Worst Case Scenario

by Chenell Parker

  “Baby, you can’t smoke weed in the hospital,” Kalani tried to reason.

  “Man, fuck these people Kalani. My nerves are bad as hell right now. Weed and pussy are the only two things that can calm me down. Unless you’re trying to fuck me in the hospital hallway, let me smoke,” he replied.

  “Just calm down Kareem,” Kalani said as she squeezed his hand.

  Her husband was in a foul mood and she didn’t want anybody to set him off. Still, he couldn’t be in the hospital around sick people putting loud in the air. When they got to the waiting room, Stori and Latrice were sitting there quietly. Stori’s clothes were full of blood but she looked fine other than that. Kalani was surprised that Jarvis wasn’t there but she knew that he wasn’t too far away.

  “Where’s my brother?” Remo asked impatiently.

  “He’ll be fine Kareem. Jarvis spoke with the doctor a little while ago. They were able to remove the bullet and he didn’t lose a lot of blood. They’re getting him set up in a room and then we can all go back there. Now, I know that you’re worried but you can’t be in here smoking weed. Put it out and give it to me,” Latrice demanded in a stern, yet calm voice.

  Remo and Nas had mad respect for Latrice. Not many women would have done all that she had done for them. They were a handful but she stuck by her husband’s side and helped him raise them. She treated them like her own and had always been there when they needed her. For that, they would always be grateful and do whatever she asked them to. Remo put the blunt out on the floor and handed it to his sister-in-law. Kalani visibly relaxed as she took a seat next to Stori.

  “Are you okay boo?” Kalani asked as she grabbed her best friend’s hand.

  “I am now since I know that Naseem is good,” Stori replied.

  “What happened sis?” Remo asked her in a low tone as he squatted in front of her to make eye contact.

  Stori looked around to make sure no one else was in the room before she ran the entire story down to him. Remo’s face was a mask of anger and confusion. He was angry that someone was bold enough to run up on his brother and he was confused about who would do it. Nas didn’t have any enemies that he knew of. Gavin wasn’t a threat but that was an easy fix if he was.

  “I just feel like this is all my fault. I got distracted on the phone and forgot to lock up after my last customer left,” Stori said.

  “This is not your fault Stori. You’ve been doing that for years and nobody ever did no shit like that before,” Kalani noted.

  “Exactly. But, man, I appreciate the fuck out of you, Stori. This shit could have went left real quick if you weren’t using your head,” Remo commented.

  “Family of Naseem Donaldson!” the doctor yelled when he walked into the room.

  “Yeah, I’m his brother,” Remo said as he rushed over to him.

  “Indeed you are. Wow. Identical twins. Well, you guys can come on back to visit. Mr. Donaldson will be sore for a while but, if all goes well, he’ll be able to go home sometime tomorrow. We just want to monitor him overnight for bleeding and infection.” The doctor smiled as he led them down the hall.

  “Thank you so much.” Latrice smiled as they opened the door and went into Nas’ room.

  Nas was sitting up in the bed with some pillows propping him up. His eyes looked low and droopy and they knew that he was full of pain meds.

  “They got you on the good shit huh, bro?” Remo smiled as he walked over to his bed. Kalani shook her head when he moved the covers back and climbed in with him.

  “Hell yeah,” Nas said as he reached his hand out for Stori. She sat on the bed next to him and kissed his lips softly.

  “How do you feel baby?” Stori asked as she rubbed his head.

  “High as a kite,” Nas smirked.

  “Boy, Stori is the muthafucking truth. I need to let her train my baby to bust them guns. I already know I’m a dead man if niggas ever come in the house on us,” Remo said while looking at Kalani.

  “I’m glad you know it my nigga. My mama is a boring ass school teacher who lived a boring ass life. She never dated dope boys and we didn’t own a gun. I didn’t know nothing about the street life until I started hanging with Stori. The only thing I can bust is your car windows,” Kalani said, making everybody laugh.

