by A'zayler
“You knew better than to try to move alone.” BB stepped next to Pat before extending his hand outward. “Appreciate that look out,” he told him.
I was shocked as hell to see Pat pound him up. I looked between both of them niggas confused as hell.
“Finish seeing why this nigga shot at you.” A head nod from BB ushered my attention back to Master.
Master immediately began to shake his head. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. I ain’t have nothing to do with that, man. Come on, Egypt. You know me.”
“We don’t know shit.” BB’s calm voice sliced all that lying to pieces.
“For real. We boys.” Master touched BB’s chest with the back of his hand.
BB looked down, unfazed, before looking back at him.
I smiled mischievously. “Surely, you’re not going to stand here and lie to my face.”
“I’m for real. You my nigga. You know I wouldn’t do no shit like that,” he pleaded. “We bump heads and shit, but that ain’t nothing to have you killed for.”
“But Azayna was?” Pat inquired.
Master looked like a hoe who had just been called out in church. His eyes were wide as he looked around at all of us, pleading for somebody to believe the lies he was about to tell.
“Nah, nah, nah. I’m happy for her. You know it ain’t no bad blood about that.” He looked back at me, apparently directing that comment my way.
I scratched my chin. “You sure about that?”
He nodded so hard that he reminded me of a child, and I had to laugh at his pathetic ass.
“Aight.” I looked at BB then at Pat before back at him. “Blue, what was that you said you heard the other day?”
Master’s eyes went to Blue while sweat dripped down his forehead.
“Shid, li’l mama with the bad ass purple cut told me that she heard you and Myeisha plotting the whole thing. Said y’all were salty about Dream.” He chuckled. “Li’l mama was obviously hating on Azayna to even have told me, but it ain’t take much for her to fold on you. Some dick and a few empty promises, and she was spilling her life story to me.” Blue and Pat both laughed, but BB and I did not.
“You really should treat your women better, Master. Them hoes ain’t loyal.”
Although I was shocked as hell that Myeisha had something to do with it, I kept a straight face. She would get hers soon enough. Right now, I needed to handle the big fish.
“That hoe lying. You really gon’ take the word of a hoe over me?”
Blue shrugged. “I don’t know you like that, so I really don’t even care to hear shit you have to say. That’s his old lady. You need to be begging him and not me.”
“Egypt, come on, man.” Master looked at me, losing every ounce of respect I’d ever had for the nigga.
I’d always figured that he was a pussy because of the way he hung around those hoes, but this nigga was real live out there begging. I chuckled and purposely wiped my face with the hand I was holding my gun in. Master jumped back so hard that he nearly fell. Blue and Pat were both cracking up while BB cursed quietly and shook his head.
“Cut the shit, Master. You been at this nigga’s head since you first met me. Just let us know what it is so we can get this shit over with.”
I looked at Pat while raising my gun at Master. His hands raised immediately. I watched him fidget and move around, trying to escape the inevitable. Too bad for him, that shit wasn’t happening tonight. There was no escaping the bullets I had for him.
“Get on your knees,” I told him with a straight face.
He wavered and shook visibly before me as he looked around at the other men. Obviously realizing he had no wins and that his life would soon be over, he dropped his head while lowering to his knees in front of me. I watched him with my gun pointed at the top of his head. I stood there trying to collect my thoughts, making sure there was nothing I’d left out when I heard him start praying.
“Yo, is this nigga really praying?” Blue’s voice annoyed me a little because watching Master pray had sparked something inside of me. “Man, cancel this nigga.”
Pat and Blue laughed and said something amongst themselves as Pat moved so that he was standing on the side of the car and out of proximity of Master’s blood spill.
“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as it is in Heaven, Give me this day, my daily bread,” Master’s shaky voice recited the Lord’s prayer.
“You good?” BB whispered.
I nodded and clicked my gun, causing Master to speed up his prayer.
“Forgive me of my trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever amen.” Master sped through the ending of his prayer and dropped his head deeper. “I pray that God forgives us all.”
