We spent all day at the store. Amir loved acting like a lil’ boss, trying to tell people what to do.
When we walked outta the store, the sun was going down, and a fall breeze came through, making Amir rush to the car. I grabbed food for us, and we took it home, Amir talking the whole way about some girl on the cheerleading team that he wanted to take a flower to the next day.
I smiled, and we stopped at a store, letting him pick out what he wanted to get for her. While he did that, I looked around, grabbing shit Islah liked. The Yankee Pink Sand candle, some Ocean Mist Febreze that she liked, and a fake rose. Once Amir was done, we went home and straight into the kitchen. The house was a different kind of quiet. The kitchen hadn’t been cooked in since Islah was in it. Me and Amir sat at the island, almost eating in silence while I checked my phone and looked at videos of Islah.
Amir finished eating and went up to his room to play the game, while I went down to my man cave. I threw myself on thecouch, sitting back, turning the TV on, and unlocked my phone, calling Keith.
“Wussup, Boss?” he said as soon as he picked up. “Any word?”
“Nah, but I was thinking about what everybody has been sayin’, and I am driving myself crazy. Put the gang on it, half a mill for whoever finds Gio.”
Keith started clapping. “That’s what the fuck I am talking about! That’s the fuckin’ Love I know.”
I nodded. “Yeahhh… a nigga was in shock, but I shook that shit off. They need to be looking for that nigga day and night, no letting up.”
“Hell nah, it ain’t no letting up! Any nigga that finds him needs to hold him for you.”
“FACTS!” I yelled into the phone. “My face will be the last face that nigga see.”
Keith got quiet for a second.
“I just feel like the nigga is working with somebody?—”
“Around here?” I said, cutting him off. “I had the same thought. It’s no way that nigga here and can’t be found on South Side, that’s where he was before.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Keith added. “That nigga has to come outta hiding at some time, and when he does, the gang will get him.”
I nodded. “I feel that…it just needs to be sooner rather than later. I need my girl and my baby home.”
Chapter 5
Go
Gio was a complete psycho.
That nigga was hurt on so many levels and couldn’t stand the fact that he lost the fight.
He was trying so hard to win me over, ordering food he thought I liked, buying movies for us to watch in the hotel room, even letting me close the door sometimes to my room, but none of that shit mattered to me. I wasn’t going to be better until I was back home with Love and Amir.
That nigga pushed a dresser in front of my door that led to the outside, knowing how bad I was trying to leave, making the door to his room the only door to the outside, but again it didn’t matter; I didn’t know where I was.
I stopped counting how many days I was in the room with them niggas. I was getting madder when day two turned into day five, then six.
There was no reasoning with Gio. The only reasonable answer to him was his own. Logic was his enemy.
After a long day of him trying to reminisce with me, trying to get me to recall shit, listening to music we used to sing together, trying to get me to sing with him, he finally fell asleep, and I wasleft in the other room alone to lay on the bed, watch TV, and imagine how Love was gonna show up for me.
Was my man gonna show up with a gang of niggas and light Gio and his boys up, or would he show up dolo, with a big gun and handle business by himself? I wrapped my arms around my stomach as I thought about Love, smiling for the first time in days while drifting off to sleep, but that sleep didn’t last long.
I was woken up not by a tap on my foot like how Gio had been doing, but by my back being pushed repeatedly.
I rolled over, ready to go off, but it was Carlos.
He had his finger up to his lips, telling me to be quiet while he pulled me outta bed.
“We gonna help you get outta here,” he said low.
I nodded without asking any more questions. I didn’t care about the rest.
