by K'wan
“I don’t know what you had to do that was more important than climbing back inside Tiffany’s fine ass. She was pissed that you left her hanging,” Omega told him.
“I’ll bet she was, but seeing how y’all had an orgy I’m sure there wasn’t no shortage of dicks to replace me. So how was the pussy, O?” Li’l Monk asked with an attitude. He wasn’t sure why, but the thought of Tiffany fucking someone else irritated him.
“I wouldn’t know because I didn’t hit it and it wasn’t for lack of trying,” Omega admitted. “You must’ve really put it on that bitch, because she wasn’t checking for anybody but you.”
“She might as well have gone ahead and done her thing, because what happened between us was a one-time thing. I slipped and bumped my head, but I’m back to my senses now and it’s all about Sophie.”
“I hear you talking, nigga, but somebody better deliver that memo to Tiffany. She was all in her feelings because she felt like you played her, taking the pussy and running like you did.” Omega laughed.
“She’ll get over it, or she won’t. I don’t give a fuck,” Li’l Monk said. He felt bad about hurting Tiffany’s feelings, but not bad enough to offer her an explanation. She knew what it was when they lay down together. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d ever see her again so he wasn’t sweating it.
“But fuck that broad. Where you at now? I came across some bomb-ass hydro and me and some of the homies are about to go straight to the moon. Come through the block.”
“Nah, y’all have fun with that. I’m gonna go check my lady and kick back for the night,” Li’l Monk told him.
“Fuck it, have it your way but if you change your mind you know where to find me,” Omega told him and ended the call.
Li’l Monk tossed his cell phone back onto the passenger seat and turned his attention back to the road. He pulled to a stop at a red light at the intersection of 123rd and Lenox and waited patiently for it to change. While he was waiting he happened to look out the window toward the corner bodega and spotted a familiar face, Charlie. He was one of several young men involved in a dice game. Li’l Monk had been trying to call Charlie since the funeral and had even popped up at his house, but he could never seem to catch up with him. It was obvious to him by then that Charlie was avoiding him, but for the life of him he didn’t know why. There was no time like the present to find out.
When the light changed, Li’l Monk pulled through it slowly and double parked his car on the block, just off the corner. He killed the engine and jumped out, and walked up on Charlie. “Sup, my nigga?”
Charlie turned around, startled to see Li’l Monk standing behind him. “What’s good, Li’l Monk?” He extended his hand nervously. Li’l Monk didn’t bother to shake it.
“You’re harder to catch than a crackhead,” Li’l Monk said.
“Oh, you know since my sister was killed I been in the crib. Kinda wanna keep it close to home so I’m there for my family,” Charlie said, flashing a goofy smile.
“Is that right? Funny because I’ve been calling your house and your mom always says you’re not home. I even popped up a time or two and got the same thing. I’m starting to feel like you’re avoiding me.”
“C’mon, man, why would I be avoiding you?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Let’s take a walk. I need to holla at you about something.”
“It’s your roll, Charlie. You gonna shoot or keep talking to your girlfriend?” a big-lipped kid with a nappy afro called out.
Li’l Monk glared at the big-lipped kid, but didn’t reply to his comment. “Charlie, somebody knocked Mr. D off,” he told him.
“Who?” Charlie fronted like he didn’t know who Li’l Monk was talking about, but it was a weak front.
“Nigga, you know who. The Italian I took you with me to see,” Li’l Monk said. “Look, this ain’t the time to play games. That dead guinea has got a lot of people looking at me sideways and I need to find out what happened.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Charlie asked innocently.
Li’l Monk knew Charlie was bullshitting him and he was starting to get angry. “I ain’t in the mood for you to be fucking around. I need to know if you told anybody about the old man or the safe. Don’t lie to me either, Charlie.”
The big-lipped kid with the afro walked up and tapped Charlie on the shoulder. “Yo, y’all niggas is holding up the game. Either roll the dice or forfeit the bread.”
