Chapter 26
Greystone City
When the jet finally touched down in Greystone City, I felt this bitter ass feelin’ sittin’ with me.
The jet slowed to a stop, and for a second, ain’t nobody move. Everybody just sat here like we was all thinkin’ the same shit but ain’t nobody say it out loud. Kay’Lo was the first one to stand, and that was enough for the rest of us to get up and follow behind him.
We stepped off the jet and waited on the next driver to pull up.
Toni stayed close to Kay’Lo, and he ain’t let her go.
The nigga kept her tucked into him knowin’ she needed that.
Pressure stood right with Pluto with his hand restin’ low on her back while she rubbed over her stomach, leanin’ into him without sayin’ nothin’.
She was quiet, but you could tell she was feelin’ it too.
I stood a few steps off from them, watchin’ while I kept to myself, lettin’ them be what they needed to be for each other.
I kept my hands in my pockets, lookin’ around.
The last time I was here, me, Kay’Lo and Blaqson was in an Airbnb, and shit went left fast when Toni’s weak ass cousin and them niggas he was with tried to force they way in like they was gon’ take somethin’.
They ain’t take shit.
Kay’Lo put that nigga down, and that was the end of that. Police got involved, we got locked up, and ever since then, this city been dead to me. So bein’ back out here now, knowin’ Sha’Nelle just got shot in this same place, made my fuckin’ stomach turn.
Another black truck pulled up not too long after, and we all got in. The driver pulled off, and the ride to the hospital felt longer than it probably was.
I leaned forward with my elbows on my thighs, and my hands locked together while I stared down at the floor for a second, then back up.
I ain’t even wanna think too far ahead, ’cause I ain’t know what we was about to walk into, and I wasn’t about to play no scenarios in my head that I couldn’t control.
By the time we pulled up to the hospital, everybody got out quick and moved straight inside. The energy switched again, ’cause now we was close, and that unknown feelin’ got heavier the closer we got to answers.
Kay’Lo walked straight up to the front desk with Toni beside him, and I could already tell that shit wasn’t about to go smooth.
“We tryna see Sha’Nelle Harper,” he said, his voice low but firm.
The lady behind the desk looked up at us, then back at her screen before she answered. “Only two visitors at a time.”
Kay’Lo frowned like he ain’t hear her right. “Why the fuck is that? We all her family, and wanna see her.”
The lady kept her tone calm, but she ain’t change what she said. “Sir, those are the rules.”
That was all it took for him to get irritated, and I could see it in his face before he even said anything else. “Man, that don’t make no sense. We all family, so what you mean two people?”
Security started comin’ over slow, and I shifted my weight where I stood, watchin’ it play out without sayin’ nothin’.
“Kay’Lo, please,” Toni begged, grabbin’ him. “Just calm down.”
Pluto came up beside them, rubbin’ her stomach while she spoke softer. “We just wanna see her, that’s all.”
The lady looked between all of us, then repeated herself. “Only two at a time.”
Kay’Lo stared at her for a second like he wanted to keep goin’, but Toni pulled on him again, and eventually he exhaled and nodded his head.
“A’ight,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”
After him and Toni got the visitor’s pass, they went back, and the rest of us stayed in the lobby.
Pressure leaned back against the wall with his arms folded, watchin’ everything around him without really lookin’ at nobody. Pluto took a seat beside him, rubbin’ his arm to calm him down.
I sat down and leaned forward with my elbows on my thighs and my hands locked together while I stared at the floor for a second. I ain’t like bein’ back in this city, and I damn sure ain’t like the reason we was here.
Time moved slow after that. Every minute felt longer as hell, and ain’t nobody say much while we waited. I looked up every now and then, watchin’ people walk past, nurses movin’, doors openin’ and closin’, but none of that shit mattered.
I was just waitin’ on ‘Lo and Toni to come back out.
Eventually, I saw them walkin’ back toward us, and I could tell what it was before they even said somethin’. Toni had tears runnin’ down her face, and Kay’Lo looked pissed in a way that told me he was holdin’ that shit in.
Pluto stood up quick, her hand still on her stomach. “Is she okay?”
Toni wiped at her face and nodded. “Yeah… she okay. The bullet hit the back of her shoulder and went straight through. It missed her heart by just a lil’.”
“What?” Pluto shouted.
