Page 57 of When It’s All Said And Done

“The payday was too big to pass up, but I’m tellin’ you she can’t stand that nigga.”

“Yeah, ok,” he scoffed before focusing his attention back on me. “Nawl, speakin’ of info what do you know ‘bout yo’ BD’s business.”

“He doesn’t tell me anythin’,” I chided before spitting out blood and a piece of a crown I had done on one of my teeth. “But like you said I can take a lot before I give up any info. So, do yo best just hope you do it before the devil you just woke up comes.”

We silently challenged each other as we held eye contact. The last thing this nigga should’ve expected was me to tell him anything although I truly didn’t know anything. Well, I didn’t know anything about the business, but I knew what I’d just expressed was the truth. From the tone of Nas’s voice, I could tell that the part of him that he’d tried to suppress had woken up. Just as he raised his hand, Desmond grabbed him before informing him that Nas probably had the money by now.

“Just so you know when I get this bread from yo’ nigga I’ma pay him back from doin’ this,” he held his hands in front of my eyes. I noticed each hand had a thick scar down the middle. “An eye for a fuckin’ eye, but in this case a hand.”

They left the room leaving me to my thoughts. I thought of what Nyla could be doing and if she was worried about me. Knowing Nas I doubt he allowed this to cause her pain, so he probably concocted a story about me being away. From what I’d observed over the months as Nas navigated fatherhood, he wasn’t gonna intentionally cause any pain to Nyla. My mind shifted to Nas not him now, but the Nas that I met as a girl walking the block.

Back then, life was a lot simpler. At fifteen, the only thing I was worried about was what I was wearing to school and my mama when she’d get too drunk to come home. A boy was the last of my concerns until the day I bumped into Nas. My mama hadn’t come home the night before and I waited until noon to go look for her. As I power walked down the sidewalk, I was stopped when a basketball rolled in front of me.

I grabbed it to prevent it from going into the road in case some little kids were coming after it. When I turned to throw the ball back, I felt as if the world slowed down as Nas walked over towards me. He was shirtless with sweat running down his chest. His mouth was moving but I didn’t know what he’d said. My eyes drifted down the hair on his stomach to his shorts. The life I could see us living flashed before me as he stopped in front of me.

“You gonna give me my ball back, lil’ mama?” He asked as I was jolted back to reality.

“Oh, yeah, my bad,” I expressed as I handed him the ball.

“Damn, you fine. I seen you a few times in the neighborhood, but you don’t be hangin’ out much.”

“Yeah, it ain’t nothin’ to get into outside other than some trouble.”

“Not if you with me.”

“Yeah huh. Yo’ ass ain’t nothin’ but trouble.”

“Oh, so you know ‘bout me?”

“Everybody knows ‘bout Ms. Eva’s grandson, Nasir.”

“I like the way you say my government but call me Nas.”

“Uh huh. Well, if you’ll excuse me I got stuff to do, Nasir.”

“Hardheaded, I like that,” he chuckled before throwing the ball back towards the guys at the court. He followed me when I walked off. “Where you headed?”

“What you wanna know for? And why is you followin’ me?”

“I’m not followin’ but comin’ with you, and I wanna know so I can know what I’m gettin’ myself into.”

“If you just turn around you won’t have to worry ‘bout what you gettin’ yo’self into.”

“Nope, not gettin’ rid of me that easily.”

“If you must know I’m lookin’ for my mama, Daphne. She didn’t come home last night.”

“Good thing I did come then, Nessa.”

“Wait, you know my name?” I gasped as I stopped in my tracks.

“Just like you say everybody knows ‘bout Nasir,” he stopped a few steps in front of me before facing me with a smirk on his face. “Nasir knows ‘bout you, Vanessa. Now, come so I can keep you safe.”

“Keep me safe?”

“Yeah, Nessa, safe. From here on out I got you, always.”

The trip down memory lane was cut short as gunshots erupted. It felt like an entirety before the shots stopped, and at that point I was anxious to see who’d come out victorious. My heart was beating so fast I could feel it in my ears. Scared of who was on the other side of the door when I heard footsteps outside I didn’t say anything. A few seconds later, the door was knocked off the hinges causing me to look away.