Ch. 16
GENESIS
Time didn’t seem to make a difference when it came to loving Brat and Maaz.
Them two crept up in a nigga heart and made a home fa real.
I couldn’t hold you, being around them had me the most content I’d ever been out of my now twenty-four years of life.
It was peaceful and everything was still for once.
I had a few days to get the bread back to Twenty-One but other than that, I was coolin’ in the Springs.
Walking into the nursery, I scooped my lil’ man up out the crib. He was in this muthafucka wailing like somebody was on his ass. Brat spoiled his ass so all he was really wanting was to be held. It ain’t trouble me though. He was getting whatever he wanted out my ass, too.
“Aight lil’ nigga. Stop all that hootin’ and shit up in here. It ain’t that serious,” I scolded him.
Brat was relaxing downstairs with Toneshia, and I needed that to continue.
The second she heard him, she was on her feet.
She was a damn good mother. She never let him feel like he wasn’t loved or wanted.
I thanked her several times over for having him.
She could’ve flushed his lil’ ass but she didn’t.
I guess I had Royce to thank for that, too.
The doorbell rang and I just knew it wasn’t nobody but his ass.
He tended to pop up when a nigga was thinking or talking ‘bout him. The shit was weird as fuck. Over the past few weeks, he put in every effort he could for us to get close. I thought it was cringy as hell, but he was just a nigga that loved his family. He warned me what type of timing he was gon’ be on in the hospital. I just didn’t listen.
“I think that’s yo’ worrisome uncle, Maaz. He don’t know what space means and I mean that in the worse way. He don’t know how to stay out yo’ face to save his life,” I voiced placing him on the changing table.
Moments later, my assumption was proven right.
Royce and lil’ CJ walked through the door.
His kids clung to him anytime he was around.
He was a much better father than Senior, and I applauded him for showing them a father’s love no matter if they didn’t carry his blood.
CJ saw me and took off running. He was so acceptive and happy all the time.
You could tell he was living an easy life.
“Uncle Gen!” he shouted wrapping his lil’ arms around my legs.
I smiled as soon as we made contact. I could dislike the adults in this family, but the kids had my heart all the way, especially the baby girls. My nieces looked like they belonged on a shelf right next to Brat pretty ass. All of them looked like dolls.
“What it do, neph? What you got going on?” All that baby talk I left for the women to do. I ain’t have it in me.
“With my daddy,” he said pointing to Royce.
“Oh yeah. Y’all running errands and thangs?” He nodded wildly and I smirked. I finished changing Maaz and picked his stanking ass up. Royce was next to me in a flash waving his hands to dry. When he got the sanitizer? I had no clue. I gladly handed lil’ man over then scooped up CJ.
“Aye, before you go back down there, let me holla at you for a minute. Sit down right quick,” Royce chimed.
“Holla at me ‘bout what?” I was interested to hear what he was ‘bout to put on the table. I took a seat handing CJ my phone. His lil’ ass went right to YouTube.
“You and yo’ crew hit my mall so tell me who got you right?”
Nigga, we just started bonding. I know you don’t think I’m just ‘bout to hand any of my people over.
“Go find Brat and ask her for a snack, CJ.” Whatever he wanted to say, he needed nephew from ‘round us.
“Yes sir.” CJ took off out the room leaving us alone.
Once he was out of earshot, Royce said what was bothering him.
“Look, I really don’t give a fuck ‘bout y’all creating chaos, to be honest. I already paid the owner twice the amount the pieces were worth.
Her store ain’t hurting for shit. My thing is the nigga you sold them too is invading my fuckin’ territory.
I ain’t too fond of intruders. You should know that. ”
I laughed at his response. Royce was possessive and played no games ‘bout his shit being touched. I realized that when he put Walt down without a second thought. If his name was on it, you better call and get permission to enter first.
Zeus wasn’t from the Springs, he just passed through from time to time on business. He was really from Charlotte, North Carolina. The Springs just had his attention for that week. I wasn’t giving him up to satisfy Royce’s ego. He was possessive and territorial which showed his crazy side often.
“You ain’t got to worry ‘bout him. He ain’t even from here. Hell, he only got me right ‘cause he was passing through. It ain’t an issue Junior,” I explained.
“So, what he give you?”
“Eight even. Why?” I shot back.
Nodding, he focused his attention on Maaz but remained speaking to me. “Humor me lil’ nigga. You and yo’ crew done took from me before, huh?”
