29. Rico #3
I grin. “No.”
She grins back. “Stubborn ass nigga.”
“Birds of a feather, mamita. Tell your nigga to put his dog on a leash before another one of his homies ends up pushing daisies.”
Brina bristles, stepping back. “He seems so nice on his commercials, but the way he was yelling and carrying on a couple weeks back… and I thought you were insane. He never needs to meet True.”
My playful mood sobers a little. I didn’t realize I dropped that bomb on Reem so close to his birthday, and seeing him MIA today, I worry I really may have to apologize to him at the very least.
“The fuck y’all over here talking about?”
We both turn in time to see Turk sidle up to us. His eyes track Mars for a little before glaring at me, while I’m looking around for Deucey.
“He not here. I’m actually in the dog house for coming, but Macy’s blurry pictures weren’t enough. That him?”
He doesn’t wait for me to answer, shoulder checking me to get to the sandbox. Ana?s does introductions, and my boy’s face lights up and hugs Turk himself, making him falter.
“He’s so sweet, Rico. You really told him about them?”
“About everyone,” I say, shoving my fists in my pockets. “I wasn’t hiding y’all from him. I wasn’t even hiding him from y’all. I just…”
“Time got away from you. I get it. I think Casey does, too. He’s not gonna kill you.”
“Nah, ‘cause I’ma kill him first.”
Brina socks me again, making Turk snort as he comes back toward us. “You really getting it from all sides. I have no choice but to stall yo foul ass out.”
“You stalling me out because when you was on bunk with Pay and Haze I was right there taking my young nigga to school and in a hot ass wig killing Italians in the name of the First Nations Council.”
Turk’s eyes stretch. “Nigga… you was on the front lines with that shit?! Why you never said nothing?!”
“‘Cause… shit was fun.”
Turk cackles, dapping me up. He and Set may be besties, but I know it was exhausting him being upset with me.
I have that kind of effect on niggas whose lives I’ve saved countless times.
“You the king of secrets, Dub. Dead that shit foreal.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“He will, or else. You didn’t say you brought him straight from Belize, dummy. I’m finna put him down for a nap and check on my babies.” Brina glares at me as she carries an exhausted Mars across the lawn.
“He can walk!” I call after them, but she just flips me off. Beyond her, Nut stands at his sliding doors, gesturing for me to come inside, too.
I dap up Turk again and begin walking toward him. Scaling the pool, Set’s evil grin spreads as he strolls toward me.
This nigga probably isn’t trying to kill me. Set was never one for playing with niggas, foreal. He’s almost acting like Shad, riddles and sighs and shooting like G-Pops himself hadn’t taught him to shoot.
Nah, this nigga is… having fun. And honestly, I’d rather him take this shit seriously. Him having fun fucking with me is way more unpredictable than his anger.
“Bro–”
His arm shoots out, pushing me into Nut’s pool.
I’m so stunned I sink all the way to the bottom, before shooting up and damn near flying out.
“YOU MUTHAFUCKA!” I roar, but Nut is there to save his ass, pulling me away from him as he laughs in my face.
“My bad, Luney. Thought you needed to cool off. It’s hot out here.”
My set name grates my ears and I shake my head to get relief and get the extra water off my face. “You may be playing but I’m not! Better stay at home, ‘cause the next time I see you outside I’m knocking ya teeth in, bitch ass nigga!”
Set cups his mouth to project his voice. “You ain’t gon’ do shit! Stop cussing around the kids, mark!”
“Maaan, both y’all trippin’. Bring ya ass in here. Come on.” Nut throws me into his crib and shuts and locks the back door.
Every time I inhale my nose burns from the water. I stomp through the kitchen to his man cave, and wait while he goes to his chest to grab clean clothes.
“Only reason I ain’t killed him is ‘cause of you. Don’t ever tell me y’all beefed out. I will cut off that bum hand of his before y’all make up.”
Nut grabs a t-shirt pack and sweats with the tag still on and throws them to me. “Me and Set don’t really get into it, but even still, thank you for exercising restraint. I always love hearing about how much you fuck with the kid. But seriously, why the fuck you ain’t tell me about Slime?”
He turns toward the door as I go behind his couch and start changing. “Slipped my mind.”
“The fuck it did!” Nut booms, socking the door. “I’m mad at myself for even forgetting they was close back then. Of course he’d want ya head, and he not fucking around like Set is!”
Yeah, they was close all right. Nut inadvertently answers my question about if niggas knew about Slime and Fred. If Nut knew, then everyone knew, since he was always the last to know shit, let him tell it.
Niggas knew about me and Slime. Maybe not Peanut, but niggas knew.
Of course Fred is getting a kick out of this.
“Ain’t no one worried about Slime,” I lie, pulling on the sweats.
