Chapter 4 #4
“I need to text my dog sitter to tell her to stay with Bando tonight.” The thought popped in my head with them talking about their kids and being parents.
The fact remained that I was a dog mom, and I needed to make sure my son was taken care of before I decided to go off for the weekend.
My eyes started to become blurry as I tried to look for Stephanie’s number. Along with the blurriness, my body felt like a loose noodle. “Zoya, you good?”
“I’m fine, I prom…promise,” I snickered to myself.
Nothing was funny, but I couldn’t help but to laugh. “She in the laugh her draws off phase,” Meer reported, as he took the spliff from Blair and took another pull before flicking it away.
“Blaze, what the fuck?” Quasim blurted.
“No, he’s right… I laughed mine off.” Capri defended what her husband said, and Capp walked away from them both.
Gerald looked down at me, and then something caught his eyes. His entire expression changed, and his body tensed up. “Yo, G, you straight?”
It didn’t matter how high Meer was, the minute he heard Cappadonna ask Gerald if he was straight, he grabbed his wife. “We not doing that shit over here tonight… take that shit elsewhere,” Ro came walking up the block.
“Wha yuh problem?” A tall darkskin older man that slightly resembled Gerald walked beside him, looking directly at the men that was standing on the opposite corner.
They had blue bandannas either on them, or tucked in the back of their back pocket, or holding it. Gerald pulled me closer to him, as he stood there ready for whatever.
“Nah, we good… can’t stand on the corner now?” One of the men spit out, as if he knew his presence wasn’t welcomed and he didn’t care.
I held onto his arm, and I could feel him holding onto the side of me tightly. “Chef, get them the fuck up outta here before I do something.”
The man looked over at Gerald and nodded his head. “These them fuck heads?” He asked, his expression as cold as ice.
“Already know.”
I was really trying to focus, but Gam’s cookies were fighting me, and they were winning. Ro stopped walking and held his arm out, connecting across Chef’s chest. Don was coming up the block with his hand behind his back. “Chef, not tonight.”
I looked down the block and saw that Don had the women go into the house. Greene and Navy were no longer dancing in the street with their mothers.
“It’s a free country, you know… we can stand anywhere, Curry goat.” The light skin one laughed, and Chef had blood in his eyes.
Gerald pushed me over toward where Quasim was standing, and he swaggered over toward where Ro and Chef was.
“Fuck you said?”
“You heard me,” the man spit at the street.
Gerald didn’t need to look to see who had his back. No sooner than he stepped to the man, Cappadonna and Quasim had his follow up.
Big mouth wasn’t short, but he was shorter than Gerald. He puffed his chest out, looking like he was ready for anything. Before any of us could blink, Gerald pulled out his gun and put it to his head.
The rest of the men that were with him tried to back theirs out, and Cappadonna shook his head. Quasim walked around Gerald and stood closer to one of them.
“Back that out, and I’m leaving bodies on this corner… and they won’t be ours.” He winked and nodded toward Don.
Jett was already walking to the Rezvani without Don having to say anything to him. “I’ll pull this shit right now… another fuck name on the news for Labor Day weekend… what color yo mama want you buried in?”
“Ger…Goon, don’t do this!” I called out to him, quickly checking myself from yelling his government name for the entire block to hear.
I snatched my arm from Meer and walked into the street where Ro and Chef were. “Boobie, go on and get in that fucking truck.”
“Not until you come with me… I’m not visiting you behind the wall again,” my voice cracked, as I looked at him.
Every part of him wanted to pull that trigger. His hand was steady as he held that gun to that man’s head. “Twelve coming.” Kincaid yelled, as he rode down the block on his bike.
“Goon, please… I don’t feel well.”
He snapped out of whatever daze he was in and looked the man in his eyes. “Get the fuck out my face.”
The man still remained standing, not scrambling like I thought he would have. “Signed your death certificate, Nigga… think you solid with your people.”
“Your people here too, Big dawg,” Quasim snickered.
He could breathe easily because his wife had got into the car with Capri. I stood here, waiting for Gerald, because something inside me wouldn’t allow me to leave without him.
“Thun-Thun, I’m never hiding… come get me.”
My heart sank when he said those words. “Zoya, you good?”
Ro reached out and held my arm and I nodded. “Just high, Pumpkin.”
He looked at me and shook his head, while Gerald turned his back to walk away. He was so confident in the fact that this man wouldn’t do shit that he didn’t look back. He held his hand out for me, and I slipped mine into his.
His veins bulged in his forearms as he pulled me in front of him and opened the door. Meer was high moments before, but he was on go as he waited for his brother to make it across the street.
I looked for mine. “Landon?”
“I’m straight… get her out of here before somebody decides to be stupid tonight.” He told Gerald, who nodded.
I climbed into the back with Blair and Capri, while Meer got in and Gerald got in behind him. Quasim got in the passenger seat, and Jett pulled off the block. I looked out the window at my brother, who was talking to Ro.
“Gerald, what the—”
“Boobie,” he started, his head leaned back, and eyes closed.
“Geral—”
“Zoya.” His tone was sterner.
“Yes.”
“You can’t save me in these streets. In that courtroom, I’d put my life in your hands, out here, I’m not. When I tell you to get the fuck ghost, you do that shit for me, baby.”
I couldn’t formulate my words because everything was happening so fast and I was still high. “Are you crying?” Blair asked.
Capri shoved her. “Shut up.”
Meer and Gerald turned to face us, as tears poured down my face. “Why you crying, Zoya?”
“No reason.” I folded my arms and held my breath like I did as a child. My mind was mush and I didn’t know what I was doing honestly.
Meer started laughing while Blair wiped my face. “Girl, breathe.”
I was so stubborn that I was determined not to breathe, which was stupid. “Breathe, Zoya.” Gerald demanded.
I gasped for air, while Meer was hysterically laughing with his phone out recording me. “Gams made a new batch… gotta give her the results.”
“You fucking drugged me, Quameer!” I screamed and tried to jump over the seat to fight him.
“Violence, Gams… might need to mix something new with the next batch.” He spoke into the camera while Blair and Capri held me back, and Gerald was trying to get in the middle of it.
“What the fuck is going on back there?” Quasim turned in his seat.
I’m sure he saw some crazy shit with me trying to fight my best friend’s husband. “Subject appears to be violent, hot, and she got a pack of water balloons in her hand.”
“Quameer!” I screamed with tears coming down my face. “Why would he do that to me? You swore you would protect me!”
Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy. “Zoy, calm down… breathe for me… you’re having a bad trip.” Capri pulled me back, and wrapped her arms around me, while Blair leaned forward.
“In and out…. One…. Two…. Three…. four….” Blair counted down the breaths while I held onto the back of Gerald’s chair.
The windows back here didn’t open because it was bulletproof. “Look at me, baby,” Gerald turned in his chair.
I was staring directly at him, but he also seemed to have a cousin too. Focusing on him made my eyes tired, and before I realized what was happening, I felt like I was falling into the darkness.