by Sephiri J
City heard the tone in my voice and walked back over to me.
“I love you so much, sweetheart. Don’t forget that, okay?”
“Daddy, I know, but you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” I asked.
I was agitated now.
“Greg is here, Bo,” he said, and I felt ice go through my veins.
“He’s where? At my house?” I shrieked.
“What is it?” City interrupted me.
I put the phone call on speaker.
“Greg is here, Bo. He has a gun. He’s looking for Sade and thought she was here. I let him in because I knew him, but then he pulled his gun out and told me I needed to give him an address or he was going to shoot.”
I listened in horror to what my father was saying. This couldn’t be happening.
“Bo, where the fuck is Sade!” I heard Greg shout in the background.
I looked at City because I had no idea what to do.
“I’m not giving him your address, Bo,” my father said.
His tone was serious and resigned like he knew what might happen if he resisted Greg.
“Daddy, please. He’s crazy,” I said as the words choked in my mouth.
Tears were stinging my eyes, and I rushed back into the room for my car keys. I needed to get home.
“I love you so much, sweetheart. Please always remember. No matter what, I will always love you,” he said.
“Daddy, stop. I’m coming,” I said and ran back outside.
City stopped me and took the phone from me. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. I should have thought about the possibility of Greg showing up at my house. I should have warned my father, but I didn’t, and I felt like this was my fault.
“Put that pussy ass nigga on the phone,” City said, and I felt like my heart was going to come out my chest.
“He’s on speaker… oof!” I heard my father yell like he had been hit.
“Daddy!” I screamed in a panic.
“I heard everything you said. Who the fuck is this?” Greg yelled.
He sounded like he’d taken the phone from my dad and was talking directly into it.
“If you fucking hurt my girl’s Pops, Ima skin your ass alive. Find out,” City said and rushed to the door.
He looked back at me and nodded, and I rushed behind him.
“Where is Sade? Tell me where she at, and Bo’s old man will be good. I’m tired of playin’ with y’all. I know you know where she at,” Greg yelled.
“You ain’t gon’ hear shit from me, nigga. Your beef is with my nigga Guwop cuz he knocked up your bitch since your motherfuckin’ dick don’t work. If you got problems with him, you got problems with me. Meet us, and we’ll square the fuck up, bruh. Fuck around and get murked by a real nigga, bitch,” City said.
We were in his car now and driving like crazy toward my house. My heart was in my throat, and I wanted to get there already.
Greg chuckled. “You know where I’m at. Come find me. Bring that nigga, and Sade too. Everybody dead in this bitch tonight cuz I’m not playin’ around. BRING SADE!”
“Oh my God,” I said, holding my head.
Greg had damn near lost his mind.
“The fuck!” Greg said, and I heard the phone clatter on the floor.
“Daddy!” I yelled, sitting up in the car seat.
I listened in horror as it sounded like there was some sort of scuffle going on.
“Oh my God. What are they doing?” I asked no one in particular. All I heard was grunting and cursing. “Babe, please drive,” I said and tapped my hand on the dashboard.
City was damn near tearing down the street. I didn’t think he could go any faster.
Just then, I heard two gunshots, and my heart almost stopped beating.
“Daddy!!” I screamed, almost choking from fear. “Oh my God. City, what happened?” I was crying now.
Then I heard Greg’s voice on the phone. It sounded unbelievably calm. “I need to see Sade. You know where I’m at.”
“Put my father on the phone!” I screamed. I was losing my mind, but the line went dead. “No! No! City, oh my God. He shot my dad?”
“I don’t know, baby girl. Hold on,” City said as he swerved through traffic. He was steering with one hand and reaching for his phone with the other.
“G,” he said after he dialed a number.
“What’s good, bruh?”
“We got a situation. Sade’s ex nigga at Bo’s house. Her pops is there too. I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is we heard gunshots, and the line went dead. Meet me over there. Sade knows where,” City explained.
