Chapter 19 Chaos
FOUR DAYS LATER
“Shit looks like a good plan to me. I say it’s time to knock some niggas’ heads off they blocks,” Sunny declares, rubbing his hands together with a crooked grin.
Digger sniffs and looks at Priest, Sunny, and me before he speaks. “We can run the plan in—”
Priest’s door flies open with no warning, and all our heads jerk up, ready to fuck a nigga up.
“The fuck,” Priest grumbles, mugging Jagged, who is looking stressed than a muthafucka.
“Aye, Priest, I gotta get Bell to the hospital. Her water broke, and she’s having contractions.”
“Fuck!” Priest shouts and jumps up from his seat. “You good? What do you need from us? Has someone got a cage ready to go?”
“She’s in her car now. I need somebody to put my bike in the garage in case it rains before I get back. I need someone else to roll by my place and wait for my kids to get out of school. They should be home in an hour,” Jagged explains, holding up a house key.
“Thought y’all had that shit worked out,” Digger states.
“We did, but we didn’t expect her to go into labor two and a half weeks early either.”
“Y’all parents ain’t made it in town yet?” Sunny asks.
“Nah, but they’re about to get on the road now. They’re a little over three hours away. My neighbors are supposed to be my parents’ backup when the baby comes, but they are out of town until tomorrow.”
“Aye, ain’t no sweat, bruh. I’ve got you. I can roll through,” I reply, standing and accepting the key that he hands to me.
We all rush out to the front where Torch is cleaning something from the floor that I guess is where Bell’s water broke. There is a lot of excitement and chatter, and I see Charisma to the side, chatting with Juicy. They both look so happy and excited.
It only takes a minute for me to take in the look on her face, and I know that I want that look there always.
“Where’s Ember?” I hear Priest ask.
“She’s in the car with Kyte and Bell, waiting for Jagged,” someone answers.
I walk over to Charisma’s fine ass looking like she wants somebody to hunch on her in them short ass jean shorts. The fuck was I thinking telling her it was okay to wear them?
“Hey, we gotta go.”
“Is everything okay? Are you going to the hospital too?” she asks.
“Nah. We’re heading over to Jagged’s place.
Gotta make sure we can let his kids in the house after school.
They’re not used to coming home to an empty house.
Bell’s usually there, and they already had arrangements in place for when she had the baby.
Since it’s coming early, they had to think on the run.
We’re that run,” I state, reaching for her hand.
“See you later, Juicy,” she calls out as I drag her along behind me.
“Here,” I grumble, handing her helmet to her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just thinking. Need to get out my fucking head.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“CJ. Not being here for you and him when he was born. Wanting to close this case up so we can bring his li’l ass home.
Looking forward to getting to know him better.
How the day that he left town, we spent hours together before I left him with my sister.
It still wasn’t enough time. All the shit, ya know? ”
“Yeah. There’s time, Chaos. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
You and he have the rest of your lives to build that bond.
He’s already crazy about you. He never talks about anyone as much as he talked about you in the short time he has known you.
I can see the excitement in his eyes when we video chat and how fast his fingers fly when he’s telling Chrishanna and me things to tell you. ”
I chuckle and strap my helmet on before I climb on the bike too. Within minutes, we’re flying down the road headed toward Jagged’s kids.
“What are you doing? You can’t be going through these people’s refrigerator like that,” Charisma fusses.
We just arrived at Jagged’s place fifteen minutes ago.
“Girl, shut up and find the frying pan,” I argue, taking the ground turkey out of the freezer.
“Seriously, what are you even doing?”
“Can’t ya li’l ass ever follow instructions? Or is crying the only thing you know how to do?” I tease with a smirk.
She rolls her eyes and opens cabinets, looking for a frying pan. I go through the cabinets and find the rest of the ingredients that I’m looking for. Once I find everything, I throw the frozen pack of ground turkey into the skillet and turn it on.
I can feel her watching me as I break the turkey down little by little.
“How are you just gonna come up in these people’s place and make some tacos?”
“Listen, them li’l bad ass kids gon’ come home starving if they anything like me or Jagged. I used to come home and demolish some shit after school. Don’t nobody want no peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
“I’m sure they ate at school.”
