Joker
A couple days later
Picking my phone up off the nightstand, I checked it for any messages or missed calls from Halo, and there was nothing. She still hadn’t been talking to me ever since she found out ’bout Bronx and that I wasn’t who I portrayed to be. The last time I heard from her was when I texted and told her that Ma got shot and was in the hospital. She was concerned but didn’t seem to respond to anything else that didn’t have to do with the incident.
Giving her space was fucking killing me. She had ’til Ma got out the hospital to come to her senses before I started acting a got damn fool. Ma was stable, but she scared the fuck out of me when I got that phone call. I couldn’t help but think that the bullshit that’s going on with me was the cause for her getting shot. It angered me more ’cause people was steady fucking with me and I had yet to figure out who shot Dough, now I had to add another shooter to the list. The fucking city was ’bout to burn to the got damn ground, fucking with me.
Tossing the phone to the foot of the bed, I pushed the covers back, slung my legs over the edge and got up. Soon as my feet touched the floor, my phone rang. Reaching over, I grabbed it and clenched my teeth. “This mufucka,”
I huffed and swiped to answer. “What?”
I trotted into the bathroom to handle my hygiene before I got my day started.
“Simmer down the fucking rage. You’re being hostile with me for no reason. I was calling to let you know that your mama woke up and I was ’bout to head to the hospital to see her.”
“Why the fuck are they calling you and informing you shit? I’m her emergency contact,”
I replied and reached for my toothbrush. Placing the phone on speaker, I set it on the counter and stuck the toothbrush underneath the toothpaste dispenser and then the water before shoving it into my mouth.
“’Cause I told them to. Are you gon’ ride up there with me or what?”
“What I’m riding with you for? I got my own shit,”
I said, mumbling with the toothbrush dangling from my mouth as I eyed the phone. This nigga was getting too fucking comfortable.
“If we are going to find out who did this shit to yo’ mama, you gon’ have to be cordial with me.”
“I’on need yo’ help.”
“I wasn’t asking. Now I’m sitting outside. Bring yo’ black ass the fuck on,”
he said, and the phone beeped.
I finished brushing my teeth and washed my face. Once I was done, I stepped into the walk-in closet and found me something to toss on. Slipping on my jeans, I buttoned ’em and eased my Hermés belt on. I tugged my shirt down over my head and grabbed my black and gray Retros off the shelf. Stepping into my bedroom, I opened my sock drawer and picked up a pair then sat on the bench in front of my bed and put my socks and shoes on.
Lifting to my feet, I went back into my closet and grabbed my YSL cologne and sprayed it on my neck and inside my wrists. It was long lasting, and I didn’t have to go overboard for people to smell it. When I got back into my bedroom, I grabbed my strap off the nightstand and tucked it into my waistline before trotting out the room.
On my way to the elevator, I grabbed an apple to hold me over ’til I got breakfast. I hated operating without putting something on my stomach. If I didn’t want to make it to the hospital in time to see Ma, I would’ve made me something to eat before leaving the crib.
Entering the elevator, I took it down to the lobby and soon as the doors opened, I was faced with Kenneth’s scowl. “What the fuck took you so long?”
“I think you lost the right to question me ’bout anything when you walked out on us.”
I bumped him as I exited the elevator. Kenneth’s ass wasn’t shit. I’on know why he was walking ’round this mufucka as if he was the father of the year. This nigga didn’t do not shit for me while growing up, and the few times that he claimed to have saved my ass was only ’cause Ma begged him to step in. Nothing he did for me was out the kindness of his heart. I’on even know why he’s inserting himself in finding out who shot Ma. It’s not like he really gives a fuck ’bout her in the first place. The only person he really gave a damn ’bout was Bronx.
We stepped outside and I hopped into the back of his truck with him on the other side. I sat there, gazing straight ahead, avoiding any conversation that he might try to spark. Once I got to the hospital, I was calling Dough and telling him to come pick me up. Ain’t no way I was staying ’round this nigga any longer than I had to.
The truck pulled into the hospital parking lot and stopped at the main entrance. Gripping the handle, I pushed the door open and stepped out. There was a patient sitting in a wheelchair with a nurse standing directly behind him. More than likely, he was waiting for his ride to pull up so he could leave.
I entered the building, not even waiting for Kenneth’s ass, and stepped through the metal detector. It went off, and that’s when I realized that I still had my gun on me.
“You have anything you’re not supposed to have on you?”
the security guard questioned with a raised brow. It could’ve easily been my keys making it go off, but I was used to people taking one look at me and stereotyping my ass.
“I’ll be back,”
I told him and went back out the door. Kenneth mugged me as I removed my strap from my waistline and tucked it underneath the passenger seat.
“You weren’t smart enough to leave that shit at home?”
he asked when I shut the door.
“I’on never leave the house without it. I thank yo’ ass for that,”
I replied and trotted past him back into the hospital.
As I stepped to the metal detector, I removed my keys from my pocket and dropped ’em in the container before walking through. This time, it didn’t make a sound.
“Step over there and get your badge,”
the security guard instructed me.
I stood in line behind this woman as she told the woman behind the desk her information. She stepped back and took her picture for her badge and was on her way once she got it. I moved in front of the desk and soon as the woman’s eyes landed on me, a smile coursed her lips.
“I remember you.”
How could she not? Almost every woman I’ve encountered remembered me.
“Room two zero eight, right?”
She read off my mama’s room number as if it was embedded in her brain.
“Yeah.”
I handed her my ID and she printed off my badge from the first day I came here.
“Whatever woman got you, she’s one lucky woman,”
she said as her eyes roamed my frame. I placed my badge on my shirt and Kenneth stepped in front of the desk. “God, it’s two of y’all.” She fanned herself with her hand as if she was ’bout to faint. Kenneth handed her his ID and she printed off his badge. I watched her as she scribbled something down on the front of it before handing it over to him. Kenneth frowned as he looked down at it and removed the paper from the back before slapping it onto his chest. I smirked when I realized the old woman had placed her phone number on there for him to call her.