by LadyJ
“Bro, I been doing this shit for a long time and I know firsthand that these streets is cold and it’s only getting worse. These lil niggas knocking off everything trying to come up. We living in a time where someone will rob and kill you right now, then turn around tomorrow and stunt with the shit he just offed you for. It’s sad, but it’s true homie.” Trent paused and hit his blunt again. He spoke as though he held no sympathy for the life he had took earlier that day. It was like he didn’t even care. “I say, if you feeling like you can’t handle this shit no more, get out. Do something with yourself. You’re only twenty-four years old, you have plenty of time to get it right, but this is me.” He held his hand out as if he was introducing someone. “The streets are all I have.”
Trent was born and raised in Hampton, New Jersey. He was born into a big family of six kids. They all lived together with both their mother and father. When Trent was old enough to speak, his parents were gunned down in a robbery. He and his siblings were separated and sent to live with different foster parents. Growing up in foster care was hell for him. He was treated like an outcast and he was abused. On his sixteenth birthday he ran away and ended up in Miami Florida. Since that day, he hasn’t looked back on his old life. This was all he knew and the streets was his home.
“I feel you blood, but I ain’t trying to make this my life,” Nino said, “I got dreams man. I want to be a rapper.” He confessed his lifelong dream of making it big in the music industry.
“Stick with it, and don’t let nobody stop you from pursuing that dream.” Trent encouraged him. “Don’t be like me or your brother, be better than the both of us.” He looked over at Nino with thoughts of his own crazy life running through his head. He didn’t want Nino to end up in his shoes. “Make a change right now, before you get pulled in too deep cause then it’ll be too late.”
“Word.” Nino replied. “I’m about to slide big homie.” He opened up the passenger’s side door and made his exit.
“Aye!” Trent stopped him, “I guess it’s just me now. Take care of yourself blood.” He yelled from the window.
“You too big homie, you too.” Was Nino’s last worlds as he jumped into his car, he headed back to his girlfriend’s house. When he pulled into the yard he wondered why the house was pitch black on the inside. There were no lights shining form the windows, although his ladies car was still parked in the driveway. He found it quite strange that her front door would be unlocked this time of night as he enter through the front door with caution. Flipping on the light, he stepped inside and called her name.
“Samantha! Baby, where you at?” He yelled as he walked through the home turning on every light. “Bae, where you at girl?” He entered the last bedroom and flipped the light switch. He threw his hand up and clutched at his chest; he felt as though he might have a heart attack when the light cut on and the gruesome scene was reviled. “Sam… Saman.” Nino tried to call out her name but his words were trapped within. He took a slow step into the bedroom and threw up all over his self and the carpet. This was the second dead body he had seen in a day. Samantha’s nude body was hanging over the edge of the bed, blood leaking from every angle. Nino got his self together, pulled his gun out, and then stepped closer to his girlfriend’s dead body. From the holes he counted, she had been shot over five times; once in the head. “FUCK!” He yelled. As he scrambled to get his things and get out of there, he noticed the note lying beside his woman’s body covered in blood.
The note written on the torn piece of paper read, it ain’t over!
Nineteen
The muffled cries coming from Moenisha’s guest bedroom was keeping her from going back to sleep. Well, that and the fact that Nino had showed up at her door bloody and distraught. She helped him inside and made him clean himself up. After he had a hot shower, she gave him some of his brother’s clothes to put on and escorted him to the second bedroom of their condo. She had been begging him to tell her what was going on all night but all he would mumble was, she’s gone. “Who’s gone?” Moe asked, but he never said a word. Getting up out of her bed, she walked down the hall, and tapped on the guest bedroom door. Moe slowly opened up the door and entered the room. Nino had curled his body up into a ball in the middle of the bedroom floor. She knew that something bad had happened, but what? She wanted to know just what was causing him so much pain. She had never seen him like this. She kneeled down beside him and placed her hand on his back. Nino jumped to her touch; he didn’t even hear her when she entered the room. For a while she just rubbed his back softly without saying anything. She wanted him to know that she was there for him and to make him feel comfortable enough to tell her what exactly what was going on.
When she finally got him to talk, what she found out hurt even her. She didn’t know what to say to Nino, so she offered him a shoulder to cry on. It was like each of their past was somehow catching up on them. Karma, was one bitch they all had fucked over and now there was no escaping their fate. Each of them had things to hide, things they’ve done in their past and wished they could take back. Though it was far too late to take it all back, there was never an expiration date on turning over a new leaf.
“Just when a nigga was thinking about changing my ways.” Nino mumbled through his sobbing. “Now, I have to go and handle these clowns. I can let them get away with what they did to my girl.” He rocked back and forth as he spoke. “She didn’t have nothing to do with this shit man, that was meant for me.” He added, heart aching and mind running in circles. This was one of the worst days of his life and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. With his head out on the chopping block, any moment could be his last. He had to make his next move his best move. “This is all my fault.” He blamed his self for the loss of his girlfriend. His eyes poured as he body began to tremble all over. Moe threw her arms around him and held him tightly as he broke down in her arms.
