“Where Luigi, Marvin, and Shotty at, Q? They all got put down with no recourse and now you asking us to put our lives on the line again for some personal shit.”
“I ain’t asking you to do shit, Tevin. Ion trust yo ass right now so after this stay yo ass home. Your money will still come but Ion need no niggas second guessing me on the frontlines.”
“Yeah, alright nigga. Just make sure that deposit hit. You ain’t hurting me one bit.”
Outside of Damon, Tevin was the person closest to me in this shit. They were by my side when I took over the family, and I thought they would be around until the end, but public disrespect was hard for me to look past. I don’t give a fuck if there was some truth to it. We drove to the house in silence, and I instantly grew agitated when I spotted my uncle’s truck pull into the driveway right behind us. I was consistently watching our surroundings so they didn’t follow us here, but this was the worst timing.
“See, look at the vultures, ready to pounce.”
“Shut the fuck up nigga. You think that shit you just pulled makes it any better?”
“Nah, it didn’t. But you know I got your back regardless, and I wasn’t lying about shit I said. Plus, the only reason I even raised my gun was because I had a clear shot of that fuck nigga. He was happy as shit, showing off all his fucking teeth while he shot at us, just as confident as ever that he wouldn’t get his head blown off. Do you know the message you would’ve sent to Marissa if I would’ve hit him?” Tevin ranted, looking up at me from the rearview mirror.
“Do you know the message Vincent would’ve sent to your wife if you would’ve shot at a car that Marissa was in?” I asked, my eyes locked on his. Tevin didn’t say shit. He just clenched his jaw and looked away from the rearview mirror, knowing I was right. “That’s why I do the fucking thinking.”
Tevin gave me a head nod, and I swung the door open, bracing myself. Damon moved to help, but I pulled my good arm away and kept it pushing. I really wasn’t in the mood for none of this shit right now. Damon caught the hint and rushed to the front door to open it. The doctor’s minivan pulled into the driveway just as I tumbled inside. Tevin pulled out of the driveway, and I looked back at my uncle’s truck because he hadn’t stepped out the vehicle or anything.
“Mr. Bentley, we can’t keep meeting like this,” Esmarelda greeted me with a shake of her wrinkled pointer finger. Her salt-and-pepper hair was pulled up into a high bun. She wore a pale pink muumuu that flowed around her body and carried a black leather Prada duffle bag in one hand.
“It’s been a year since the last time,” I joked to lighten the mood, closing the door behind her.
“Did your wife do this too? If so, just set her free.”
“Nah, it wasn’t my wife this time.”
“Sit, let me wash my hands so I can take a look at it,” Esmarelda ordered on her way to the kitchen.
I retrieved a bottle of brown liquor from the cabinet and took a seat. The searing pain had me looking for anything to take the edge off, I didn’t give a fuck what it was as I guzzled it down. Damon pulled a barstool around the kitchen island next to the sink for me to sit in. The front door swung open, and I heard my dad’s wheelchair whirring until he came into view with my Uncle Montell on his bumper.
“What the fuck happened to you?” He rasped before a coughing fit hit him.
“Nothing. I got a lot going on right now, so I’m not up for no silly shit,” I informed him.
Esmeralda pulled on a pair of gloves and examined the wound. I winced in pain, closing my eyes as her fingers prodded around the torn flesh, checking the entry and exit points.
“It’s a clean through-and-through,” she murmured, more to herself than to me. “No shattered bone, no bullet fragments. You got lucky again.”
I nodded and braced myself as she reached for the antiseptic. Biting into my bottom lip, I took the pain as she poured it straight into the wound. My entire body felt like it was on fire.
“Breathe,” she calmly stated, taking deep breaths for me to follow her breathing pattern. I threw back the bottle of liquor as Esmarelda reached for the tweezers.
There was another knock at the door and my uncle went to grab it. I’m sure it was his son’s ready to address the elephant in the room.
“Who the fuck shot you?” My dad questioned quietly once we were alone.
“I told you I’m good,” I replied just as Uncle Montell returned with Jerrod, Jamell, and Karmello behind him.
Esmeralda started stitching me up as they crowded around the other side of the table.
“Give us some privacy, Damon,” my dad huffed.
“Bet,” Damon nodded, eyeing me before he exited the house.
The door closed behind us and their mouths instantly started running.
“I’mma keep shit brief. You got us looking weak as fuck! You let some nigga yo wife fucking shoot at you and you didn’t do shit?”
Esmeralda winced at his words, the jerk causing me to cut my eyes at her. “I apologize. Maybe I shouldn’t be here for this conversation.”
