by K. C. Mills
“So what did he say about the red-haired chick.”
“He didn’t say shit. I left.”
“So what do you need me to do? We can go find this redhead bitch and fuck her up, or we can go find Logic and fuck him up. I’m just saying. I’m down for whatever.” Karma looked at Joy with a big ass grin before she burst out laughing. Joy was hurt, pissed and everything in between, but she couldn’t help but smile from being around Karma.
“I just want to stay here for a few days if that’s oaky. I’m not ready to deal with him and I know he’ll show up at my apartment. I’ll have to see him eventually, just not now. I can’t deal.”
Karma grabbed Joy’s arms and pulled her to a seated position before she hugged her. You can stay as long as you want. You already know that.
“Thanks boo.”
“Come on, let’s go tell Lan you’re staying.” Karma jumped up and waited for Joy.
“Don’t you mean ask him if I can stay?” Joy said with a smirk.
“Don't make me cuss you out. He don’t get a say in this.”
When the two of them made it back to the living room, Joy sat on one side of Landon while Karma sat on the other. They both looped their arms through his and laid their heads on his shoulder.
“Hell no, whatever it is,” he said pulling his arms away from them, before he scooted forward and stood up. Once he was on his feet, he folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes, moving from Joy to Karma.
“You don’t even know what it is, so just chill out,” Karma said.
“I don't have to know what it is. I'm not fucking with either one of you like that, so count me out.”
“So Joy can’t stay here for a few days?” Karma asked, looking up at Landon with a pouty grin, hoping it would help her case. Either way Joy was staying, she just wanted him to be okay with it. They had two other bedrooms aside from theirs, so it wasn't going to be a problem.
“The fuck you need to stay here for? Who the hell you hiding from?” he asked with a smirk.
“I’m not hiding from anybody,” Joy said and then laughed.
“Yeah, aight. What the fuck ever. I don’t care, just don’t think y’all about to take over my room with all that girl time shit.”
“You’re so damn stupid,” Karma said.
“I got your stupid right here.” He grabbed his crotch and then winked at her before he left the room.
“I swear I hate his ass sometimes.”
“I heard that shit K, but don’t worry. I’ll fix that for you tonight,” he yelled from the stairs as he made his way up them.
Joy looked at Karma and laughed, so Karma lifted one of the pillows from the sofa and hit her with it.
“Real talk though Joy, are you at least going to have a conversation with him?”
“About what? Him having some bitch at his place when he clearly knew I was coming? That’s just disrespectful.”
“But you don’t know the story so it could be anything. I mean, I’m not saying it’s not what you think, but what if it’s not?”
“Right now I really don’t care. I just need a minute. This is too much.”
“I feel you boo. Let’s order pizza. I’m not cooking and I know you’re not.”
“Yeah that works and plus, you’ll apparently need the energy for later since Lan has plans for you,” Joy said.
“Don’t even, ain't nobody worried about him,” Karma said trying to hide her smile. Right now she was more concerned with her best friend.
***
Logic checked his phone one last time before he got out to go meet with his team. Still nothing from Joy, but unfortunately, he would have to deal with it later. Right now he had to wrap his mind around how his life was about to change. He was officially back; everything about his life was going to change and fast.
When he walked into the house they used as a stash, Gotti was waiting by the door and wasted no time in giving him the rundown. Gotti introduced him to the new members and let him know about suppliers and protocols. Donte had changed a lot of things but for the most part, Logic didn’t see an issue falling back into his role. They had a small but lucrative operation, which meant that until Logic was satisfied that things were running the way he saw fit, he would have to be hands on. That was going to require a lot of time and a lot of explanations to people about where that time was being spent; mostly to his family, Luther, and hopefully Joy.
There were about twenty people present, the majority of which Logic knew and trusted, and some he didn’t know and would have to prove themselves; but for now, he would rely on Gotti to guide him. Logic’s instincts were good, so he didn’t feel like he would have an issue reading his people. He expected some fall out and possibly some loyalty to Donte to create problems, but either way he was prepared to deal with it.
“Logic walked around the room making eye contact with everyone in there, before he stopped in the center to speak. Everyone was watching and waiting, not knowing what to expect. Some of them had worked under Logic before, and the ones who hadn’t, received word about who he was and what kind of man he was; so as far as they were concerned, they would take him over Donte any day.
“Is there anybody that feels like this is not the move for them anymore?” He looked around and waited, but no one spoke up.
“Aight then, I’ll be around working side by side with all of you for a while. Some of you I know and some of you I don’t. Just because I know you don’t mean I trust you, so everybody has to prove themselves. I’m not Donte, I don’t do shit his way, so don’t ever come to me with any ‘how we used to do things’ bullshit. That’s a guaranteed way to put yourself in a position to be off this team. You got issues, come to me; you got beefs, come to me. If your ass ain't happy, come to me. I’m the only voice you need to hear right now. Look around… until I tell you otherwise, this is your family. You look out for each other and have each other’s backs because if I find out any of you are on some fuck type shit, my bullets don’t discriminate. You follow my lead and we’ll all make money. Other than that, I don’t have shit else to say. Any questions?”
