Chapter Twelve
One month later
Logic thought trapping was tiring, but revamping his life to be a music artist was by far worse.
His studio sessions lasted well into the wee hours of the morning, and he had back-to-back shows at small venues around the city.
The days were starting to blend, and whenever he had downtime, Logic buried himself in the bed.
To his surprise, Scottie came through in a major way.
She kept an eye on the troops, cooked, cleaned, and provided him with a warm mouth at the end of the night.
Logic didn’t even have to ask her if she was coming back because in the middle of the first week, Scottie walked into the apartment with a duffel bag, and he gave her a key.
He hated to think he was stringing her along, but he didn’t ask her to be there; she chose to, and for the time being, it worked.
“I know you don’t think I’m about to clean up this mess.” Spice frowned, eyeing the sink full of dirty dishes.
“You’re on kitchen duty, right?” Scottie replied.
“I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to clean up this.”
“Right,” Shugg cosigned. “And then you didn’t even make enough food for everybody.”
“Lil girl, watch who you’re talking to. Let’s not forget who’s the adult,” Scottie reprimanded.
“Girl bye. Don't try to use that adult card because you’re not an adult when you’re texting my phone asking where my brother at or trying to see who's over here. Nah, you’re our friend then, right?” Shugg chimed in.
“Look, I’m not about to go back and forth with yall. Wash the damn dishes and go outside and play.”
“Aye, don’t talk to my sister like that,” Logic barked, stepping into the kitchen.
“Did you hear how they were talking to me?” Scottie bucked her eyes. “All I did was tell her to clean up the kitchen.”
“Yea, after you came in here making bacon, pancakes, eggs, and hashbrowns for two.” Spice twisted her lips.
“And then think my sister about to clean it up. Tuh. Could’ve never thought,” Shugg added.
“Chill out,” Logic warned her before addressing Scottie. “You didn’t make enough for everybody?”
“No. I was trying to make you breakfast in bed.” Scottie held up the tray of food.
“That’s cool and all, but they still gotta eat.” Logic couldn't deny that the food looked amazing and the aroma made his stomach growl. As bad as he wanted to tear into the plate, he couldn’t do it.
“There’s cereal.” Scottie furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t have to make them food whenever I want to make us something. They are damn near grown.”
“Nah, we don’t do shit like that. When someone cooks, they make enough for everybody.” Logic frowned at her, remembering why they broke up in the first place. Scottie was selfish.
“I’m straight. I’ll DoorDash me something.” Spice stormed out of the kitchen.
“Right, keep yo burnt bacon and hard eggs.” Shugg followed her sister. “Could’ve never thought we was about to clean up after her ugly self.”
Logic chuckled.
“You not gone say nothing to them?” Scottie questioned, placing the tray on the counter. “You think I wanna cook for them and they always getting smart with me?”
“You’re in their space, Scottie. I don’t know what kinda household you were raised in, but in here, everybody eats. Cereal is an appetizer and don’t fill nobody up.”
“Wow, so much for me trying to do something nice for you.” She stormed past him.
Logic’s head fell back, and a low groan escaped his lips.
This was the shit he didn’t have time for, and he hated that he had to explain simple things to her.
While he appreciated Scottie being there, he didn’t have time to play referee.
“What’s all the noise?” Sage yawned, coming out of his room.
“What time did you come in?” Logic interrogated, ignoring his question.
“Like one. Scottie said I could hang out at the park.”
“Since when is it ok for you to be outside at one in the morning at the park?”
“Scottie said-
“Bro, don’t make me fuck you up. Your curfew is ten. I don’t care if I'm not here, the rule still stands. Try that shit again and I’m going to blow your shit out.”
“I’m not a lil kid, bro. Why do I even have a curfew?” Sage sucked his teeth.
Whap!
Logic punched him in the chest.
“Stop sucking your teeth like a lil girl and don’t question me,” he chastised. “You have a curfew because I care about your hardheaded ass. You are a black male teenager, and if something pops off, you’re already the number one suspect. Don’t be stupid.”
“Aight.” Sage rubbed his chest.
“Use your brain, and the next time you try that shit, I’m going to buy some boxing gloves and wear your ass out.”
“I’m not worried,” Sage smirked.
“Yea, aight.” Logic playfully pushed him. “I love you, lil nigga. Just gimme a minute and I'mma get us the fuck outta here. Don’t try to fit in with nobody around here because you’re not like them.”
“I know.”
“Good. Go tell your sisters to get ready, we’re going to go look at cars.”