  When the door opened a few minutes later, Jarvis walked in carrying some bags from Target. The store was right next to the hospital and he went there as soon as he learned that Nas was okay. Hearing that his brother had been shot was one of his worst fears. He was thankful that it wasn’t fatal though.

  “Aww, fuck no! When did you niggas cut your hair?” Jarvis asked as he looked back and forth between his brothers. He knew which one was Nas because Stori was holding his hand. Other than that, he would have been lost.

  “Calm down bro. Just check the tattoo,” Nas said as he showed him his latest artwork.

  “Here Stori, I got y’all some changing clothes and stuff. Y’all can come stay with us until y’all figure everything out,” Jarvis said as he handed her the bags.

  “You sound dumb as fuck. They’re coming to stay with us. We got more than enough room for everybody,” Remo replied.

  “I really don’t want to stay with anybody. I hate that I have to up and move Toi around like that,” Stori replied.

  “I know baby but it’s only temporary. I told you that I was going to buy us a house. It’ll just have to happen sooner than I thought,” Nas said.

  “I know Nas but, soon, it’ll be five of us instead of three. I can’t have two babies and not have a stable place to stay,” Stori sighed worriedly.

  “You know we got you, sis. Don’t stress yourself and my nephews out worrying about that,” Remo said, right as the door flew open.

  Two policemen walked into the room and he smirked when he saw who one of them was. The nurse who he cursed out was right there with them with her snitching ass. She didn’t call the hospital’s security, she called the police instead. She could see that Remo was going to be trouble and their guards weren’t equipped to handle that. Remo locked eyes with Kalani’s ex, Jamar, and he seemed happy that he had the upper hand.

  “There he is. He walked into the hospital smoking weed and he disobeyed my orders when I told him to get rid of it,” the nurse said as she pointed at Remo. She was confused for a moment seeing another man who looked exactly like him. She remembered what Remo had on and was quickly able to identify him.

  “Bitch!” Kalani yelled as she lunged at her. Thankfully, Latrice was right there to hold her back.

  “Relax baby. No need in both of us going to jail,” Remo replied as he blew her a kiss.

  “I can’t believe you, Jamar. You’re really acting like a bitter bitch right now,” Kalani argued.

  “I’m just doing my job. Your husband needs to learn how to follow rules and so do you,” he replied.

  “Stand up and place your hands behind your back,” one of the officers said as he walked over to Remo. Kalani started crying and Latrice rubbed her back in comfort.

  “Are you fucking serious right now? Our brother is laid up in the hospital and y’all are trying to arrest him for a small misunderstanding?” Jarvis barked angrily.

  “This hospital has a strict no smoking policy. We have sick people in here. Besides, he wasn’t just smoking a regular cigarette, he was smoking weed,” the nurse acknowledged.

  “So what? He’s not smoking it now. You can’t be that concerned about the sick patients if you’re coming in here harassing my brother. Miserable ass muthafucker. Don’t worry about nothing bro. You know I’ll be down there to get you. Niggas getting killed left and right and these stupid bitches up in here on this dumb shit,” Jarvis fumed.

  “You need to watch your mouth,” Jamar warned.

  “Or what? Freedom of speech muthafucker!” Jarvis snapped angrily.

  “Damn bro. I knew you had it in you. I feel like a proud little brother right now.” Remo smiled.

  “Aye!” Nas called out to Remo as he said something
to him in sign language.

  “I got you, bro,” Remo said with a smirk.

  “This is some straight bullshit!” Kalani yelled angrily.

  “Calm down baby. Trust me, I’ll be sleeping in bed right next to you tonight,” Remo assured her as he was led out of the room in cuffs.

  “I told you that we would be seeing each other again,” Jamar said as they stopped in the hallway. His partner was talking to the nurse and he used that time to taunt the man that he hated so much.

  “Yep, you sure did.” Remo nodded.

  “You fucked with the wrong nigga,” Jamar gritted as he gripped his wrist tighter.

  “Nah fam, I think you did. Tell me, does your mother still work at city hall? I’m sure she does. That’s probably how you got this job. What about your sister? Does she still work for the post office? I know your brother is a coach at the high school. Your mama got a nice ass house too. I’m sure your late father would be proud,” Remo smirked as he watched all the color drain from Jamar’s face.