My nerves were shot the fuck out as I listened to him with my heart shaking in my chest. I’d shot plenty of niggas in the past, even killed a few, and hadn’t blinked once. Now, I was standing there and couldn’t hardly see straight because of that nigga’s prayer.
“You got it?” BB was in my ear again. “If not, you ain’t got to do this.”
I stood there, still pointing my gun. I could see Blue and Pat out of my peripheral, while BB stood in my ear speaking quiet enough for only he and I to hear him.
“You could always let the streets handle him.”
I shook my head and squeezed the handle of my gun.
“I got to.”
“What you waiting on then?”
I took one deep breath after the next as Master’s last words resonated through my head. I pray that God forgives us all. One final breath, the closing and reopening of my eyes, and I pulled the trigger. Lord, forgive me.
Chapter Sixteen
-Zebrina
“Babe, hurry up. Azayna said she was going to call us in a minute.” I pulled BB’s hand, leading him to out the sandy beach behind our house.
The sun was out and shining brightly as it always did in Hawaii. That place was truly paradise. We’d flown there the morning after Master’s body was discovered and hadn’t looked back since. We both had been homesick in the beginning, but after actually allowing ourselves time to get accustomed to the peace and safety of our new lives, we were in love.
All the beautiful people and honorable customs was nothing like Florida, and for that, I was thankful. On top of overdosing on all of the good food and fun things to do, my love and I were free. He no longer had to spend late nights in the streets while I sat at home worrying about him.
I honestly didn’t know what made me the happiest, whether it was my mother no longer being able to breathe down my neck and judge every move I made with my husband or the fact that I no longer had homework up to my ears. I’d quit medical school and planned to be a full-time mother and wife. BB had been against it but eventually left me alone about it.
The fact that he hadn’t had a crisis since we’d been here, and we’d been living off love for months now had helped him accept my choices. After all, it wasn’t like we needed the money. Between what he and I both had from our previous lives, we were set forever.
“You just want to live and die on this beach, don’t you?” BB questioned while lowering himself into the sand.
I made myself comfortable between his legs before answering. “That’s the plan.”
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head before rubbing my stomach. “You think she’ll be considered Hawaiian since she’ll be born here?”
“Yep. She’s Hawaiian, and so are you and I.” I snickered while he shook his head at me. “We’re from here too, so get used to it.”
“Baby, I am used to it. This is us, and to be real, I love it.” He looked out at the water, “You know I’ve always been real chill. This place is the perfect vibe for me.”
“For us.”
“Yeah.” He trailed off, and I could tell he was thin
king. Seconds later, he proved me right. “You still don’t want to tell your mother where you’re at? I mean, I don’t have no family, so I’m straight, but you’re close with your people.”
“Nope. I’ll go visit her whenever I feel like it and keep talking to her on the phone, but she’s not about to get on my nerves.” I shook my head as I thought about how bad she’d gone off about BB when she’d found out I left Miami with him. After not hearing from me for nearly two months, the next time I called her, she’d had a better attitude. “All I need and want is you, BB. Nothing else.”
He kissed my shoulder. “Me too.”
We sat quietly for a minute before he said something else.
“Egypt said he was going to bring Azayna after y’all have the babies so they’ll know each other.”
I smiled because Azayna had already told me that, and I’d been excited ever since. “You ready to see Egypt ain’t you?” I looked up at him, and he was smiling.
“Hell yeah! That’s my li’l nigga, man. I miss him.”
“He’s doing so good too. Azayna told me about how much he’s been changing. You’re going to be so proud of him.”
“Already am.”
I stared up at BB, falling deeper in love with each breath I took. “BB, you know I’d go to the end of the world for you, right?”
He nodded before looking down at me. “Why?”
“Because you’re everything to me.”
He smiled and winked. “Why?”
“Because you love me.”
He nodded and kissed me that time. “You know why I gave everything up for you?”
I shook my head and smiled. “No, why?”
“Because you and baby Blaze are everything to me.” He grabbed my growing stomach.
“Why?” I flipped his game back on him.
“Because I love you.”
That beautiful and calm angelic spirit that I’d fallen for years ago was still there and still my favorite part of him. I could literally stare at him all day and would have started right then if my phone hadn’t been ringing with a FaceTime.