“You don’t even sound convincing,” Nut snorts. “You done yet? We need to really get a game plan. I’m sure we can catch him in his office–”
“Nah.” I pull the clean shirt over my head and take a seat on the couch. “Ain’t no game plan, ‘cause you not gon’ be involved.”
“Like hell I ain’t! You talking stupid as fuck, on my mama!
” Nut turns and stomps over to me, sitting on the couch next to mine.
“Ricky Ricardo, I understand your fervent need to be a martyr and do yo dirt all by yo lonely, but this ain’t one of them times!
That nigga Slime, AKA Councilman Giovanni Jackson, will kill you.
My lil’ homie hit my line just now about the APB you got on you in the Birch, which means the other nigga found in the strip mall was fasho yo doing.
I’m not letting you handle that nigga alone. Not when I can pull rank–”
“Nut, when was the last time you was even in the hood?”
“Sheeit, last week! P-Nutty is good in any hood, including his own! I broke bread with Trina and left Reem’s birthday gift with her, since he been MIA.
You know, we may not be active, but we are OGs.
Reem is the head of the snake, and we put that nigga on.
When I catch up to him, I’m telling him to get his copilot in check, and you not convincing me otherwise. ”
I sigh, knowing he won’t listen to me, but I still try to change direction. “Only nigga Slime gon’ listen to is ya cousin.”
“Slime gon’ listen to these muthafuckin’ fists. Matter fact–”
“Seriously, brodie. I love you, foreal. But let me handle it. I’ll even bring Mars back over here tomorrow for some one-on-one time. Lil Mama finally has a friend her age.”
Nut’s eyebrows pull down damn near to his nose. “Technically, I’m oldest. I don’t really gotta listen to you.”
“And as your ace, I’m asking you to stand down.”
After a long moment, Nut leans back and covers his eyes, exhaling deep. “You niggas gon’ send me to an early grave. Fine. But the second my lil’ homie tells me some shit is off deck, I’m lighting up City Hall, and that lil’ office he got on the Ave.”
“Deal,” I chuckle. We seal it with the Birch handshake, and he grabs his rolling case from the coffee table.
“Get on before you start hallucinating and wanting to fight and shit. And have my young bull here soon as school lets out.”
I stand and stretch. “Nan put him in the same school as her, so he can just come home with y’all.
I’ll come get my clothes then. Use that fabric softener too, nigga.
” I grab my wallet, keys, and my fucked up phone from from my jeans pockets and leave him be.
I’m fifty-fifty on if he’ll keep his word, but like Turk said, I got bigger things to worry about.
Padding up the steps, I turn to Ana?s’s room and find Brina on the mat with her twins, while Mars lay on her bed, shoes off. I scoop them off the floor on the way to him, and take a seat to start putting them on.
“I don’t have to tell you to treat my girl right?” she whispers, rubbing the back of Cody, her son.
“Nope. Not if you tell me how you’re able to be close to her after… everything.”
Her lips twitch, as her hand switches from Cody to her daughter Cameron. “I will when you apologize to my baby daddy.”
“Maybe… if you tell me how Reem is. I know YT told you.” I put on one of Mars’s shoes then give my attention to her.
Her shoulders drop. “It’s hard to say if outside factors aren’t messing him up, too. He and Ty aren’t talking, then he finds this out, and then True admitted she knew as well. He’s not speaking to his mom or uncle right now, either. But it’s not anger, I don’t think… I think he’s just, devastated.”
“Damn.” I lay back on the princess bed and cover my eyes with my hands. That’s the last thing I wanted to have my nigga feel.
“I’m glad you told him.” Her voice comes out low, but clear. “I’m glad he knows.”
“But does he feel like that?”
“I think so, if I know Reem. I get why no one told him, but they’re not us. If one of us knows that, something that big, we tell. And we share the burden so it’s not so heavy. You’re learning, and I know when he comes up for air, he’ll tell you himself.”
I let her words wash over me, and lift myself up slowly to put on Mars’s other shoe. Brina isn’t one for mincing the truth or placating feelings, so if she feels like this, then I just gotta wait Reem out.
“Did you know True was my sister?”
My hands freeze, as I meet her gaze.
“I mean, she knew about Mars. She could have traded secrets.” She shrugs it off, cracking her neck to feign nonchalance, but I know better. She can’t hide her crazy from me.
“Relax, mamita. I did not know you and YT are sisters, nor did she tell me. I can live to see another day.”
Finished with his shoes, it’s nothing to lift Mars in my arms. “Stay dangerous. Hug your husband extra hard, you never know when his number is up.”
“Har har. You’re having as much fun as he is.”
The corner of my lips pull as I exit the room. “Perhaps.”