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“Yeah, everything, everything. All the money here. I counted it, but you can double-check.” He nodded towards the duffle bags. “Only thing I heard was about that nigga Slick. I heard he been popping in and out of different hoods getting his hit. Before you start, I ain’t know until Debo and Rico told me. So, I put out word to Black and G-Rod that if he shows his face again, to bring his ass to me.”

Rico ran opps at the Southwest trap. I called his ass Rico Suave because he was the lover boy out of us. Nigga was worse than a bitch. Every time I turned around, he was in a new relationship. I was always worried that his downfall would be a hoe, especially because he had a thing for hood bitches.

G-Rod was the definition of silent but deadly. He got jumped when he was younger, and a nigga tried to slit his throat, so he barely talked, and when he did, it was rough and raspy, but the nigga was loyal as fuck. They all were.

If only my brother had been loyal…

Everyone knew I wanted Slick. That nigga owed me his life. I wasn’t about to look for him, though. I knew he’d show his face eventually, and when he did, his ass would be grass.

“Good look, my guy,” I said.

After we finished discussing business, I chilled with the niggas as we watched a basketball game between the Florida Flames and the Orlando Legends. I bet a band that the Florida Flames would win by more than 10 points. Lennox King had been playin’ his ass off and I respected the young player. He previously played for the Washington Wizards, where he wasn’t given the opportunity to fully showcase his talent. Now, he’s really excelling on the court.

When I left, I had an extra stack of money in my pocket. I carried the duffle bags of cash and decided to drop them off at Last Chance to be put in the safe for cleaning before visiting my folks.

G-pop and Momma were like my parents. They had been a part of my life for every milestone, broken bone, college graduation, first broken heart, and anything else that was significant. I couldn’t tell anyone why my parents disowned me. I wished I could say it was because I decided to sell drugs and made a living out of it, but that wasn’t it.

Charles and Barbara were a match made in hell. I was sure they hated me. That wasn’t just some shit kids would go around saying about their parents, but that’s how my parents carried shit. They had said repeatedly that they only wanted one child, and that was it. They hadn’t known my mother was carrying two babies. It wasn’t until she gave birth that they realized the doctors had fucked up.

Once I turned five or six, that’s when I could recall the first time they sent me with my mother’s parents to celebrate my birthday. When they were pregnant with Chy, I remembered my mom not being overly excited about her either, but she tried to keep Chyanne close. That ain’t work though. Chy was smart, and the older she got, the more she wanted to be with our grandparents and me. Our parents didn’t even try to switch up for her.

Every year I was at my grandparents’ house, meanwhile, Chase was traveling to Africa, Jamaica, New Mexico, and even Las Vegas for his twenty-first.

I barely got a call from my parents. It was as if they were really trying to prove to the world that they, in fact, only had one kid. I used to be mad. Mad at the world, but then I realized how blessed I was to have my sister and grandparents’ love. It wasn’t transactional like Charles and Barbara. My grandparents’ love was real, nurturing, and protective.

My grandparents stayed in Annapolis, Maryland. They owned a lake house, which was peaceful as fuck. G-Pops had been in the streets before I was born and unofficially passed the reins down to me.

Charles and my grandfather argued a lot when I first started as a street runner. My father ain’t want me to be in the street, but he also didn’t try to be a mentor for me. My G-pops, on the other hand, made sure I kept my wits about me. He made sure I knew the ins and outs. He taught me not to trust anyone, especially since I had a blood brother whom I couldn’t trust. When I was younger, I heard him but not really. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood what he was teaching me.

When I got to their home, Momma was sitting on the porch in her rocking chair.

“How’s my favorite lady?” I asked as I approached the porch.

“Don’t let Chyanne hear that. She’d pop out of thin air and beat your ass.” She laughed as she stood, waiting for me to give her one of my bear hugs.

“Hey, Momma.” I hugged her tight and placed a kiss on her temple.

“Ard now, lil’ Nigga. Unhand my woman before I beat your ass,” my g-pop said.

“What’s wrong with y’all? It’s like everyone wants to beat my ass.” I released her to dap him up.

“We didn’t think you were going to show up until tomorrow. You must have something on your heart, boy.”

“Damn, G. How you be in my head so much?” I asked.

“Never mind all that nonsense. Ann, baby. Go ahead and warm up those umm, leftovers. We gon’ head out back to catch up.”

“Okay. I’ll call you both when the food is ready.” She stopped to place a kiss on my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. I missed my boy.”

I continued inside as my G thanked his wife and softly tapped her on the ass. I heard her giggling like a teenager. I always admired the love they had for one another. Although I never thought I would find that kind of love, I secretly kept faith.

Now that my forever had basically bulldozed her way into my life, I was faced with a dilemma I knew wouldn’t end well for me. But I couldn’t keep this lie up. I didn’t see how Chase lied so much and kept up with them. This shit was so draining, exhausting, and hard to keep up with.

I’d rather keep shit a buck and tell the truth. Fuck all that other shit.

When we sat on the deck, I had to take a minute to take in the view of the lake. This was peaceful. A few years back, for their anniversary, I added a fountain to the lake, which created the perfect soothing sound. Maybe because I was getting older, I was starting to appreciate the simpler things.

That’s why I let Trouble do whatever and spend whatever she wanted. None of it mattered as much as it did to me when I was in my twenties.