Chapter 35
Money, Midnight Runs, My Baby
It was 5:00 AM, and I had just left my trap located in the Clo Apartments complex on the north side. Things had finally slowed down; I guess the fiends were finally asleep. I left my workers, Rex and Faygo, holding down the spot while me, Tyshuan, Rock, and Spider posted up at the store.
I had everything on me: weed, coke, ice, percs, and ecstasy.
A bad brown-skin girl with a big ass was about to pump her gas. I jogged up behind her and stopped her.
“Aye, ma, let me pump your gas,” I said.
“Okay, I don’t have any change, though,” she replied.
I turned my head to the side, trying to figure out if this bitch was really that dizzy. Here I was, draped in Supreme with a Gucci fanny pack across my chest, and she thought I was a bum?
Right then, Neenee—a girl who stayed in the Clo Apartments—walked up and hugged me. I hugged her back. She was cool, even though she fucked pretty much every nigga who trapped out of my spot. I never hooked up with her, but sometimes the neighborhood hoes make the best friends.
“You know him?” Shawty asked.
“Yeah, this is my best friend. I was just about to tell you to take me to his spot so I can get us some weed,” Neenee said.
“What do you need, Nee?” I asked.
“A 3.5 and a Roxy for my sister. We’re about to hit up the after-hours. You and your boys should slide.”
“I’m about to head in, but just give me fifty dollars. I’ll see you tomorrow when I hit the block.”
I served her and then walked back toward my car. Just as I got in, shawty’s car pulled up next to mine. I hopped back out and walked over to the passenger side.
“Aye, my sister said you’re fine as hell,” Nee said.
I looked over at the sister and licked my lips. “Damn, ma. You just told me I looked like I needed change.”
She smiled. I couldn't lie; she was fine as hell.
“You know how these niggas are,” she said.
“I do, but slide through my spot tomorrow. I should be there by 4:00 PM, and we can kick it,” I told them.
They pulled off, and I got back into my car.
“It’s crazy that hoe will pay you, but everybody else she wants to fuck for weed and a place to sit,” Tyshuan said.
“I mean, I never fucked Nee. Of course she’s gotta pay me,” I fired back.
“Then why don’t you hit that? I paid hoes more for less. Don’t even know why Ty tripped,” Spider chimed in.
“Cuz I got a vibe with shawty and never fucked her. Trust me, Nee is all yours—she wants me to hook up with her sister anyway.”
“Nobody wants Stacey’s stuck-up, sadity ass,” Rock said.
“You know her?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, she used to dance and now she’s a hairstylist. I went to school with her and Nee. They always been bad, but now that Stacey’s grown, she’s thick and stuck-up. A nigga can’t even look her way if he doesn’t have a check.”
My phone started ringing. I answered the unknown call.
“This is a free call from ‘Juicy,’ an inmate incarcerated at the Fulton County Jail. To accept the call, press five. To block this caller, press two.”
I pressed five.
“Wassup, girl? How the fuck are you calling me this late?”
“They just released me. Please come get me, Rizz.”
“Ight, I’m on the way.”
Y'all, I had to bounce; I still had things to do.
My boys got out of the car, and I went to go pick up my ex. I sat outside the gate until she ran over and jumped into the car. When she got in, I hugged her tight.
“I fucking missed you,” she said.
“I always told you to call me if you needed me. Your ass is always out here stealing.”
“I need to get a room so I can make some money and feel like myself again,” she said.
She had patches on her skin; you could tell plain as day she was messing with some substances she had no business touching.
“Stay at my spot. I’m barely there anyway—just don't go fucking nobody on my bed.”
“If you want me back, just say that, Renardo.”
I shook my head. “Essence, I’ll never go back there with you. I have a girl and we’re happy. I just want to help you out. I know you’re a single mom and shit; I just want you to be fit for your kids.”
“My kids are gonna forever be good. They got a good-ass godmama—and a good godfather, damn. Only if he’d let me get a piece, I’d be satisfied,” she laughed.
“Not you talking about messing with the lady raising your kids, man.”
“And I would, and I wouldn't even tell her, because she’s been that good to me.”
“I’m about to get you a weekly room at the Extended Stay.”
“You think you’re too good to let me stay with you?”
“Ain’t that about love, baby. I just don’t do anything messy, and what you just said was messy as hell.”
We pulled up to the Extended Stay, and I got her a room. I had to keep her at arm's length because some bitches just never change.
I pulled up to my final destination and checked my phone: it was 6:30 AM. I dialed my baby's number.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I said.
“Good morning, baby. Is everything good?” she mumbled in her sleepy voice.
“Yes, mama, come open the door.”
She came to the door dressed in a nightgown, her nipples peeping through the fabric, and that ass looking right as always. I took a nice, long shower, crawled into bed, and pulled my baby against my skin. I rubbed her back until I drifted off to sleep.
Were Mercedes my peace? Hell yeah.