Truths Revealed

by Meesha

  I sat in the car for a bit before I turned off the ignition and got out. Using my key, I let myself inside. The voices of Sosa and Max could be heard coming from the dining room area. When I stepped into the room, Max glanced up and the smile that he wore, quickly changed to a grimace. My little brother had never looked at me that way before. That was an indication that Big Jim and Floyd was all in his ear with bullshit.

  “Sosa, you didn’t tell me this nigga was coming over here. I’m out.” He said standing up from the chair that he was sitting in.

  “I didn’t come over to discuss that bullshit that happened yesterday! We already established what the fuck went down with that. What I have to say is way more important than the little shit you pulled, Max. I need to tell you about the muthafucka that you are idolizing over papí.”

  “I’m not putting nobody over Papí. Big Jim was there when he was taken away from us, what the fuck you mean?” he snapped.

  “Nigga, Big Jim is the reason Papí ain’t here! I found out a lot of shit today and that nigga a snake. He was the one behind both of our parents dying!”

  “Hold the fuck up, Ricio. What the fuck did you just say?” Sosa asked.

  “You heard me right, brah. That muthafucka was the one that put the hit on Papí.”

  “Where did you get that bullshit from? Whoever the fuck is running Big Jim’s name through the mud is getting dealt with! That’s a violation and I won’t let that shit slide!” Max yelled.

  I looked at his ass like he had a herpes bump on his lip. He was talking tough and once again jumping to that pussy ass nigga’s defense. The shit was making me madder with every word that fell from his lips.

  “I’m waiting, Mauricio. Tell me who the muthafucka is that told you that shit! Big Jim has been there for us from the day papí died! Even though Big Jim got popped, he’s still looking out for us from behind them walls. We still eating nigga! But you want to go off word of a muthafucka that’s probably jealous!”

  Shaking my head at Max, I had to take a deep breath before I reached out and choked the fuck out of his stupid ass. I had to coach myself into staying calm because when it was all said and done, that was still my brother. The way he was coming to this nigga’s defense was getting to me because I heard all the cocky shit he said with my own ears. I couldn’t get the fact that Big Jim lied on my mama out of my head either. Not to mention, he killed my mufuckin’ daddy.

  “I’m waiting for you to tell me who the fuck told you that bold faced lie, Ricio.” Max said continuing to run off at the mouth.

  “Everything I said came from a reliable source. That nigga has been living foul off Papi! The way he came up was because he took out the Big Fish to get the spot at the top. Maurice Williams died because James Carter wanted to be “the man” in Chicago!”

  “Okay, Ricio hold on. Start from the beginning because since the day Papi died, I knew something was fishy about a lot of shit.” Sosa said directly to me.

  Walking into the kitchen, I pulled a glass tumbler from the cabinet along with a bottle of Hennessy and poured a shot. After I downed it, I went back to the table and stood with my arms folded. There was so much that needed to be said, I didn’t know where to start.

  “Last night after the shit happened between me and Max, I called Beast to tell him to talk to the lil nigga—”

  “You was the reason his ass called me talking shit! I’m not a kid no more, Ricio, can’t nobody tell me—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” both me and Sosa screamed at the same time.

  “I’m not trying to hear that shit right now, somebody needed to tell yo’ ass something before I put my foot in your ass! For the record, this man right here, is the reason yo’ ass ain’t beat for pulling ya gun on me!” I said pointing at Sosa.

  “Man, I’m not about to sit here and listening to this shit. Yo’ muthafuckin’ ass is jealous of Big Jim and I don’t know why. You need to get ya shit together and stop trying to bite the hand that’s been making a way to feed yo’ ass all these years. If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have shit!”

  Max brushed past me and headed for the door. I followed behind him and Sosa was behind me. He reached out to open the door and my words stopped him in his tracks. “That nigga stopped our father from breathing and yo’ ass won’t listen to what the fuck I have to say to bring the shit to light! You dancing with the devil, stupid ass! That muthafucka killed papí and forged papers to get custody of you and Sosa. Mama mysteriously died of a drug overdose but she never even drank wine. Nigga, that shit was a setup! Big Jim eliminated both of them and you riding with this nigga!”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you say! Like I said, whoever told you that shit is lying!” he said snatching the door open.

