Simmy
I’d been at Chauncey’s spot longer than I planned. We’d been blowing it down for about an hour, and he ain’t really said much since I got here.
But I already knew something had gone down last night, and it wasn’t small.
I checked the Manifest earlier and saw the cleanup crew logged at Crown Juelz Hotel. That told me everything I needed to know.
I ain’t signing off on that job if it went down like that.
He did.
I glanced over at Chauncey. He caught me looking and just shook his head, that same little smile sitting on his face.
Yeah… that nigga happy Rhy home, but it still don’t sit right with me.
“Aye,” I said, flicking ash into the tray. “I ain’t come over here to chill. You know I got business to handle.”
“I know.”
“You got some shit to handle too.”
He leaned back, exhaling slowly.
“Yeah… but the streets can wait. I’m trying to take care of home first.”
I nodded, studying him.
“I see that. So y’all good? I’m glad she finally made her way back.”
“Shit… me too.”
“How y’all even make that happen?”
He filled me in on last night—everything Rhy was trying to handle.
I shook my head, letting out a low whistle.
“Ain’t no fucking way…”
Now it made sense—the cleanup crew, all of it.
“You need to get your shit together,” I said plainly. “This can’t keep happening.”
“Nigga, I’m trying,” he shot back. “I ain’t know that shit was finna go left like that. I pulled up to break it off and check her about that hospital shit. She was trying to fix it for home.” “How did Rhy get pulled into it?”
“Whit told her. Rhy called me, pressing me for my location.”
“And you gave it to her…” I said, already knowing.
“Yeah. I ain’t have a choice. I wasn’t about to have her thinking I was out here fucking off.”
I nodded.
“I feel you. She straight though? What’s the next move?”
“I’m linking with Juelz—I need that footage. Whit had a lot of shit going on… but outside of that?” He paused, glancing toward the stairs. “I’m working on Rhy.”
That said everything.
“I can’t say if she's good yet,” he continued. “But I’m praying she is. I asked her to come home… and she did. So now I gotta give her a reason to stay.”
I leaned forward, tapping the blunt out.
“Aiight… so what you need me to do so you can handle that?”
He looked at me.
“I can meet with Juelz. I gotta holla at Skeet anyway about some business.”
“Bet,” he nodded. “I’ll let Juelz know.”
He hesitated.
“I need to handle Tamika myself.”
I shook my head immediately.
“Nah… let me handle Tamika. You focus on Rhy. That situation already caused enough problems.”
He looked like he wanted to argue it… But he knew I wasn’t wrong.