PART THIRTY

➤ Play song throughout the whole chapter (It's a loop so don't worry about replaying)

Ξ GU,OD Ξ

Sindya stood before the mirror and sighed loudly. The visible bags under her eyes made her sunken-in face look more drained of life than she already was. She mindlessly tugged at the hem of her black, flowing button up dress. Without any caution, her mind wandered towards the warm memories she held on for dear life in the many boughs of her consciousness.

"I like your outfit." Rico complemented as he burst into Sin's room whilst she was dressing. "Oh, thanks, sweetie. Who let you in?" She questioned as she put her earrings on, peering at him through the reflection of her mirror. "Moose did." He answered absentmindedly while wandering his eyes along her room like he hadn't been here for at least a year. An amused smile tugged at Sin's lips. Ever since he had known Monse, he always pronounced her name wrong. Whether it was on purpose or not, It never failed to bring a smile upon their faces.

"Is Mo gone already?" She queried to which he nodded vigorously. "Cesar walked me to your house as soon as he saw me and when we came here, he said he was going to take Moose on a date and ask her to be his girl friend." He stood behind Sindya and tussled his hair out of his face.

"Like girlfriend girlfriend?"

"No, girl friend. Cesar only has boy friends so Moose is going to be his first female friend." He retorted in an obvious tone. Bringing one last final touch to her light make-up, Sin smeared the glossy lip moisturizer on before turning towards the seven year old. "You almost look like my mom before she went to heaven." He mused, his eyes slightly widened in some sort of awe.

Finally realizing that she had never asked about his parents, her eyes softened and her tone was cooingly. "How did your mom pass?"

He nervously fiddled with his little fingers while shrugging, "She had the same sickness abuelito has. Lung cancer. My dad was really sad so he left me and entered the Marines. I haven't seem him since I was four." Sin placed a firm, sweet kiss on his chubby cheek. "You're such a strong little boy, you know that?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Did you also know-" He interrupted Sin's sentence, "That you love me and that I'm handsome? Oh, I already know that." He purred while playfully batting his eyelashes. They shared a laugh before embracing one another into a hug.

Being oblivious to each and everything surrounding her, Sin had failed to notice that she was already walking towards that place she dreaded so much, with Monse by her side.

Her sister wore a black, body hugging dress adorned by a white flower broach. Almost the whole neighborhood wore that broach, in support of Rico. The mass of people that trailed behind the two Finnie sister's were mostly Santos — for that was how much impact he had made on the hood.

As they neared the graveyard, Sin could feel her heart slowly drop into the pits of her stomach. She imagined being here with Oscar more than she would like to confess, but after everything that happened just because she couldn't protect him and Rico, being with Oscar was simply soul-shattering.

With more people beginning to pour into the graveyard, Sin began to feel more claustrophobic in the mass. Monse saw this, and quickly tightened her grip around Sin's shoulders. That only seemed to worsen her state except for the few words that rolled off her sister's tongue. "I should warn you, Oscar's here." By simply hearing his name, the pressure on her heart seemed to lift into nothingness.

Sin swiveled her eyes along the mass of people until she finally found those dark, spirited eyes of his. With his eyes already resting on her form before she even noticed, he shot her a gentle smile of encourage. She nodded softly before returning her gaze to Cesar, who would start off the funeral.

"First off, I want to thank everyone who has come in support of Rico. Friend, family or foe, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you're here today with us to say goodbye." Cesar bowed his head slighty — which Sin had noticed was shaved into a buzz cut, just like the other Santo's — planting his gaze on the wooden, dark blue coffin. "I only knew him for half a year. In that short period of time he taught me so much. That vato was just a child but he had the mindset of a Mexican uncle with four children." Cesar chuckled.

Light laughter danced along the crowd, amongst one being Sin's. He really did, she thought. "His abuelo, Jose, couldn't make it to-" He was cut off mid-sentence by a weak, but firm voice booming from within the crowd. The mass of people slowly parted like the Red Sea, letting someone through. "Estoy aquí." Jose hummed in his wheelchair as a familiar dark skinned guy pushed him through.

Oscar nodded in respect towards the Prophet. Sin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before she finally recognized him. It was Rahkim, the one Prophet the Santos respected and the one who had killed one of his own for the sake of Sin and Rico. He had killed the Prophet who had shot Rico for Flaco.

Rakhim wasn't the gang leader of the Prophets. He wasn't the second nor third in command but what he did to gain the hood's respect was caring. He cared for his neighborhood, not just his gang. He cared about the people who had fallen to be victims of their drive by's and stupidity.

He too, wore a white broach clipped onto his black, green striped dress shirt. Jose wore an all white suit and a black fedora which had the broach clipped onto the side of the headwear. Rahkim pushed Jose towards the coffin, where Cesar stood before he swiftly joined the crowd.

