10. Trigga
Trigga
Ihad walked through the front doors of the Browne estate more times than I could count.
Somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like Maliah’s house and started feeling familiar.
I’d eaten dinner here and watched movies here.
I had spent so much time with her family here that there was a time when walking through these front doors felt easy.
Today… It felt like a complete one-eighty.
The house hadn’t changed, but the people inside had.
Mr. Browne knew I’d robbed him. Mrs. Browne knew her husband had put a bullet in my arm. I’m sure MJ knew too.
The only person who was probably still blissfully unaware was Maylee.
Everybody else knew exactly what had happened.
Exactly what I’d done. As I followed Maliah through the foyer, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever be able to walk through this house without feeling the weight of it sitting on my shoulders.
“Mama, we’re back,” Maliah called as she disappeared toward the kitchen.
I barely had time to take another step before Mr. Browne appeared in the hallway. Our eyes met, and neither one of us spoke. He nodded toward the back of the house.
“Come on.”
I was hesitant to follow behind him, but I already knew where we were headed: to his office.
The place where fathers had hard conversations with the men who wanted to love their daughters.
Only this conversation was about a lot more than love.
He nodded for me to close the door behind me when I stepped inside.
Mr. Browne took a seat, leaned back in his chair, and folded his hands together across his stomach.
“So, if I’m opening my front door back up to you…” he paused, “there are two things I need from you.”
I nodded once while finding my way to one of the chairs that stood on the opposite side of his desk.
“I’m listening,” I said while I took a seat.
“The first one is simple.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine.
“Who was with you when you robbed me?”
The office fell quiet. I already knew that question was coming. But it wasn’t something that I could answer. After a few seconds, I shook my head.
“No disrespect, Mr. Browne,” I paused so that I could choose my next words carefully, “but I’m sure you wouldn’t fold on one of your brothers either.”
His expression never changed, so I continued.
“I can’t give you that.”
For a long moment, he just looked at me. Then he nodded once.
“I figured that’s what you were going to say.”
He leaned back in his chair again.
“The second thing,” his voice was just as calm as before, “I need to know that if I welcome you back into this family, the streets are behind you. I’m not asking if you’ll slow down. I’m asking… are you done?”
I didn’t even have to think about it.
“I am.”
The answer came easily. I had really turned my life around since finding out that the auto shop belonged to him. So, I started explaining how life was for me now.
“School’s going better than I ever expected, and my part-time job has been good to me. I like having something honest. I don’t want that life anymore.”
Mr. Browne studied me for several long seconds. Finally, he nodded.
“Quit.”
My brows pulled together.
“My job?”
“Yeah.”
He sat forward and rested his forearms on the desk.
“You’ll come work for me. You’re in automotive school. Come work at my shop.”
“You serious?” I blinked.
“As serious as I was when I shot ya ass.”
A smile tried to pull at my mouth. The joke was too soon, but I really was grateful for the offer.
“I appreciate it.”
“Don’t.”
He pointed a finger at me.
“I ain’t offering because I like you.”
That made me laugh inwardly. I knew better than to crack a smile in this man’s face. He wasn’t finished.
“I’m offering because I need to keep a close eye on you, little nigga.”
A smile pulled at my mouth before I could stop it. Anybody else probably would’ve taken that as an insult. Coming from Mr. Browne… It almost sounded like an opportunity.
“I ain’t doing this for you.”
The smile slowly faded from my face.
“I’m doing it for my daughter.”
Mr. Browne leaned back in his chair before continuing.
“I raised Maliah to stand on her own two feet. I raised her to know right from wrong,” his eyes met mine, “and if she’s standing in my office asking me to give you another chance, then somewhere along the way I got to trust that I raised her well enough to make that decision.”
I listened without interrupting.
“That don’t mean I trust you.”
His words weren’t harsh. They were honest.
“It means I trust her.”
He let that settle before continuing.
“Now whether she’s right or wrong… only time gone tell us that.”
