Family

The same day, December 21, when Tina was at the pharmacy with Mr. Young, Benny and Angelina set out to Kayla's house. Aroma, on the other hand, was weak with flu and stayed home in bed. 

Kayla's parents lived on Elliot Street, Guardian's Residency, District 4, which was the street right next to Green's Street, where Benny grew up. So she knew where to find Kayla's parents. 

They walked to their house. The Guardian's residency streets were beautifully decorated due to the Christmas season and the afternoon sun covered up the prevailing chilly winter winds. 

Benny knocked on the door. The door was opened after some minutes by Mrs. Justin, a short woman with tired blue eyes and long black hair tied in a bun, her eyebrows raised in confusion. 

"Umm, are you girls lost?," she asked. 

"We're not lost, Mrs. Justin! Don't you remember me? I'm Benedict Anson from Green's Street. Your daughter used to play with me every evening at Hudson park," Benny said. 

"Oh, I remember now! Come in. Come in," she said. 

"We brought you some cake," Angelina said, handing it to her. 

"Thank you," she said as she smiled to them. 

When they had sat down on the couch in the hall, Mrs. Justin gave them coffee. 

"Where are the other girls?," she asked, "What were their names again? I always forget." 

"Tina Thorne, Aroma Nash, and Alethea Elle," Angelina said, "I'm Angelina Ashby, by the way." 

"Oh, I remember Tina and Aroma! Aroma lived at Ben's Street, so she usually used to come to Hudson park a lot. Tina lived at a little distance, I guess? Where did she used to live? Uh, yeah, Chuck's Street! That girl is smart. But, this other one, I don't know her. Would you please tell me about her?," Mrs. Justin said. 

"Uh, yes, actually, Alethea lived at Carmel's Street. That's not so far away from here but she didn't used to talk to so many people. So, umm, it's actually totally fine if you don't know her," Benny said, smiling confusedly. 

"I used to live at Carmel's Street but as Benny said, I didn't quite knew her," Angelina said. 

"Oh, well, it would've been great to meet you all. Though, Kayla wouldn't have been able to come. She's not fifteen yet. She'll be fifteen next year on October 2nd," Mrs. Justin said. Angelina and Benedict smiled at her. 

"Mom!," someone yelled from upstairs. 

"Yes, Karen. What is it?," Mrs. Justin yelled back. 

"I want coffee. My back is stiff from writing for so long," Karen said, as she came down the stairs. 

She stopped midway when she saw Benny and Angelina sitting in the hall. 

"Oh, who do we have here?," she asked. 

"They're Kayla's housemates," Mrs. Justin told her daughter. 

She walked to them and shook hands with them. 

"I'm Karen Justin, Kayla's older sister," she said. 

She had big blue eyes and a broad forehead with tanned complexion. She wasn't that tall, just like her Mom.

"I'm Benny, Benedict Anson," Benny said, introducing herself. 

"I'm Angelina Ashby," Angelina said. 

Mrs. Justin came back with Karen's coffee and cake. 

"Oh, when did you make this, Mom?," she asked her mother. 

"They brought it," Mrs. Justin said. 

"Oh, that's thoughtful. It's really good. Thank you!," she said as she took a bite.

 She was sitting on the couch in front of the one Benny and Angelina had been sitting on, next to her mother. 

Benny tapped Angelina's knee. She nodded. She took a deep breath. She opened her mouth to say something but the bell ringed now. 

"Who is it now?!," Mrs. Justin said and went to open the door. 

It was Kayla's older brother, Keith. He was tall and tanned and had blue eyes, just like Karen and their mother, with messy black hair that needed combing. He had an earlobe piercing in his left ear. 

"Hey, Mom," he said. 

"Keith! I'm shocked," his Mom said. 

"Can't I even come home for Christmas?," Keith said as he made his way inside. 

He had a black backpack with him, in which he brought clothes for his stay. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the two girls. 

"Your friends, Karen? They look young, though. I'm shocked to see they'd be friends with an old hag like you," he said, mocking her. 

"I'm only twenty-one, you idiot! And they're Kayla's housemates. Can't your dumb ass even see that much?!," Karen said, furiously. 

"Kayla's housemates?! Why are they here?," Keith asked. 

"That is what we wanted to say but you ringed the bell!," Benny said. 

"Oh, sorry about that. But wait a bit before you speak. I'm just gonna throw my bag into my room and come back. I'm super interested in this," Keith said and ran to his room.

He came back just as fast as he ran, which shocked everyone. 

"Speak now. I'm listening," he said, sitting down next to Karen.

Angelina took a deep breath. 

"Kayla's in jail!," she said. 

Keith choked on his cake. Karen started laughing. Their mother was worried, though. 

"Oh my God, that's the best joke I've ever heard. You could become a comedian!," Keith said, laughing. 

"She's not lying. It's true! Look at this," Benny said, holding up a paper. 

Karen took it from her hands. It was the same arrest warrant that Sherriff Hart had in his hands. Suddenly, Karen was stunned. 

"Mom, your daughter is involved in some serious shit," Karen said. 

"Show it to me!," Keith said and snatched it from his sister's hand. 

He quickly read whatever was written on the paper and was shocked. 

"Damn, this is crazy! Tell me about it," he said. 

"Actually, our housemate Alethea ran away from home and got involved in drugs dealing. Kayla went to buy pills for Aroma some days later. She met her at the pharmacy buying marijuana. The police later came to our house with this arrest warrant that you have in your hand and they arrested her. She wasn't involved in any of this, though," Angelina explained. 

"The pharmacy sells marijuana?!," Mrs. Justin said. 

"Y-yes, we were shocked, too," Benny said. 

"Probably because of Black Monday," Keith said. 

"Black Monday?! Is that a holiday?," Karen asked. 

"It's not a holiday, dumbass! It's a gang!," he said. 

Karen's eyes widened. 

"What?! Your friend is a gang member?!," she asked. 

"You're jumping to conclusions too fast! We didn't even know what this Black Monday was until now. How could we know if she was a member or not?!," Angelina said. 

"She definitely is! There's a really bad rumor spread throughout the commercial area about this gang acquiring a new member that's pretty young. I'm sure it's this girl!," Keith said. 

"Do you guys have a lawyer?," Mrs. Justin asked. 

"Y-yes, we do. Tina went with Mr. Young to the pharmacy today to talk to the staff who were there at the time Kayla went to buy the medicine. Mr. Young told us to tell you about what was going on with Kayla. So, we came to your house today. We knew you'd be shocked by this news. We're really sorry," Benny said. 

"Sorry?! We're sorry?!," Angelina said. "Benny, why should we be sorry?! It's not our fault that she is a member of that gang and Kayla is in jail! We shouldn't be sorry!." 

"We just came here to tell you about this matter and our work here is done. We're leaving. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Justin, Keith and Karen," Angelina said as she stood up to leave. 

Benedict followed her lead and stood up, too. Mrs. Justin got up from the couch to escort them outside. 

"Should Keith drop you home?," she asked. 

"Thank you, but we can go on our own," Benny said. 

"Please stay in touch with us. I know I can't see my daughter till she turns fifteen, but please let her know that me, her dad, and her siblings will always care for her no matter what," Mrs. Justin said. 

Benedict and Angelina nodded.