They all looked around and some shook their heads to say no, but they all stayed quiet.
“No questions bruh, but welcome back. Damn we missed your ass.” Jon Jon walked up to Logic, dapped him and then pulled him into a brotherly hug.
Logic chuckled. “Remember you said that shit.”
“Fuck what ya heard, I’ll put that shit in writing right now if you want,” Jon Jon laughed. A few others agreed and approached Logic to say a few words, and then they all left to hit the streets, leaving just Gotti and Logic.
“Anything I need to know?” Logic asked as he and Gotti sat on the porch to finalize everything. Gotti was smart as hell and had always been trustworthy. Logic knew that he could count on him to help make the transition smooth.
“Not really; other than the fact that Donte had us moving lightweight product trying to sell less for more. Everything else you know. We just need to hit the streets hard with some good shit for a few weeks, and build again. As soon as everyone knows your back in charge, I’m sure we’ll be making money in no time, but you know it’s gonna be suspect as hell that the same time Donte and Fez disappeared, you take over. I mean, I don’t really give a fuck because if anybody comes at you they can be handled - I got you on that, but you know people are gonna talk.”
“Yeah, I know, but fuck it. It’s done, so it’s too late to worry about it. The bodies handled?” Logic asked.
“Yeah, we’re good on that. There’s nothing left to find,” Gotti said with a grin, thinking about how he watched as Houston cremated the bodies for him.
“Aight then, we’re good.” Logic stood and extended a hand to Gotti which he met with his. The two men locked up and got ready to leave.
“Yo, wait. I forgot dude who Donte was beefing with. His name is Rah. They were into it pretty hard because dude was trying to set up shop around here. I never heard of him but apparently h
e’s been around for a while. Donte kept fucking with him, having our guys rob his guys and shit. There’s bad blood there.”
“So he’s trying to run shit around here?” Logic asked. The last thing he wanted to walk into was a turf war.
“Yeah, from what I hear,” Gotti said.
“Aight, we’ll deal with it. You have any problems let me know. It’s late but I’ll be back in the morning,” Logic said, realizing it was after midnight.
Gotti chuckled, “Yeah, your ass been away too long. The night is just starting,” Gotti said as he opened his car door and got in.
Logic laughed to himself knowing that Gotti was right, but as of now, he needed to run by Joy’s apartment to see if she was home, and then get some rest. He had a lot of shit to figure out, and a little time to do it in.
-18-
“Joy, what’s wrong?” Joy looked up and Cedric was walking into her classroom. She wasn’t really in the mood to deal with him and damn sure not about to talk to him about her relationship issues.
“Nothing, I’m good,” she said and then stood to grab her purse so that she could leave.
“Come on Joy, if nothing else we should at least be able to be friends. We didn’t work and I get that, but it shouldn’t be to the point where we can’t be friends,” Cedric said sincerely. True enough, he was disappointed that things didn’t work with the two of them and even a little upset about it, but he was man enough to accept it and figure out a way to work through being friends.
Joy paused for a moment, looking at him before she smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She walked over to her supply cabinet to get her coat and Cedric waited, grateful that she didn’t completely shut him down.
“So you wanna tell me what’s been bugging you all day? You have clearly been in a funk and I’m not used to that,” he said while he waited.
“It’s nothing worth talking about. Just dealing with some things.”
Cedric smiled. “Translation, none of your damn business Cedric.”
Joy laughed. “Something like that. Maybe not as harsh though.”
“Yeah, alright. I guess I can live with that. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” He held his arm up and waited for Joy to pass. He followed behind her placing his hand on her back, but she decided to let him as they moved through the hallway, in the direction of the faculty parking lot.
Once they reached the exit, Cedric held the door open and the two of them stepped outside.
“I think I have it from here,” Joy said offering a soft smile.
“Yeah, I think you’re safe, but remember I’m here if you need to talk about anything. I promise I’ll be objective,” Cedric said. Joy admired his handsome face but had no feelings for him one way or the other. Her feelings were reserved for one person and as much as she hated it, she knew one thing for sure: Logic was that person.
Cedric leaned in to hug Joy, pulling her into his chest. He held on for a minute, missing the fact that she wasn’t his anymore, and then he released her with a kiss on the forehead.
“I miss you Joy.”
“Have a good night Ced,” was all she offered, and then turned to head to her car. But the second she faced the parking lot, her eyes landed on Logic. He was parked at the curb leaning against his car.
She could see the anger in his face, even though they were a distance apart, but she didn’t care; she hugged a friend, he kissed God knows who.
Joy headed towards her car like she didn’t even see him, but of course he wasn’t going for that, so he called her name with so much bass in his voice that it caused her to turn and look at him.
“We’re not kids, Joy. You at least owe me a conversation,” Logic said as he moved towards her.
“I don’t owe you shit and apparently you don’t owe me anything either; otherwise, you wouldn’t have been kissing that bitch outside your apartment.”
