Chapter Nine #2
Sixteen-year-old Logic stepped out of his bedroom with his arms stretched to the ceiling.
He slept like shit due to Pepper and her boyfriend, John, moving around the house all night.
The floor creaked and it sounded like they were moving furniture.
The few times Logic got up to check on the situation, his mother assured him that everything was alright, that they were just rearranging a few things.
Late nights weren’t uncommon in their household, being that John was a gambler.
Pepper was his good luck charm, and John didn’t go many places without her.
If they weren’t up arguing over Pepper putting her kids above him, they were running in and out of the house, making it impossible for anyone to sleep.
“Oh good, you’re up.” Pepper smiled when Logic entered the living room. She was standing at the door, fully dressed with a couple of suitcases at her side.
“What’s all this?” He examined the suitcases before turning back to her with hiked eyebrows.
Pepper took a second to take her eldest son in.
Logic was identical to his father, her first love.
At sixteen, he was already 6ft2, weighing a solid 210.
When he wasn’t sporting a mean mug, Logic could be caught smiling, showing off the pearly whites she once had to beat him to brush.
To the world he was Lo, but to Pepper, he was her big baby.
Logic was a provider and stepped up to the plate to take over their household when his father left.
Pepper never asked how he earned the money he handed her, but she wasn’t blind.
Her baby boy was a heavy hitter on the block, but guilt kept her from questioning him.
Guilt had her turning her head with her hand out.
“Well, first let me say happy 16th birthday. This is for you.” Pepper smiled, handing him an envelope. “It’s a little over two thousand dollars. I don’t know, maybe you can get a lil car or something.”
“Thanks Ma.” Logic took the envelope, pulling her into a hug.
“Do you have any plans?” She asked once he released her.
“I’m going to chop it up with Al. Might go over Duce house to drop a song.”
“There you go, talking about dropping a song that we’ll never hear.” Pepper playfully rolled her eyes. “It might be time for you to hang that fantasy up and get a real job. You’re sixteen now and the streets don’t have a 401K plan.”
“Since when you don’t believe in my dreams?” Logic cocked his head to the side.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in your dreams, it’s just time for you to grow up, baby. I love you, but being a rapper isn’t for everyone. I think it’s time for you to put all that energy into something that’s going to bring in an actual income... a legal income.”
“Wow,” he grimaced, processing her words.
His illegal money was a lifesaver when the water was about to be cut off or they were running low on food.
His illegal money was good enough to get her heat fixed in the winter and get her car out of the impound, but because it didn’t come with a 401K plan, it was a problem.
To say his feelings were hurt was an understatement.
Logic expected that kind of attitude from John but hearing those words from his mother broke his heart.
The one person that was supposed to have his back was shitting in his hands and telling him to clap.
“Um, listen, I was sixteen when I had you, and I’ve been raising you and your siblings to the best of my ability.”
“And? That’s what parents do.”
“And now that you’re sixteen, I-I-I need you to look after your brother and sisters for a while,” she stuttered, refusing to give him eye contact.
“It’s my birthday, I didn’t plan on babysitting.” Logic’s brows creased.
“Well, actually, it’s going to be for a while. I need you to take care of them. John wants to go to Las Vegas for a while. I’ve been holding off, but he has a few connections, and I think it’s only right that he gets to live his life too.”
“Then let that nigga go. You got kids, you can’t just get up and go.”
“I just need you to keep an eye on them for a while.”
“Keep an eye on them?” Logic chuckled. “You saying it like you about to run to the store or some shit. You’re trying to go to the other side of the country. Is this some kind of joke?”
“It’s not a joke, Lo.” John stepped into the living room, wiping the corners of his dry ass mouth. “Your mama needs a break.”
Logic glared at John, wondering who the fuck he was talking to.
They normally stayed out of each other’s way to keep the peace, but somehow, John found the nerve to comment on some shit that wasn’t his business.
For as long as Pepper had been with John, he never commented on anything to do with her kids unless it interfered with her running the streets with him.
“Nigga, back the fuck up before I knock your little ass head off your shoulders.” Logic squared his shoulders. John sized the teen up but did as he was told. While they had never been in a physical fight, John heard all about his reputation. Logic’s mouth was reckless, but he could back it up.
“I’m just saying, man, look out for ya mama.”
