only him but everyone. It wasn't just about Lux. It was about the gang. Lao was a deadman the moment he agreed to work with a cop and conspire against the Chinese Mafia. His death was inevitable. "The cops started looking into the wreck again." Shorter mentioned. The news took Lux by surprise. "The department wasn't happy with the fact that a case involving the daughter of two renowned lawyers went cold."

"I didn't know it got reopened."

"They really wanted a name to pin the blame on and now they have one." Shorter looked down at his bloody shoes, trying his best to not allow himself to feel guilty about what happened. "The cops are gonna find Lao's body. They're going to find your watch and necklace in his pockets." He explained in a hushed voice, almost as if he were trying not to scare Lux. "We left his body out on enemy territory so they'll think he was murdered by another gang. The cops'll work out some story about how he was trying to sell your stuff so he could get his next fix."

The fact that the gang was able to put together this scheme to frame someone else terrified Lux to her core. Some of the boys seemed like they had that in them like Hook and Viper, but Sing, Shorter and Smiley came off as more caring and sympathetic. Yet they were apart of something so sinister. Framing the one person who wasn't directly involved in the wreckage that got her injured, and making it seem like he was the one who mugged her and was killed because he was craving dope was something that Lux could only imagine a psychopath thinking of.

Was this who Shorter really was? Lux asked herself. What happened to the goofy, smiling boy that first caught her attention out in the school lot? Where was the boy that loved to sneak through her window and eat snacks with her all night? When did the boy who wanted to show her the world become lost? Where did he go? Could she bring him back? Lux had no idea.

The blood on Shorter's shoes and the welts on his fists were all that Lux could focus on. She was afraid but wasn't sure if it was of him or his actions. Perhaps both. She swallowed down whatever sobs she had left and wiped her tears away. "I understand." Was all that Lux allowed herself to say.

Shorter could see right through those words even if the sight of her trembling body didn't give away how she actually felt. Shorter leaned in, noticing how Lux stiffened up the closer he got. It broke his heart. He grabbed the first set of clean clothes in his drawer and showered, leaving Lux to herself just hoping that she'd be asleep by the time he got out. She wasn't.

Lux could see through the ajar door that Shorter was pouring peroxide on his cut up hand, not even hissing at the sting it must have caused. She didn't want him to know that she was afraid so she got up and grabbed the roll of gauze from the sink. "Let me help."

Shorter felt the corner of his mouth tug upward in a sad smile. She shouldn't be wrapping up his wounds. She should be the one being showered in love and gifts. Her beautiful face looked so blank now. He missed that shy, embarrassed blush on her cheeks. He wanted to bring it back. "Thank you." Lux hummed in response. Shorter brought up a finger and tipped Lux's chin up to look at him. "I love you."

"I love you too." Lux meant those words. She did love Shorter, she just hated the things he did.

He grasped her wrist and guided Lux back to bed, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. She leaned in closer, tilting her head to the side, giving Shorter the opportunity to kiss her neck. "Shorter..." she cooed.

"Shhh..." he whispered quietly as he lowered the straps of her nightgown. Lux stood up, letting the blush pink fabric pool at her feet. Shorter's hands caressed Lux's back, leaving a trail of kisses down her chest and stomach.

Lux placed her hand up to his chest and leaned him back to straddle his waist. Shorter grunted at the feeling of Lux's warm body softly grinding up against his throbbing cock. His arms snaked around her, pressing up harder between her legs, pulling a moan from her lips. She pulled at the hem of his boxers, just wanting to forget about all of the chaos from the day and love this boy like how she wanted. Even if it meant ignoring the vile things he'd do behind her back. There was an image of Shorter that was in her head and he was who she chose to see and love.

"Make me feel better." Lux murmured into his lips.

"Always." Shorter flipped Lux over onto her back, spreading her legs apart and sinking into her already soaked core.

Meanwhile in the next apartment over, Sing was wrapped up, replaying the scene of his brother's body hitting the floor. He thought about how Lao would forever be seen as a rat by his gang and how everyone else will read about him as a junky who mugged a girl so he could buy his next fix.

None of it was fair. Sing blamed himself for not seeing the signs sooner. If he had, he would have convinced Lao to let him help, to tell Shorter about the shit he was dragged into. He felt that the gang would have understood and found a way to save him. But the secrets and the lies were too much to bare to where Lao truly felt all alone.

Sing covered his ears, trying to muffle the sounds of thudding walls, soft whispers and moans coming from Shorter's apartment. The walls were thin and the noises lasted all night. Was Shorter not even affected by what had happened? Sing thought to himself. Did he not give a shit that he had to kill his own flesh and blood? Was it really that easy for him to move on? It's wasn't fair. Sing cried. "It's not fucking fair."