Chapter 8 #3
She looked at me, then her attention caught something behind me. I already knew who and what it was, but that wasn’t important right now. I already knew Lauryn had questioned the man at the door from the moment he greeted her. Of course he wasn’t rude enough not to speak. I preferred that.
“Liora.” Sissy spoke, but I shook my head.
“No, who the fuck did this?” I glared at her. She not only had a black eye, but it was swollen and she had handprints around her neck.
“Kevin and his baby mama. He and I were chilling, then she barged in trying to fight me. I fought back because the bitch hit me. I guess he didn’t like that I was tagging her because then he jumped in.”
“Where does he stay?” I asked, not up for the extra details.
“Across the street.”
My eyes narrowed at her response. I turned to leave but stopped when Iso didn’t move. He blocked my path. He extended his hand, which I knew was him asking for my gun.
I pulled it out of my back and handed it to him. “Blue house?”
“Liora, don’t go over there and do anything crazy.”
“Blue house or not?” I tossed over my shoulder.
“Yes, blue house. And be careful, his grandma lives over there.” Sissy’s voice immediately irritated me.
“Fuck his grandma,” I tossed over my shoulder, already out the door.
I heard Iso lightly chuckle behind me.
I was across the street in seconds and it was just my luck that the door to their garage opened and who I presumed to be Kevin was taking the garbage out.
“Ay, you Kevin?” I asked, never slowing my stride.
“Who wants to know?” he asked with heavy bass in his tone.
I’d fought many men in my day, so his buck twenty-five frame was nothing to me.
I was about to deck his shit, weight behind the punch, when Iso grabbed my shoulder.
I didn’t even have the chance to disagree because Iso had already sent his fist into Kevin’s face.
I just knew he’d be unrecognizable after that hit. It made a loud thud on impact.
“Kevin, baby!” A female voice made me look away from the lack of man on the ground. He didn’t even put up any fight; he was too busy lying down trying to find his face.
“You must be baby mama,” I greeted the moment she was within my reach. She didn’t get the chance to respond because I decked her like I would’ve decked her baby father. Dramatically, she fell onto the ground next to Kevin.
“You see my sister over there? If I hear anything about either of you couch smelling motherfuckers bothering her, I’ll be back, and next time I’m coming to see Grandma.”
Iso’s arm was around my shoulder, pulling me away from the laid-out couple. “C’mon, Killa. We got shit to do.”
When we made it back into my sister’s house, all eyes were on us. Neither of my sisters spoke. Well, at least for a minute before Lauryn opened her mouth.
“You met the male version of yourself, wow. I’m Lauryn, the middle sister. Nice to meet you.” Lauryn extended her hand to Iso.
He chuckled. “Iso. And you as well.”
“Damn you fine. I’m the youngest, and as you can tell, the most lit one of the three. I’m Sissy, and it’s nice to meet you in the living, Iso.”
“Sissy.” I cut my eyes in her direction and she immediately threw her hands up in surrender.
“Nope, not getting in that shit. I’m just saying, thug.” Sissy shook her head and had all of us laughing.
Iso
Folks said people should be aware of some things before they happened.
Like somehow, some type of fucking superpowers let you know a nigga was gonna be flaw.
Sounded like some fairytale shit if you asked me because how the fuck should I know?
I shouldn’t. Shit, nobody should if their sole focus had been staying afloat and keeping their shit together.
Never in a million years would I have ever considered the shit I’d found out about my own blood.
Yet here I was, faced with the proof and I couldn’t believe it.
Numbers didn’t lie and lowkey they knocked all the wind out of me at this point.
With the burner phone in my hand and a coconut water, I left my kitchen, sliding the doors to the patio open. With everything in my head, I just needed some air. I thought better outdoors.
Once I was seated, my eyes locked onto the early morning sunrise as I flipped the small phone open and powered it on.
Betrayal had a bitter taste.
I thought I’d tasted enough of it that night with Adrian, but I was wrong.
How deep did it run?
What the fuck did he have to gain?
I dropped the phone onto the wooden table and allowed it time to power on, then reached for the coconut water I’d brought out.
I had reduced myself to drinking coconut water and anything moderately hydrating when before any of this I always kept a cup of something brown.
Growing up where I grew up and seeing the things I had, it was impossible to escape without a vice.