Listening to him recount what happened felt so surreal to me. I couldn’t believe this was really happening.
“We almost there, baby. Don’t freak out,” City said to me.
I was a wreck, though. I was thinking the worst of everything and just praying to God that I was wrong. Please let my father be okay. Please let him be okay.
Five minutes later, we pulled up to my house. The car didn’t even stop all the way before I almost fell out and ran to the front door.
“Bo!” City yelled from behind me, but I wasn’t listening.
All I could think about was my dad. I barreled through the door and stopped. It was dark inside, and I had to wait a minute to let my eyes adjust to the lighting. I started to feel along the wall for the light switch with my heart in my throat. I felt City run up behind me. He grabbed me and pushed me behind him.
“Where the fuck you at, nigga?” he asked right as my fingers found the light.
The living room instantly illuminated, and I saw Greg sitting on the edge of my loveseat holding a gun in his hands. He had blood spattered on his shirt, and a cry fell out of my mouth.
“Where’s my dad?” I asked and took a step toward him, but City grabbed me and pulled me back.
“Bo, on everything, stay the fuck behind me,” he hissed.
I was shaking like a leaf and felt paralyzed, but I let him push me roughly behind him.
“You sittin’ in the dark like a pyscho. What you want, bruh?” City asked. He was gripping his gun behind him, and I could see his finger pressed on the trigger.
“Where is Sade? I told you I wanted you to bring Sade to me,” Greg said without looking up. He was breathing hard and staring at the floor. I swear this nigga had snapped.
“She ain’t here,” City said and brought his gun slowly in front of him.
Greg must have seen him moving because he quickly pulled his gun up and pointed it in front of him.
“Don’t try no dumb shit,” he said with a sneer.
“Where’s my dad?” I asked.
My voice cracked as I looked around the whole room and didn’t see a trace of him, but I knew what I heard. I heard gunshots. And from what I saw, Greg wasn’t shot.
“Call Sade now. In front of me,” Greg said, ignoring my question. He was staring right at City. “Don’t try no shit, pretty boy, or I won’t hesitate to put a hole in your skull. I lost too damn much in the last week. My whole life has been a joke, man.”
I listened to him, not even sure what to say or do.
“You ever loved someone more than life? Your kid, man? You ever loved a kid with your whole heart cuz you thought they was yours. And then a bitch turns around and tells you that the kid you thought was yours really ain’t? All I ever wanted was to have a big ass family, man. Lots of kids who loved their pops. And that bitch ass doctor told me I can’t even have no kids. Don’t make no sense, bruh. That shit changed my life.
“Who the fuck am I supposed to be now? I can’t be nobody’s father. My girl don’t want to be with me. She left and up under some other nigga. I been with her for five years, and she just left me like that because of this? And she pregnant for the nigga? When I can’t even have no kids? Nah, fam.
“That’s supposed to be my kid in there. That’s supposed to be my fuckin’ kid! If I can’t have that kid, ain’t nobody ’bout to have that kid. You think Ima s
it back and watch my bitch happy with the next nigga and raising the son that’s supposed to be mine? You think Ima just sit here like a punk? Where the fuck is Sade? Call her. Call her and that nigga. I wanna look him in the eye. Call my girl now, Bo!”
I jumped when he yelled my name. His gun was trained on City, and his eyes weren’t moving. I swallowed and pulled out my phone.
“Okay, okay. I’m calling her. Just calm down, okay?” I said.
With shaking fingers, I dialed her number and waited as it rang.
“Bo,” Sade said, and I could hear the tinge of agitation in her voice. I was sure Guwop told her what was going on.
“Sade, I’m at my house with Greg. He wants to talk to you. You’re on speaker phone,” I said.
I turned the phone so she could hear him.
“Greg, what have you done?” Sade asked.
“Where are you, Sade? I need to see you,” Greg said.
“Greg, you need help. Please. This isn’t normal. What you’re doing isn’t normal,” Sade said.
