Zaria ran her hand through her hair. “You did what you were supposed to. This shit is over with, do you hear me? Keith is gone. June and I will talk to Bishop. When June walks into this house, he will be on y’all’s ass like white on rice. That man doesn’t miss a beat. The issue has been resolved. Dealing with the Zoo men, you will have times much worse than this. You fourhave been through something that should make your bond close as hell. Morgan, you are the one who’s going to have to be there for Scooter. That’s his brother and baby, pussy will not get him through this time. No matter how much you try to explain that Keith was about to shoot you, that is his only family. You love him, you be there for him, and you tell him if and only if he’s ready.”
Zaria was so strong. The way she was able to snap in like a queen, I admired that. She had now pointed at me, Alyse, and Samara. “Y’all want to be with these Zoo men, get used to it. Samara, especially you, because Dio is not a cakewalk.”
The sound of the door opening made something in Zaria’s eye flicker.“Z! Samara!”Chevy shouted as he bent the corner.
He stared at all of us long and hard. It was as if he went straight into sensing our fear. “I handled it, baby,” Zaria said to him as she placed her hand on his chest.
He glared at her as if he didn’t believe her. They stared at each other for a minute. It was like they let their eyes do the talking. I stood from the couch. “We’re fine!” I blurted out.
“Yeah, had a small scare but were good, Chevy,” Alyse said as she came up and grabbed my hand.
I turned to look at her.Zoo baby.She mouthed.
What the hell was a Zoo baby?I looked at Samara, who cleared her throat. “I’m good, Dad, promise. Small scare, relax,” she finished as she moved toward Alyse.
We all glanced at Morgan, who couldn’t get her shit together. Chevy’s eyes slowly rolled toward her. I could see him waiting for her to crack. She shot up. “We,” she paused. “We’re fine,” she mumbled.
Zaria turned toward us, “See, baby, they’re fine. You go upstairs, I will be up in a minute,” she told him.
Before he could say another word, I heard the door open.“Mars!”Dio shouted.
When he came around the corner, his eyes landed right on Morgan. “It’s Scooter, that nigga brother got shot, he’s all fucked up.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Morgan said as she rushed to the bathroom.
Moments later, Braylen and Peanut came through the door. “June, did you call them?” Zaria asked.
“No.”
“Nigga, I called Stutter Man. Beans was already outside.,” Dio retorted.
Alyse ran into Peanuts’ arms while Braylen curiously stared me down. I walked over toward him, and I didn’t have to wrap my arms around him because he embraced me in a hug. “Let’s go,” he whispered in my ear.
My concerns were for Morgan because I wasn’t sure she could keep it together. Knowing what we did to Scooter’s brother was probably eating her alive. When she came from the bathroom, Dio told her he would take her to Scooter. Everyone walked out of that house holding a secret, but the question was, which one of us would break first?
We had just finished a podcast episode, and I wasn’t ready for our day to end. Paige began packing her things to leave, and I stopped her. “We should celebrate. We’re a year in, and the ratings are pretty dope,” I told her.
She shyly shrugged. “I guess.”
My tongue ran across my lips. “Yeah,” I mumbled.
I packed up, and we both left the building. I watched her as we walked to my car, taking in every detail of her complexion, her body's curves, and her smile, which was the one thing I enjoyed the most. Shit had changed since I first saw her on her porch that day, and it's changed again now that she was getting ready to go into her junior year. I helped her in before I went around and got in. “You hungry?” I asked.
“I can eat something. What you got in mind?”
I turned on some tunes. “You,” I muttered.
I took off, driving off campus. It didn’t take me long to get to my destination. When I pulled into my driveway, she stared at me curiously. “This is not a celebration. Nigga, you brought me to your house.”
I tapped her chin, “Yeah, to celebrate, come on,” I told her.
I got out, went around, and opened her door. She took my hand as I helped her out of the car. I led the way, and when she stepped inside, her wide eyes looked at me. “Is this for me?”
“I said, let’s celebrate.”
On the couch was a teddy bear with a camera I installed in it. A Treasure of Doom t-shirt because it was her favorite game, balloons, and a small sign that said, ‘Happy one-year Podversary.’ When she hugged me, all kinds of feelings went through me. She began laughing so hard from excitement that she snorted, and it caught me off guard. “I’m calling your ass Piggy from now on, sorting ass,” I told her.
She held her belly as she tried to calm her laugh. I watched as happiness filled her. She plopped on the couch as her eyes began to devour mine. “What’s on your mind?” she asked.
