Chapter 18 Quade
“Quae Lo! Is it true you’re working construction now?” a guy who I assumed was a reporter yelled across the parking lot. I’d barely gotten both of my feet out of my whip.
“What the fuck?” My eyes zeroed in on the small crowd of people with cameras and mics standing at the entrance.
I knew some shit was off the moment I pulled up and saw all the extra cars in Northside’s parking lot.
We never had extra people up in here. Shit, I could barely find a place to park.
I had half the mind to hop back in my car and drive off, but I needed to know what the hell was going on.
I’d been out for almost six months now, and nobody besides my family had given a damn. What had changed now?
“Yo, Quae Lo, how does it feel to be working a regular nine-to-five?”
The cameras flashed in my face as I made my way into the job.
“Are you done with music for good?”
I didn’t say shit, just kept my head down and walked inside the front door.
This was crazy. I beelined past the front desk, past two of the young niggas giggling like they just saw a meme, and didn’t stop until I stepped into Ron’s office.
I didn’t even bother to knock. He looked up like he was expecting me.
“What the fuck going on?” I asked, slamming the door. “You called them?”
“You know damn well I ain’t call no damn press,” he said, standing from his desk. “They were here when I pulled up.”
“Then why the fuck PMZ outside?”
Ron stepped around his desk and tapped the screen of his phone. “Guess you ain’t seen this yet.” He held it up so I could see.
“See what—” My words stopped as my eyes scanned over the blog post from The Hollywood Tea Room.
@hollywoodtearoom: Attendees, STL club promoter and podcast host, Shawn G, had a few words for former Savage Row artist Quae Lo, and he didn’t hold back. In a now-viral post, Shawn G name-dropped the formerly incarcerated rapper and shared a few flicks of him on a construction site, captioning:
“Washed up Rappers. Apparently, one hit wonders don’t eat forever! Quae Lo, this you?”
The post has social media in a frenzy, with fans split between calling it unnecessary shade and others saying it’s a fall from grace.
What y’all think, attendees? Would you work a regular job after having chart-topping hits? Swipe to see the post and pics.
Right above it was a carousel of photos of me.
One was me stepping out of the Northside truck.
Another was me with a drill in my hand. The one that really pissed me off was me walking up to Noa’s porch with a piece of wood on my shoulder.
In all the pictures, you could see the Northside logo clear as day on my shirt.
“Man,… fuck.” I rubbed the back of my neck and made my way to the chair in front of Ron’s desk. I needed to sit my ass down for this.
“You know this nigga Shawn G?” Ron asked, shaking his head as he scrolled through his phone.
“Nah, I don’t know no nigga named Shawn G.” My face twisted. My circle was small nowadays. The only people who knew I worked for Northside were family or coworkers.
“You sure? ’Cause a few of these pictures look like he been watching you.
Multiple days, different times of the day.
” He turned his screen around again, and I leaned in closer, looking at the page.
The handle said @ShawnGBlickTalk. I definitely didn’t know any corny ass nigga that would name himself that on social media.
I zeroed in on the profile photo of the nigga grinning with a podcast mic.
“Damn,” I muttered. “That’s… Noa’s ex.”
“Wait,… what?”
I blew out a breath at the realization. “Me and him done had words a few times. He stay popping up at her shit, and he real disrespectful.”
“Oh, so he salty you took his girl?”
“Lame ass nigga.”
There was a heavy silence between us as I pulled out my phone and looked at the post myself. I swiped through the photos again, shaking my head. Shit, I didn’t even know why I clicked on comments, but I did. I guess I wanted to get pissed off even more than I already was.
@Raebaby11: Damn. How you go from headlining to handyman?
@Feellingmyself92: Not Quae Lo outside staining porch railings
@JustJalinae365: I’m screaming! @SavageRow dead ass wrong for this.
@MrsRowdy4life: Not me trying to see what street he is on so I can pull up. That man is still fine ass fuck.
I couldn’t stop shaking my head. It wasn’t even about the world knowing I worked construction.
I didn’t give a damn what people thought of me.
It was the fact that my peace had been interrupted.
Cameras were at my damn job, and now Noa’s house was blasted all over the internet.
This dumb nigga had just exposed her to all kinds of crazy people.
If they popped up here, it was only a matter of time before they’d be popping up at her crib.
“Damn, they really on here showing out.” I finally pulled myself out of the phone. “This dumb nigga done exposed Noa’s house and shit. What if somebody pulls up when she is alone—”
“We’ll handle it,” Ron cut in, calm but firm. “We already got security cameras installed on her property. I’ll make sure we scrub her address from search listings.”