“Homie, I apologize for holding up what y’all got going on, but I’m gonna need you to give us a minute,” Li’l Monk told him.
“And I’m gonna need y’all to take this lover’s spat somewhere else. I got money on the floor, so if you ain’t betting then you need to get the fuck up outta here and let Charlie get back to the game,” the big-lipped kid shot back. By then the other players in the dice game were watching the exchange.
“Listen, I know you’re out here trying to put on for these nobody muthafuckas, but it’s a bad night to play tough guy. Let me finish my conversation and I’ll be out of your way,” Li’l Monk said calmly. He could feel his blood boiling and was trying to control his rage.
“You gonna let him talk to you like that, Blood?” a nameless face instigated from the sidelines.
The big-lipped kid took Li’l Monk’s calm demeanor for weakness and decided to show off. He ambled up and stood nose to nose with Li’l Monk, spitting a razor from his mouth into his hand expertly. “You got about five seconds to get the fuck from around here or I’m gonna make you uglier than you already are, and that’s my word.”
“That’s your word, huh?” Li’l Monk sized him up.
“Straight like that.” The big-lipped kid tossed the razor from one hand to the other, taunting Li’l Monk.
Li’l Monk looked from Charlie, who was clearly terrified, back to the big-lipped kid. “Have it your way then,” he said, before snuffing the big-lipped kid. The blow landed with so much force that the big-lipped kid flew clean out of his shoes and landed six feet away. Several of the players from the dice game surged forward like they were going to jump Li’l Monk, but when he pulled his gun they froze. “What? Y’all feeling brave.” He swept the gun back and forth over the crowd, causing the once tough guys to cringe. “I’ll light this whole fucking block up!”
“Li’l Monk, be cool,” Charlie laid a calming hand on Li’l Monk’s shoulder, which turned out to be a bad move.
Li’l Monk grabbed Charlie’s arm and twisted it to the point where Charlie thought he was going to break it. “You little worm muthafucka, who are you to tell me anything? Now me and you are about to take a walk and have us a little chitchat.” He backed down the block, dragging Charlie along and keeping his gun trained on the dice shooters. He shoved Charlie into the passenger seat of his Bonneville and peeled off.
“What the fuck was that all about?” Charlie asked, rubbing his arm.
“That was about me trying to help your bitch ass out and you almost getting me killed!” Li’l Monk snapped.
“I told you I don’t know nothing about what happened with that old man,” Charlie insisted.
Li’l Monk backhanded Charlie so hard that his head snapped back into the headrest, and blood leaked from his nose onto the seat of the Bonneville. “Bullshit you don’t. I’ve known you all your fucking life so I know when you’re lying. I looked out for you, tried to put you back on your feet, and you repay me by putting my life in danger?”
“Li’l Monk, you got it wrong, man,” Charlie insisted.
Li’l Monk picked his gun up off his lap and pressed it to Charlie’s cheek. “Then tell me right.” He glanced at Charlie then back to the road. “What would make you double-cross the only nigga in the world to ever show you love?” His voice was heavy with emotion.
“It was all Chucky!” Charlie blurted out.
The mention of Chucky’s name shocked Li’l Monk to the point where he swerved and almost hit another car. “Fuck is you talking about? Chucky has got a death sent
ence hanging over his head. Ain’t no way he’d be fool enough to show his face back in the city.”
“You say that because you don’t know Chucky,” Charlie shot back. With a heavy heart he went into telling Li’l Monk about how he had turned Chucky on to the safe in Mr. D’s apartment and the scheme he’d come up with to take it off. “We were just supposed to take the money. I was never down for no murder.”
“Damn, do you realize what your thirst has done?” Li’l Monk slammed his fists on the wheel. His mind turned end over end, processing what Charlie had just confessed and trying to find a way out of it. Just then, something struck him. “Charlie, one thing is nagging at me and I just can’t shake it. When Chucky snuck back into New York he knew that there weren’t many people he could trust, so he had to be careful about who he let in on his schemes. My question is, when did the two of you get that cool?”