Tear streaks had forged a path down Jose's cheeks as he slid the fedora off his head in a sign of respect. "Standing before you today to farewell my grandson Rico Joaquín Loera is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Words cannot describe the sorrow and loss that I am feeling, but I'll try.

Rico was a wonderful, sweet boy. Even as a baby, he had a calm temperament and as he grew into a little boy, he always took things in his stride. I remember his first day at school – I think I was more nervous than he was. I held his little hand and walked to the gate thinking that he was about to cry, but he calmly turned to me and said, 'This is going to be fun, abuelito... Will there be lots of kids here for me to play with?' I laughed and assured him there would be.

Rico and I had some wonderful times together. After his mother, my daughter had passed, God rest her soul, the two of us would go camping together in the weekends. Rico loved camping – he loved the adventure and simplicity of it. After a day of fishing and swimming, we would set up camp and spend hours talking about life. It were those conversations that I will never forget. I was watching a child grow into a smart, young man. A young man with so much enthusiasm and with so much wisdom which was surprising at his age."

Rakhim handed Jose a bouquet of white roses which he gratefully took. He rotated his wheel chair towards towards the casket and gently laid the flowers upon it before loudly muttering, "Viva la Rico."

"Viva la Rico." The crowd murmured back in sorrow.

The Santos neared the casket, also adorning the gleaming, dark blue casket with bouquets before returning to their place in the crowd. Sin had noticed the absence of Oscar during the march of the Santos causing her heartbeat to fasten in disappointment. Monse gently nudged her after noticing her lack of concentration. "You're up now," Her sister murmured softly. Cesar stood beside Monse with his arm comfortingly wrapped around her waist. "Good luck." He smiled assuringly.

"Thanks." She retorted monotonously before slowly nearing the gleaming casket. Her eyes flew along the many unknown people that were staring at her in anticipation. Even though her body refused to comply, she needed Oscar. She needed him in moments like this. To comfort and soothe her, and no words were needed. Just the simple nod of encouragement was enough.

Just as she turned her body to the casket, she collided against a hard chest. The person wrapped their arms around her and rubbed soothing circles along her back. "I've got you," The voice she had been yearning to hear cooed. "You can do this." He determined. Sin shook her head in discord. "I can't. There's too many people." She panicked, scrunching up the material of his black shirt in her hands. He pulled away from the embrace and stared deeply into her eyes as if he could somehow translate his words into feelings.

"You can do this. You are stronger than you realize, Sin. Everything you do, you with care. This wasn't your fault, nor was it mine. It's just how life is. Good people die and bad people live. Allow yourself to let him go. Allow yourself to finally grieve." He crooned with his hands resting on both sides of her face. No trace of deceit was apparent in his dark eyes.

Brushing a long, soft kiss on her forehead, Oscar turned her around and nudged her towards the crowd.

Sin ran her fingers along the white rose petals, tightly clutching the lone flower in her grasp. "To those of you here and elsewhere who know Rico, you already are aware of the type of person he was and these words you'll hear are probably already in your memory. To those who were not as fortunate, these words will give you a sense of the type of child he was and as an ideal for which we should strive.

Rico has often been described as a gentle soul by his teachers, family and the people he has touched. He was truly pure of heart and had great sensitivity for the world around him. He had a way with people that made them feel comfortable around him and infected others to gravitate toward him. Rico exuded kindness and pulled generosity out from everyone he touched. He was everyone's best friend.

He has set a great example for how we as people from the same neighborhood should care for one another. We've got to stop the gang violence because our kids are getting hurt. Our innocent kids." The few prophets that had just shown up bowed their heads in shame, some even silently crying as they stared at the large picture of Rico before his casket.

"As leader of La Pandilla de Santos, I propose a truce between the Grove street Prophets and East Beach Santos. We'll respect your territory as you do ours." Oscar proclaimed with his head held high and chest puffed out, exuding off the true leader he was.

"Why now?" A young girl queried from within the crowd. "Why after all these years of violence?" She looked less than two years younger than Monse. Her curious eyes flickered along Sin's face, in search for answers.

"We want peace and you can't accomplish that with cruelty." Sin replied simply. She proceeded to turn towards Rico's casket and followed the routine everyone performed; she laid the numerous rose on the abundant deck of flowers — along with Oscar.

"Viva la Rico." The mass of people murmured in content.

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Clarification:
I made the whole white roses a thing because the night that Rico got shot, he held a white rose in his hand that he was planning to give to Oscar — for Sin.

Also, thank you for reading! Comment about your feels regarding this chapter (TALK TO ME SIS) and vote! ❤️