  Before he could step foot outside the door, I grabbed him by the back of his neck and flung him back inside. The first thing he did was reached for his waistband and I punched him in the side of his face with all my might. I was not giving him the opportunity to up another pistol on me. Sosa stepped in between us at the moment Max was swinging back at me, hitting Sosa in the back of the head.

  “Max, I will fuck you up!” Sosa said standing toe to toe with him. “Y’all aint about to tear my crib up! I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to check yo’self. We ain’t yo enemies, Max. I believe what Ricio is saying and I think you should hear him out.”

  “I don’t believe nothing his ass is saying. I can live my own life, I was doing fine while y’all was away at school getting y’all education on and shit. Big Jim taught me how to get money and learn to survive in these streets! All y’all wanna do is tell me what not to do, it’s too late for that shit.”

  “So, surviving is pulling a gun every time you feel threatened?” I asked. “If that’s what you call survival, baby brah, you are in a world of trouble. Yo’ ass is gon’ pull that piece on the wrong mufucka and I hate to say you’re not gon’ live to tell about it.”

  “Fuck both of y’all!”

  Sosa punched his ass in the mouth because he talked too fuckin’ much. I don’t know why he thought his ass couldn’t get dealt with for the disrespect. Max tried swinging back but he was not ready for the technical training that Sosa was delivering to his ass. I could tell he wasn’t trying to hurt Max, but he was proving to him that he wasn’t about that life.

  With every blow Sosa hit him with, he could only bring one back in return. His punches weren’t fazing Sosa at all. When the blood started oozing out of Max’s mouth from the uppercut Sosa delivered to his chin, I knew I had to stop the beat down.

  “Aight, brah, that’s enough.” I said pulling Sosa back by his arm. He snatched away and punched Max in his jaw and he fell in a heap on the floor. “Eso es suficiente, Sosa!” (That’s enough Sosa!) I repeated loudly in Spanish.

  “Disrespect anyone else in this family and you will get yo’ ass beat again! Nunca debes dar la espalda a la familia (You are never supposed to turn your back on family!) I can’t force you to stay here and listen to what Ricio found out, but once you walk out that door, I’m done with you.”

  Max stood up and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, trying to stop the blood from falling on the floor. “Who is this person that told you all of this reliable information?” he asked staring at me.

  “It was Papí. I heard everything from Papí’s mouth.”

  “This is what I mean about y’all, always trying to fuck up my head and manipulate me. If this is your way of trying to keep me away from the crew, save it. I already know who I’m down with and that’s Big Jim. How the fuck you hear something from somebody that’s been dead for years? Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit. I’m out. Keep that psychic shit to ya’self, I don’t believe in ghosts.” He said rushing out the house to his car.

  “Max wait!” I yelled out, but he kept going.

  “Let his ass go, I need you to fill me in on what the fuck is going on. I’ll go talk to his ass later. If I have all the information, I can make him see things your way, but
you have to tell me everything.” Sosa said heading to the basement as I watched Max speed up the street.

  Chapter 7

  Maximo

  Speeding away from Sosa’s house, I was on ten. I couldn’t believe my own brothers tried to pull that sucker shit with me. There was no way I was going against the grain. Big Jim had been the reason I was eating in these streets. He taught me how to hustle to make money and I kept a lot of it in my pockets.

  At eighteen years old, I’d finished high school and didn’t have to wait two weeks to get paid at nobody’s workplace. All I had to do was beat the block and watch out for the police. The crew that Floyd and Big Jim had was loyal and I trusted them to watch my back.

  The shit that Ricio said pissed me off because I knew Big Jim was thorough. When Ricio said he was the one that set my father up, I wasn’t staying around to listen to them slaughter his character. I had to ask three times who the source was that told them that bullshit. The best answer he could come up with was, he heard it from my father’s mouth. That was impossible because he was not among the living anymore.