Charlie was caught off guard by the question and when his answer didn’t come quick enough, Li’l Monk gave him another whack. This one was to the mouth with the back of the gun and knocked one of Charlie’s teeth out.
“You been in bed with this nigga since before I took you to Mr. D’s, haven’t you?” Li’l Monk pressed him.
“You don’t understand, man,” Charlie murmured with his hand over his bloody mouth. “You and me, we go back to free lunch. We was two poor-ass kids together and when you starting rising to the top you didn’t look out for me!” Charlie said emotionally.
“Bullshit, man. There was never a time when I saw you and didn’t break you off,” Li’l Monk reminded him.
“Break me off?” Charlie snorted. “I’m a grown-ass man, Li’l Monk. Fuck breaking me off; we were supposed to eat together. When you hooked up with Omega, I was out of the picture. You had somebody to get money with, why couldn’t I? You left me out here with nobody. I didn’t have nobody.” He wept.
Li’l Monk wanted to bash Charlie’s skull in, but it wouldn’t change anything. He didn’t know what he felt more, anger at Charlie for jamming him up or hurt that his friend had crossed him. Li’l Monk and Charlie had been best buddies since they were kids, more like brothers than anything. Had it been anyone else, Charlie would’ve already been dead, but even having crossed into a dangerous situation, Li’l Monk still couldn’t bring himself to harm Charlie. He still had love in his heart for his adopted little brother.
“You hurt me, Charlie. You hurt me deep,” Li’l Monk said, sticking his gun between the driver’s seat and the center console.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Charlie sniffled, while wiping the tears from his eyes with the backs of his hands.
“You’re sorry, all right, the sorriest sack of shit I ever laid eyes on. You and me are done. You hear me, Charlie? We’re fucking done!” Li’l Monk growled.
“I know, man, and I don’t blame you.”
“Who else was in on this besides you and Chucky?” Li’l Monk asked.
“He had two broads with him. Maggie and Rissa were their names,” Charlie said.
“I usually don’t kill bitches, but I think in this case I might have to make an exception. I’m gonna handle all parties involved, but before I do, your punk ass is going to help me bring some closure to this. First I’m going to take you to Ramses and you’re gonna spill your fucking guts and clear my name. Then you’re going to tell us where we can find that piece of shit junkie Chucky.”
“Man, if I talk, I’m dead,” Charlie said.
“If you don’t talk, you’re dead.” Li’l Monk patted the gun. “You’ve been a bitch all your life. The least you can do is stand up and be a man for once,” he spat.
He stopped at a red light and a car pulled up next to them on the passenger side. Li’l Monk spared a casual glance at it, before turning his focus back to the red light, waiting for it to turn green. Something about the car nagged at him, so he looked again and spotted the rusty panel on the side. It was the same Chevy Nova he had seen earlier. Before his brain could process it, one of the back windows rolled down and the barrel of a shotgun came out. He didn’t even have a chance to shout a warning to Charlie before the shotgun kicked and reduced Charlie’s head to pulp.
CHAPTER 24
Persia sat on her living room couch aimlessly flicking the channels on the sixty-two-inch television. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, but seeing nothing. Her mind was more fixed on the drama in her life rather than the drama on TV.
When she came in the house the first thing she did was peel her clothes off and take a hot shower. After washing the soot from the day off her body, she grabbed the scrub brush she used to clean the tub and scrubbed her hands until they were raw. She wanted to obliterate any traces of Chucky’s semen from her hands. If she had been smart she’d have ripped his dick off and tossed it to the wind, but revenge was a dish best served cold and slow.
While she dried off she checked her answering machine’s messages to see who and what she had missed while she was out. There was a message from Asia, wanting to know where the hell she had been all day and one from Sarah just checking in on her. She started to call her back, but when she noticed the time she decided against it. Sarah was in enough hot water as it was and phone calls in the middle of the night wouldn’t do much to help her get back into her parents’ good graces.
