He nodded and walked off to continue helping his workers. The fact that somebody thought they could make a statement using my shit didn’t sit well with me. I walked inside the store, stepping around broken glass and burned shelves. The heat had melted part of the ceiling, and the front counter was destroyed.
I sent Hollow a text to let him know what was going on. Before I could look up, I could hear the music and the loud pipes. It was Whodie. He stepped out like he hadn’t been gone for two days. His locs were freshly done, and his chain was swinging. When he approached, his face was calm. He couldn’t fool me though. I knew him well enough to see the tension sitting behind his eyes. Neither of us spoke right away. The workers scattered, trying to find something to do. Probably didn’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever was about to happen.
“Damn,” he said.
I kept my arms folded and stood in silence.
“You came to admire the damage?” I asked.
He looked at me sideways.
“I kno’ this yo’ shit, but I’m the one that runs this shit. So, no, I’m not here to fuckin’ admire shit. I came here to clear out what’s in the back and move it.”
I couldn’t say shit. We agreed to stick to business and that’s what he was doing. I let him lead the way to the back of the store. Installing the fireproof door and lock was Whodie’s idea, and I was glad I went with it because all the product and money was safe. He opened the door, let me in first, and let the door slam behind us. Then he grabbed the bags and started throwing them close to the door.
I started throwing stuff that wasn’t bagged into a bag. His phone was going off in his pocket, but he ignored it. I wanted toask, but didn’t want to argue while we were handling business. After several trips to the car, we had cleared the back room out.
“You can follow me if you want, but I’m ‘bouta disperse this between the rest of the stores. The second store on the east side should be ready by Friday,” Whodie said without making eye contact.
“It’s been two days, you fuckin’ off already?” I blurted as he got in the car.
“Nah, not yet. Any other questions?” He finally looked at me.
I couldn’t be mad. I set myself up for that.
“I’ll follow you,” I told him as I walked away.
He didn’t pull off until I was safe in my car and behind him. When we made it to the east side, this was Whodie’s hood. I seen the bitches faces lighting up as soon as they heard his car. It quickly turned sour when they saw me following. The hoes over here hated me, and the feelings were mutual. Only because I never knew who Whodie had slept with over here. He always made sure that when I stepped in his hood, I was safe. Today was no different, though we were beefing.
He had a few of the boys clear the block. Not wanting anyone to see how many bags we were carrying inside. He was impulsive and violent, but cared when it came to my business. Once all the bags were secured and counted, we headed back outside. Only this time, he didn’t say shit. I guess business was done with us for the day, so he went and got in the dice game with some of the 239 Boyz. Deep down, I wanted to grab him by his hair and beat the shit out of him. I kept it cute, got back in my car, and peeled off.
I needed to vent, and the only other place I could think of was my brother’s house. Usually, I would call, so I was going over there hoping someone was home. Love made her own schedule, and she was the one I really wanted to talk to. Hollow was only going to make the shit worse. He wasn’t best friends withWhodie, but he was a realist. If what I did wasn’t making sense, he was going to side with Whodie.
“What are you doing here?” Love asked, moving to the side to let me in.
“Her dumb ass done lost her nigga,” Hollow said, standing behind us in the foyer.
“Shut the fuck up,” I frowned. “How do you know what I got going on anyway?”
“He called me.”
“Ugh,” I said, walking off to get a drink.
I hadn’t had a drink in forever, and I needed more than weed to calm my damn nerves.
“Oh yeah,” Hollow snatched the bottle. “He said no alcohol.”
“Man, what the fuck! He left me. Whodie has no right to dictate what the fuck I do,” I said, trying to snatch the bottle back.
“Okay, what is going on, and why did he leave? Everyone in this house knows how that man feels about you,” Love said.
“Go ‘head. Tell yo’ sister-in-law what you did. Y’all love to make it seem like the men cheat,” Hollow teased.
I pulled the barstool out and took a seat. Hollow, being funny, poured himself a shot and swallowed it down.
“Damn, that was smooth,” he teased, as I watched the liquor bottle.
“I went on a date,” I said.
