Gee was quick to give his big brother the rundown so he could ease his mind. “Okay, now, Leela, she ain’t as smart as Ava. You can already tell that much before she even opens that good dick-sucking mouth of hers. Leela problem is she fucks with dudes to get what she can out of them far as a few dollars and be way too loyal to the wrong motherfuckers. She been like that for years.”
“My point exactly, so if she can be bought so easy, who to say she won’t sell me out to Crime Stoppers or the next nigga in the city with that cheese?”
Gee replied with a smile on his face. “Come on, now, what crew in this city got more paper than us?”
“True that.” Stackz gave him some dap.
“Look, bro, if she show any signs of selling out, she dead; her and Ava. I don’t give a fuck how long I been knowing them hoes. You know how we do!”
“Dig that.” Stackz sat back, hoping what Gee claimed was indeed credible.
Gee hit the blunt twice more before tossing the tail out the window and continued his rundown of the sisters. “Now, Ava, like I said, got her head on hustling. She going to school to be a pharmacist or some shit like that. She works at some doctor’s office part-time over around the way. Girl be getting the doctor’s scripts and flipping the shit outta them bad boys. Ava can get it all; anything. . . OxyContin, Vicodins, Norco, and Xanax. You name it, bro. Oh yeah, and she owns the two-family flat they living in. She bought it all on her own at an auction.”
“Well, that explains why her crib looks like heaven, and her sister’s crib look like hell. But, damn, nigga, if you all like Ava for president and shit, why you hitting Leela’s nothing ass off instead of baby sis?” Stackz was just trying to keep it real with his little brother, wanting to know the true reason. “Is she gay or something? I mean, why? Put me up on game!”
Gee couldn’t do anything but shake his head. He often thought about how he got caught up with hitting Leela off too, instead of Ava, but the reality was simple. Leela had been giving out free pussy and head passes to guys in the hood since she was eleven, maybe twelve. Ava, on the other hand, was a schoolgirl focused on nothing but her studies. And after her older sister had blessed a guy, so to speak, Ava didn’t want any part of their tainted selves. Gee included.
“Naw, dude, she ain’t gay, not at all. She just one of them females that don’t entertain that bullshit. She a good girl, always have been, ya feel me? And besides, you know I likes them freaks!”
Stackz had seen the type of females his brother would bring around and knew what he was saying was true. Much like T. L., they always went for the crazy-as-hell, window-busting, shit-talking, razor-blade-in-their-weave, let-me-have-some-money-for-this-pussy-type of women. That was their thang. “Yeah, well, what’s up on them pills? She got you plugged or what?”
Gee sped up, nearing their exit off the freeway, “Naw, bro, here’s the thing. Ava been said she’d hook me up, but when I fall through and try holler at her, Leela always manages to find a way to put my dick in her damn mouth. I ain’t bullshitting, dawg, and by the time she done sucking me dry, a guy too tired to discuss business.”
“What the fuck!” Stackz laughed at what Gee was telling him. “Are you serious, fool? Too tired to talk about making money? Nigga, miss me with all that. You betta boss up. Let me find out you out here shittin’ on the family name!”
“Nigga, I’m telling you, Leela skull game dangerous; she got skills; crazy swallow-a-nigga-whole skills.” Gee turned looking over at Stackz. “And yeah, I peeped the way you was rocking with Ava. You just betta hope that shit ain’t in they bloodline, ’cause the same shit might happen to ya ass too!”
Stackz immediately gave Gee the imagine that bullshit expression. “Dawg, I ain’t cut like that. Ain’t no pussy or head better than getting this money, you best recognize. And as for Ava, if she act right, I might just touch the bottom.”
“Okay, now, fam, I’m telling you, it’s some serious skulldullery going on over at that crib.” Gee mocked his brother one last time as they pulled up at their destination. “Okay, Stackz, you’ve been warned.”
