Her eyes lifted slowly in the way they do when she’s trying to decide if she’s about to argue or listen.
“What kind of trouble? Does it have to do with you?”
“No, baby.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead, catching the faint scent of coconut from her hair. Ciara hadn’t changed anything about her nightly routines and wasn’t acting bougie because she was with a nigga with money. She still used the same products on her skin and her hair because as she said, they were obviously working and if it's not broke don't fix it.
I loved to see her just like this. In my bed, in her natural state, comfortable and clean.
“Then what's going on?”
“She fucked up and needs my help to cover it up.”
“Fucked up how?”
“She says she murdered someone.”
Ciara’s mouth dropped open, and she peeled the cover back from her legs to stand up.
“Nuh uh. Who did she murder?”
“The nigga she said, killed her sister.”
“What! Are you serious?”
“Yeah baby. She just called.”
“And what are you supposed to do?”
“I don’t know. We will see once I get there.”
Ciara grabbed my arm just as I reached for the jeans I had draped across the foot of the bed. Her grip was firm, and her nails dug into my skin.
“Umm, no. We just got you out of some shit, and now you’re about to go involve yourself in something else worse? I thought you were going to calm down in the streets, baby?”
“And I have.”
“How is this calming down? I mean, I like Bria, and I feel for her, but I do not want you involved in that. Who knows what happened with her? We have a baby on the way, and we might not get so lucky next time. So I'm sorry but you are not going anywhere.”
“Mama, Bria played a big part of me being in this room with you tonight and Ciara, you know I don’t like not being there for people who are there for me.”
“I know, and I love that about you, but I’m sure there’s another way to help her. With all the people you know, you can’t find anyone else to go and help her out?”
I sat back down on the edge of the bed, feeling the mattress dipping under the weight of my body and the pressure now put on my shoulders.
“Yeah, I guess I can make some shit work.” I leaned back, reaching for my phone on the nightstand.
“Who are you going to call? Don’t send a dummy over there to get them both caught up. And don’t send Bam. You know how slow he walks now.”
I chuckled, rubbing my chin. She knew my crew almost as well as I did now. Ciara wasn’t entirely opposed to my lifestyle, but she made me promise, before my trial started, that it would be the last trial I would ever be involved in. And one thing I don’t like is breaking a promise to her. When I told her I wouldn’t get caught up again, I meant that shit. I’m staying free for my baby as long as I live.
“I’m going to call the best nigga I can for some shit like this.”
“And who is that?”
“The Slim Reaper.”
Ciara’s face softened just a little, a small smile breaking through her worried face.
“So, you two are back on good terms now?”