“We’re getting a car?” Sage exclaimed.
“Maybe,” Logic grinned, unable to hold his own excitement. It was a long time coming. Al allowed him to borrow his car whenever he needed, but Logic didn’t want to wear it out. If it wasn’t important, he’d take a cab or catch the bus.
“Hell yea.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“My fault, my fault. I’m just happy. Keep up the good work, bro.” Sage stuck out his fist to pound his brother. “You’re doing a good job.”
“Thanks, lil nigga.” Logic nodded, appreciating his words. Everything he did was for them and it had been that way since their mother walked out on them.
‘Let me check on this girl. Your mean ass sisters hurt her feelings.”
“Aight, can I have this plate?”
“Yea.”
“Sweet.” Sage moved around him to warm up the food.
Logic removed his phone from his basketball shorts to check his notifications.
The first thing he saw was the bank deposit from Rah.
The fifty-thousand-dollar deposit caused his heart to skip a beat.
It was the most money he had ever had at once, and it was legal!
So many thoughts started to run through his mind, and if it wasn’t for Rah calling, his head would’ve probably exploded.
“What up doe?” he answered.
“You get what I sent?”
“Hell yea, good looking.”
“That’s all you. The checks from the show cleared, and if you want the advance, it’s still an option.”
After looking over the contract that Terri and Rahlo gave him, Logic decided he didn’t want the advance.
200k sounded nice as fuck, but Logic didn’t want the money looming over his head.
He preferred to get his money on the back end, and Rahlo was cool with that.
He respected it. All he asked was that Logic keep his nose clean.
While he wasn’t loud with his criminal activity, the streets still talked.
“Nah, that was perfect. I’m about to go get a whip,” Logic cheesed.
“Sweet. I’ll text you the numbers of a couple of people I know. They’ll hook you up.”
“Aight, cool.”
“Don’t forget you have a studio session tonight,” Rah reminded him.
“Aight, peace.”
“Peace,” he ended the call.
Opening his messages, Logic sent a text to his accountant requesting that he deposit half of the money Rahlo sent him into his savings and then send ten bands to Al. Within minutes, his accountant replied, letting him know he’d get right on it.
“Sweet,” Logic mumbled, going into the kitchen to grab his bills folder and glasses.
Taking a seat on the couch, Logic slipped on the glasses and opened the folder.
A smile graced his face when he noticed that everything was up to date.
There wasn’t a red stamp or bold overdue sign anywhere, and Logic thanked God for the little things.
For the first time in a long time, he was ahead, and the feeling brought a smile to his face.
“Girl, no, I’m about to move around,” Scottie voiced, walking from the back with her bags. “I’ll call you when I get in the car.” She ended the call, walking past Logic, who didn’t stop her. Pausing, she looked back at him and sucked her teeth.
“So, you don’t have nothing to say?”
“What do you want me to say, Scottie?” Logic cocked his head to the side. “You want me to beg you not to leave and kiss your ass?”
“Something! Why would you just let me leave all mad?”
“'Cause that’s what you do. Shit gets hard or don’t go your way, you leave. The fuck I'mma stop you for, we kicking it, but we’re not together, and I don’t have time to chase you.”
“I didn’t say we were together,” she pouted, dropping her bag. “But your sisters are so disrespectful.”
“Let’s be real.” Logic removed his glasses. “How would you feel if you cleaned up and somebody came behind you cooking and then told you to clean it up? On top of that, you didn’t make them shit. You should be lucky they didn’t knock all that shit over.”
“I just wanted to do something special for you.”
“And if we were here alone, cool, I’d love that. But, shorty, we are not, and I’ll never eat a gourmet meal while they eat some sugary bullshit.”
“That’s the problem. We’re never alone.”
“And you knew that when you started coming back around. I’m not holding you hostage, shorty, you can dip at any time.”
“You could at least plan a trip for us or something. You’re making money now.”
“I am, but I’m not trying to splurge on a trip and come back to the projects. Like I said though, I’m not holding you hostage.”
“I wanna be here.”
“Then go put your shit back and chill out. I need to go look for a car and then I'll take yall to the mall. It’s not a trip, but-
“The mall is perfect,” Scottie cheesed, perking up at the thought of spending money. “And what am I going to get from the mall?” She walked up to him, slipping her arms around his neck.
“Depends on how good you throw that neck,” Logic whispered in her ear, slipping his hands between her thighs.
“Oh, you know I'm a fool with the shit. Come on.” She grabbed his hand, pulling him toward his room.
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