  I parallel parked my ride in a spot that sat directly in front of the trap I was in charge of and got out. Shake, John John, and Red was serving rocks like candy. The fiends were out and about copping their poison of choice. Business was good as usual and I was ready to get in on this money.

  “What up Max? Where the hell you been?” Red asked as he completed a transaction and walked beside me to the porch.

  “I had some shit that I needed to take care of. I see there’s lots of money out here tonight.”

  “Hell yeah, I’m working on my fourth pack. I’m about to ride out though, this hoe I met at the club Saturday tryin’ to get up. You know I’m not passin’ up no pussy, nigga!” Red said laughing.

  “Go handle ya’ business while I get in on this check. Make sure yo’ ass strap up because these bitches are treacherous out here. Beautiful, bodied up, and low-key got that package. Muthafuckin’ dick fall off in yo’ hand fuckin’ with these hoes.”

  “Shid, he’d better watch out for those too pretty bitches, fuck around and have a dick in his mouth!” John John blurted out from the porch.

  We all laughed at that shit, except Red of course. “Nigga, that shit ain’t funny. I wish a muthafucka would pull that shit on me. It would be the last time his ass pulled a stunt like that because they would be looking for his ass for a very long time. Come up missing playing that gay shit with me.”

  “Why is yo’ ass getting all sensitive about the subject, man? You know we just jokin’ and shit.” I said still laughing.

  “He’s pissed off because Genesis almost tricked his ass at club Odyssey that one time. I gotta give it to her ass though, she was fine as hell. But he didn’t peep that Adam’s apple like I did.” Shake laughed. “As a matter of fact, nigga, you still owe me for that shit.”

  I laughed so hard at the way Red was looking. His face matched his name at that moment. He was embarrassed as hell, I guess that was a secret that wasn’t supposed to come out. The mean mug he threw at Shake was priceless.

  “Fuck you! I peeped that shit, get the fuck outta hear with that shit! Man, I’m out.” Red said storming to his ride.

  “Man, Shake, why you put him on blast like that?” I asked jogging up the steps to sit on the porch.

  “He needs to slow his ass down. Every pretty bitch he see he’s trying to get at. Thirsty ass always splurging on these hoes to get some pussy. Enough about that nigga, what’s up with yo’ brother, Max?”

  I didn’t know which one of my brother’s Shake was referring to but I knew it wasn’t good from the way he said that shit. “What you mean, fam?”

  “I got a call from Floyd a couple hours ago and he wasn’t happy. He got a call from Big Jim today. Mauricio went to the prison to pay him a visit and he was mad disrespectful. He was in there throwing accusations around, calling big homie all kinds of shit. Claiming he got word that Big Jim is the one that laid yo’ Pops down.”

  I didn’t say anything because I needed to know what else he had to say. I didn’t give Ricio the opportunity to tell me what he wanted to talk about, I was in the dark. It was hard for me to believe Big Jim had anything to do with the shit he was speaking on because he looked out for a nigga.

  “I don’t know shit about none of that. I’m not fuckin’ with Ricio right now, fuck him and Sosa. Them niggas don’t give a fuck about me, blood don’t make you related, loyalty does. I’m good on them right now. I don’t know where the fuck he could’ve gotten that shit from but he needs to slow his roll. It’s not a good look to be throwing niggas under the bus like that.”

  “Well Floyd wants to holla at his ass. I tried calling him but he ain’t answering none of my calls. He knows that he fucked up and dodging a nigga. He didn’t come see Floyd to give his take from the trap on 26th street and you know that’s a mandatory task. I need you to hit his line and tell that nigga to get at Floyd, Asap!”

  “I just told you I’m not fuckin’ with them niggas. Don’t come at me with the bullshit they on because it ain’t got shit to do with me. Whatever they got going on, don’t involve me. My money’s straight with Big Jim.”

