Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“Men never stepped up and women always over romanticized situations in their heads.”
-Ommy
Luna
Weeks Later
Iwatched the door open and a good friend of mine walked through it.
I hadn’t seen her in almost a week which naturally made me want to know what was on her mind and why the hell she was puffy around the eyes.
That only happened when my girl had either been crying or having an allergic reaction to the pollen in the air.
“I’ma need at least four shots of espresso, Luna.
” She gave me that hopeless look before she pulled a stool up to my coffee bar.
She and I had met about three years ago when she first came in with this same look.
Last time it was about her child’s father choosing the streets over her and their child.
This time I could only imagine what it was about, but I hated when her usually vibrant spirit was dull.
“Do I even want to know?”
“Girl, I don’t even want to know about it, but I do. Argus turned himself in last week.”
My jaw literally dropped. “What do they have on him?” I asked that part low.
“Enough to bury him and leave my son without a father.” She looked so sad, and I lowkey got it because this was literally her biggest fear.
That’s why even now she didn’t talk to street dudes when they hit on her.
She said she didn’t have the heart for everything that came behind it, and I swear I got that.
I made her coffee and we promised to meet up for dinner either tonight or tomorrow depending on the crowds today.
Nine times out of ten it would be tomorrow, because my feet were killing me and there was nothing I wanted more than to crawl up in my bed and close my eyes for the night.
In actuality I should’ve been in my bed right now, but I didn’t have an opener, so I ended up here.
I walked around the semi empty place with a grin on my face.
I was proud of how far I had come. My place was small, but it was mine.
Where I came from people like me didn’t make it out alive.
Shit, I still had a couple people who wanted my head, but they had to catch me lacking first. I wasn’t running from a soul, but I was protecting my child from a family that meant her no good.
It wasn’t her father’s family; it was my own.
I left Detroit to escape the tradition that my father was trying to force on me.
Instead of using my full name when I came here, I shortened it, and everything has been fine ever since, or so I believe.
I still get the eerie feeling that someone is watching me.
That made me switch up my routine a bit and stay on my toes at all times.
It was necessary when you didn’t want people to know where you were.
My daughter was safe though, she had a wonderful nanny who handled anything that I couldn’t and she knew that nobody other than Omyia was allowed in my home or around my child.
Right now, life was good, and I hoped it stayed that way.
I couldn’t handle the complications that I knew would follow my family or their bullshit.
I left a life behind to purposely start a new one.
“Luna, my usual?” My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice.
When I turned around, I spotted one of my regular customers.
His name was Cole and from what he told me in passing he ran some tech startup company.
He was handsome, but way too quiet. You never knew that he was in the space until he was standing right in front of you.
I mean I literally had a bell and everything on the door, but he never made a sound when he came in.
“Coming right up. How’s it going today, Cole?” I made small conversation as always. I didn’t have to take him all the way in to know that he was wearing all black even in the mid-ninety-degree weather.
“Long day ahead, beautiful. How long you been here?” he asked.
With him it was always those specific questions that made me wonder just who the hell he was. I didn’t worry myself because one night I actually googled the business card that he gave me. He was a tech guy like he said, I mean unless he could cheat google. That was crazy though, right?
“I don’t know yet. Here’s your coffee.” I rang him up and went about my day.
I need to stock a few things and make sure all of my store ordered baked goods are good.
I hated to find out that I was out of something when I was down to one or two left.
That to me was a big ass inconvenience and cost the most.
The funny thing about life is I never wanted to own a place like this or even run it.
My Nona did. She loved to make sweets and people smile with her treats.
I had a different life in mind for myself, one that never required I put on an apron or stand at an oven.
Yet here I am doing everything that I never dreamed.
At a point in my life, I wanted to be just like my father, but even the things that are so close can be considered so far away.
Life is life and it was as close to a deck of cards that we’d ever know.
The life I foresaw for myself was definitely not the one I was living, but one thing I wasn’t going to do was live in a life of regret.
Everything was what it was and there wasn’t a decision I’d change if given the chance to.
North
I glanced down at the last four messages that I’d sent Omyia.
They all went with no responses which had a nigga confused.
Usually, I didn’t really give much of a fuck about females and that type of shit, but I fucked with her vibe.
The sound of somebody walking into the kitchen made me look up from my phone.
Niema had entered the kitchen with her purse in hand ready for me to take her to work.
Then I glanced from her to our idiot brother who was borderline whispering into the fucking phone. This nigga was lowkey trying to kick it to somebody.
“Yo’ boss good or whatever?” I directed my question toward Niema.
“Yeah, I love her. She’s great.” My sister smiled brightly, totally oblivious to the real question I was asking her. Seconds later she walked her bubbly ass out of the kitchen leaving just myself and Mari.
Immediately his dumb ass started laughing.
When I looked up, he was looking directly at me with tears in his eyes still laughing. Apparently, I had done something funny to this nigga. “The fuck is so funny?”
“You, that’s what. You mean why she isn’t answering your calls and shit, right?”
I just looked at him waiting for an answer. It was obvious this nigga knew something that I didn’t.
“I’m sure that has to do with you sending Toy to pick up Niema that day. She introduced herself as your girl. I mean that’s what I heard because Surah cursed me out about that shit.”
I shook my head because this was news to me. I mean I remembered sending Toy up there, but as far as I know shorty didn’t even get out of the car. She didn’t even mention meeting Omyia
“See look at ya’ dumb ass. You done let that broad implant herself in your life all because she’s somewhat pretty.
As a matter of fact, Toy ain’t even pretty.
She looks like a trusty steed or a stallion of some sort.
Shorty doesn’t even look human, as a matter of fact the only thing she got going for herself is her brain.
She knows how to make money, but that’s about it. Other than that she’s a fucking dud.”
Even though Namari’s wording was fucked up he was right.
Toy and I had been messing around for years, but what we were lacked anything that made it seem like we could be any more than sex.
I couldn’t say her brain wasn’t big enough because it was more than that.
Toy wasn’t for me, and that shit was obvious, because we barely conversed.
It was purely business related and or physical with us.
“That look on your face lets me know I’m right.” My brother had to be on that know it all shit.
I waved him off and exited the kitchen. At some point I’d get with Ommy, but I wasn’t really feeling that childish shit.
If we had beef, then she should’ve picked up the phone and gave a nigga a right.
Toy knew what she was doing too, because Omyia was fucking beautiful.
A blind man could see that. She probably looked at Omyia and knew what was up.
I was going to talk to her about that, though, because that messy shit was for the birds.
By the time I reached my room I was ready to go.
I had a meeting with Gunz about some money that he didn't collect.
I hate it when things can't be done without me.
If anything, people needed to do more to ensure that they got their jobs done.
I didn't employ niggas so I could do their jobs for them, I employed them hoping they could be self-starters.
Gunz was no exception regardless of the fact that he was my auntie's son.
About two hours later I met up with Gunz and one of my lieutenants, Lucil.
I kept him around because he had proven that he was unlike my cousin and could handle things without me.
He wasn't one of those niggas whose hands I had to hold.
He had his stuff together and I was grateful for that.
He was young and about his money so that meant he was willing to do the necessary to make sure nothing got in the way of him in his paper.
“I told you to go in there and bust that nigga in his throat,” Lucil grumbled.