Chapter Six Gianni “Grit” Laurent
If I could go to the morgue and wake Gio’s ass up from the dead, I would.
That nigga left me with a whole can of worms to unpack.
Shit was really starting to feel like a fucking soap opera or some shit.
If it wasn’t for my girl Serenity, I probably would’ve never tried to see the shit through.
I love my brother dearly, but this shit is messy as hell.
I have to respect his wishes and do as he ask.
I know if the shoe was on the other foot, he would do the same for me.
“He’s the spitting image of your brother baby. Shit is scary.”, Serenity said to me.
“That’s what I know. What’s even more scary is the fact he has that nigga’s attitude.
All the way down to the mannerisms. That’s why I didn’t stay there long, going back-and-forth with his ass.
I knew it would be no point. I’m not in a position to scold him just yet.
I have to create that bond with him. I’m hoping and praying that I get the opportunity to do so. ”
It really wasn’t anything to go back-and-forth about.
As fucked up as the situation is, I understand his position.
He’s gone his whole life without a father, and without any contact to his dad’s side of the family.
Why would he want to have a relationship with us?
I had to put myself in his shoes and think about if it was me.
I quickly realized that I would’ve more than likely acted the same way.
This was just the way that my brother wanted it.
Gio was a very complicated being. There are parts of him the ordinary person would never understand.
His logic and the way that he moved was unordinary.
Everything had to make perfect sense, all the way down to a science.
That’s just the way he operated. Now that he’s gone, it changes every fucking thing in the game. The nigga has me on a scavenger hunt.
One I’m not too particularly excited about.
I know how emotions and tensions will rise.
My brother was heavily in the dope game.
Not some nickel and dime kind of nigga either.
He was a very important nigga. That’s one of the main reasons he moved the way he did.
Aside from that, he was a business mogul with a hefty net worth.
That alone made him a target to certain motherfuckers.
Not too many people can respect a self-made black man as a billionaire.
That was Gio though. The nigga accomplished everything he wanted in life.
He just lacked that relationship with the people that mean the most.
I can’t say my actions would mirror his if it were me.
The nigga went all his life avoiding having contact with the two humans who share the same blood as him.
He knew resentment would come from his absence.
He just didn’t have the emotional capacity to let that shit stop what he was trying to build.
My brother felt like if the world knew he had two kids in this world, they would stop at nothing to harm them. When motherfuckers can’t get to you, they tend to touch the very thing that means the most. That was a risk he wasn’t willing to take. So, he avoided having a relationship with his sons.
He followed them throughout the years. Having a private investigator to constantly keep an eye out on them.
His absence brought on some shit that I don’t think he was ever prepared for.
In the dope game a lot of connections will be made.
Just as many enemies are made. Making the shit a crowded workplace.
Motherfuckers are bound to cross paths in the same street professions.
When it comes down to the streets, niggas beef every day. Whether it’s about a bitch, money, drugs, or territory. All that shit is a part of the game. I’ve been doing this shit a while myself. So, I know firsthand how shit can be.
Trill is the true definition of “got it out the mud”.
The nigga is about his business. He leaves no room for bullshit.
He has many ways like my brother. If only he’d gotten the opportunity to meet him.
He would’ve had the opportunity to see just how alike they were.
Looking at him made me think of my brother when we were younger.
I miss that nigga with everything in me.
Since he’s been gone, seems like a part of me died too.
Shit, he was my better half in brother form.
Serenity is the other half. If it wasn’t for her, I know I would have forgotten about everything that I worked my ass off for.
I have been wanting to crash out in the worst way.
I don’t know who did this shit to my brother.
I made a promise to myself that I would find out.
Even if it takes the last breath in my body.
No matter what part of the world my brother resided in, I’d always go to him.
We’d make time to kick it and handle business accordingly.
Now, I didn’t have a brother to run to. Not biologically anyway.
My girls’ brothers and first cousins have become family to me.
I love them as if we came out the same woman.
Onyx, Orion, and Amir have made it known that they have my back.
They’re always reminding me that in whatever way I need them, they’re ready to be of service.
Amir is always a listening ear. Orion is always levelheaded and knows just what to say to help uplift your spirits.
Onyx, that nigga is on go at any given time.
No matter the time or the place he’s ready to wreck shit.
Though, he’d walked into his fatherhood era, he’s still that ruthless and cutthroat ass nigga that we know and love.
That aspect of him hasn’t changed at all.
With my brother getting killed, I needed to be able to rely on someone.
I didn’t know how shit would go with Trill.
Not that I wanted him to be a part of the shit at all.
I plan on stopping at nothing until I get some answers that’ll satisfy my soul.
My nights have been restless trying to figure all this shit out. I have been having nightmares about Gio. It’s almost like every time I close my eyes my dreams were trying to reveal to me just what happened. Either that or the shit is just overcrowding my mental.
“Baby, you can’t run yourself trying to figure all of this out. You’re only one person”, Serenity said to me.
“I know baby. That’s just the way that I’m wired. My mind won’t let me shut down right now. I have no choice but to keep going. Then Trill ass wants to be stubborn and shit. That nigga is going to give his uncle grey hairs early.”
“I overheard the conversation baby and yes, he doesn’t play the radio”, she said laughing.
“At the fuck all! That’s a Laurent for you.”
“In the flesh”, she said, and we shared a laugh.
“Come here.”
I grabbed her lightly by the waist and pulled her close to me. She stood in between my legs as I sat at the kitchen table.
“I love you woman. You haven’t left my side once since all of this has taken place. For that I’m forever indebted”
“As your woman that’s what I’m supposed to do. You don’t owe me anything aside from the love that you already provide me with on the daily. We’re locked in and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I don’t want you to. I’ll never do anything to cause you to want to flee from me.
You complete me. The missing piece to my puzzle that I never knew I needed.
You provide me sanity woman. No woman has ever had the power to do that.
I’m just trying to let you know I appreciate you baby and the value that you bring into my life”
She just smiled at me before placing her soft hands on my face and kissing my lips.
“I appreciate you from rescuing me from a place I didn’t know I needed saving from. I have your back, your front, and your side.”
I pulled her closer and just hugged her.
Taking her words in all at once. I know that she means every one of them.
She has shown me every day what it feels like to have a supportive woman by my side.
When I need to vent, she’s listening. When I’m trying to figure some shit out, she helps me analyze.
When I need to cry, she holds me and lends me her shoulder.
When I want to tear some shit up, she’s right there locked and loaded.
You don’t find a love like this every day.
I knew it was something special about her from day one. At that time, I just didn’t know how special she would become to me. What Future said, “I took a sip of her tea and haven’t been right ever since”. The woman is beyond special to me.
I’m ready to ask Mr. David for her hand in marriage.
Because I love her, I know she deserves that moment when I’m my best self.
Not me dealing with the loss of my brother and trying to right his wrongs.
The moment that I get back to some type of normalcy, I’m putting a ring on it and locking it down officially.
I don’t give a damn that it hasn’t been years and years in the game.
When a nigga knows, he knows. I don’t feel the need to play around when I know it’s nothing better out here for me. In due time though.
I still had to complete the mission at hand.