Shaking my head, I look at her like she’s lost her gahdamn mind, ’cause man, she had to. “Ain’t nobody in they right mind eating that nasty ass school shit.”
She breaks out laughing so hard, I can’t help the smile that comes to my lips.
“So what? Because you used to be hungry all the time, you figure these kids want to come home to some tacos?
“Why not?” I ask, spreading my arms out wide. “It’s taco Tuesday.”
Her mouth drops, and her eyes widen and sparkle with amusement. She’s so damn beautiful.
“Are you serious right now, Chrishon?”
“Aye. Watch that. You’re getting too comfortable with that shit,” I grumble, pointing the spatula at her.
“What? Calling you by your government name?”
“Yeah. I ain’t playing with you,” I reply as I turn back to breaking the tacos down further just as the doorbell rings.
“Do you want me to take over cooking?”
“Nah. Your ass makes basic meals. These kids don’t want no Chef-Boyardee, not when they got Jagged and Bell for parents.
Trust me when I tell you big boy and big mama can burn.
Answer the door. It’s probably they bad ass kids.
If it ain’t no pint-sized shorties, then holla, and I’ll come through with Corruption,” I instruct, patting my gun in the back of my waistband.
“I cannot with you!” She shrieks, laughing as she heads out of the kitchen.
It’s not long before I hear kids’ laughter and then shrieks from behind me.
“Uncle Chaos! For real?” Jagged’s twelve-year-old son, Tico, shouts.
I turn around and smile as he rushes me. Wrapping one arm around him and still managing to cook with the other arm, I reply, “Wassup, my nig?”
“Just chillin’.”
“Still making good grades in school?”
“Yep.”
“Still slaying the chicks?”
“I wouldn’t be my daddy’s kid if I wasn’t.”
I dap him up, and we laugh as I turn to see Charisma standing behind us, shaking her head. Beside her is the cutest little girl with bows at the ends of two long ponytails. She watches me warily and then glances at her brother before turning her gaze back to me.
“Hey, Miana. You don’t remember me because you were only three when I left. I’m your uncle Chaos.”
“I know who you are,” she states shyly.
“You do?”
She nods. “Mm-hmm.”
“Daddy talks about you all the time, Unc, and he shares photos of you with us,” Tico explains.
I was close to Jagged and his family before I left. He was the big brother I never had, so I’m glad to hear that he made sure that his kids knew me too.
“Aww. That’s so sweet,” Charisma coos from behind us.
“A’ight. Y’all hungry?” I ask, trying to shut her little emotional ass down before she starts crying like she’s cumming.
“Yep,” Tico replies. “Where’s Mama and Daddy?”
“Ya mama went in labor, and your daddy took her to the hospital.”
“Is she okay? Is the baby okay?” Miana asks quickly.
“Everybody is good. That’s why Charisma and I are here,” I explain, pointing the spatula in Charisma’s direction.
“That’s cool,” Tico states.
“A’ight. Put your bags down, change your clothes, wash your hands, and then come grab something to eat,” I command as I pour several seasonings into the meat to turn it into taco meat.
It doesn’t take long before I’ve fed everyone, and we’re sitting around the table doing homework.
While I’m working on math equations with Tico, Charisma’s little brainiac ass flies through history, language arts, and science homework with Miana.
I keep catching myself looking over at her as she works with Miana. I can easily see her at a table like this with CJ and me working on his homework. I wonder if she ever thinks about having more kids, and it fucks my head up that I want more.
I want to see that woman’s belly big with my seed.
I want to rub her feet, massage her back, and run out at all times of the night to get whatever she craves.
I want to be by her side as she gives birth, and I want us sitting around a damn table like this one, doing homework with our jits.
Damn. Ain’t that some shit? When the fuck had I become a TV dad?
I want to be more a part of her and CJ’s life. I wonder what school has been like for him and how hard he’s had to fight to make sure he gets a good education. The doorbell rings as Jagged’s parents arrive, and I push all those thoughts to the back of my mind so we can discuss later.
There’s one thing I do know: I can no longer pretend that I don’t still love her, because I do. I wonder if she feels the same way, or if she has fallen in love with the senator.