CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Trigg
The spot was packed, it was some warehouse type shit on the east side that niggas used for shit like this.
Dice games, card tables, money everywhere, smoke thick in the air.
This was the type of function where everybody was strapped and ready, but everybody here also had the same agenda to get this bread. Or lose it.
I was leaning against the wall, watching the dice game pop off in the middle of the floor. Rah, BooMan, Mook, and Sleeze was all huddled around, talking shit and throwing down bills. Mook had just touched down like two weeks ago and was already back in the mix like he ain't miss a beat.
"Yo, Trigg, you in or you just gon' stand there looking pretty?" BooMan called out, laughing.
I smirked, flashing my dimples. "Nigga, I'm already up three bands. I'm chillin'."
"That's 'cause you got lucky earlier," Sleeze said, shaking the dice in his hand.
"Ain't no luck involved, my boy. Just skill."
They all laughed and went back to the game. I wasn't really pressed about the dice right now though. My attention kept drifting towards Ya'Mya.
She was standing a few feet away with Rah's arm draped around her shoulders, looking good as fuck in some ripped jeans that hugged her hips and a shirt that tied in the front that showed just enough skin.
Her hair was done in fresh braids that went down her back, and she had on these gold hoop earrings that caught the light every time she moved.
Our eyes met for like the third time tonight, and just like the other times, she didn't look away quick enough. There was something there, something that had been there since that night at the club when I had her pressed against the bathroom sink with my fingers inside her gushy ass pussy.
That shit was foul, I knew it. Rah was my nigga. Not my best friend but we was tight, we ran together, we was GMB. But Ya'Mya... man, something about her just did it for me.
And I could tell she felt the same way, even though she was trying to play it off.
BooMan's girl, Kita, was next to Ya'Mya talking loud as hell about some drama at her job.
Mook's girl, Jazzy, was sitting on a crate scrolling through her phone looking bored. And Sleeze had brought this lil’ hood rat looking bitch by the name of Zori, who was all over him trying to get his attention while he was focused on the game.
"Yo, come on, seven! Seven!" Rah was yelling, hyping himself up as he threw the dice.
They rolled and came up snake eyes.
"Fuck!" Rah yelled,
"That's what you get for all that loud shit," Mook said, scooping up the money. "Bet it again, nigga."
Rah patted his pockets, then looked around. I could see it in his face, he was running low. This nigga been losing all night, chasing his losses like a fiend.
He turned to Ya'Mya, leaning in close to her. I couldn't hear what he said at first, but I saw her face change, her eyebrows went up, and she pulled back a little.
"How much?" she asked, her voice loud enough now that I could hear.
"Just five hunnid, baby. I'ma pay you back tonight, when we get to the crib, I swear. I'm about to hit."
Her whole energy shifted. She sucked her teeth and crossed her arms. "Rah, you already borrowed money from me last week."
"I know, I know, but I'm good for it. Come on, bae."
She stared at him for a second, her jaw tight, then she rolled her eyes and reached into her purse. She pulled out a stack of bills, counted out five hundred, and handed it to him with an attitude.
"You better pay me back this time. I'm not playing with you."
"I gotchu’, baby. I got you." Rah kissed her on the cheek and turned back to the game.
Mya stood there looking pissed, arms still crossed. Her eyes drifted over to me, and I raised an eyebrow at her. She looked away quick, but I saw the frustration on her face.
Rah would never be the nigga she needed. I knew it, and deep down, she knew it too.
I pushed off the wall and walked over to the dice game, just to get closer to the action. The energy was getting rowdy now. niggas was winning, niggas was losing, and the shit talking was getting louder.
"Yo, run that back!" some dude from the other side yelled. I didn't know him, but he was with a group of niggas that had been eyeing us all night. Street shit. Territory shit. They wasn't GMB, and this wasn't their spot, but they was here trying to make a name or some dumb shit.
"Nah, you lost bitch ass nigga. Take that L," Mook said, standing up straight. Mook was built like a tank, and he ain't play about his money.
"Fuck you mean? You was moving the dice!"
"Nigga, what?" Mook stepped forward, his voice getting louder.
Rah stepped up too, always ready to pop off. "Yo, you heard him. Take your L and keep it moving."
The tension in the room shifted quick. Everybody could feel it. Niggas started reaching for their waistbands, and the girls started backing up.
"Yo, chill," BooMan said, trying to mediate, but it was too late.
"Fuck GMB!" one of the other niggas yelled, Pop! Pop! Pop!