“Nino, you can’t blame yourself. Our lives have already been mapped out. This is just all a part of his plan, it was her time.” Moe truly believed in the supernatural world. She believed that their actions could not only come back to haunt them, but the ones they loved as well. “You need to get some sleep.” She said, then helped him to his feet and into the guest bed. “In the morning, you’ll feel a little better.” Moe tried to sooth his hurting heart with her words, but she knew deep down there wasn’t no feeling better in the morning. It’s hard to move on once you’ve lost someone you cared for. It might take him months, maybe even years to find the closure he’ll need in order to move on with his life. It hurt her to see everyone in their crew going through such a tough time in life. Her and Meek didn’t have money like they were used to having, Carmen and Trent were on the rocks as usual, and Roshel and Nino were both going through a great deal of depression.
Moe tucked Nino in bed, got down on her knees, and said a silent prayer for them all before she left him to rest. She laid back down in her bad and tried to get some rest herself but couldn’t. As she lay awake the entire night, she wondered what all led up to this and how they were all going to make it out of this twisted situation unscathed.
The sun had barely peeped through the clouds and Moe was up pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock. She showered and got ready for a long day of hard work. Even though she was down and out, she was still going to the make the best of her day. Moe piled her dope and gun into her purse and grabbed her car keys off of her dresser before leaving her bedroom. On her way out of her home she stopped by the guest room to check on her brother-in-law. He was still laying in the same position she left him in the night before. He had finally stopped crying and fell into a deep, much need sleep. She pulled the covers up over his body then left the room.
Moe hopped in her car and turned her tunes up sky high. She hit the projects first; It was still really early so she knew she would be the only one out on the block. She parked her car at her usual spot at the corner store, then walked down the street to claim her post. Within an hour and a half she had made a th
ousand dollars. She thumbed through the fist full of one’s, fives, tens, and twenty’s once she claimed back into her car. Starting the car up, she checked the time on the dashboard. She had about an hour left before she had to be a work. She swung by Carmen’s apartment. Moe strutted up to her front door and used her spare key to let herself in.
“Carmen, get up bitch.” She yelled upon entering the apartment.
“Bitch, I been up.” Carmen replied from the sofa. She was still laying around in her house coat. The smell of breakfast was coming from the kitchen and Kira was sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons. Moe walked over to her God daughter and scooped her up from the floor. She then flopped down on the sofa next to Carmen. She played with Kira for a while then sat her back down to finish watching her cartoons. “What you doing here so early?” Carmen asked.
“I just stopped by on my way to work to check on you. How you doing?” Moe asked.
“Horrible, I feel like shit Moe.” Carmen replied still torn from the big blow out she had with Trent, and the learning of the new baby. “I can’t do this.” She held her head down shamelessly as she rubbed her tummy so that Moe would know that she was speaking of the unborn child she was carrying. “I will not bring another child into this world when my life is already a mess.” Carmen’s eyes began to water thinking about huge sin she was about to commit. She knew that her decision was morally wrong but it was her life and her choice.
“So, you’re going to have the abortion?” Moe leaned closer to Carmen and whispered as if Kira could understand what she was saying.
“Yes,” Carmen stared off at the wall blankly, “I made my appointment at Today’s Women Medical Center. I need you to be there with me.” She turned her cold eyes on Moe, hoping she would agree to be there for her. She knew that this was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but it was what she felt needed to be done.
“You know I got your back, C.” Moe grabbed Carmen and hugged her tightly. She felt sorry for her friend. She had been through hell and back chasing after Trent’s no good ass, only to keep getting her feelings destroyed. “Whatever you want to do, I’m here for you, Ma.” Moe released Carmen, kissed Kira, and left for work. She called Roshel and checked up on her too as well. For some very strange reason she felt the notion to make sure everyone was okay.
Moe had never worked so hard in her life. It was a Friday afternoon and the salon was humping with customers wanting to get the latest styles. She ran around from the shampoo room to the dryer room escorting clients back and forth. On her lunch break she sat in her car and called Meek; she could never go too long without hearing his voice. Moe fired up a joint and puffed away in her car as she ran her mouth on the phone. From the window of her car she observed two hood chicks switching their way through the salon doors. She was hesitant to end her break and get back because she didn’t feel like being bothered, but she was there to get a check so she hung up her cell and ran back inside.
In the waiting area the women were seated side by side. Moe could hear them discussing something amongst one another as they waited to be seen. As she began to walk away something one of the girls said pulled her back in their direction. Moe walked up on them and extended her forearm.
“Hi, I’m Moe. I’ll be shampooing your hair today, ladies.” She introduced herself to the two women then escorted them both back to the shampoo room. One of the women sat down in the shampoo chair while the other one stood over them and continued to run her mouth. Moe slid headphones over her ears but didn’t turn on any music. She wanted them to keep talking as if she wasn’t even in the room. By the time she had finished washing their hair and set them both underneath the dryer she had learned who had raided the guys trap, and just what they were looking for. Not only did they come for the dope, but for Nino’s head as well.