* * *
It had been nothing short of sheer pandemonium for the three best friends since deciding to try Stackz. If they would have just kept minding their own business, ate their food, and left like everyone else, things may have been different. If Rank and Mickey could turn back the hands of time, one of them could have been man enough to stand up to Devin and convince him that all money wasn’t good money. That each had looked at Stackz, sizing him up, and could easily see he was not like the other customers that’d come into the restaurant to grab a late-night, early-morning meal. Devin should have seen that much for himself, but either was blind to the fact or just didn’t give a damn. Whichever of the two factors that made him jump for bad had caused him his own life and almost the lives of his two follow-the-leader henchmen.
Dressed in soft powder-blue scrubs, the technician working the day shift aided Rank back to his room. With her assistance, she helped him up into his hospital bed in the Emergency Room. Thanks to Stackz attempting to peal his cap back, Rank had a deep, inch-long open wound from the bullet, narrowly penetrating all the way full force. Having just come back from x-rays, the doctors advised Rank that had he’d been hit a mere three centimeters over toward the right, he’d be downstairs in the refrigerated morgue, laid out alongside his friend.
Rank’s head wound was thoroughly cleaned before they put three staples across it and a white gauze bandage. Having one of his eyes semiswollen shut and his front tooth missing from diving face-first onto the ground to avoid any more of Stackz’s return fire barrage of bullets, Rank was sore all over. He had the worst headache of his life, almost wishing he was dead. Lying back in hopes of getting some rest, Rank replayed the entire avoidable incident in his mind. He knew Devin was wrong as two left feet and knew he and Mickey were misguided for running out in the parking lot trying to be hard, but it was what it was and is what it is. Stackz had killed they manz and one day, someway, Rank vowed revenge to the nigga that’d almost took his life as well.
Out loud through a cracking voice Rank mumbled, “RIP, bro; he gonna pay. Can somebody please get me a charger for my phone?”
Upset and snapping on people because they only had iPhone chargers and he had an Android phone, one of the young nurse’s aides went to the gift shop and bought him a charger. Finally, he powered his phone on, and fifteen text messages from Leela popped up, back to back to back. As Rank read through texts, Mickey walked into his room with his arm in a sling and his shoulder patched up. Since the bullet went in and out, he was able to sign himself out of the hospital and be on his way. They greeted each other and shared a deep sense of shame knowing they got fucked over and their boy body bagged; all three by one man.
“What are you on? Who are you calling?” Mickey asked Rank, who was focused on looking at his cell.
“Dude, Leela has been blowing up my phone and texting the shit outta me. Devin sister came up here on the nut before I went to take x-rays. You know she going ham about, bro.”
“Word,” he replied while trying to adjust his sling a little bit more comfortably.
“You know she was going through it down here. His entire family was. Did they come in your room?” Rank looked up waiting for an answer as he still talked. “She was all up in my damn face like I killed his ass. And as soon as I even mentioned Leela’s name, she went ape shit with her big ass. Dumb bitch wouldn’t even give me a chance to tell her Leela didn’t have jack shit to do with it, but she wasn’t try to hear nothing else I was trying to say. Last I know, she was headed over to Leela’s house on some rah-rah shit. I was trying to call and warn Leela; give her a heads-up.”
Mickey could only shake his head, not being able to imagine what Devin’s family, especially his mother, was going through, waking up to the news no parent or loved one wanted to receive. “Naw, I didn’t see them, but the fucking police came to my room. But you know me, I played the amnesia role on they
ass and said it was some random nigga we never seen before just started spraying the parking lot. I sent them packing, but they ho ass said they was gonna get back at me later! Man, fuck ’em!”
“That’s right, nigga,” Rank agreed, snarling his face at the business card Mickey showed him. “Fuck the damn police. We gonna handle this shit street style; for Devin. Now, let me call this girl real quick before ole girl pull up over there on some ambush shit and get to molly whopping bitches.”
* * *
Unfortunately, by the time Rank was able to get through to Leela, it was too late. Blaming the delay on poor reception in the hospital, he apologized, knowing how Devin’s sister had gone ham on him as well.
