9. Autumn #2
But just like everyone else in the city I’ve heard Shad diss Cochise, and I heard his response a couple days ago. And I don’t care who my sister decides to fuck, I’m Foe Dub foe life. Stamped actually. Got the blue rose tatted on my ass to prove it.
Right below the Royce.
So really, they the ones who need to tread carefully.
“Her baby daddy is one of them Foe Dub niggas.” Cochise grills me all of a sudden, like he wasn’t just trying to get them to shut up.
Oh. Aight.
I shift my purse to my lap and smirk.
“Wait, Wyn said she a lesbo. See? I told y’all bitches be going for the right one.”
“Bitch?” I arch a brow at Grimey, who cheeses.
“My bad, baby. It’s an expression. Which one ya baby dad? Can’t be my nigga Nutty.”
“It’s that nigga Turk. The one who owns Paradise.”
Grimey’s eyes stretch like he’s seeing me for the first time. He pulls on his beard before glancing at Cochise, but Cochise only has eyes for me.
“Is there a problem?” I ask him.
“Nah, he just got a lil spicy over your girlfriend when we went to get Deuce. What’s her name again?”
“Nigga got spicy. Seem like that’s all them Foe Dub niggas do is get spicy.” Grimey laughs and shakes his head, butting into our conversation again. He seems like he just naturally talks shit, but Cochise’s shoulders damn near touching his ears.
“You talking hella greasy. Watch out.” I lick my lips, keeping my eyes on the swivel. Wyn ass is fucking useless, as usual. I gotta remind myself I got shit to lose, and can’t dead all these niggas. Plus, Wyn would be mad I killed her boyfriend.
“Oh you riding for yo niggas huh? Some Lady Foe Dub shit?”
“Nah, some, ‘tread lightly, on Foe’ type shit. I know Wyn is green, but this ain’t that over here.”
“Oh, shit. Lil mama one a’ dem,” Sheisty cackles, closing his laptop. “You know yo baby daddy rolled up on my brother over another bitch right? While you so down.”
I smirk, rubbing my baby hairs. “Short? Fine as fuck? Nah, he rolled up on yo brother over my bitch. Sorry, Patience’s pussy only gets wet for me.” I shift my gaze to PC and flick my tongue at him, and I swear a ghost of a smile passes through his face.
“Ew, Auty. You’re so gross. No one wants to hear about you and your girlfriend,” Wynter says after snatching her headphones off.
“Girlfriend huh? How long you been with her?” Trippy asks, turning around.
“Why?”
“A long time,” Wynter says the same time I speak. When I glare at her, she shrugs. “What? It’s true. I’m ready, Trip.” She gets up and goes into the booth.
Cochise and PC get up, too. “Ima be back tomorrow. We got some shit to handle.” PC daps his friends up while Cochise goes to kiss Wynter goodbye.
“Take care, Autumn,” PC says. His voice is just above a whisper, and even that sounds strained. Our eyes lock and morbid curiosity is oozing out of them. That’s the first thing he’s said all day, and I don’t know, something passes between us.
Cochise smirks and nods at me, but I don’t return it. Nigga ain’t ever really rubbed me the wrong way until now. And I know Ima have to talk to Wynter about telling my business.
“Aight Wyn. Yo nigga gone, so it’s no distractions. You better show out for Miss Gangsta over here.”
Wyn giggles and motions for Trippy to play the track back. Sheisty dims the lights on the switch behind him, and I settle in to watch my sis work.
I’m dead on my feet by the time I get home, shower, and slide into my bed, but I can’t go to sleep yet. Pulling out my phone, I call Rico and Turk on facetime.
Of course Turk answers, in Paradise’s office. Rico answers next, and it looks like he’s in Set’s living room.
“Do y’all niggas ever go home?”
“Nah.”
“No.”
I giggle at them both, rolling my eyes. There was a time it would be me, Rico, Turk, and Fredo.
After Set took over the BBs. Trauma bonded us after one long night, and for years after, we would hold onto each other, make sure we didn’t slip into the darkness that we unleashed.
Then Rico went to the Marines. Fredo was killed.
Turk called himself moving on from me. And I met Patience.
“Wassup Haze? Why you not sleep?”