“Sade, I love you, man. That baby you got, it’s supposed to be with me. Look, baby, listen. We can just be together. Let’s just be together and raise this baby like it’s ours, man. It is ours. Ima take care of you and this baby. I know it’s a boy. We can call him Greg. Baby, I love you, man. Don’t do this to me. Sade, come on, let me see you. Please, baby,” he pleaded.
I glanced at City, who motioned for me to slowly step outside. I didn’t want to, but I wasn’t about to start questioning my man. I took a small step back.
“Greg, that’s not happening. You’ve done too much. You need to see someone and work out your issues. I can’t do that with you. What did you do to Bo’s father? You need to tell us,” Sade said.
“No! Fuck Bo and her father. I’m talking about us, Sade! You always worried about everybody else when I’m trying to talk about you and me. What the fuck, girl? Where are you? Bring your ass here now so I can see you.”
“I’m not coming, Greg. You aren’t stable, and I can’t put myself in that kind of danger.”
“The fuck you mean you not coming?” Greg yelled. Out the corner of my eye, I saw car lights pull up outside on the curb.
Greg looked down to push himself off the chair to stand up, and in that moment, City pulled his hand up and fired.
“Bo, go outside!” he yelled as Greg jumped to the side.
I screamed and ran outside as I heard two more gunshots go off.
My heart was pounding as I hid behind the door. I had no idea what happened. After what felt like an eternity, the door pulled open, and City reached for me.
“Oh God,” I said with relief and fell into his arms.
The car door of the car that pulled up opened, and Guwop jumped out.
“Where he at?” he asked, running up to us.
“I handled him,” City said, and my stomach did a flip.
I ran inside after Guwop, and Greg was sprawled out on the floor face down by the couch. Blood leaked out of him from a shot to the face.
“Where’s my dad?” I said and ran past Greg.
I looked in the kitchen, in my room, and in the guestroom, but he was nowhere.
“Daddy!” I yelled as I choked on my tears.
I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do with myself.
As I ran back out to the living room, City ran up to me and stopped me from walking past him. I looked up into his face, and from the look in his eyes, I knew.
“No,” I said, shaking my head and trying to get around him.
“Bo, stop,” he said, trying to stop me, but I started hitting his chest.
“Where is he, City?” I yelled as tears leaked down my face.
City pulled me to his chest, and I started bawling. I didn’t know for sure, but I already knew.
“Where’s my Daddy, City?” I cried as I gripped his shirt, which was now wet with my tears.
He held onto my hand and walked with me slowly to the dining room. A hall closet door was open, and as I walked up to it, my knees almost buckled. My father’s lifeless body was slumped inside the closet with a hole in his chest. The blood had spread out stained his entire shirt, and his eyes vacantly stared out in front of him.
“Daddy!” I screamed as my legs collapsed. If it wasn’t for City holding me, I would have fallen to the floor. “Nooooo. No! Daddy, please no!” I screamed until my ears rang.
My throat started to sting, and my chest constricted. The sounds of sirens pulling up outside my house brought me no consolation as I stared at my father. This man who had been my first fucking love. This man who had loved me no matter what longer than anyone in this entire world. This man who was the only family I counted as mine. He was gone. I would never see him again because he was gone.
“Daddy,” I said as paramedics and police rushed in around us.
They came over to us, but all I saw was him. I didn’t know how I could ever be the same.
20
City
Eight months later
“Calm down, man, it’s gonna be fine,” I said to Guwop, who was busy pacing the floor.
He looked at me then shook his head, his dreads shaking everywhere.
We were in the hospital waiting because Sade was in labor. She’d come in this morning, but they’d kicked everyone out the room because they said the baby was in distress, and they needed us to wait outside. Guwop looked sick, and I felt his pain. I was worried as fuck because I knew how much Sade had gone through to have this baby, and this was my nigga’s first child.