“Yeah, the tramp was over here trying to go on me, but you know that type of shit don’t fly in this jurisdiction. Flat out, her big, triple-cheeseburger-eating-ass thought she wanted it, but ended up getting it,” Leela bragged while placing a cold rag on her eye, hoping the swelling would go down. “When you see her, ask her how that head doing. You know that fool left here leaking! Shit, she probably on her way straight to the hospital, ole dumb bitch! I told her I ain’t have shit to do with Devin getting killed but—”
“I already know.” Rank cut Leela off before running down his firsthand account of what transpired after she and Ava were given a hood pass to leave the restaurant.
After hearing everything Rank said, she was heated at Devin for being so stupid to go outside like he was Scarface and Stackz for doing what he was truly supposed to do; protect himself and life at all cost. Leela couldn’t help but think that the man who took Devin’s life had just been in her house. This the same nigga that sat on my sofa, took a piss in my toilet, and I lied to the police about—Gee’s damn brother! What the fuck! Leela wanted to tell Rank and Mickey she’d found out who Devin’s killer was quicker than both of them and the police but decided to wait. Not because she gave a fuck about any of the parties involved. It was all about her and how the information could benefit her.
Rank’s headache was intensifying. Telling Leela they would meet up and talk in a few days once things settled down, she agreed, and they ended their conversation.
CHAPTER TEN
Ava went from her bedroom to the bathroom getting ready to go to work. She’d been up all evening studying and thinking about Stackz. Every time she walked down the hallway, she imagined him snatching her up in his arms. She thought she could feel the strength of his body weight against hers, pressing her on the wall as she tried to break away. Taking a deep breath, Ava inhaled the intoxicating scent of Stackz’s cologne that was still very much lingering near her bathroom door. Normally, she’d spray air fresheners or burn scented candles; but not last night and not this morning. Strange as it seemed, it was as if the man she knew was a murderer of at least one man, and God only knows how many countless others, had her mind spinning. They’d exchanged numbers, and as bad as she wanted to call, she knew it would be in her best interest to just kick back and play the role. If it was meant to be with Stackz, then it would be; one way or another.
Taking a break in between daydreaming about a man she didn’t know, Ava thought about the plays she would make later when at work. That was, if the risk factor was low. Knowing she had to keep an eye on that old nosey bitch, Ms. Heath, who was always in her business, Ava stated devising clever and innovative plans to get her away from her desk and into another part of the building so she could do her dirt. Ava had figured out the first week on the job working at the doctor’s office, that Ms. Heath was the one person in the building having keys to every single door, locked shelf, file cabinet, and medical supply dispensary in the entire place.
Finally heading out the door, she jumped in her car and backed out of the driveway. After getting a call from her mother saying that she needed some extra money for groceries to feed the kids, Ava grew infuriated. She was tired of receiving these desperate-sounding 911 calls from her mom about needing money for this or that where Leela’s kids were concerned. It was bad enough that her older sister had multiple baby daddies that never ever step up to buy a diaper, a bike, a birthday gift, or even offer a ride to the doctor’s office; that was between Leela and her children. She’d have to face them later on down the line in life and explain her poor choices of choosing a man that was a deadbeat father. But Leela was, of course, receiving food benefits for all three of her kids, plus herself. And selfishly, instead of doing the right thing, which would be hand the card over to her mother who kept the kids most of the time anyway, Leela would sell a small portion of it. After doing that, she’d spend the rest on feeding herself luxury food items and various snacks that her many men would eat when falling through to check her out.
As Ava drove, she grew angrier thinking about all the chaos and turmoil Leela had delivered to her front doorsteps since she allowed her to move in downstairs. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. If her sister hadn’t been evicted from the place she and the kids were staying at in the dead of winter, Ava would have most certainly let her go to the shelter like she’d done so many other times since purchasing her home. But no, her mother had connived Ava so she had some sort of mercy for her sister and sympathy for the kids. She’d given in, having been promised by Leela she’d be quiet as a church mouse and be gone in ninety days. Well, it had been an entire year last week on Tuesday, and Leela was still camped out in the lower level of the dwelling, loud as could be, filthy as ever, and cocky as ever, showing no signs that she was even considering leaving. She’d basically dumped the kids over at her mother’s house after the first month of living at Ava’s. She claimed she was out looking for employment, when, in true reality, the only thing she was looking for daily on the regular was some dick.