“I, uh, spent the day with Wyn.”
Rico’s eyes go dead while Turk smirks. “How was that?”
“It was… nice. I went to the studio with her. She got bars, foreal. Then we went to the tattoo shop and she got me tatted on her.”
“Foreal?”
I grin, thinking about the pin up doll version of me she got on her upper left arm.
Autumn Night, my first and middle name, goes up the doll’s leg.
It’s gorgeous, and I hugged her, teary-eyed for five minutes.
Then I got a zombie version of her Sailor Moon tattoo on my arm, with Wynter Snow wrapping around her, and little snowflakes complete the piece.
“Yeah. She’s trying. Too bad her nigga is a weirdo.”
“What you mean?”
“First, Rico, where you at?”
“Set and Brina sleep, but I’ll go in the guest room.”
I wait until he settles into the bed and sigh.
“Besides that nigga Grimey talking greasy, Cochise kept asking me about Pay. Then this Native looking nigga gone press me about ‘my nigga’ pressing his brother over Pay. When the hell that happened and why you ain’t tell me?”
“You ain’t tell her?” Rico scowls. “Do you know she staying with Turk?”
“I know my crib got locked down. I assumed he put her up. She staying with you? At your actual crib?” I cheese at my Turkey, who looks like he’s actually blushing.
“Focus, Haze,” Rico rolls his eyes at us, making us both grin.
“I didn’t talk to you today, baby girl. You seemed so tired yesterday, I didn’t wanna bother you.”
“She knows them niggas.”
“What you mean?” I sit up and rest my back on the headboard.
“Turk ain’t get there until way later. The way that Native nigga looked at Pay, they knew each other. Maybe not fucked… but they know each other.”
“Definitely do. She begged me and Nut not to murk they asses. I smoothed that shit over with Set, since Brina was there, but Nut like a dog with a fucking bone. I almost don’t want her to go to Set’s dinner tomorrow.”
“Nah, she needs to go. She not on no weird shit.”
“You sure about that?” Rico’s brows lift and I nod.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Y’all are as much her family as mine. She the same age as most of them, so it’s prolly some they mad she on our side type shit. You know them East Kenton niggas move like the Nation of Islam. She good, though? Still throwing up?”
“Why don’t you call her and ask, baby girl? She misses you.”
“She does, foreal.”
I sigh, laying down on my side. “Me and Pay got some shit we need to work on separately. Right, Turkey?”
Turk shakes his head, while Rico fake gags. “I called that shit. Hazey, I miss you. Hurry and complete your hours so we can go ice skating. Later.”
Rico leaves the call, leaving just me and my baby daddy. We spend however many moments just looking at each other. He has on voice isolation, so it’s completely silent. Just us staring, admiring in adoration.
“I love you, Autumn.”
The corners of my mouth lift automatically. “I love you, Turkey.”
“She’s hiding something. Something big. I don’t trust her.”
“She doesn’t trust herself, Turkey. Something happened to her, and I don’t think she had the support system I had when–”
“You think it’s like that with them niggas?” he growls.
“No, no. Cochise not that type. Neither is the Native nigga. His brother and Grimey though seem… off. No, I think she prolly seen something she wasn’t supposed to. You know Pay not like us. She ever sees what Nutty and Rico are capable of, she'd never be able to sleep again.”
“And yet she be swapping recipes with Nutty ass,” Turk chortles.
“Just… give her time. She’ll open up to you. You just gotta make her feel safe.”
“You sure you safe there? I know you love Wyn but her head be in the fucking clouds and we all hours away.”
I smile at Turk. Always worried about me. “I got my blicky on me, and keep another one in the crib and the car, like you tell me to. I may have slipped and said I’m a Foe, but I think they respect me more, oddly. I’ll be glad when Shad ends this petty feud, though.”
“Now you know Shotty Shad as stubborn as they come. I’m glad you good though. Get some sleep, aight? Call Deuce before your shift. I’ll make sure his ipad is charged.”
I simper, biting my lip. “Okay. Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe.”
“Aight, baby girl.” He smirks before we end the call, and I hug my phone to me. And as always, flashbacks of my birthday weekend lead me to a deep sleep.