“By taking care of the kids she laid on her back to create? Get the fuck outta here,” Logic barked as the bedroom doors behind him opened. “I already babysit every other night and feed them, help them with their homework, pay bills, and do everything else. I’m the man around this bitch.”
“Watch it.” John pointed his finger in Logic’s face. “I didn’t have to do half of the shit I've done around here. I stepped up when your father left.”
“Nah nigga, you stepped in to prey on a weak ass woman with four kids. You ain’t did shit but use my mama and all of her resources. Free housing, food, and shelter. You’re a freeloader with a gambling fetish nigga.”
John shifted on his feet, not moved by anything Logic was saying because it was the truth.
When he met Pepper, the twins were two, Sage was three, and Logic was twelve.
He could tell from across the room that she was drowning, and all it took was for him to buy her one drink before she told him her life story.
John sensed her desperation, and he played it to his advantage.
Pepper was a single mother of four, and John was a rolling stone with no real commitment.
She provided him with a ready-made family, a home, and a hot meal every night.
All John had to do was fuck her right and kick her a few dollars whenever he had a good night.
“LJ, this is happening. I don’t want them to go into the system, so you have to step up. I just need a break.”
“I don’t have a job, how the fuck we supposed to live?” Logic bellowed. “I have school, what the fuck are you thinking?”
“You’ll figure it out. I had to.” Pepper pushed her purse on her shoulder.
“I’ll figure it out?!” he roared. “These are your kids!”
“Who knows, rapping might take off for you someday.”
“Mommy.” Shugg rubbed her eyes, coming from the back of the house. “We leaving?”
“Yes, John and I are going on a trip,” she lied.
“I wanna go,” Sage whined, hugging Pepper’s leg. He was a mama’s boy and didn’t like it when she went on trips without him.
“It’s ok, big boy. Stay here with your brother and I’ll come back for you.”
“Pep, let’s go,” John urged, not bothering to say goodbye to the youngest children.
He was the only father they knew, but in all honesty, he was ready to get rid of them.
John was ready to spread his wings. The poker tables in Las Vegas were calling his name and his palms were itching.
“I need to play my mid-day numbers before we hit the road. Happy birthday, Lo.”
“Fuck you!” Logic spewed. “This some bullshit.”
“Mommy,” Spice cried, hugging her leg. “I wanna go.”
“No, I wanna go.” Sage pushed his sister.
“Logic, do something,” Pepper begged with tears in her eyes. “Don’t do this.”
“Nah, tell them that you’re leaving and never coming back. Tell them that you’re fucking abandoning them to run behind a bum ass nigga,” Logic demanded.
“Mommy, we’ll be good. I promise,” Sage cried, pulling the strap of her purse. “We’ll be good.” “Mommy, can I come?” Shugg pleaded, trying to put on her shoes while making sure her mother didn’t leave.
“Let me goooo,” Pepper begged, using all her strength to push Sage into Spice, giving her just enough time to run out the door. “I’m so sorry.”
“Let’s give your brother time to cool off,” Pepper spoke, snapping Logic from the memory of her breaking his heart.
“I don’t need to cool off, but you need to leave,” he repeated.
“Then I’m coming with you,” Sage said, glancing at his brother then back at his mother. “I can stay the night with you. Do you have a hotel room? I have an allowance, I can get my own room.”
Pepper didn’t answer because she had no intention of taking Sage with her. She wanted a quick visit to clear her conscious, but nothing more.
“Take him with you,” Logic urged, folding his arms across his chest. He wasn’t as blind as he was eight years ago. His mother was just as selfish as John. Taking Sage with her was never an option and the look on her face said just that.
“I-I can’t today,” she explained, fumbling over her words.
“Why? It’s summer and I don’t have school,” Sage reasoned.
“I, uh-
“Bro, she not fucking with you for real,” Logic stated. “Let her go.”
“It’s yo fault she don’t wanna stay.” Sage released his mother’s arm. “You didn’t even try to be nice.” He stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Again, Logic wanted to go snatch his ass up and make him close it soft. He hated that rude shit, and for the second time in less than an hour, someone had slammed a door on him.
“Lionel Jr,” Pepper cleared her throat.
“Aye don’t call me that shit,” Logic snapped.
“I really am sorry, and I’d like to sit down and talk to you. I was wrong for what we did, and I want to make it up to you.”