I exhaled through my nose, pissed. My knuckles were itching to punch a wall or some shit. I was gon’ fuck Noa’s lame ass ex up.
“Take the rest of the day, bro. For real,” Ron said. “Ain’t no use in you tryna work if you ain’t focused. Take care of your mental, and check on yo’ girl.”
“I was basically off yesterday.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You off again today.”
I didn’t have it in me to protest, so I shrugged. “Thanks, bro.”
“Take one of my cars in the back so you don’t have to face the press,” he said as I walked out of his office. My head turned toward the front door. PMZ was still out there. This shit was wild. I made my way out the back, where the fleet of Northside trucks was lined up behind the gate.
“Aye, Q!” Rico called out, posted up beside the truck with James, both of them loading up like it was just another Tuesday. “What’s up, superstar?”
“Don’t start.” I waved him off, already dreading the jokes. I wasn’t in the mood for the clowning.
“We just tryna get our autographs before everybody else.” James grinned like he’d been coming up with that line all morning. I couldn’t help the smirk that slipped out. Stupid ass.
“Fuck y’all. You know that,” I said with a middle finger as I walked past them toward one of Ron’s F-150s. I hated these big, boxy ass trucks, but it was the only one without the Northside logo painted across the side, so it was going to have to do.
“What you on, nigga?” Rico asked, confused.
“I’m out,” I said, unlocking the truck. “Y’all got the day off.”
“The day off?” James frowned. “From you? Shit must be serious.”
“Yeah,” I said, my hand lingering on the door. “Need to clear my head.”
They stared at me for a moment and then at each other.
“This about that bullshit that lame ass nigga posted on PicsGram?”
I didn’t say anything.
“Aye, Q,… man, fuck them people online,” Rico said, his tone shifting from playful to serious. “They don’t know you. They don’t know shit about living.”
“For real, man.” James chimed in. “You out here being a real nigga, handling yours. Ain’t nothing corny about that shit.”
“That’s real as hell,” Rico added, nodding. “More real than they ever gon’ be.”
I swallowed hard. That hit deeper than I expected.
“Appreciate y’all,” I said, “For real.”
I appreciated how they didn’t press, didn’t ask questions, just dapped me up like nothing was different.
“I’ll let y’all know when we back on,” I added with a half-smile. “Enjoy the paid day off. I know I’m about to.”
“Oh, we know what that mean.” James laughed. “He about to slide on his girl.”
“Tell Teagan fine ass I said hi,” Rico called out as I climbed in the truck. I flipped him off again and shut the door. I didn’t even let the engine warm up before I peeled out of the lot.
As soon as I cleared the gates, I pulled my phone out and texted Noa.
Me:
You good? Anybody come by the house?
Noa:
What? No. I just got in the bath. What’s going on?
Me:
Press outside Northside.
I shot her the screenshot of the tearoom post.
Noa:
OMG! I’m so sorry, Quade. You okay? I’m going to curse his ass out.
Me:
You not. Stay right where you are, baby. On my way.
I dropped the phone on the passenger seat, rolled my shoulders back, and cracked my neck. Then I hit the gas like I needed to get back to the one place in the world that hummed the same tune as me.
Turning the key to Noa’s front door without knocking felt a little weird, but I guess we were past the formalities of me using the key unless for early morning work.
“She’s in the tub.” Teagan greeted me before I could even get in the door. “She’s soaking. The water helps.”
“How she doing?” I kicked the door shut behind me.
“Better. Worried about you.” She closed her laptop and sat up on the couch.
“Worried about me?” I patted my chest. “I’m good.”
“She showed me the post. And disrespectfully, fuck them people, and fuck Shawn, too.”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t worried about those damn people on the internet, and Shawn would see me soon. I nodded and just started walking toward the hallway.
“So… we’re doing this? You and my sister?” Teagan asked from behind me, making me stop and face her. I guess Noa had filled her in.
“Yeah.”
“Not that I think you won’t, but be careful with her. She’s all I got,” she said. “And I will slash your tires. Ask Shawn.”
I smirked, appreciating her protectiveness over her sister. “I got her, and just so we’re clear, if I fuck up, I’ll give you the knife myself.”
She stared at me for a minute before cracking a smile. “I’m holding you to that.”
“Bet.” I took off toward the bathroom but paused for a sec. “If you need to go home, go to class, whatever, I got it from here.”
Her eyes ballooned, and the look on her face told it all. Just like Noa, she wasn’t used to having a support system.