Chapter 22
Tavion ‘Tank’ Briggs
Everything is Falling Apart
Iwas over my uncle Roy’s crib. I pulled up about an hour ago because this is where Rico was, and I just wanted to sit in, and chill with him, while he was going through this difficult time.
I tried to pull up on him a few days ago when I got back from Gatlinburg, but Rico made it clear that he didn’t want to be around anyone right now.
I wanted to respect his wishes because I know I have moments where I get in that mode, and didn’t want to be around anyone, and all I wanted was for people to respect that, so that’s what I was giving Rico.
After a while, the shit wasn’t sitting well in my spirit, knowing that I hadn’t pulled up on him, so today, I got up, and I came to my uncle’s house.
I left Dionne at my crib. The past couple of days have been hard for her.
She came home Sunday after church, finding me in the living room, crying to me about what happened between her and her mom after church.
I saw the brokenness in her eyes behind having to finally get that monkey off her back, by telling her mom what happened to her as a kid, but I could also feel the weight that had been removed.
She was still a little sad behind it today.
When I left the house, she was lounging around in the bed, but I told her that when I got back, I would take her out because I just wanted to do something with her that would put a smile on her face, even if it was just temporary.
I just felt like she was taking on a lot these days.
Also, it was crunch time with her dad’s parole hearing coming up, so I knew within the next couple of weeks she was going to be even more stressed about that.
I checked on her a couple of times since I’ve been here, and she was in bed, still lying down, telling me that she was going to fall asleep, and for me to be safe while I was out.
Knowing that she was pregnant now, I could feel myself being overprotective over her, just making sure that she was straight.
That’s why I hated that she had been sad and in her feelings like this because I only wanted to see her happy these days, especially since she was pregnant.
I was proud that I was getting ready to become a daddy.
Dionne didn’t tell me that I had to keep it a secret, so on the way to my uncle’s crib, I hit my mama up, letting her know that she had a grandbaby on the way.
Man, my ear was still ringing from the way she screamed, excited about the news.
My mama had been on my ass for years now about a grandbaby, and the moment had finally come for her.
I knew when my mama got excited, she liked to tell the entire world, so I had to tell her not to go posting shit on Facebook, and how she didn’t have to call up every home girl in her phone to tell them that I was having a baby.
“How was your trip? You was in Gatlinburg, right?” my uncle Roy asked me, as he walked back into the living room, where I was sitting.
It was just the two of us out here. Rico was upstairs in one of the guest rooms. Since I’ve been here, he hasn’t come down.
I had to go upstairs to the room and talk with him.
He was sitting in the corner of the room, with the lights off.
I had to flash my flashlight on my phone just to be able to see something in that pitched dark room.
I was watching my little cousin in real time go through depression.
This shit was eating him alive. It didn’t matter what channel you put the TV on; someone was going to be advertising the shit that Rico was in right now.
He was trending all over social media, as well.
People around the world were posting his highlights from this season, showing a lot of the inconsistencies in his plays.
It really wasn’t looking too good for my cousin.
He knew that too, which is why he was upstairs, sitting in the dark.
I was used to coming around, and Rico would be proud to see me pull up.
He treated me as if I was a big brother to him, so his smile would be big whenever I would pull up on him.
He would always have some new story to tell me, but I got none of those things this afternoon.
He didn’t offer two words to me, and I wasn’t upset with that because I knew what he was dealing with was heavy.
I pulled up today, just so he could know that I was here, and whatever I had to do to help him fight this shit, I was going to do that.
“Gatlinburg was good. I love that shit. I still can’t get over the scenery out there.
My girl keep saying that she wants a vacation cabin out there.
Unc, I’m so fucked up about her, that I’m thinking about getting it for her for Christmas,” I replied, and when I said it, my uncle looked at me, and he laughed.
I already knew that he was going to say some wild shit, and he wasn’t going to feel where I was coming from.
Ever since him, and my auntie Shawn divorced, my uncle didn’t really believe in love anymore, and the fairytales that came along with it.
My uncle looked good for his age, still felt like he was a young nigga, so he was out here just like the rest of these niggas are in Maimi, and he was having his way with women, not taking any of them seriously.
Crazy thing is, I knew he was still in love with my auntie Shawn.
If she brought her ass over her right now and said that she wanted to get back with him, there was no doubt in my mind that his ass would go back.
Not only would he go back, but he would be a good man to her too.
Sometimes, it just took the right woman coming along.
Shit, look at me, and Dionne. I never thought that I would be on this kind of timing with anyone.
