“Man, here you go. My bad for being late, Ari needed a ride to school.”
I ignored the wide grins on their faces because I wasn’t in the mood for their bullshit.
“You still pretending the two of you aren’t in love with each other?” Logic chortled.
“Exactly. I don’t know why he’s still tryna fake the funk as if she doesn’t have his nose wide open. We saw the way the two of you were carrying on during her birthday party. I thought y’all were gonna fuck right there on the dance floor,” East revealed.
They roasted me for hours in the group chat with pictures and videos. My best friend, Naiari, turned eighteen, so we were celebrating her big day. I’d admit, I might have drunk too much and gotten a little carried away. Naiari completely avoided thetopic while everyone else couldn’t stop talking about it. There were rumors that we were in a secret relationship. It wasn’t true, but people were gonna believe what they wanted.
“Whatever. Come on so we can get this money counted. I don’t have all day to play around with y’all.”
“You’re right about that. I need my cut so I can take Nova’s fine ass on a date. She said I gotta start applying more pressure, so that’s what I’ma do,” Logic explained.
We stepped into the house and headed to the basement. East lived with his grandmother, who was one of those loyal churchwomen who devoted all her time and energy to the house of the Lord. She spent most of her time attending services or volunteering; meanwhile, East hustled to get the lights and water on. All her money was spent on tithes and the church’s building fund, with the claim that God would provide for the household.
“It always smells like mothballs, stale cigarettes, and hot combs in here. I thought your granny was one of those praying hoes. Are they supposed to be smoking?” Logic blurted out.
“Aye, watch yo’ fucking mouth. She ain’t a hoe.” East was seething as he gave Logic a warning glare.
“My bad, you know I ain’t mean no disrespect by what I said.” Logic raised his hands up in mock surrender.
“Yeah, whatever. As far as her smoking, I don’t know, and I don’t care. She and her old ass friends are always smoking and going to the casino when they aren’t at church. I keep my thoughts to myself because if I say what’s really on my mind, it will turn into an argument. I’m tryna keep the peace until I can afford to cop my own spot.”
“Well, after this last lick, you should have what you need. I’ve been saving my money for months because when I get out of my momma crib, I want to pay my rent in advance for at least six months, get my own car, and fully furnish my place. I needto be able to leave and never look back,” I declared. I loved my momma to death, but the environment was toxic. If she and her husband weren’t arguing, they were drinking and getting high. My momma swore she wasn’t on drugs, but it was hard to fool someone who sold them for a living.
“I can’t wait to get my own spot. I’m tired of my shit coming up missing and Ma Dukes acting like she doesn’t know what happened. I put a lock on my door the other day to get her out of my shit. I’m afraid I’m gonna come home one day, and all of our furniture will be missing,” Logic vented. His momma had been on drugs for years, but things took a turn for the worse when his brother Wisdom was killed in a drive-by shooting. It bothered him more than he let on, but I understood why he chose to keep his feelings to himself.
We counted the money from the last lick we hit. For the last few months, I slowed down on the robbin’ shit, but Sergio had been begging for someone to snatch his shit. Every time I saw his goofy ass on social media, he was flashing his money and jewelry. He went live, bragging and showing all the money and drugs in his house. His actions were so foolish, I assumed it must have been a setup, but it wasn’t. Logic suggested we run up in his shit, but I declined at first. I figured someone as flashy as Sergio would at least have a tight security system or at least be heavily armed. Then he fucked around and disrespected Naiari at the local corner store, and I needed to teach him a lesson.
Logic assured me it would be an easy lick, and he never lied. We burst through the doors of Sergio’s townhouse and walked back out with no issues. Of course, Logic’s ass knocked him over the head with the butt of his gun, but the rest was smooth sailing. There were no cameras or alarms anywhere, and he made things even easier for us when he left all his duffel bags out in the open. Not only did we take the product, but we alsograbbed his jewelry. I knew this cat named Gully who ran a pawnshop out west, and he always made sure to look out for me.
We ended up making a nice little profit after turning in his chains and watches, plus the money we made from selling his work. We made sure to travel a few cities over to sell the dope, and it paid off in a major way. We robbed Sergio last Thursday, and we had unloaded all the product and tripled our money. It was by far the easiest lick I had ever participated in.
After we finished counting the money, we split it three ways and went our separate ways. There were a few places I needed to hit up, plus I had to drop my money off at my stash spot. I couldn’t trust my family not to steal, so I paid someone to let me stash my shit at their crib. It was all the motivation I needed to hurry up and get my own place because I hated depending on others. When it came to money, you couldn’t trust a soul.
“You ought to be glad a nigga is even here taking care of you and your fucking kids. I go to work every day, working my fingers to the bone, and this is the thanks I get? I can’t even come home to a home-cooked meal while you’ve been sitting on your ass all day!”
“Tone, I’ve been throwing up all day. The only time I got out of bed today was to use the bathroom. I told you I would order you some food, baby. I’m sorry,” my momma pleaded.
My nostrils flared when I heard my mom pleading with that mothafucka. Ever since he moved in with us, they argued nonstop. My momma always seemed to attract men like him,and I hated it. I thought that after her last boyfriend went to jail, it would finally be the three of us—her, my sister Lyric, and I. Instead, she found herself back with another man who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
“Bitch, I don’t want any fast food. I work hard to keep this house filled with groceries every month. You’re gonna get your lazy ass in the kitchen and make my dinner. I don’t care that you’re sick. It’s not like you work a job or bring money into this house. The least you can do is make sure I’m fucked, fed, and taken care of. I’m about to run to the liquor store, and when I get back, there better be some pots on the stove!” The door slammed as Tone made his way out of the house.
I was in the middle of writing a new song when they interrupted me with their bullshit. Music served as an escape for me. It was the only place where I felt like I could express my feelings without worrying about someone else’s judgment. I never shared any of my songs with anyone except my close friends, because they were more for my therapy than anyone else. My homies kept telling me I needed to book a studio so I could lay some tracks down, but I hadn’t made a move yet. Plus, those sessions cost money, and I needed to stack mine.
Knock. Knock.
“Can I come in?” Lyric whispered as she stepped into my room. I smiled and nodded as she closed the door behind her. We were only three years apart, but Lyric was my baby, and she knew it, too. I would do anything to make sure she was safe and cared for, because no one else seemed to.
She took a seat next to me on the edge of my bed. I continued to write in my notebook while her head rested on my arm. She was still wearing her cheerleading outfit from practice. She begged my mother to let her try out this year, and she couldn’t contain her excitement when she made the team. Footballseason hadn’t started yet, but I had promised her that I would be there to cheer her on.
The sounds of light snores caught my attention, and I realized Lyric had fallen asleep on me. It wasn’t out of the norm for us because we were truly all each other had. My mother cared more about the love and affection of men than she did about her children. She wasn’t abusive or anything like that, but she also never protected us. I had gotten my ass beat by a few of her boyfriends in the past, while she would sit there and cry. Never once did she speak out against what they had done.
I used to try to protect her from the vicious ass beatings, but in return, she would take them back the next day. Instead of coming to her rescue as much, I focused on caring for Lyric and making sure she was safe. I did my best to protect her because I knew if anyone ever hurt her, I would kill them.
I went ahead and laid her on my bed and got my clothes together so I could take a shower. My phone chimed, indicating a new text message. When I checked it, I smirked seeing my best friend, Naiari’s, name.
Cocoa Puffs:Do you like it, or does it make me look childish?
