Alyssa

I turned away from my parents and ran back to my room and shut the door.

This had to be a dream.

I immediately called Cindy to tell her the ridiculous news, and she picked up on the second ring.

"Hey sis, what's up?" She chirped

We haven't spoke in about two days because we've been busy, but now I needed her more than ever.

"Cindy. I have something to tell you, but I don't want to tell you over the phone. Can we meet up at the park by my house?" I asked sniffling slightly

Cindy's and I friendship is very important to me. She was the only one who talked to me when we were young, and she always took up for me because I was the quiet one.

Our personalities are the complete opposite, which is why we're best friends.

She's the most outgoing person I've ever met because she takes risks and never looks back. Me on the other hand, I'd rather be at the back of the class reading a book.

We have the best friendship and I can't give that up for anything.

"Are you ok?" She asked worry clearly laced in her tone

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind."

"You better not be lying to me Lys. I'll be there in 15." She replied in a motherly tone

That's another thing I loved about Cindy. She has a motherly feature that makes me happier about our friendship. She knows whenever anything is bothering me and makes sure I'm fine at the end of the day.

She's going to make the perfect mother.

After we hung up, I walked to my drawers and picked out some denim blue jeans and a white crop top, and put my hair in a high ponytail.

It's hot as hell outside, and I'm mad because just a few days ago it was cold as shit.

The weather here is truly bipolar.

I walked out of my room with my phone and purse in hand then told my parents I'm going out for a walk.

I occasionally go on walks to clear my head and to meet up with Cindy so they didn't question it.

"You better be back before the streetlights come on!" My mom yelled from the kicthen

I laughed slightly at her remark.

I'm a grown woman

I walked out the door then got in my car and drove to the park.

The park is 5 minutes from my house so we always met up here whenever we wanted.

Her house is about 10 minutes from mine, so it shouldn't take her long to make it here.

I parked in the parking spot then got out to sit on the swings and started to play on my phone.

I looked up every now and then to take in the scenary, but grew slightly uncomfortable because it's usually filled with children.

But I guess since the weather is humid everyone decided to stay in or go somewhere else.

About 10 minutes later, like promised, I see Cindy's car driving into the parking lot.

She opens the door then closes it and makes her way up to me.

From where I'm sitting, we have a good view of our cars, which means we don't have to lock them.

While walking up to me, I noticed her choice of clothing and smiled softly.

She's wearing blue jean shorts and a black short sleeved shirt with her long purple hair in a high bun.

Cindy plays volleyball for the school so she's amazingly fit, and because she's the best on the team, opportunities for scholarships have found her.

She stood in front of me then gave me the "spill it" look, but before I could say anything, a wave of stress crashed through me and I broke down crying.

She immediately wrapped her arms around me and laid her head in my shoulder.

All of my pent up emotions flew out uncontrollably, but she didn't seem to care.

All she did is hold me while I cried until I felt numb.

Once I looked up, I noticed her eyes are filled with worry and her eyebrows are knitted in confusion.

I took a deep breath and looked at her.

"What's going on Lys? You never cry." She began cutting me off again

To be honest, she's right. I force myself not to cry because I never wanted to show myself as weak.

But today is different.

Today I feel broken.

"Cindy." I muttered as hot tears trickled down my face

"Shhh." She replied bringing me in for another hug

"Take your time." She insisted hugging me tighter

I inwardly nodded and hugged her back then smiled softly.

She pulled back to look at me and wiped the tears from my eyes making me chuckle at her actions, then hiccuped.

"My dad got a promotion to become the sheriff." I said as a start feeling a little weight lift from my shoulders

Her eyes widened and instantly hugged me again, but in excitement.

"That's so good Lys! I know how hard he's been working his ass off. He deserves this." She replied smiling ear to ear

When she noticed I didn't give back the same energy, she pulled back and eyed me suspiciously.

"Why aren't you happy?" She questioned cocking her head to the side

"B-because." I began but it's hurting me to even say anything

"Because what?" She asked raising a brow

"C'mon Alyssa, you can talk to me. Take deep breaths." She replied while placing her hands on my shoulders

"His promotion is in Los Angeles." I blurted making her eyes widen and body still

Her hands slowly retracted from my shoulders and I could see all of the emotions written on her face.

They're the same as mine, and that's what scares me.

"What are you implying?" She asked softly as her voice broke

I grabbed her hands in mine and squeezed them tightly as I forced my next words to come out.

"I'm moving."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xavier

"De'Andre, get your ass up, we have to be at a meeting in 45 minutes, and uncle Carlos signed us a deal with the Michael's." I yelled to my twin brother who's too busy playing video games

I reminded him about the meeting last night, but of course he forgot.

"Shit!" He cursed making me roll my eyes and shake my head

"You made me lose man!" He roared as he threw the controller and headset onto the floor

I simply ignored him, and proceeded to get ready.

This meeting meant a lot for the business because the Michael's are the biggest gun dealers in their country.

They came all the way from Russia to have this meeting, and I can't make a bad impression.

Between De'André and I, I'm the most serious twin, but the responsibilities I have are stressful.

Plus I have to deal with this shit head.

I heard him relunctantly mutter "fine" under his breath then stomped into his room.

When I started to put my pants on, my phone started to ring making me think it's business, but once I checked the caller ID, I noticed it's uncle Carlos.

"Yes?" I asked with a raised brow looking around for my shirt

"Get here now. The Michael's came early and they're demanding the both of you."

I muttered a fuck under my breath as I found it, then tried to find a tie.

"We're on the way." I replied firmly

"You better." He gritted before hanging up

I sighed and continued to rush to get out of the house, but once I saw that De'Andre just got out the shower, I informed him that we're running late.

In about 15 minutes, we're able to get out of the house and on the road to the company.

In the morning our job is to pay for housing and life support, but at night, we're gun dealers.

We've sold over 10,000 guns to countries such as Russia, Afghanistan, Canada, and Montserrat. Our net worth just in machinery exchange is around $10 million, and that alone gained us connections, respect, and power.

I smirked at the thought of our business booming then sped through the empty road, once I saw it come into view.

It's a white five story tall building mostly filled with glass, and it has King Grey Corporations on the front in bolded grey letters with a crown on top of the 'K'.

This company used to be our father's, but he passed away before he could see us take over. His partner in crime, uncle Carlos, is our guide, and I can't be more grateful for him.

While pulling up, we see the Michael's car in the parking lot, and that made me sweat with worry but swell in pride.

I parked in a parking space, threw the door open to get out, and De'Andre followed suit.

We walked in, then headed straight for the elevator, and once we got to the top, we saw an elderly looking couple who must've been the Michael's.

And me just being me, I walked up to them starting up the conversation.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we discuss the arrangements in my office?" I asked politely putting on the fakest smile I could

Just like any other business partner, we completed the negotiation, then parted ways.

It didn't matter to me honestly, as long as I received my end of the deal I'm fine.

The Michael's looked at each other then nodded their heads in agreement, and not even a second after, I led them to my office and De'Andre followed.

When we're all in, we all sit down at the huge circle table while De'Andre closed the door.

I clasped my hands together and got into business mode as I spoke my next words.

"What is being exchanged through this deal?"

Mr. Michael looked at me then chuckled and rubbed his chin while looking at his wife. She smiled at his gesture, and before I could even blink, they both started laughing uncontrollably.

And that's when I knew I fucked up.

I slowly began doubting them for a second, but once Mrs. Michael said the one word that made my soul light up, I knew these are the people who I want on my side.

"Drugs."