  “I’m letting you know they need to turn that money in because we don’t do that stealing shit around these parts. On top of that, he disrespected the head nigga in charge while he’s on lock! He knew Big Jim couldn’t touch his ass but that’s what his crew is for in these streets, to have his muthafuckin’ back! Yo’ brother don’t want to go to war with us, his army is our army and we stand strong together. He is outnumbered. I suggest you holla at that nigga and let him know, this is not what he wants.” Shake snared.

  “Damn Shake, you don’t have to come at my brother like that, nigga. What is you not saying? It got to be more to the story if you heated like that. I don’t think he’s trying to rip y’all off, so you can quit saying that shit. We wasn’t raised to take shit from nobody. Ricio and Sosa work hard in these streets just like yo’ ass. I may be beefing with him, but what you won’t do is try to shit on his character.”

  “I know what I was told and the way he came at the Boss. Mauricio’s on bullshit.”

  “Tell me what the fuck was said and maybe we can figure this shit out together.” I said trying to get him to say more.

  “Nah, this don’t involve you, remember? I’ll wait to talk to that nigga when the time presents itself. Until then, get over there and give those hypes what they need to take that monkey off their backs.” He said sitting in the chair next to me.

  I stood up and walked down the stairs. There were two fiends walking up the walkway. “Let me get five young blood.” One of them said. Handing him what he asked for, I took the money and put it in my pocket. That’s the way business went for the next two hours, steady. Shake had me thinking about the shit he’d said and I had a feeling shit was about to get real. He didn’t elaborate on what was said between Ricio and Big Jim, but from the little bit I gathered from Ricio, something wasn’t right.

  Shake had left about an hour after our conversation, leaving me and John John to work the block. He wasn’t selling shit so I knew he was there to keep an eye on me for whatever reason. I didn’t give a fuck because in that short time, I got off three packs and my pockets were sitting pretty. I took my phone out and shot Ricio a text.

  Me: Aye, you need to hit up Floyd or Shake they looking for you.

  I laid my phone in my lap to wait for his reply. When my phone vibrated, I looked at the screen and it was my girlfriend Madysen. “What’s up baby?” I spoke into the phone.

  “Where you at, Max? I’ve been waiting on you to call me all day.”

  “I’m out getting this money. Don’t start this shit today Mads, I got enough shit to worry about. The last thing I need is for you to start that hounding shit.”

  “Well if you would pick up the phone and say hello throughout the day, I wouldn’t do it.”

  “Yo’ ass lying. The only thing you want me to do
is check in because you think I’m with a bitch. Ya’ mind on the wrong shit, ma. I can’t be out here in the streets with a phone up to my ear, that’s how a nigga get caught slipping. I’m hanging up and I’ll be over later. Have my girl ready for me, aight?”

  “Whatever, Max.” she said hanging up.

  Madysen has been on the same shit for the entire two years that we’d been dating. She had every reason to be suspicious of me being unfaithful, I’ve done plenty of shit with other bitches. She knew about everything and she still chose to be with me. She should be questioning herself, not me, I’m only doing what she allowed me to do. As long as she continued to sit back without speaking on the shit I did, I was going to keep moving accordingly. My phone started vibrating and I looked at the screen and there was a text from Ricio. Opening it up I read what it said.

  Ricio: I’m not hard to find but I’ll be seeing them niggas soon. Get the fuck away from them Max. If you would have heard me out, you wouldn’t be guessing right now. I’m still willing to fill you in, but it won’t be over the phone. Feel free to come back to bro’s crib, I’ll be here for a minute. Under no circumstances are you to give any information on where we lay our heads at night! They ain’t for you, bro. Take my word on that shit!

  Me: I’m not coming over there tonight. I need time to think about how y’all came at me. Whatever is going on, leave me out of it.

  He didn’t waste any time responding back to me.

  Ricio: Nigga you was born in this shit! Anything that has to do with Maurice Williams is on their radar! Yo’ stupid ass will learn the hard way! Get at me so you won’t be running around with blinders on and get caught up! Listen for once in your life!