I swallowed deeply. “Why would you ask me that?”
He rose from the bed and slowly approached me. Bobbie reached out, gently stroking my bare shoulder. I paused, absorbing his touch, which he hadn’t given me in a while. He then circled me and gently kissed my shoulder, an act that sparked a sensation in me I hadn’t experienced since our wedding night, the night I decided to set aside all reservations and open my heart. I clenched my stomach as I closed my eyes to embrace the moment. “Fiona, I can’t tell you why it has taken me so long to realize that you have never loved me. Maybe that shit died the day I told you about my son. Every day since then, I’ve tried to rectify the situation by giving you everything your heart desires, even when I made you the mother of my son. However, those years are long gone, and you, my dear, are going to get your last and final wish. I want a,” he paused as he came back around and stood in front of me. A gentle smile eased on his face. “Let me correct myself. I don’t want, but I am divorcing you.”
I had gone to say something when there was a knock on the bedroom door. “Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Laureaux, you all have guests.”
Bobbie glanced at me, then at the maid. “We’ll be down.”
She stepped away from the door, and Bobbie tried to step away from me, but I pulled his arm back. “Bobbie, wha-what do you mean?”
He pulled his arm away. “I meant what I said. Fiona, you are free,” he finished and walked out of the room.
Bobbie wanting a divorce was not in my deck of cards. He couldn’t leave me. It should be me leaving him. Now I was curious about what was said between Braylen and him. If Bobbie thought getting rid of me would be that easy, he had me mistaken; his docile ass had to pay, and I wanted every fucking thing.
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The ride was quiet, and although I wanted to ask Beans so many questions, I decided against it. I knew what it was like to have a dark past and to try to do whatever you could to keep it from the world. I thought after leaving his people’s cribs, we were headed toward the school. However, we pulled into another neighborhood where the homes seemed just as big as his people’s. It made me feel weird and shit because a nigga like me had been living in Toussaint all my life and hadn’t seen this part of town.
When he pulled into one of the driveways, he looked at me. “I’ve always been a loyal nigga. I fuck with you because I see the potential. I’m also loyal to my crew. So, if you and I are going to be working together, whatever you and Dio have needs to be squashed. But first, the gang has to meet you and know who you are beyond what they think. Get out,” he grumbled.
I nodded. I knew the time would come when I would have to see all of the Zoo face to face, but despite what Beans felt I should do, what Keith thought meant a lot to me. “I’m going todo this, but Keith is my priority. So, whether these niggas like me or not, my loyalty is with my brother.”
“If you say so,” he muttered as he got out of the car.
I followed behind him as he led the way. We didn’t enter the house; instead, we went around back. As soon as we came around the corner, all eyes were on us. When I saw Bishop and Bleek, I felt a little more at ease. It was a bunch of niggas sitting around. We stepped on the back deck as I had now become the center of attention. Beans pointed. “That’s Preach, Diamond, Foe, Zu, Monfua,” he paused. “Peanut, Bishop, and Bleek, who you know already, and that there is Chevy,” he finished.
I turned to him curiously, “Where is Mali?”
Since hearing about his accident, I had been waiting to talk to him. “He’s being cared for. Why do you care?” Monfua gritted.
The animosity that hung in the air was thick. “Look, I know that shit between him and me looks bad, but—”
“But what, crab in the barrel ass nigga? You wanted him to go down like you?” Foe spat.
Bishop stepped up. “Mali wasn’t a saint, so slow your roll. I’m sure all of us have done some fucked up shit in our day.”
Chevy sat there, tilting his head side to side as he watched me. He placed a blunt to his lips and lit it. The nigga took a few puffs before he nodded for me to sit. Foe lifted and snatched the lighter from the table. “Do you smoke, because we get high over here?” he asked as he pulled a blunt from his ear and sparked up.
I nodded slowly. “Here then, nigga,” Diamond said, handing me an already rolled blunt.
The sound of lighters sparking was like rapid fire as all of them, except Preach and Monfua, started to smoke. Zu came and sat next to me. He pulled on his blunt before he blew out thesmoke that he held in his lungs. “I’m trying to figure out why I should like you because my brother doesn’t,” he gritted.
“Shit, I guess we’re feeling the same way because I’m going to step ten toes for mine,” I shot back. “Look, all a nigga want to do is rap. I’m here trying to get in where I fit, but I ain’t no bitch, so if this is some tactic to scare me, the shit ain’t working. Ayo Beans, what the fuck is this?” I pointed as I looked at him.
Beans pulled on his blunt before speaking, “We’re chilling. We know you can hold your own, and we all know you ain’t scared. Just vibe, let the niggas feel you out.”
Chevy stood as he continued to smoke. “Dio, that nigga can be off the chain, but he has also been through a lot. We cannot control how he feels or what he thinks about you. However, what we can control is what we think. Honestly, I’m not the nigga to turn enemies into bffs. I’m a nigga who’s trying to figure out what the fuck is going on around me. Bishop told me what happened. All I want to know is what those muhfuckas up to. You can keep all that other shit where it’s at,” Chevy said.
It was something about his presence that changed everything. This couldn’t be the same man that Naheem and Clark hated so much. However, the way the nigga moved, I could see why he could be a threat. I shrugged as I had now started smoking too. “I don’t know what you did, but them muhfuckas hate you. They want you gone. Only advice I can give is watch your back.”
“Oh yeah, is that what they said, I need to watch my back?”
I took a double pull this time, filling my lungs with the weed they had given me. I began coughing so hard I could barely breathe. Foe and Diamond began laughing, “This is that gas. If you ain’t choking, nigga, you ain’t smokin’,” Foe smirked.
I nodded as I smiled, my eyes lowering to Foe, “Is this some Cali shit?”
“I thought you knew Cali got the best gas,” he replied.