Persia scanned through the rest of the messages, half listening to most of them, but none were from Vaughn. She was kind of hoping that he had called back, but after not hearing back from her after the earlier message he’d chalked it up and headed back down to Philadelphia. Vaughn had likely washed his hands of her and Persia couldn’t say that she blamed him. He had been going out of his way to woo her, but Persia had been acting like a world-class bitch. Vaughn probably thought she was an unappreciative sack chaser, never knowing that she was dealing with him from a distance because she was trying to protect him.
After she finished drying herself and checking her messages Persia changed back into her sweatpants and T-shirt, and went downstairs into the living room. Her mother had gone to bed already, which was a good thing for Persia. She really didn’t feel like sitting through another one of her mother’s question-and-answer sessions. Michelle had a sixth sense and could always tell when something was up with Persia. All her life her mother had been her biggest supporter, and always seemed to have the knack to make everything okay when it came to Persia’s problems. She wanted to pour her soul out to her mother and tell her everything that was going on with her, but Michelle had been carrying the burdens of her only seed long enough. Persia was eighteen, a woman, and it was time for her to start cleaning up her own messes.
Persia heard the front door open and a few seconds later Richard rounded the corner of the foyer. His black blazer was hanging over his arm and his cell phone was in his hand. Standing under the overhead light Persia could see the worry lines etched in Richard’s face. Something had him stressed out. When he looked up and noticed Persia sitting there he straightened his face.
“I’m surprised to see you’re still up,” Richard said by way of a greeting.
“Surprised to see you’re just getting in,” Persia shot back. “That student of yours must’ve needed quite a bit of help.”
For a second a confused look crossed Richard’s face but then he remembered what he’d said before he left the house. “Oh, I had some other things to take care of after that. Has your mom gone to bed already?” He changed the subject.
“Yeah, you know Mom is an early bird.”
“Indeed she is. I’m still a little wired from the day myself so I’m gonna stay up for a few. Mind if I sit?” Richard nodded at the empty space on the couch next to Persia.
“Sure.” Persia slid over to give him a bit more space.
Richard tossed his blazer on the arm of the chair and sat down. “So, how was your little outing into the city?”
“Eventful,” Persia said in a less-than-happy tone.
“I can only imagine. Your new friend Rissa seems like quite the character. Where did y
ou say you met her again?”
“She’s a friend of a friend,” Persia told him.
Richard didn’t miss the fact that she had sidestepped his question, but he didn’t press it. “What kind of design did you get on your nails?” He reached for her hand but Persia snatched it back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to invade your space.”
“It’s not your fault. I guess I been a little on edge lately,” Persia said honestly.
“We’ve noticed. Your mom said she wanted to have a talk with you about your recent mood swings. I told her to leave it alone and to let you open up about whatever is going on when you’re ready. Is everything okay with you?”
Persia was hesitant. There were things going on in her life that were likely beyond the scope of anything Richard could relate to, but she didn’t have anyone else to talk to and felt like she was going to explode if she kept everything bottled in. “I’m just having guy trouble I guess.” It was neither the truth nor a lie.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were dating again; at least, not seriously,” Richard said.
“There’s this guy I’ve been seeing for a little while now.”
“Not another street dude I hope,” Richard said.
“God no! He’s a square,” Persia assured him.
“Sounds like my kind of guy. Anybody I’d know?” he asked.
“I doubt it. He’s from New York, but lives in Philadelphia now.”
“So this is a long-distance relationship then?”
“Something like that. Philly isn’t that far so he comes to New York all the time to see me,” Persia told him.
“A man who is willing to drive from state to state to see you sounds like a keeper.”
“Oh, he is. He’s so nice and a perfect gentleman. I like him a lot, and he’s crazy about me. He wants us to be exclusive.”
Richard looked confused. “So why the long face?”
“I’m afraid to commit to him. This guy has really got his stuff together, and my life is a mess and I don’t wanna track dirt into his,” Persia said sadly.