  “How… you… look, leave my family out of this. They didn’t do anything to you,” Jamar stammered as he looked at Remo in fear.

  “And I won’t do anything to them either. At least I hope I won’t have to. I’m a fair man though, Jason. You leave me and mine alone and I’ll be happy to return the favor. I can be nice when I want to be but that all depends on you.” Remo smiled.

  “The name is Jamar,” he corrected.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you know that I don’t give a fuck.” Remo shrugged as the other officer walked back over to them.

  “Uncuff him,” Jamar said to his partner.

  “What?” the officer yelled.

  “You heard me. Uncuff him,” Jamar repeated.

  “You know I can’t do that. We have a formal complaint that we have to address. I can’t let him go just like that,” the other officer objected.

  “You can let him go the same way I let your sister’s husband go two weeks ago. Uncuff him!” Jamar bellowed as his partner frowned. It pained him to do it but Jamar needed to be smart about everything. Remo was serial killer material and going to war with him wasn’t worth it. His family meant everything to him and he would never put their lives in danger because of a childish vendetta. He had too much to lose and it wasn’t that serious.

  The other officer grabbed Remo roughly and took the cuffs off before storming away. He didn’t like Remo’s attitude and he hated that he had to let him go.

  “You’re a smart man Johnathan. Much smarter than you look.” Remo smiled as he slapped him on the back and went back to his brother’s room.

  “Kareem! What did you do? Oh God. Please don’t tell me that you escaped,” Kalani worried as she rushed over to hug him.

  “Hell no, girl. I told you to relax. I’m good. The nigga let me go,” Remo replied as he gave his twin a knowing look.

  Nas was that nigga. Remo didn’t know how his brother found out some of the shit that he knew and it wasn’t important. Nas had all kinds of connections and they always paid off. Nas was the friendlier one of the two and Remo needed to work harder at being nice. He wasn’t much of a talker but Nas could use his words to finesse his way out of any situation. They both had different approaches to situations but it always benefitted them both in the end. Now, they had to put their heads together once again to figure out who had shot Nas. Once they did, it was lights out for them and anybody around them.

  “C ome on baby, I hate when you be looking like that,” Nas said as he grabbed Stori’s hand and kissed it.

  A little over a week had passed since he’d been shot and he felt like his old self again. He and Stori had just come back from her six month checkup and his sons were doing fine. Stori hadn’t done hair since the incident at the house and he was returning to the barber shop for the first time once he dropped her off home. Mr. Herbert was the only one who knew what happened to him and he agreed to run things at the shop until he returned. They had been staying with Remo and Kalani, but they hadn’t made a move to secure a permanent place of their own yet. Stori hated the way things were and he didn’t know what to do to cheer her up. Lady was worried sick about her and Toi and she had been in town for the past week, making sure they were okay. Remo got Bee and Eno to help him clean up the house and it looked as good as new.

  “I’m okay,” Stori replied with a forced smile.

  “I know that this is stressful baby but I got us. You be so worried about Toi and she seems happier than you are,” Nas pointed out.

  “Toi just loves you and Remo. All of us being under the same roof is like a dream come true for her. I just hate that I’m not able to do hair like I want to. I don’t like turning my clients down,” Stori sighed.

  “Why can’t you do hair? I got a whole beauty salon in the barber shop. You can even hire more stylists to work in there with you. We can be on some power couple shit and secure the bag together,” Nas pointed out.

  “Hell no Naseem. We cannot work together,” Stori replied.

  “Why not? You got something to hide?” Nas asked with a frown.

  “Because Nas. We talk about shit in the hair salon. I don’t need you all up in my mix like that,” Stori replied.

  “I’m happy to know that. You don’t get to choose now. Working with me is your only option,” he scowled.

  “Boy, you got me fucked up. My clientele is huge and I can go work anywhere. I can have another shop by tomorrow if I wanted to,” Stori noted.

  “I hope you put some good insurance on that bitch too,” Nas said.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Stori asked.