Unlike her sibling, Ava wasn’t about that life and never claimed to be. She just wanted to go to school, go to work, and come home to a tranquil environment. But just like the prior evening, Ava let her guard down and hung out with Leela and her band of idiots. And what happened to her peaceful existence? It was abruptly ruined. She’d had a gun pointed at her, police knocking at her front door, a strange man snatch her up naked in her own house, and a Class-A beef with a dead man’s big-boned sister. Shaking her head, she tried to get her suddenly messy life out of her mind as she called her mother back to tell her she’d get with her after work.
* * *
Ava’s hustle would not be stopped. She’d gotten five scripts so far today and flipped that well worth over a thousand bucks, all going straight to her pocket. Stuffing her ill-gotten gain into her purse, she smiled, thinking about buying some new living-room furniture later on in the week. As she stood in the bathroom mirror mapping shit out, she couldn’t seem to get the last twenty-four hours out of her mind or the new mystery man that came along with the crazy night.
Not wanting to step on any toes or have any more unwanted beef with females in the street, Ava decided to do her homework. Still not sure if she should have any dealings with Stackz if and when he called, she knew what to do to answer that question. She called her girl that knew everybody’s business you could imagine. She stayed keeping her ear pressed to the ground. Word was, if you want to know anything about anybody, ask Bridget.
Ava placed the call, and she and Bridget talked about the normal shit; who was fucking whose man, who was broke, who had a new car, and what color weave the neighborhood ho had in her head this week. Ava knew more than likely her own sister Leela was the topic of Bridget’s gossip fest on more than several occasions, but who was Ava to judge? She knew the way Leela ran around town passing out pussy and running with jerks, she was gonna be the star of Hot Topics at least twice a week, if not more.
Having had her ear talked off more than twenty minutes or so, Ava couldn’t take it any longer. She had to know what was up with Stackz. Cutting Bridget off in midsentence about Devin’s sister and Leela fighting, Ava bluntly asked her the million-dollar question. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot, do you know a fine-ass dude name Stackz? I think he be getting th
at bread, or at least he look like he do.”
Her girl was turned up instantly, responding with what Ava wanted to hear: the 411. “Girllllll, yessssss! What bitch out here on the hunt don’t know or ain’t heard of Stackz? Shidddd, he like heaven out here in these streets . . . long paper.” Bridget was too geeked as she broke his hood résumé down to Ava. “And, girl, I hear his fuck game got hoes going crazy. I mean, like crazy crazy, you feel me? Oh my God, why you asking me about that king? You got the dick, girl? Please tell me you got the dick! You lucky ho! Is it as big as bitches be saying it is? Tell me.” Bridget was going a mile a minute, throwing question after question in Ava’s direction, hoping to get some dirt and gossip to take back to the next person she spoke to.
Putting Bridget out of her misery, Ava simply answered no, deflating her wagging tongue. “He came by the clinic today, claiming that someone sent him to talk to me saying I had the hookup on some pills.” She lied about their meeting. After all, it wasn’t like she could tell big-mouthed Bridget the truth. “I just told him I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about and sent that boy on his way. He was fine and all, but I don’t know him and damn straight wasn’t gonna do business with no stranger. Shit, for all I know, he could’ve been the damn police!”
“Ava, that’s ole boy I was telling you about awhile ago. I tried to get you to remember, fool!”
“Girl, with work, school, and hustling hard, I don’t pay these men much attention. You know me.” Ava tried to play it off, not wanting to drop her hand.
Bridget was still excited hearing Stackz’s name and was not ready to let the conversation go that easy. “Girl, he’s Gee’s brother; a few years older than him. I used to talk to the younger brother T. L. a few years ago, but he didn’t turn out to be shit.”
I Can Touch the Bottom Page 8