One minute became too long before I felt her yank the door from my hand and slam it. I stood there as she started the car and began backing up. She rolled the window down and shouted, “Leave me alone!” Then, she sped off.
Shit was complicated. She and I had never played this game before, and I knew after I touched her the way I did that night, it only started something more between us. We had shifted from being friends to a situationship. However, if she thought that her pitching a fit was going to move me, she would soon find out how I was going to move. Piggy and I had unlocked a new level, andas our game continued, she would see that I wasn’t the nigga she thought I was.
I didn’t want to be outside too long because Dio and Scooter together weren’t safe. I hurried back inside the building, and by the time I had reached them, they were already fighting.
SCOOTER
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As soon as the headphones hit the ground, Dio rushed at me. “Sup, muhfucka!” he barked as he jabbed at my ribs.
I didn’t need words because as soon as my fist hit his jaw, he understood what I meant.
Whap! Whap!
Dio stumbled back, creating space for us. His head slowly lifted, and he smiled. “You hit like a bitch!” he barked.
The nigga ran forward, lifted my body in the air, and slammed me against the window that separated the booth and the studio side, sending my body through the glass. I gasped as I rolled off the mixing board before hitting the floor. Dio hopped over and stood over me. “You were looking for me? Huh, nigga?”
Stomp!
“Fuck you and your brother.”
Stomp!
I shifted slightly this time, grabbed that nigga's leg, and yanked it back, making him hit the floor. It gave me enough time to get up.Rib, rib, face.I hit his ass. “Who do you think you are, bitch nigga?!” I spat.
Pound for pound,I hit his ass.
Dio drew his fist back and jabbed me in the nose. “Nigga, I’m a God!”
Jab! Jab! Jab!
Dio was getting the better of me. The fact that it felt like he broke my nose only lit a fire under me. I had done this shit so many times in jail that fighting a nigga wasn’t new to me. The shit was like being bilingual. I knew how to get it both ways, with or without my fists. I’ve never been a scary nigga, but jail hit different. In there, you had two options: either be a pussy ass bitch or play the game and fight to survive. In this room right now, that’s what I was doing. I’ve been in fight or flight mode all my life, so throwing hands out here in the jungle was no different.
I threw my arms up, balled my fists, and stood in a fighting stance, ready. “Let’s go, nigga. Bet you won’t do me how you did my brother.”
Dio tugged at his sweats before he threw up his fists and moved around the small space as if he were in a boxing ring. “Only one way to find out. Stop talking, hoe nigga,” he gritted.
That’s when we started going jab for jab. Fists swinging, landing on every part of our bodies.Arm, face, abs, back, neck.We were sending blows so hard to each other that it sounded as if bones were being cracked.
Bloaw!
The sound of a gunshot, followed by Beans' roar, stopped us.“Enough!”Beans belted. “You stupid muhfuckas fucked up my studio, I should shoot both you niggas!”
Dio began to laugh. “I’ll pay for it, but that nigga got saved by the bullet. Send me the tab, and you,” he pointed at me, “better turn those lyrics into prayers, nigga, ‘cause you a dead nigga walking,” Dio finished as he walked out of the studio.
I wiped my bloody nose as I turned to glance at Beans. The nigga was mad, and I didn’t blame him, but I couldn’t let Dio think for a second I was some bitch. It was as if I were the lone wolf in a forest among a pack of beasts fighting for my fucking life. The one chance I had at the mic turned into a fucking disaster, and not only did I probably mess up my shot with Beans, but I also probably messed up my way into the Zoo world that Naheem and Clark wanted me to get into.
I knew asking him to continue the session would be dumb, so I decided to leave. As I moved to walk out, Beans stopped me. “I know your broke ass doesn’t have the money to pay for my shit. Honestly, working with you should be over, but I have a way you can make the money to pay me back. Meet me here tomorrow at nine. I don’t give a fuck how you get here, just get here.”
I wasn’t even with any of that shit he was talking about. However, I knew that to keep moving forward in my music journey, whatever it was he wanted me to do, I needed to do it. By the time I left, Dio was gone. I walked up the cold street and headed toward the bus stop. Hands in my pockets, I shuffled the few dollars and change I had left. A car across the street with its windows darkened caught my eye, and an eerie feeling washed over me. I knew it was probably Clark, Naheem, or that bitch Fiona watching me, and honestly, I wished they had just ended me. If this music shit didn’t pan out as I needed it to, I didn’t think I would last another day in this level of life.
Everything started to remind me of those lonely nights I spent in my cell. For every hour I sat there alone, regret consumed me, and that’s how I felt in this moment. I had only been at the bus stop for a few minutes before the bus arrived, and as soon as I got on, the car with the dark windows drove off.A nigga hasn’t been out for a full six months, and already I was fighting for my fucking life.
PAIGE
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