Moe took her cell phone out of the pocket of her smock and tried to call Nino, only to get his voicemail. She became very worried by the fifth time she called and got no answer. She snatched her smock from around her neck and flew out of the salon without an explanation as to where she was going or if she would return. As she sped out of the parking lot all she could do was pray to herself that nothing had happened to Nino. When she turned down her block, he heart sank as the red and blue lights lit up the night sky. She parked her car as close to her condo as she could, reached in her back seat, and grabbed her hoodie. Stepping out of her car, she put her hood over her head and blended in with the thick crowd of people standing around watching the scene. Moe moved a little closer to the yellow caution tape to see what was going on in her neighborhood. Her body became weak and limp when she noticed that it was her condo the police were running in and out of. She could clearly see the huge bullet holes in her front door and the ones in the wall just past the front door entrance.
“What happen here?” She asked the guy standing next to her.
“I don’t know, didn’t see a thing. I heard the gun shots going off like somebody was having a war. The man filled her in.
“Do you know if anyone was hurt?” she asked as her heart threatened to jump out of her chest depending on the answer he gave her.
“No, I’ve been standing out here for a while. I haven’t seen them bring anyone out,” he replied.
Moe turned around and ran back to her car. She dialed Nino’s phone number over and over. At that point all she could do was pray that he was somewhere safe. She sat in her car unsure of what to do next. There was no way she could go home without the police asking her a million and one questions, and she didn’t want to go anywhere until she heard from Nino. She let her seat back and sat there just waiting. When her phone started to ring she jumped to answer it.
“Nino, where are you? Are you okay? What happened?” She spit the questions out back to back.
“They came to get me. I think I’m being followed. They know my every move. I am not safe anywhere,” he whispered into the phone. “I don’t know what they want, but they ain’t gon stop till they get it.” His voice trembled when he spoke as if he was scared for his life.
Twenty
There wasn’t a day that passed by when Roshel didn’t wake up with death on her mind. In order to keep the girls from worrying about her, she pretended to be happy whenever they were around. The reality of her situation was really bringing her down. She turned her head and looked at the three pill bottles sitting on her dresser. Those were the meds she had to take for the rest of her life. Roshel was in a world of pain when it all came crashing down on her at once. She laid in her bed and cried out loud. Her mother was at work and the house was quiet. She screamed out to God hopping he would hear her plead and save her before it was too late. When she was a little girl she had dreams of being a dancer. She envisioned herself twirling around on her heels in front of the full length mirror her mother had hanging on their living room wall. That was one of the best memoires of her childhood. As a teenager she started hanging out late and getting high with her friends and soon she forgot all about her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She had mad skills on the dance floor and could’ve easily received a scholarship to the best performing arts school in Miami, but she got trapped into the street life just like rest of them.
Constant images of the crazy scene in the club parking lot the night she got shot was starting to affect her mental state of mind. She remembered each painful detail of that tragic night. Who would have ever thought that tossing her drink into a guy’s face would lead to her being shot and paralyzed from the waist down. The feeling of her burning flesh as the bullets penetrated her back was something she would never forget and the three bullet wounds on the small of her back were a constant reminder. When she woke up in the hospital the next day she remembered not being able to move the lower part of her body. Lost and confused, she screamed out for her mother. Roshel had never been so afraid in her life, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what had happened. Due to the amount of blood that was lost at the scene she blacked out and los
t consciousness. It wasn’t until her mother and the staff of nurses calmed her down and explained exactly what had happened to her. She remembered lying there stiff in her hospital bed crying her eyes out. She was only seventeen and didn’t want to believe that she would never walk again.
Sitting herself up in her bed, she pulled her legs up and swung them over the edge of the bed. Her mother would always make sure her wheelchair was close enough for her to get to by herself. Roshel extended her arms and pulled her chair closer to her bed then tried to slide her body on to the seat of the chair, but the wheels wasn’t locked and the chair rolled backwards causing Roshel’s body to crash to the floor. “FUCK!” She yelled out in pain from the busted lip she got from falling on her face. Roshel wanted to lay there and cry but she knew her tears wasn’t going to make it better, so she held them in, sat up, and used her forearms to slowly drag herself across her bedroom to call for help.
When she finally made it to the dresser where the phone was, she tugged on the telephone cord until it fell over on the floor in front of her. The first person she called was Carmen because her apartment complex wasn’t too far away from her mother’s house.
“Carmen, I need your help,” Roshel spoke fast when Carmen answered her cell. “I fell and I can’t get off this damn floor.” She said with anger.
“I’ll be right there.” Carmen replied then hung up the line. She made a U-turn in the middle of the road and heading back in the direction of Roshel’s house. It only took her five minutes before she was speeding up in Ro’s driveway in the little Honda Civic. She got out and grabbed her daughter from the backseat and ran to the front door. Carmen placed Kira down and let her walk as she reached underneath the welcome mat searching for the spare key Roshel kept there for her and Moe just in case something like this happens. She rammed the key in the door, let Kira inside, and then took off running down the hall to Ro’s room yelling her name.