“God, I just need her to be okay,” he said to himself and clasped his hands in front of him.
I looked over at Bo, who was sitting beside me just as nervous. Getting up, I went over to Guwop.
“Just breathe, bruh. She’s gonna be good,” I said.
He exhaled and rubbed his hand down his head.
“Let me go get some water. I can’t even think straight,” he said.
I nodded and watched him walk away. Walking back to Bo, I sighed and slumped down beside her. When I sat, she put her head on my shoulder.
“You okay, baby girl?” I asked and kissed her forehead.
“Yeah. Just want them to give us an update already,” she said.
I rubbed her knee and looked up at the hospital ceiling. The last year had been a real trip. After losing Bo’s father to fucking psycho Greg, it took a minute for Bo to get out of the bad depression that she fell into. But that was my girl, I wasn’t gonna let her go through that alone. She didn’t get out of bed for three weeks, but I was right there with her, bringing her funky ass food and water and holding her when she cried. Looking at her now compared to how she was, I could see that she had come a long way. There were days I could see she that missed the hell out of him, but the smile that made me fall in love with her was visible a whole lot more than it used to be.
Greg’s dumb ass was sitting on a fifty-year sentence. He’d gone through a trial and everything. His public defender tried to argue insanity, but the jury didn’t buy that shit. Yeah, the nigga was crazy, but that shit with Bo’s dad and what he did to Marcus was too much for them to just put him in an asylum. His ass wasn’t getting out till he was damn near eighty. That didn’t bring Bo’s pops back, but I knew she was relieved that he would probably not see the outside until he was damn near ready to die.
I watched Guwop walk back with a paper cup of water and sit across from us. He was distracted as a motherfucker, and I didn’t blame him. He and Sade were going strong. I’d never seen my nigga like this. He was in love with that chick. He would drink that girl’s dirty bath water if he could. Real talk. It was nice, though, to see him finally happy, and she loved the shit out of him too. They were right for each other; they just worked. I knew he was worried as hell about her and this baby. I wish they would come through and tell us some shit.
At least this was the only thing he was worried about, though. The charges got dropped eight months ago. The state had no fucking case,
and the lawyer asked for a dismissal. The cops were pissed but fuck them. The witness changed his story, and there was no one else to back up the charges anyway. Zane never reappeared, just like G said he wouldn’t. He was in the clear, and that’s all that mattered to us. We split that mill, and we were living good. That was the last shit like that I was trying to get into, though. Fuck that shit. I was gonna stick to tattooing.
I looked up and saw my pops walk into the waiting area.
“Yo,” I said and stood to greet him. My mother walked in right behind him.
“Any news?” she asked, giving me a hug then going over to hug Bo.
Over the last few months, Bo and my mom had gotten really close, and Sade had developed a relationship with her too. I had told them she was giving birth, and they had rushed over.
“Not yet,” I said. “We still waiting.”
Pops came over to stand beside my mom. She reached out for his hand, and I couldn’t help but smile. The two of them had finally cut the shit and decided to be together. My mother moved into his house six months ago, and they’d been living their lives together ever since. We hadn’t seen or heard anything from Rigs’ mother, which was a blessing for her because I knew Pops wasn’t weak about going through on his word.
We sat back down and waited. I turned to Guwop to try to get his mind off the situation.
“I spoke to Marcus’ sister yesterday,” I started.
“Oh yeah? What she say?”
Marcus’ sister had moved him up to New York to live with her because when he got discharged, the doctor said he had extensive brain damage from when Greg assaulted him, and he would need care 24/7. We’d put together and some money for him to help her with a nurse because I knew she couldn’t do it alone.
“She said he’s about the same, but the other day he said ‘Guwop and City’ like he was looking for us.
Guwop chuckled. “Nigga was always trying to be like you. I know you saw that shit.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but we should go see him. He might benefit from that.”
G nodded. “You ever heard back from Giselle?”
I sucked my teeth. “Nah, bruh.”