Chapter 6
“Yo sister bogus as hell for slapping me,” Jatara said as they sat on her back porch smoking a blunt.
A habit that Diamond would fuck Kayla up for having, they promised to never smoke any kind of drug, but there she was in rotation.
“Diamond just overprotective as fuck, that shit be annoying sometimes, but she means well.”
“I couldn’t have no bitch breathing down my back like that, sister or not, hell, my momma don’t even play with me like that.”
Jatara was what the older people called “fast,” or “loose.” She had been bounced around the hood and she didn’t have a problem being labeled as a hoe.
She dressed like one, talked like one, and fucked like one, let her tell it.
She was overly developed for a fifteen year old and that came from fucking at an early age.
“I don’t mind, it keeps me grounded.”
Jatara rolled her eyes, “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“What I said. Don’t start that weird shit, Jatara,” Kayla warned while laughing and choking on the blunt.
“Right, I’m high. Anyway, I heard yo sister fuckin’ Cam.”
Kayla gave her a stale look, “Bullshit, me and all my sisters are virgins. Tell whoever you heard it from to bring it to us. Scary ass people around here.”
“Damn, you mad? Fuckin’ Cam is a big deal!”
“Fuck that, fuck them, and fuck you if you believe it and repeating it.”
Much like Diamond, Kayla didn’t play about her sisters either unless she was the one playing.
“Girl, chill the fuck out! If the shit not true, let it be.”
Kayla wasn’t trying to hear that shit she was talking about.
“Who said it?”
“Nope, I’m not telling you that, you’ll be out here fighting again.”
“And?”
“And nothing. Let it go. Let’s talk about all this new shit I see you rocking.”
Kayla looked at her with a raised brow, “What about it?”
“What about it? I want in. What you doing, boosting from the mall?”
“Hell no. My father works his ass off to take care of us, he got a bonus at work and took us shopping.”
She was young, not dumb, she knew Jatara had the biggest mouth out west.
“Aw shit. I thought you hit a lick.”
“I wish,” she stood up and grabbed her house keys so she could leave until Jatara’s next sentence made her heart drop.
“Somebody hitting licks around this bitch, I know you heard Duke nem got hit.”
“Whatttt?”
“Hell yeah and that nigga is mad! He got eyes and ears to the street, he even offering a two-hundred-dollar reward for a name.”
Kayla forced a giggle, “That’s crazy. I’m surprised yo ass don’t have a name to give,” she picked her brain.
“Oh, baby, I’m working overtime to crack this case,” she replied while laughing, but Kayla didn’t find shit funny. She had to get home to tell Diamond all of the shit she heard. Kayla barely made it through the front door before she started yelling Diamond’s name.
Diamond stepped out of the bathroom confused.
“To the room, now,” Kayla said to Diamond as soon as she power-walked down the hall.
She was sweating bullets from running home in the heat. Kayla slammed the bedroom door closed, locked it, then leaned against it.
“What the hell wrong with you?”
“Why Jatara say Duke got money on whoever stole his work.”
“So, he don’t know it’s us or did you open your mouth?”
“Hell no, but somebody’s mouth is spreading a rumor that you fucked Cam.”
Diamond crossed her arms. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“You not mad?”
“I’d be mad if it was true, I don’t give a fuck about lie.”
“Well, do you give a fuck that Duke is going to kill us?” Kayla asked, throwing her hands up. Diamond was too nonchalant for her liking and it showed.
“He don’t know shit.”
“How you figure?”
“Because we’re right here talking and untouched. You panic too much.”
“Bitch, you don’t panic enough! It’s two hundred dollars riding on this!”
“And?” Diamond shot back calmy.
Kayla’s face twisted, “Diamond, two hundred is enough for SOMEONE to run their mouth! You know people in the hood don’t stay loyal for free!”
“Again, did you tell someone?”
“No!”
“Cool, stop panicking then, that shit will only make us look guilty. You gotta chill.”
Kayla shook her head, “I don’t think you understand, he’s mad! REAL mad. He was just at the corner store pacing and cussing. He’s fuckin’ dangerous!”
“And I’m not scared of dangerous, especially when his dangerous, handsome ass can’t prove shit.”
Duke had been Diamond’s crush since she was about twelve, he was the fine older boy, flashy, and had all of the hoes. He was three years older than her, and she was invisible to him and she wanted to remain that way.
“Where you going? I’m not done talking,” Kayla asked as Diamond grabbed her keys and headed to the front door.
“To the store, I want some chips with cheese.”
Kayla knew her sister was crazy but going to the store where she just told her Duke was spazzing at was insane to her.
“Have you lost your mind? You don’t have to act tough all the time.”
Diamond shot her a look, a look that only Diamond could carry, it was fearless.
“I’m not acting. Duke don’t scare me, Kayla. If he has a question, I’ll answer.”
And with that, she walked outside into the warm air as the sun began to set.
The streets were still live, music played loudly from every car she walked by.
She dodged the little kids running on the sidewalk while their mothers sat on porches with their drinks and friends.
It was those small things that made Diamond love where she was from.
The hood wasn’t all bad, especially the Lawndale community where she was born and raised.
It was like one big ass family; every block held a different story.
Diamond walked down 16th Street like she owned it, by herself. She walked across Homan to the corner store and like clockwork, Duke and his guys were posted. His eyes scanned the streets as she walked and paid him no mind, that was until he started cussing like Kayla said he was.
“Mufuckas gotta be crazy to take some shit from me. I look out for every muthafucka around here and somebody gon’ take some shit from me!”
She finally looked up and locked eyes with the sexy menace, a normal person would’ve been scared hearing him rant, but Diamond wasn’t. He was right, Duke was an up-and-coming hustler from the hood, he had a little money and a reputation.
“Damn, Diamond, yo lil ass perfect,” one of the guys called out, making all of the other guys look at her, including Duke, who stared longer than the others.
“That’s a lil ass kid, chill out,” Duke said before looking away.
“Far from it,” she shot back before walking into the store.
She grabbed her things and walked back outside.
“Aye,” Duke called out before she could cross the street.
“Yeah?” Diamond replied as he walked toward her.
“Somebody fucked with my work.”
“And?” She turned to him and looked up at his six-foot frame. Chocolate, midnight black with the perfect set of pearly white teeth, need she say more.
“And I want answers.”
“From me?”
“From anybody who know something. I got two hundred.”
She tilted her head to the side, “Paying folks to solve your problem sounds like begging. Besides, I’m not in the business of snitching.”
“So, you do know something?” he grabbed her arm and looked down at her, she didn’t flinch.
Diamond was very much street smart, she loved gangster movies, especially ones with female hustlers. It was something about a woman running a man’s race that made her imaginary dick hard.
She stepped in close enough that her breath brushed his chin. Her voice was razor sharp.
“I don’t know shit and if I did, I wouldn’t tell. Loses are a part of the game you’re playing, take the L, the next W will feel better.”
He blinked slow and slightly loosened his grip. Diamond used that moment to yank her arm back.
“I hear you,” he muttered and watched her walk away.
If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought Duke was a little soft on her, but she knew better, he was out of her league.