Speak 2 U Soon Read online

this without you guys,” Julie said softly, her head on Raven’s shoulder as the four of them were sitting circled Davey’s grave. We’d sent C.J. to pick wildflowers growing just far enough way so we could be together without him asking, “Why? Why?” to anything one of us said.

  “We were in this together from the beginning,” Raven said softly. “From the minute you reached out to that woman in group who lost her baby, I knew you and I were meant to be friends. That something real good would come out of it. And look what we did, Julie. Look what we did for Davey.”

  “I needed all of you to help me,” Vinny added. “I could never have forgiven myself, you know, for letting go of Davey’s hand. Never.”

  “See,” Jorge said looking down and running his fingers over the letters of Davey’s name, “nothing can change the fact that we’ve lost such special people in our lives, that they’re gone and we’re still here, but we sure changed the fact that Eric had got away with something so evil. Something so wrong. Doing that for Davey, doing that for all of us, sets us free a little. I only wish we could do the same for Tino.”

  “And for Auntie Reneta,” Raven chimed in.

  “Look! Look what I got!” C.J. said as he barreled into Jorge’s lap. “Flowers for Davey!”

  “Oh, that’s real nice, my little hermanito,” Jorge said, tickling C.J. under the chin with his fingers.

  “You know, Jorge,” Vince said seriously, “I think maybe we should do something about your little brother’s death. Man, if we can put that cockroach Eric behind bars, we can find some gang banger on the streets of this hick town and make him pay for what he did.”

  “Yeah,” I said, with Raven chiming in at the same time, just like we always do: finish each other’s sentences and make our two voices into one.

  “Hell, yeah,” Vince said. “Davey would want us to do it, too. He’s looking down on us right now nodding his head and giving us that grin that made all the babes fall for him.”

  “Let’s do it!” I said. “Let’s do it for Tino. Let’s do it for Davey. He’ll be so proud of us. They both will be, and Raven’s Auntie Reneta is holding their hands right now saying, ‘See, see how much we all still mean to them?”

  “She would, too,” Raven said excitedly. “She’d say just that, but with a Southern drawl, you know, all sassy-like.”

  “Let’s do it! Let’s do it!” C.J. said hopping up and running around us like mad, like a crazy game of duck duck goose, only the next one “it” is Tino’s killer. He’s going down, and Davey, Tino, and Auntie Reneta will make sure of it.

  The End