I’d seen some of the toughest fall victim to Watertown while swearing I’d never. Until I almost had.
Fuck, was I being paranoid?
How could I even question paranoia when the facts were there?
I blinked out of my thoughts and took a quick gulp of the coconut water. I set it down then reached for the phone. I didn’t know why I was even placing another call to this man, but I felt pulled to do so. He had to know something that set all of this in motion.
Then again why the fuck did I care about why this was set in motion? I just needed it over.
I went to the recent calls, immediately finding the one call I’d made. I clicked the number and brought the phone to my ear, listening to it ring until he answered.
“I prayed you’d call back at some point.” He answered the phone speaking in a hushed tone.
“Prayed, huh? Not shocked that the man above would be taking prayers from you.” I laughed to myself.
“I know you hate me, Iso. Shit, I hate myself, but I can’t go back and change anything. All I can do is move forward with the cards I’ve been dealt.”
“Yup, so explain something to me, since you’re playing the cards you’re dealt.”
His breathing filled the line, waiting for me to speak.
“Why didn’t you tell your son I was coming for him?”
He sighed deeply before his heavy tone filled the phone. “Because you are my son too, Arsenial. I fucked up in the past, but you are my son and that’s something I can’t change, even if I wanted to. So for once, I’m choosing you because I regret not choosing you all those years ago.”
I didn’t have anything to say. Now it was my turn to breathe into the phone. I didn’t fuck with his use of my government name. Shit I hadn’t heard it in forever, since the last time I’d laid eyes on my mama.
“When I told you all of this was my fault, I meant just that. RJ is trying to show me he can run the streets. I told him he couldn’t and that he should look for something legit to settle into because I was looking to transition myself and wouldn’t be passing anything I worked for down to him.
The streets are not given, they are earned.
It takes a certain type to master them.”
“So, what? You wanna save his life?”
“I didn’t say that. I know a line has been crossed, one there is no coming back from. I know the language and know you gotta do what you gotta do. Just don’t lose yourself looking for vengeance. It won’t help you sleep any easier or get through the day.”
Something about his words made me think about the priest. Everybody assumed I was doing everything for vengeance, when in actuality, I wanted to live my fucking life and not have to look over my shoulder. Fuck vengeance, this was survival.
Eventually I got off the phone with Rich and went back into the house. There, I was greeted with a sight I had never seen. Not since I’ve known her.
Liora was in my kitchen whisking eggs and rapping to Jeezy’s “All There”. It was sexy as fuck, but she’d never stayed in a kitchen for more than the allotted time to eat or make sure it was clean before we went to bed since we’d started this.
For a minute I just stood there and watched her, enthralled.
Liora was everything a nigga didn’t realize he was missing in life until I encountered it.
That friend shit with us ran deep, from her being a sounding board for my thoughts to being a presence when I was so fucking used to being alone.
I had never been with a woman who witnessed all of me and understood.
She didn’t only understand, but she related in a way any sane or normal motherfucker wouldn’t.
I was no cornball ass fool by far, but in a way, she completed me.
“So you’re gonna stand there and watch me like a creep?” Her voice interrupted my trance.
“Nah, I’ma stand here in awe. I didn’t know you could cook.”
She laughed. “You didn’t ask. And it’s nothing spectacular. I don’t even like cooking.”
“But you know how though? We been ordering out for months and you can burn?”
“Iso.”
She mugged the fuck out of me in her morning glory. Well, shit ,mine. She was comfortable in my white tee, a pair of my briefs, probably rolled at the hip, and my fucking slides.
I laughed. “Don’t look at me like that, Killa. You’ve been holding out on me.”
“You never asked. Now come put the sausages in the pan.” She motioned then turned to check on the eggs.
“You wanna tell me about it?” she asked, her back to me seconds later as I began placing the miniature pork sausages into the cast iron skillet.
“’Bout what?”
“What’s bothering you?”
I was about to tell her nothing, but nah, it wasn’t nothing. It was very much something and I didn’t know how to carry it.
“Lucky. I had you look into Lucky. According to what you found, and from what Posydiann said, he was also in on setting me up. A nigga I shared a fucking room, toys, and clothes with during childhood helped set me up. I don’t know how to feel about that.”
I felt her eyes when I was done speaking, but I didn’t look up at her.