“First of all, I didn’t kiss that bitch, she kissed me. And you would have known that if you had come to talk to me about it instead of assuming shit. And yeah, you do owe me a fucking conversation. That shit right there is worth a conversation,” Logic said, pointing to the spot where Joy and Cedric were standing minutes ago.
“You could tell me anything, so why should I believe you?” Joy asked, still not convinced about his explanation of the kiss she’d witnessed.
Logic laughed sarcastically. “You’re right, but what the fuck do I have to lie for? I don’t have shit to hide. I’ve been one hundred since day one. I told you I have a past and so do you.”
“Keyword - past,” Joy said.
“So that’s your past?” Logic asked, again pointing to the spot where Cedric and Joy had been.
“Yeah, actually it is. The difference being, he didn’t have his lips on mine.”
Logic reached for his head and began to massage his temple. He was frustrated and damn sure not in the mood to be standing in a parking lot arguing about dumb shit.
Joy could tell that he was frustrated, but she was too. He didn’t own the rights to being annoyed, and she wasn’t about to let him downplay the situation just because he saw Cedric hug her.
“Look shorty, we can stand out here all day and go back and forth all day, but when it’s all said and done, it comes down to what you want to believe. That was my ex, she showed up at my place and she kissed me. I checked her ass and then sent her on her way. There ain't shit there. I can’t make you believe that but like I said, what the fuck do I have to lie for, are we even together?” Logic held his hand up and pointed at his chest and then Joy.
He looked Joy right in her eyes and she did the same, but hers housed a confused expression. She opened her mouth to respond, but she didn’t really know how to. They hadn’t really talked about what they were, so he was right. She just assumed that they were together.
“Exactly. So if we don’t even know what the fuck we are, then does that shit even matter?”
Again, Joy didn’t know how to respond so she didn’t, but Logic kept going.
“Are you with that nigga?”
“No,” Joy finally was able to speak.
They stood there looking at each other without saying anything, and then Logic finally spoke again.
“I need you to trust me shorty.” Again Logic looked Joy in her eyes.
She searched his face for an out, because like him, she didn’t want to stand there having a pointless argument, but she also didn’t want to be naive either.
Logic watched her and could tell that she was thinking, but he was getting impatient.
“Joy,” Logic took a step toward her, leaving only inches between them.
“What?” She looked into his eyes, already broken down by the fact that now his body was so close to hers.
“Do you trust me shorty?”
“Should I?”
He chuckled letting his hands grip the side of her waist, while pulling her into his body. “Hell yeah. You got me out here in a fucking parking lot begging your ass to have a conversation with me. That’s some shit I don’t do.”
Joy couldn’t help but smile at his confession, because she knew it was true. She knew Logic well enough to know that this wasn't his type of thing.
“Where we going?” Joy finally gave in and asked.
“That’s on you, shorty,” Logic said with a grin, relieved that she finally gave in.
“How about we go to your place so I can see if you have any more random visitors that feel like it’s okay to put their lips on you.”
He laughed. “Chill with that shit. I can’t control who may or may not show up, but trust me when I say I’ll handle anybody that feels like I owe them anything. I told you a long time ago, you’re the only one who has a say in what I do, and I meant that shit.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Joy said and rolled her eyes at him.
“Just get in the car and let’s go,” Logic said. “But trust me, if I see that nigga even look like he wants to get up in your personal space again, then we’re gonna have som
e problems, trust that.”
Joy didn’t bother responding; she just got in her car and once the door was shut, Logic walked back to his and did the same.
Logic stood across the room, looking at Joy as she sat on his sofa processing what he had just told her. They had been back at his place for about twenty minutes and in that twenty minutes, Logic had explained to her what happened with Fez and Donte, which ultimately led to his decision to take over again.
She listened without really saying much, but now Logic was waiting for her thoughts on everything. He decided to have that conversation first before they got into defining what they were to each other, knowing that his decision about hitting the streets again could change everything about them.
“You trust his people?” Logic’s eyes fell on Joy as he laughed under his breath. He had just laid out details about how he murdered two people, and decided to go back to selling dope, and the first question she asks was whether or not he could trust his team.
“They’re not his people; technically they’re mine and some of them, yes, but honestly, only time will tell and if I feel like I can’t trust somebody, then they’ll be handled.” He could feel the smile that he was trying to hide surfacing.
“What?” Joy said, matching his smile with one of her own.
“So after everything I just told you, that’s the only question you have?” Logic asked from across the room. He made a point of keeping his distance because being near Joy was bound to lead to both of them ending up naked.
She shrugged and then looked him right in the eyes. “I told you I don’t care what you do, as long as your safe and I’m safe with you. If you can’t trust the people who work for you, then that means you’re not safe.”
Logic chuckled at her rationalization of the situation, but then got serious. Her father’s words kept circling his mind and he had to get clarity. “Who is he?” Logic asked.
Joy scrunched her face for a minute before her features softened when she realized what he was asking her.
“Does it matter?” Joy didn’t want to get into a conversation about Rah, not with Logic anyway, and as far as she was concerned, her past was just that - her past.