I smirked at his curiosity. He was referring to the lick Twenty-One took from Walt.
Walt was too eager to please Bentley’s unorganized ass that he missed key points.
Bentley wasn’t moving the way he wanted us to believe.
It was something fraudulent ‘bout him that I couldn’t put my fuckin’ finger on.
The plans he brought to the table were all flawed and they were always aimed at Junior.
Whatever hard on he had for him was something I didn’t understand.
“What we did before this…” I paused pointing back and forth between us. “Ain’t got shit to do with you, bruh.”
“You a lie if it don’t. Y’all took my new shipment, and I ain’t appreciate that. I put up millions to supply my city with grade A shit. It all went to waste behind y’all and that dead ass nigga Walt. I don’t like throwing my bread away once it’s worth a few commas.”
His demeanor grew cold. I witnessed him shifting from a family nigga to a business one. I couldn’t take away how bossed up of a nigga he was. The muthafucka really put a lil’ fear in yo’ heart if you ain’t know him.
“So, what you trying to do, Junior? What we on? ‘Cause I ain’t handing my boys over.” I really ain’t have time to go back and forth with his ass. If we were ‘bout to throw bows in this bitch, he needed to let me know.
“I ain’t ask you to, now did I? Where that bread at from the heist you and yo’ crew did?” he inquired sitting back giving his attention back to Maaz.
“Why? You don’t need it.” No cap.
“And neither do you.”
“The hell I don’t. I ain’t eating off Brat and I got a son if you ain’t realized it yet. I need every dollar I got to support mine,” I replied. I got a lil’ heated and offended when I spoke on providing for them.
“Oh, you ‘bout to touch more than a few hundred thousand dollars nigga. Mama Rose looked out for yo’ ass fa sho. Give yo’ crew that bread and let me know when you ready to touch some real commas nigga,” he stated wearing a sly grin.
That was the second time my grandma was mentioned in the same sentence as money. Senior dropped a hint, but Junior was letting it be known she set a nigga up. I wasn’t ‘bout to refuse that in no shape or form. At least she thought about the kid when I thought everybody on this side denied me.
“I ain’t giving up my bread without knowing what I’m walking into, Junior. That’s a dummy move,” I said playing it off.
“You gon’ be an even bigger dummy if yo’ ass don’t listen to me. Bless yo’ crew. You can afford it. Fuck all that though. My mama need to holla at you.”
“I don’t give a fuck ‘bout yo’ mama, Junior. She ain’t shit to me and never will be so what we talking ‘bout.”
“Boy, you better watch yo’ mouth ’bout that one. I’ll turn you into some merch fast behind her. I said, she need to holla at you. Go put some fuckin’ clothes on so we can go. She ain’t ‘bout to wait all day,” he demanded.
I had to rear back and look at him like he lost his damn mind. I wasn’t no fuckin’ child and he damn sho wasn’t my fuckin’ daddy. The sad part ‘bout this dumbass shit was I almost took my ass in there and got myself together. He might’ve commanded respect but I ain’t have to give him a damn thing.
“I’m not ‘bout to sit down and hold a conversation with the same person that told Senior to get rid of me. You throwed off, but you ain’t that slow nigga,” I countered.
“And I ain’t repeating myself. I’ll get him together and wait for you downstairs. Aight nephew, we ‘bout to go meet a few folk you ain’t never seen before,” he said standing then walking to Maaz’s closet.
He ignored everything I said and kept doing what he wanted.
If I had to describe this nigga, I’d say he was spoiled as fuck and didn’t understand when muthafuckas denied his request. No was like a foreign language to his ass or something.
I walked out shaking my head. I was gon’ give him what he wanted ‘cause I had a feeling he wasn’t gon’ stop until he got it.
It took me and Brat a lil’ under an hour to get ourselves together.
I slipped back into Maaz’s closet and took down the bag of money from the attic.
This was my family’s safe haven. I wouldn’t jeopardize that for nothing.
Twenty-One was jack boys, that was still a remaining factor.
Boys or not, I wasn’t setting Brat up to be a target.
I didn’t trust many, but I trusted many of the things Royce said.
If he said I could afford to let this bread go, I believed him.
The crew was gon’ keep the whole bag. The Atkins were swimming in Benji’s and Junior was the one controlling most of it.
He wasn’t ‘bout to see me done wrong now that I was here.
I could feel it just from how he spoke. His words were always laced with confidence and conviction.