For a moment, neither one of us spoke. Then Mr. Browne stood from behind his desk and slowly walked around to the front of it. He folded his arms across his chest.
“So, understand something. You ain’t earning your way back because you talked to me.
You ain’t earning your way back because you said the right things.
You are here because my daughter walked into this room and asked me to see something in you that I don’t.
Don’t make her look like a fool for believing in you. ”
This whole thing was about Maliah. We were both two men who loved her to death in different ways.
He was her father… he raised her, and I was the man trying to love and be with her.
She was doing me a solid, trying to put me back in her father’s good graces, especially after everything that had happened.
She had taken a chance on me, and I swear I had no intention of letting her down.
And if staying on the straight and narrow is what I had to do, then I would.
“I won’t,” I answered with confidence.
Mr. Browne held my gaze for another second. Then he nodded once.
“I hope not. Now get the fuck out of my office, little nigga.”
He nodded toward the door. I smirked before getting up from my seat.
“Out of the house too, or?” I asked.
“This house is big enough. Just stay out of my fucking face.” He shooed me away toward the door.
On my way out, I laughed lowly as I closed the door behind me. Once the door closed behind me, I smiled before walking around the house to find Maliah.
MJ
Two Months Later…
It was crazy how much life could change in sixty days.
Summer had come and gone, and just like that, school was back in session.
Maliah was officially a senior. Maylee had started eighth grade and spent every morning reminding anybody who would listen that she wasn’t a little kid anymore.
Mama was finally starting to show. Her little baby bump wasn’t big enough for strangers to notice, but around the house?
There wasn’t any hiding it. Every chance Pops got, he’d rest his hand on her stomach like he still couldn’t believe another baby was on the way.
As for me… I was healed. The bruises were gone. The cuts had faded somewhat, and the doctors cleared me to play basketball weeks ago.
Everybody assumed I’d be back on the court, but the truth was, I didn’t miss it.
Not the way I thought I would. Maybe one day I’d pick a basketball up again.
Maybe I wouldn’t. Right now, I wanted something different.
That’s how I ended up walking through the halls of Miami-Dade College beside my pops on a Tuesday morning.
“You dragging your feet already?” Pops asked without looking at me.
I glanced down at my sneakers before looking back up.
“I’m walking.”
“You’re sightseeing.”
A laugh escaped me.
“That’s because I ain’t been on a college campus before.”
“You better get used to it.”
I looked over at him.
“That’s your way of saying I ain’t got a choice?”
He smirked.
“That’s my way of saying that I always expected more outta you than basketball.”
Those words sat with me as we continued through the crowded hallway.
Students rushed past us carrying backpacks, laptops, and oversized coffee cups.
Some looked like they’d been awake for three days straight.
Others were laughing loud enough to make it seem like classes didn’t even exist. The vibe here was…
different. I found myself looking around more than I was paying attention to where we were headed.
Finally, Pops stopped outside the administration office. He reached for the door.
“You coming?” he asked as he stood in the doorway.
“Yeah.”
I followed him inside. The office buzzed with students asking questions, advisers answering phones, and printers humming somewhere in the back.
I barely had time to take it all in before somebody caught my eye.
She was sitting behind the front desk with a laptop open in front of her.
Her fingers were flying across the keyboard faster than I could follow.
One of the advisers leaned over the counter.
“Penelope, did you fix the registration page?”
Without taking her eyes off the screen, she nodded.
“About twenty minutes ago.”
The woman sighed in relief.
“Girl, you’re a lifesaver.”
“I know.”
She said it so casually that it made me laugh under my breath. Only then did she look up.
Our eyes met for the briefest second. She smiled politely and then went right back to typing like I wasn’t standing there. I blinked. Well… That was different.
I couldn’t explain why I kept looking at her. Maybe it was because she was pretty. Or maybe it was because she looked at me exactly one time before deciding whatever was on that computer was more important. Either way, I wasn’t used to being ignored.
“Penelope.”
One of the women working behind the front desk looked over at her.
“Would you mind helping me with this application? I have to finish this financial aid packet.”
“Sure.”