Page 49 of 4 Corinthians

“I set a few alarms,” I told him.

“I knew it!” Krude yelled in the background. “Pay me my money, I know my people.”

“Y’all had a bet going?” I asked. I wasn’t surprised, though. Krude kept a bet going. He was naturally competitive.

“Hell yeah we did!” Krude laughed. “You want a split of the money, then be here within twenty minutes.”

“Why twenty minutes?” I asked, turning the corner.

“You ain't on time until you're in our faces,” he told me. “Now press that pedal and make that Jeep hit some corners.”

“How much is the bet?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Your cut would be six thousand,” Krude answered. “Make it in fifteen, and I’ll up it to ten.”

“Ten thousand?” I repeated. I thought about what I could do with that much money, then looked down at the dash. Unlike the rest of my family, I didn’t go into the family business of killing. The summer Granddaddy taught everyone what he was really known for changed the dynamic of our family. While my cousins embraced it, I made it known that I wouldn’t be joining them. They all understood and never pressured me to be a part of anything that I wasn’t comfortable with. They never held conversations about what they did around me either.

“Yep,” Krude replied. “I know you could use the money, so hurry up.”

“Man, give me this phone,” Exodus said. “Look, don’t rush too much. Be safe out there.”

“What’s your time frame?” I asked with a laugh. If Ex wasn’t rushing me, then it was for a reason.

“Thirty minutes,” he mumbled, making me laugh harder. “Judge has you clocking in in twenty, make it then. We can't let this nigga win another bet.” He sighed loudly. “I can’t handle his dramatics tonight.”

I got on the highway and pressed down on the pedal. “No can do, big cousin; I need the money. I’m trying to open my own shop, remember?”

“I’ll double that shit,” Exodus quickly said. “And I got a lead on an open space not too far from one of my businesses. You let someone else win this shit, and it’s yours.”

Exodus owned a few businesses and was trying to expand. He was desperate as hell not to let Krude win.

“Triple,” I countered.

“Deal,” he agreed.

“You hating ass nigga!” I heard Krude yell as I hung up the phone. I dropped my phone in my bag and continued driving. Going to Mercy’s game was going to be fun. I hadn’t been out in a while and was looking forward to spending time with my cousins. I got to the school and lucked up on a parking spot. After I parked, I got out and took my time walking into the building. I’d surpassed the time for Krude to win, so there was no reason to rush.

“I had so much more faith in you,” Krude said, approaching me. He mugged me before pulling me into a hug. “I was ready to drop that money off to you first thing in the morning.”

“It’s nothing personal,” I laughed as we separated and started walking towards the basketball court. We weaved through the crowd to our seats. “I’m opening a business; I need the money.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he replied with a smirk. “You just like letting them niggas have one on me.”

“Never,” I replied, shaking my head.

We walked down the steps to our seats. When we got to the family, I greeted everyone, then took my seat between Cross and Psalms.

“It’s good to see you,” I said to Cross as I was seated. “You need to come to visit more often.”

“I know,” Cross said, nodding. After our parents' accident, her parents had moved away. They said it was too painful to be around their siblings' kids. Cross came and went; there were times we didn’t see her for months or years at a time. When she became an adult, she came around more, but that still wasn’t enough. “I’m going to do better. I was telling Psalms that I plan to come and stay a little bit longer.”

“You should,” I agreed. “Or we could come visit you.”

“I’ll come to y’all,” she said, shaking her head. “I keep telling y’all ain’t nothing out there by me for y’all to be trying to come and visit me.”

“We miss you.”

“I miss y'all too.” She gently bumped her shoulder against mine, then smiled at me. “I’m proud of you, you know that, right?”