25. Rico #2
That gets her activated, and for ten minutes straight, she gives me the play by play about her first day back, including a nigga I’m fasho having Asa look up. She tapers off after her tirade, and sighs, bringing my hand into her lap.
“I missed you, though. I missed Mars, and Nan, and I texted Miele and Reno. But I missed you a lot. Love makes me do weird things, like miss you.”
I pull up to the house next to Nut’s, and turn off the engine, once again mad as hell I gotta do this shit instead of bask in the fact that Snow’s nose is as open as mine.
“Stuff that lovey dovey shit back into our box. When it’s just us, we can open it again.”
I open the car door, but freeze when I feel Snow grab my gun from the small of my back.
“You’re not bringing this in.”
I sit back in the car and watch as she places it in the glove compartment.
“And why the fuck not?” I snap.
“Because, a lot of harsh shit is gonna be said, and I don’t need you reacting off high emotions and shooting someone. Fighting–okay. We are not shooting anyone, Richard.”
She folds her arms, not backing down. And I can’t even lie and say it’s not plausible, like she ain’t see me shoot Pooh to get him to shut up.
“Fine.” I get out the car, slamming the door, but it doesn’t phase Snow. When I get onto the sidewalk, she still slips her hand into mine, keeping up with my pace. Ironically, it makes me slow down, and she leans into me.
“No matter what, we’re arriving together, and we’re leaving together. No matter what’s said or done.” Her whisper is urgent, and I squeeze her hand once more before letting it go completely.
When I get to the front door, it’s unlocked. Pushing it all the way open, I go in first.
All my niggas, Brina, YT, and Haze are going back and forth in the living room, but when I walk in, all noise ceases.
Turk grabs Haze immediately, and her steely glare darts behind me only briefly before zeroing in on me.
“Maaaan, before y’all get to tussling, I need all firearms and knives,” Nutty booms. Only then do I realize he’s carrying a tub filled with various pistols and a couple switchblades.
“We, uh, left it in the car,” Snow squeaks beside me.
Haze scoffs. “Oh, this where you ran off to? Nah, Turk, let me go. I just wanna talk to this weird ass bitch.”
“You seriously hid Fredo’s son from us all this time?”
“Can’t believe you’d be on some flaw ass shit like that, bro. Then to bring him with no warning.”
“That mysterious shit lame as fuck, Dub.”
My eyes shift from Shad, to Reem, to Set. Sabrina stands by him, like her presence will keep him contained. I almost laugh.
But I smirk instead, which is apparently the wrong thing to do.
“You’re so bullshit!” Haze yells, snatching away from Turk. “How dare you! What gives you the fucking right to do something like this?! To keep him from us! Six years, Rico. Six years and we could have had a piece of him this whole time!”
Tears pour from her eyes by the bucket. If I was closer to her, I bet I could see the flecks of blue fighting with the green.
Turk hugs her from the back, and she breaks down in his arms. My heartstrings pull, but that line that used to be between us, before I’d rescued her from the boiler room of the Birch, it’s back.
Not as deep as before, but it’s there, and my feet stay rooted in place.
As I drove over here, listening to Snow tell me about the men who have supported her when we didn’t, I decided on a gameplan for this night.
They’re mad, and they have every right to be.
So I’ll listen to their curses, and verbal lashings.
I will let them get it all out, every hate-filled word they can think of, as long as it’s directed at me.
And as long as they stay on the topic at hand.
I thought that would be a good plan. But then Set spoke, and anger I thought was only reserved for when I’m alone quickly filled my entire body.
“Bro clearly had a good reason,” Nutty says, rubbing his head aggressively. He looks around, before imploring me. “Right? I mean, shit was hot. Fredo was gone. Nan was in Belize. Clearly the boy was born there, right? That changes shit.”
“That don’t change shit,” Turk thunders, glaring at Nut.
“Whether he lived in Belize or here ain’t the point.
Niggas lied by omission. Niggas never wanted us to come to Belize, ‘cause he was there. Even when we was there a while back, we had to stay in the hotel. What was the point of keeping him from us?”
“You ain’t up and leave with Ana?s. You didn’t keep her from us.”
“That’s different,” Nut says, making Shad scoff. “Tati ain’t go out like Fredo.”
“But she was family all the same!” Haze shrieks. She wipes her face angrily, before shooting daggers at Snow. “And you–”
Haze stabs a finger at her sister. “You were there for a fucking year, and didn’t say shit! I know you knew, and you carried on like nothing. Like the weak ass bitch you are.”
“Autumn–”
“Auty–”
I reach blindly and take Snow’s hand. “Snow had nothing to do with this.”