“Man, that girl must have went to the voodoo lady on you and put some kind of roots on you. She been cooking for you? Has she ever cooked you some spaghetti? You know what they say about a woman cooking you spaghetti, right?” he asked me, and like the things that he was saying to me was bullshit, I just laughed right in his face.
“Nah nigga. I’m just in love. She didn’t have to go to the voodoo lady about me. I been fucked up over her before she even started cooking for me,” I shared with him.
“You going to ask her to marry you? I feel like that’s where this going,” he released.
“Shit, you know my birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. She was telling me the other day that she wanted to be in charge of my birthday, plan a little something for me. I told her that before I got with her, I was always on the move, hustling, so I never really had a party. I used to treat my birthday like it was just a regular day, you feel me? Ima leave the planning shit to her, and to be honest unc, I might throw the towel in and propose on my birthday. Ain’t no since in dragging this shit out.
I’m in love, man. I want to ask that girl to marry me,” I told him, and like I was spitting some real shit to him, he went ahead, and reached his hand over, so that he could slap it up with me.
“Nah, that’s real nephew. I ain’t going to take that away from you.
That’s real, and I respect that. I know it’s been forever since you’ve seen me tied down to anyone, but everything that your saying right now, I once felt that same way about Shawn.
She had my nose wide the fuck open. I told you before that Shawn and I got married at the courthouse with only two months of being together.
I knew that’s who I wanted. You couldn’t tell me shit about making her my choice.
Handle your business, nephew. Marriage can be a beautiful thing.
Unfortunately, our shit didn’t work out, but everyone’s story won’t end like that,” he let me know, and I nodded, respecting that.
We sat, and we talked for about ten minutes more. Someone had rang the doorbell, so that’s what made him stand up, so that he could see who was at the door.
I was in the living room area, and it wasn’t that far away from the door, so whoever was there, I would be able to hear what was going on.
“Ay man, don’t bring this shit to my front door, aight? My son already going through enough shit as is. Don’t come to my door with this bullshit!” I heard my uncle Roy snap. Because I heard that, I stood up, so that I could go over, and see what was going on.
I walked over to the front door, and there were about three detectives standing out there.
Something in my gut told me that these detectives weren’t here for shit regarding football.
I felt like this was something else. I felt like it might have been a little deeper, you know?
I felt like the reason they were here had something to do with Rico upstairs, sitting in the dark like that.
I could feel the sweat beginning to form on my forehead because I could only hope that Rico didn’t do what I was thinking he did and didn’t cover up his tracks good enough. If that was the case, him being found guilty for illegal gambling would be the least of his problems.
“Good afternoon, sir. If your referring to what your son is currently under investigation for with football, that isn’t the reason why we’re here. We are here for something completely different,” one of the detectives said.
Again, more sweat appeared on my forehead because this just felt like the moment of some more bullshit on the horizon.
“So, what you here for then?” my uncle asked them.
“We’re looking for Rico Briggs. Is he here?” he wanted to know.
“For what? What the fuck do you want to talk to my son about, man? Speak quickly before I close this fuckin door in your face!” my uncle was hot.
“Mr. Briggs, you can calm down. We would just like to speak with Rico down at the station. He isn’t under arrest. We just have questions, and would like to clear a few things up,” the detective went ahead and said.
At the same time, we could hear footsteps coming down.
The footsteps caused for both my uncle and I to look up, and it was Rico coming down.
He had a hoodie over his head, and his eyes were bloodshot red.
He had been upstairs in the room, crying and depressed, so I’m sure that was the reason behind the red eyes.
I looked at that nigga, and I saw something though.
Of course, I wouldn’t say that shit in front of these crackas, but I saw…
guilt. Whatever these detectives had come down here for, I knew that Rico had done that shit.
It was in his eyes. I just hoped that they didn’t see the same thing that I did.
“Clear things up about what?” my uncle asked them.
“About the murder of Toby Williams,” he released, and when he said that, I sighed.
I was hoping that that wasn’t what it was, but something told me that was the reason for this visit this morning.
My eyes left the detectives again, and went up the stairs, staring at Rico. Again, I saw the guilt lying there. My cousin didn’t have to ever fix his lips and tell me that he’d murdered Toby. I could see it. The confession was loud as fuck in his eyes.
Picking my hand up, and running it down my face, it started to feel like the room was spinning.
Everything changed in this moment. This shit was no longer about football, and trying to get those charges dropped, so Rico could get back on the field, and still be considered a first round draft pick.
We’d changed from that. This was about a body now.
In just a blink of an eye, this was no longer about contracts, bets, and talk from the media. My cousin was now being looked at as a person of interest in a murder charge.
Shit!
To be continued!