her hand at her friend. “Well, it’s not you. It’s me. And everything is fine. I have forever to find out the things I don’t know yet. I’m not gonna interrogate the guy.”
Kim could see her friend getting emotional about this, and that’s not what she wanted. She figured that if the lack of information was all right with Chloe, it would be all right with her, too. “Here comes your sister,” Kim said, nodding in Willow’s direction as she made her way over to their bench.
Willow sat with the girls. They all greeted her and then listenedas she filled them in on some “he say, she say” drama she was dealing with at school.
Chloe and her pals offered advice, and Chloe was grateful for the change in topic. But the rest of the afternoon, in the back of her mind she was thinking about Trey and all the mystery surrounding him. Soon, she shrugged it off, figuring that her envious friend was simply planting seeds of doubt in her mind. She wasn’t going to let Kim, Willow, or her mother cast a shadow on her good thing, no matter how hard they tried.
BREAKING NEWS
C hloe couldn’t stop crying. Willow wrapped her arms around her sister and tried to comfort her as best she could.
“It’s okay,” she said, rocking her in her arms. “It’s okay, Chloe.”
“I don’t understand!” Chloe wailed, tears and snot running down her face. Rachel rushed into the room with a glass of water and some tissues and sat down at her daughter’s side.
“Chloe, calm down. You’re gonna have a heart attack if you don’t relax. You can’t keep getting all worked up like this. I know it’s messed up what happened to Jason, but falling apart isn’t gonna bring him back.”
Chloe couldn’t calm down, no matter how hard she tried. Jason’s body had been found in a wooded area of his Grymes Hill neighborhood. He’d been gunned down with three bullets in his back. The
Staten Island Advance
had reported that Jason was shot in broad daylight by an unknown assailant, and yet there were no suspects in the crime. “Who would want to kill him?” she asked her mother. “He never bothered nobody. He didn’t do shit to deserve that, Ma.” Chloe cried, hating herself for being mad that Jason hadn’t returned her phone calls, when all the while he’d been rotting away in a swamp!
As Willow cradled her sister in her arms, Rachel read the newspaper article again.
Todt Hills resident Jason Meadows, 20, was found dead last night as a result of multiple gunshot wounds he received the week of May 11. His decomposing body was found in a wooded area off Wescott Avenue in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island. No witnesses have been identified, and there are no suspects at this time. Law enforcement officials have appealed to the public for any information relevant to the case. The investigation is ongoing.
The Meadows family had become increasingly worried about the youth after not hearing from him for close to three weeks. “It just wasn’t like him to up and disappear like that,” explained Linda Meadows, 52, the young man’s mother.
Meadows was a former local basketball star who graduated from Curtis High School in 2006. At the time of his death, he was pursuing a degree in education at the College of Staten Island.
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t understand it either, Chloe.” Chloe and Jason had gone to school together since elementary school, so he had practically grown up alongside the Webster girls. Rachel had never known him to be the kind of kid who got in any trouble or made any enemies. His murder seemed like a senseless tragedy. “You have to be strong,” she told her daughter gently. “You can’t fall apart, baby.”
Chloe’s cell phone rang, and Rachel reached for it. She glanced at the caller ID and then looked at her daughter. “It’s Trey,” she said. “You want me to answer it?”
Willow rolled her eyes, wishing Trey would fucking disappear. The guy gave her the damn
Kim could see her friend getting emotional about this, and that’s not what she wanted. She figured that if the lack of information was all right with Chloe, it would be all right with her, too. “Here comes your sister,” Kim said, nodding in Willow’s direction as she made her way over to their bench.
Willow sat with the girls. They all greeted her and then listenedas she filled them in on some “he say, she say” drama she was dealing with at school.
Chloe and her pals offered advice, and Chloe was grateful for the change in topic. But the rest of the afternoon, in the back of her mind she was thinking about Trey and all the mystery surrounding him. Soon, she shrugged it off, figuring that her envious friend was simply planting seeds of doubt in her mind. She wasn’t going to let Kim, Willow, or her mother cast a shadow on her good thing, no matter how hard they tried.
BREAKING NEWS
C hloe couldn’t stop crying. Willow wrapped her arms around her sister and tried to comfort her as best she could.
“It’s okay,” she said, rocking her in her arms. “It’s okay, Chloe.”
“I don’t understand!” Chloe wailed, tears and snot running down her face. Rachel rushed into the room with a glass of water and some tissues and sat down at her daughter’s side.
“Chloe, calm down. You’re gonna have a heart attack if you don’t relax. You can’t keep getting all worked up like this. I know it’s messed up what happened to Jason, but falling apart isn’t gonna bring him back.”
Chloe couldn’t calm down, no matter how hard she tried. Jason’s body had been found in a wooded area of his Grymes Hill neighborhood. He’d been gunned down with three bullets in his back. The
Staten Island Advance
had reported that Jason was shot in broad daylight by an unknown assailant, and yet there were no suspects in the crime. “Who would want to kill him?” she asked her mother. “He never bothered nobody. He didn’t do shit to deserve that, Ma.” Chloe cried, hating herself for being mad that Jason hadn’t returned her phone calls, when all the while he’d been rotting away in a swamp!
As Willow cradled her sister in her arms, Rachel read the newspaper article again.
Todt Hills resident Jason Meadows, 20, was found dead last night as a result of multiple gunshot wounds he received the week of May 11. His decomposing body was found in a wooded area off Wescott Avenue in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island. No witnesses have been identified, and there are no suspects at this time. Law enforcement officials have appealed to the public for any information relevant to the case. The investigation is ongoing.
The Meadows family had become increasingly worried about the youth after not hearing from him for close to three weeks. “It just wasn’t like him to up and disappear like that,” explained Linda Meadows, 52, the young man’s mother.
Meadows was a former local basketball star who graduated from Curtis High School in 2006. At the time of his death, he was pursuing a degree in education at the College of Staten Island.
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t understand it either, Chloe.” Chloe and Jason had gone to school together since elementary school, so he had practically grown up alongside the Webster girls. Rachel had never known him to be the kind of kid who got in any trouble or made any enemies. His murder seemed like a senseless tragedy. “You have to be strong,” she told her daughter gently. “You can’t fall apart, baby.”
Chloe’s cell phone rang, and Rachel reached for it. She glanced at the caller ID and then looked at her daughter. “It’s Trey,” she said. “You want me to answer it?”
Willow rolled her eyes, wishing Trey would fucking disappear. The guy gave her the damn
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