By three, Reese and I were walking out of the club. Besides the weed in my system, I was alert. Reese was drunk out of his mind, so I put him in my car and drove him home. All of this was intentional. I placed him in his bed and let the gate see me leave. By five, I was on my bike with Adore on the back. As much as she loved to ride on dirt bikes, she hated my Kawasaki Ninja. I bought it for the speed only. Reese was trying to work to take me out, but he was like clockwork. He forgot that we grew up together, and I was a watcher.
By six, Reese was pulling up in an Uber to get his car. I made sure to leave it unlocked last night, so Adore was already in the backseat waiting for him to get in. As soon as he got in, he pulled off. Adore raised and put the gun to his head. I was sitting at the corner watching as he pulled to the light. My phone buzzed with an incoming call from Reese’s phone.
“My nigga,” I said. “Check this out, I need you to meet me somewhere.”
“Whodie, what the fuck is this about?”
“Let’s talk in person. Follow me,” I said, hanging up and starting my bike.
After a few minutes, we pulled into Hollow’s funeral home and mortuary. I smiled when I saw the fear in Reese’s eyes as he stepped out. I hated to have Adore even be a part of this, but as usual, she was hardheaded. Hollow and I hadn’t really settled our beef, but for his sister, he would do anything. He opened the doors, and we walked right in.
“Reese, I just brought you here so you can let me kno’ what you wanted yo’ shit to say. Do you want it to say somethin’ like,here lies a rat or here lies a bitch nigga?I mean, it’s totally up to you. I’m payin’ for it. Oh, and what colors do you want?” I asked.
“Whodie…we niggas, bruh. The fuck you got goin’ on?” Reese asked, as Adore kept the gun pointed at his head.
“I thought we were niggas too. We grew up together and got money together,” I said as I walked him into the crematorium. “I would’ve gave you anything you asked for. You decided that our friendship didn’t mean shit to you the minute you sided wit’ the opps.”
“Look…buddy was comin’ at me hard ‘bout Adore. Goin’ to my baby mama’s house and shit. Showin’ up to my kids’ school. Fuck you wanted me to do?”
“Nigga, tell me so we could’ve hopped on this shit earlier. Our best friend lost his muthafuckin’ life, and you knew the whole time that Mazi nigga was a fuckin’ decoy. You a bitch and I want the whole hood to kno’ it.”
“Whodie… we ain’t gotta take it there. What you wanna kno’?”
“I wanna kno’ everything.”
“The nigga Rico kno’ her,” Reese turned around and pointed at Adore. “Said she took his shit and ran wit’ it, and he wants it back. He married Zhane because he knew she was connected to us, the 239 Boyz, at some point in her life. Nigga said he was willing to burn down everything to get to her. He dropped a bag for details.”
“And you were about to let him?” I said. “Reese, you kno’ how I feel ‘bout her, right?”
“Of course, nigga.”
“And you still thought that shit was cool?”
“Wouldn’t you pick yo’ family over me?” He asked.
I walked up to him and looked him dead in the eye.
“I would’ve told you the play as soon as a nigga would’ve stepped me. I’m really tired of fuckin’ talkin’. I just wanted you to see the hurt in my eyes. But you kno’ I cut the tails off a rat, right?”
Reese squeezed his eyes closed as I put my gun to his head.
“I got yo’ family for life, my nigga,” I said, pulling the trigger.
CHAPTER 25: ADORE
When Reese’s body dropped, Hollow instantly jumped into action. The blood was minimal as I watched Whodie assist in getting Reese’s body on the slab. This was my first time seeing what my brother did to burn a body. He cut the clothes off of Reese and removed the jewelry. Whodie had this planned out in a matter of hours. I asked what we would do since he was the last call on his phone, and then his phone pinged at the funeral home.
Whodie let me know that it wasn’t unusual for them to talk on the phone more than once a day. I also forgot that sometimes the 239 Boyz worked with Hollow, so his phone being here wasn’t unusual either. I walked out as they threw his body in a pine box. I was hoping that this would bring him and Whodie together. They didn’t start beefing until I put them in a situation to. I understood both sides, but I would always side with my man. An hour later, Hollow came out and left Whodie in there with the remains.
“You good?” my brother asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Is his body done burning?”
“Nah, it got ‘bout two more hours before it’s complete. I left him in there ‘cause I could see the hurt in his eyes.”
“Can y’all put y’all shit to the side now?”
“Man, fuck that nigga. I did this shit for you and you only. That nigga better apologize to me first.”