  “Did I ever tell you that I used to play with fire as a kid? I’ll have that shit looking like an abandoned building in less than an hour. Fuck with me if you think it’s a game,” Nas warned.

  “You need help,” Stori said while shaking her head.

  “And you need to stop fighting me on everything. I got too much dick in my boxers to let you wear the pants. Ain’t no need for you to trip anyway. The salon is all the way in the back with a separate entrance. We won’t see your customers and we won’t be able to hear what y’all are saying. I’ll get the office redone and we can share it. I’ll do whatever I need to do to make you feel comfortable. You can even change the name if you want to,” Nas offered.

  “No, the name is fine. I guess I have to start advertising the new location on Instagram. I still need at least another week to set everything up how I want it,” Stori replied.

  “I got you, baby. Whatever you want, I got you,” Nas swore.

  He took Stori to get something to eat before dropping her off at Remo and Kalani’s house. No one really knew about Nas getting shot and that made it harder for him and Remo to get info. When Nas pulled up to the shop, Mr. Herbert was standing outside talking but he walked over as soon as he saw him.

  “How you feeling Naseem?” the older man asked.

  “Back like I never left. I get a lil ache every now and then but it’s nothing that I can’t handle,” Nas replied.

  “I’m happy that your ass is back. I’m over all this mess. I was about to go inside but I’m bringing my old black ass right back home,” Mr. Herbert laughed.

  “I appreciate you for looking out,” Nas replied.

  “Always. How is your girlfriend and those babies?” Mr. Herbert questioned.

  “Everything is all good. We just went to the doctor before I came to work. I just convinced her stubborn ass to come work with me and run the salon part of the shop,” Nas said.

  “That’s a good look. Keep all the money under one roof.” Mr. Herbert nodded in approval.

  “Facts,” Nas said as he saw him off. Once Mr. Herbert was gone, Nas walked into the shop and greeted everybody.

  “Man, I’m so damn happy to see you. I almost fainted when I saw that Mr. Herbert old ass was back,” one of the barbers said as everyone else laughed.

  “Nah, I just needed a lil vacation but I’m back,” Nas replied as he walked
to his work station.

  He was very observant and he immediately noticed that something was different. The work station that once belonged to Carlton had been cleared and the key to the locker was dangling from the lock. One of the barbers noticed Nas staring and decided to speak up.

  “That nigga Carlton just up and quit while you were off. Dude didn’t even say nothing. He just packed up his shit and bounced.” The man shrugged.

  “I heard niggas talking at the pool hall and they said that his two lil brothers got shot. Them lil bad ass niggas be into all kinds of shit. Nobody is saying how it happened but that’s what the word on the street is,” another barber said.

  “Yeah, I heard that too,” one of the customers chimed in. Nas didn’t even bother with a reply. He went straight to his office and called his brother.

  “What’s good bro?” Remo asked when he answered.

  “I’m at the barber shop. Come fuck with me,” Nas requested.

  “I’m on my way,” Remo assured him before he hung up.

  He knew that Nas didn’t like to discuss certain things over the phone. Whatever he had to say must have been important and he wanted to know what was up. Nas sat there deep in thought until his phone started ringing. He didn’t recognize the number so he ignored it. When it rang two more times with the same number, Nas decided to see who wanted to talk to him so badly.

  “Yeah!” Nas yelled into the receiver.

  “Hello Naseem. How are you?” a deep voice echoed on the other end.

  “The fuck is this?” Nas barked angrily, making the man on the other end chuckle.

  “This is Latoya’s husband, Richard,” he replied in an unbothered tone. Nas had been around Lady’s husband a few times when they invited them out to dinner. He was still baffled as to why the other man was calling him though.

  “What’s good Richard?” Nas asked.

  “I’m in town until morning and I was wondering if we could meet up to discuss a few things,” Richard replied.

  “Yeah, I can meet you but I’ll need about an hour,” Nas said.

  “That’s perfect. I’ll send you the address and I’ll see you in an hour,” Richard replied before hanging up.