“Bye.”
“They are my kids, LJ. I have a right to see them.”
“They not your shit!” Logic bellowed with a chest full of anger and hurt. “These are my kids and they been my kids for eight fucking years. If you want to talk to Sage, that’s cool, but take that shit outside. You ain’t welcome in my house.”
“Wow.” Pepper nodded, tucking her lip. “I know that we’ve had our differences in the past, but I guess I didn’t know how deep they ran.”
“Differences?” Logic frowned. “Leaving me with three kids surpasses differences. I simply don’t fuck with you.”
“Sage, I’m going to go.” Pepper cleared her dry throat. She wasn’t expecting Logic to run into her with open arms, but she also wasn’t expecting him to talk to her like she was trash.
“Nah, Ma. You can stay, we can go to my room.” Sage lightly grabbed her arm.
“It’s ok. I’ll come back when your brother isn’t in such a mood,” Pepper said, opening the screen door. Sage turned to Logic, hoping he’d stop her from leaving, but he didn’t. “I'll call you, ok, baby?”
“But-but I don’t want you to go,” Sage choked up. Only then did Logic react. His brother’s cracking voice triggered memories he tried to forget.
Sixteen-year-old Logic stepped out of his bedroom with his arms stretched to the ceiling. He slept like shit due to Pepper and her boyfriend, John, moving around the house all night. The floor creaked and it sounded like they were moving furniture. The few times Logic got up to check on the situation, his mother assured him that everything was alright, that they were just rearranging a few things. Late nights weren’t uncommon in their household, being that John was a gambler. Pepper was his good luck charm, and John didn’t go many places without her. If they weren’t up arguing over Pepper putting her kids above him, they were running in and out of the house, making it impossible for anyone to sleep.
“Oh good, you’re up.” Pepper smiled when Logic entered the living room. She was standing at the door, fully dressed with a couple of suitcases at her side.
“What’s all this?” He examined the suitcases before turning back to her with hiked eyebrows.
Pepper took a second to take her eldest son in. Logic was identical to his father, her first love. At sixteen, he was already 6ft2, weighing a solid 210. When he wasn’t sporting a mean mug, Logic could be caught smiling, showing off the pearly whites she once had to beat him to brush. To the world he was Lo, but to Pepper, he was her big baby. Logic was a provider and stepped up to the plate to take over their household when his father left. Pepper never asked how he earned the money he handed her, but she wasn’t blind. Her baby boy was a heavy hitter on the block, but guilt kept her from questioning him. Guilt had her turning her head with her hand out.
“Well, first let me say happy 16thbirthday. This is for you.” Pepper smiled, handing him an envelope. “It’s a little over twothousand dollars. I don’t know, maybe you can get a lil car or something.”
“Thanks Ma.” Logic took the envelope, pulling her into a hug.
“Do you have any plans?” She asked once he released her.
“I’m going to chop it up with Al. Might go over Duce house to drop a song.”
“There you go, talking about dropping a song that we’ll never hear.” Pepper playfully rolled her eyes. “It might be time for you to hang that fantasy up and get a real job. You’re sixteen now and the streets don’t have a 401K plan.”
“Since when you don’t believe in my dreams?” Logic cocked his head to the side.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in your dreams, it’s just time for you to grow up, baby. I love you, but being a rapper isn’t for everyone. I think it’s time for you to put all that energy into something that’s going to bring in an actual income... a legal income.”
“Wow,” he grimaced, processing her words. His illegal money was a lifesaver when the water was about to be cut off or they were running low on food. His illegal money was good enough to get her heat fixed in the winter and get her car out of the impound, but because it didn’t come with a 401K plan, it was a problem. To say his feelings were hurt was an understatement. Logic expected that kind of attitude from John but hearing those words from his mother broke his heart. The one person that was supposed to have his back was shitting in his hands and telling him to clap.
“Um, listen, I was sixteen when I had you, and I’ve been raising you and your siblings to the best of my ability.”
“And? That’s what parents do.”
“And now that you’re sixteen, I-I-I need you to look after your brother and sisters for a while,” she stuttered, refusing to give him eye contact.
“It’s my birthday, I didn’t plan on babysitting.” Logic’s brows creased.
“Well, actually, it’s going to be for a while. I need you to take care of them. John wants to go to Las Vegas for a while. I’ve been holding off, but he has a few connections, and I think it’s only right that he gets to live his life too.”
“Then let that nigga go. You got kids, you can’t just get up and go.”
“I just need you to keep an eye on them for a while.”
“Keep an eye on them?” Logic chuckled. “You saying it like you about to run to the store or some shit. You’re trying to go to the other side of the country. Is this some kind of joke?”
“It’s not a joke, Lo.” John stepped into the living room, wiping the corners of his dry ass mouth. “Your mama needs a break.”