Gunshots rang out, loud as hell, echoing through the warehouse. Everybody scattered, screaming, running, ducking behind whatever they could find. I pulled my strap and dropped low, trying to see where the shots was coming from.
More shots. Glass breaking. Somebody yelling.
I saw Rah running toward the exit, pushing past people, not looking back.
"Aahhh! Fuck!"
I turned quick and saw Mya on the ground near one of the crates, holding her arm with blood gushing from it.
"Yo, Ya'Mya!" I yelled, but the warehouse was chaos, with people still running, more shots going off in the distance. I didn't think twice, I just moved.
I ran back toward her, keeping low, and dropped down next to her. She was breathing hard, her face twisted in pain, holding her upper arm where blood was seeping through her hoodie.
"I got you," I said, scooping her up in my arms. She wasn't heavy, but she was dead weight, leaning into me as I lifted her.
"Trigg—" she started, her voice shaky.
“You good Ma, I gotchu’,”
I carried her through the chaos, pushing past niggas still scrambling to get out, and made it to my car parked outside. I laid her in the backseat as gently as I could, then jumped in the driver's seat and peeled out.
"Where's Rah?" she asked, her voice weak.
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror, seeing the tears starting to fall down her face. I didn't want to tell her the truth, but fuck it, she needed to know.
"He left," I said, my voice hard. "He ran."
She didn't say anything, just closed her eyes and leaned her head back as more tears spilled from her eyes.
I pressed down on the gas, speeding through red lights toward the nearest hospital. My heart was pounding, my hands gripping the steering wheel tight. I kept looking back at her, making sure she was still breathing, still conscious.
"Stay with me, Ma," I said. "We almost there."
"this shit hurts so bad," she whispered.
"I know just hold on."
I pulled up to the emergency entrance at the hospital, threw the car in park, and jumped out. I opened the back door and scooped her up again, carrying her through the automatic doors.
"Yo! I need some help! She got shot!" I yelled.
Nurses and doctors came running, bringing a stretcher. I laid her down on it as gently as I could, and they immediately started checking her, asking questions. "What's her name?"
"Ya'Mya," I said.
"What happened?"
"She got shot in her upper arm. I don't know how bad it is."
They wheeled her away quick, disappearing through a set of double doors, and I was left standing there in the middle of the ER, covered in her blood.
I ran my hand over my face, trying to process what just happened. Rah left her. That nigga ran and left her there to die. I pulled out my phone and texted Sosa.
Me: Yo. Shit went left at the spot. Ya'Mya got hit. I got her at the hospital. She good but Rah left her.
I stared at the screen, waiting for his response, then shoved my phone back in my pocket and sat down in one of the waiting room chairs.
* * *
It was damn near two in the morning when they finally discharged her. The bullet had just grazed her arm, she got lucky as fuck. They cleaned it, stitched it up, gave her some pain meds and a prescription, and told her to follow up in a week.
I'd been sitting in that waiting room for hours, ignoring calls from Sosa, BooMan, and Sleeze. I'd text them back later. Right now, my focus was on her.
When the nurse wheeled Ya'Mya out, she looked tired as hell. her eyes heavy from whatever they gave her for the pain. She had on a hospital gown and her jeans, they must’ve cut her shirt from off of her. The bandage was thick and white, wrapped around her upper arm.
"You stayed and waited on me." she said quietly.
"Man, where the fuck else I'm gon' be?" I stood up and walked over to her. The nurse handed me some paperwork and discharge instructions.
"She needs to rest and keep the wound clean. No heavy lifting for at least a week. If there's any signs of infection, redness, swelling, fever, bring her back immediately."
"Yeah, aight, I got it," I said, taking the papers.
I helped her stand up from the wheelchair, and she leaned on me a little as we walked out to my car. She didn't say much, just kept her head down. I could tell she was in her feelings about everything, the shooting, Rah leaving her, all of it.
I opened the passenger door and helped her get in, making sure she was comfortable before I closed the door and got in the driver's seat.
"Where you stay at?" I asked, even though I already knew. She told me the address anyway.
"My brother might be there."
"Yatta?"
"Yeah."
I nodded and pulled out the hospital parking lot. The streets was quiet this time of night. It was just a few cars here and there on the streets.
We rode in silence for a few minutes, the low hum of the engine and some Sade playing softly from my speakers. I kept glancing over at her. She was staring out the window, her good hand resting on her lap, the other one cradled against her body.
"You heard from that nigga?" I finally asked.