The air gets sucked out of the room. Briefly, I glance around, and almost everyone’s focus is on where mine and Snow’s hand are connected.
Including Haze. Her eyebrows shoot up, before her gaze follows. Hurt briefly flashes in it, before she shifts to Snow and chuckles angrily. “So y’all just was playing house? Fuck getting clean, huh? No, your junkie ass replacing heroin with dick.”
YT takes a step toward Haze, but Reem grabs her and discreetly shakes his head. She’s never seen Autumn on one of her tirades, and doesn’t know that the only people who can get her to chill are me, Turk, and Set.
Turk is just as mad as she is, so he’s silent. Set is still turning gears in his head.
And I bite my lips closed and squeeze Snow’s clammy hand. My glare is vicious, willing Haze to stand down, but I stay silent. Especially because I don’t think Snow will much longer.
“Auty,” she whispers, but her sister’s not done.
“Oh, don’t act so fucking put out. Like you actually give a fuck,” Haze spits, cupping both hands around the arm Turk has around her chest. “You probably think this shit is funny. All them dry ass phone calls and you been building a relationship with him?! We talked for hours last night and you still didn’t say anything! ”
“It wasn’t my place!” Snow shrieks, taking two steps away from me. Her hands shoot out away from her body. “Auty, be serious. It wasn’t my place.”
“It’s never your place. You have always only looked out for your fucking self. I don’t know why I’m even surprised.”
I try to step in front of her again, but she curves her fingers around my arm and pushes me back.
“Are you serious?” Snow digs her fingers into my arm, and I feel the band snap inside of her.
“No,” she continues, wiping her eye. “You’re not serious. You’re a joke, Auty.”
Haze breaks away from Turk to rush Snow, but Shad catches her, hauling her into the air as she fights to get to her.
“I should have let you fucking die!” she roars. “You’re no sister of mine!”
“No, I’m your punching bag instead!” Snow thunders back. “Let her go, Shaddy! Auty has such big feelings the only way she can feel better about her fucked up life is to knock me down!”
“Fuck you, bitch!”
“No, fuck you! I don’t know why I am so surprised, you can’t even fake liking me for a day. You act like you’re doing me a favor, Auty. I have never needed shit from you; you have always needed me–ALWAYS!”
Haze freezes in Shad’s arms, shock coloring her face.
“Mars being in Belize has nothing to do with me! And yet, like everything else in your life that bothers you, it’s somehow become my fault! Everything wrong about you is my fault! I haven’t done anything–”
“Exactly! You never do anything, Wynter–”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP, AUTUMN!”
Everyone around us flinches as Snow’s voice raises octave after octave.
“Do you ever wonder why you get to sit around and cry about how you’ve been depressed since we were kids? Why you got to lollygag and go off with Turkey and Set and Pops?! You got to be sad about Mom and Dad because I was making shit shake! Me!” Wyn slaps her hand onto her chest.
“All those times you were sad about Mom and Dad ignoring you, you couldn’t get your own head out of your ass long enough to see THEY WEREN’T FUCKING THERE!
WE WERE ALONE, AUTY. Mom left us a note and some fucking cash and gave us our ass to kiss.
I was the one paying bills. I was the one putting clothes on your fucking back, and food in the house.
We were alone at thirteen, and while you were next door, crying about how no one fucking loves you, I was the one making sure you had a fucking pot to piss in and a room to sneak out of.
And I did it for years because someone had to.
And you weren’t the only person in this fucking room I was taking care of, either.
Who do you think got Shad and Sean in with G$?
Who do you think gave Turkey money to renovate Paradise?
Who do you think gave every nigga in this room a fucking alibi, more than once?
! I’m a junkie because I’ve been taking care of your sad ass for twenty-fucking-years, Auty.
Because up until now, I’ve let you dogpile on me because you’re too selfish to see we were both left behind. ”
Haze sags in Shad’s arms and silently sobs.
Snow looks around the room. When she glances at me, I see tear marks on her cheeks.
“First, I wanna thank you all for coming to get me. Rico took me to Belize and I got sober there. Yes, I know Mars, but it was never going to be my place to speak on him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t agree with Rico, or what he felt like he needed to do when Fredo died.”
I reach over and bring Snow back to me. She licks the tears off her upper lip, and leans into me for strength.
“So you really hid Fredo’s son from us, and starting fucking on Wyn when she was tryna get clean?”
Turning to Set, I angle myself so that he can’t even see her. “Questioning me about my bitch in front of yours is a choice.”
He narrows his eyes. “You deadass right now?”