Toni took a breath and tried to calm herself. “They had to give her blood, and she on medication right now, so she in and out, but she gon’ be alright.”
I let that sit for a second, feelin’ that tension ease up just a just, but not enough to relax.
Pressure spoke next. “She say who did it?”
Toni shook her head, then glanced at Kay’Lo before lookin’ back at us. “No… she ain’t give no names. She just said they took some of the money ‘Lo gave her. They got into her safe.”
Me and Pressure both reacted without sayin’ nothin’, but I knew my face said enough.
Not only did somebody shoot her…They robbed her, and that money came from my muthafuckin’ cousin.
I leaned back in my seat and ran my hand over my face slow, then dropped it while I looked over at Pressure. I ain’t say nothin’, but I already knew what time it was.
Whoever did that shit ain’t just cross Sha’Nelle…
They crossed all of us.
A day and a half went by and we was still at the hospital. Pluto and Pressure had been up to see Sha’Nelle, and I just stayed in the lobby tryna keep my head where it needed to be.
It wasn’t that I ain’t wanna see ‘Nelle. I just wasn’t about to walk in there while her mama was sittin’ up by her bed, or while Toni and Pluto was goin’ back and forth in and out, checkin’ on her every chance they got.
That wasn’t my place right now, and I knew better than to step on that, so I stayed where I was at and let them have that time.
It ain’t mean I wasn’t thinkin’ about it though.
Every time somebody came back through them doors, I looked up without even meanin’ to, watchin’ they face, readin’ they body, tryna see what kind of update they was comin’ with. It got to a point where I ain’t even ask no questions no more. I just listened and put shit together in my head.
From what I was hearin’, she was doin’ better than what everybody expected. The bullet went through her shoulder and missed everything important, and that alone was enough to keep shit from goin’ left the way it could’ve.
They said she needed blood, and she had been in and out ’cause of the medication, but she was talkin’, she was responsive and that was enough for everybody to breathe a lil’ easier.
I sat here most of that time with my elbows on my thighs, my hands locked together and my duffel at my feet, just watchin’ everything movin’ around me. Nurses was goin’ back and forth, people was comin’ in and out, phones ringin’, voices was, but my mind wasn’t on none of that.
I kept goin’ back to the same shit.
Somebody ran up in her spot.
Somebody put hands on her.
Somebody pulled a gun and shot her, then had the nerve to take money out her safe, not knowin’ who the fuck they stole from.
That part kept playin’ over and over in my head, and the more I sat with it, the more I felt that pressure buildin’ in me.
Another night came and went, and by that point, reality started settin’ in for everybody. They couldn’t just sit in the hospital forever, no matter how bad they wanted to. They still had kids at home dependin’ on them.
From what Toni was sayin’, she had already brought up Sha’Nelle comin’ back to Trill-Land once she got discharged.
Toni ain’t trust nobody out here. After what just happened, her mind wasn’t sittin’ right with leavin’ Sha’Nelle in this city without protection. And that’s what made me step in.
“Shid…I’ll stay,” I said, simple as that.
Toni turned and looked at me like she ain’t expect that to come out my mouth. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” I replied, not even hesitatin’. “I ain’t got nowhere else to be, and I already know ain’t nobody touchin’ her while I’m here.”
Kay’Lo looked at me for a second, then nodded like he understood exactly what I meant without me explainin’ it.
Pressure stepped in closer too. “We gon’ be on your line,” he said.
“I know,” I answered, already expectin’ that.
I had what I needed. I had my bag with my guns in it. I had my money, and I knew how to move in any city I stepped foot in. I wasn’t worried about where I was gon’ sleep or how I was gon’ get around.
Toni stepped up and hugged me tight before she pulled back. “Thank you,” she said, her voice softer now.
I just nodded and let her have that. They ain’t drag it out after that. Everybody said what needed to be said, and then they started headin’ out, one by one, until it was just me sittin’ back in the lobby again.
The only difference now was, I wasn’t just waitin’ no more.
I leaned back in the chair and ran my hand over my face, lettin’ everything settle for a second before I reached down and grabbed my duffel. My fingers rested on the zipper for a second, not openin’ it, just feelin’ the weight of what was in here.
I sat like this for a minute, thinkin’ through my next move. Then I stood up, walked over to the desk, and got that visitor pass.
It was time to go see Sha’Nelle.