“It’s Azayna.”
He kissed my face. “I’m glad we did this. All I’ve ever wanted to do was love you forever.”
“You do that, baby. And you do it so well.” I blew him a kiss before answering Azayna’s call.
She and Egypt were the only two people that we spoke to regularly. They were like the mini versions of us, and that included the love they shared. I was happy, my man was happy, and the only people I considered family was happy. That was more than enough for me to live complete and happily ever after.
-Azayna
Tears fell from my eyes as I stood at the front of the church, holding my phone up. One of my hands was clasped tightly beneath my belly as I watched the pastor help Egypt out of the baptism pool. Dressed in all white with his dreads dripping with water, he moved out of the water for the next person to get in. Of course, I was dying to get to him, so I took off up the side of the church and through the door leading to the back.
When I got outside, all of our family was there. Logan, Yeshi, and her two friends Killian and East. Yeshi had the hands of their boys while Logan embraced Egypt tightly. My eyes watered again as I watched her hug him and whisper things in his ear. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I could see her lips moving.
“I’m so happy for him,” Zebrina said.
She and I were on Facetime and had been for the entire baptism. Egypt hadn’t wanted her and BB to miss it, and Brina wasn’t going to allow it either. They’d called us as soon as we’d gotten out of bed that morning and hadn’t hung up since.
“Me too, girl. He finally got what he wanted, he’s been talking about it for weeks.” I waddled toward Egypt and Logan.
Not wanting to interrupt their moment, I stood there quietly, allowing him to receive all of the love she’d been trying to give him for years. We hadn’t been in Atlanta any longer than three months, and Logan hadn’t given Egypt a break yet. She was constantly loving on him, calling, texting, anything. Whatever she felt compelled to do, she did, and I was so happy for him. He needed that.
“Azayna.” He spun around looking for me, not realizing I was right next to him.
I opened my arms for him to hug me, not caring that I was probably about to be soaked like Logan was. Our embrace was just as tight as he and Logan’s had been and filled with so much feeling.
“I love you.” He kissed the side of my face and squeezed me tighter.
“I love you too.”
He held me for a while just breathing against my neck. When he finally pulled away, he grabbed my face and kissed my mouth. All gas, no brakes, we tongued each other down like we weren’t on church grounds.
“Alright, you two.” Zebrina’s voice made us both laugh. “Because I already know y’all kissing. That’s all y’all do.”
I raised my phone, so we could see her and BB. Her face was clearly visible and just as beautiful as it always was, while the bright sun in their background shined a glare on BB’s, making him look like an angel. My heart dropped as I marveled at our friends. Facetime had become the norm for us, and I hated it. I missed them both so much and wanted nothing more than to see them in person, but our current circumstances didn’t permit that.
“I’m proud of you, Egypt,” BB said as soon as we all came into plain view.
“Appreciate that, big bro. I miss you, blood.”
Zebrina smiled at BB before looking back at us. “He misses you too, Egypt.” She pecked the side of BB’s face. “He’s been so emotional. Y’all forgive him.” She snickered as BB’s head dropped, and he ran his hand over his face.
“Leave my boy alone. It’s all love with us, you know that,” Egypt told her.
“For sho,” BB told him while throwing up the Blood’s gang sign.
I watched Egypt do it back before telling them that we’d call them later. After a few more hard goodbyes, we hung up. Zebrina and BB had left Dade County a day after finding out that Master had been murdered and hadn’t been back since. Between me grieving Master’s death and Egypt suffering from the rapid departure of BB, we finally came to terms with moving. We’d both tried to put it off, but once being in Florida became more of a task than regular life, we threw caution to the wind and left.
Our move to Atlanta hadn’t been an easy one, but it had been worth it. Things were finally starting to look up for us, and I was thankful for that. Master’s death had nearly broken me, and I’d thought it would anger Egypt, but surprisingly, it didn’t. He’d actually seemed just as shook as me. He refused to speak on it but allowed me to vent to him as much as I needed to.
For a while, I’d speculated it might have been Egypt who’d done the killing, but after seeing the way it had gotten to him too, there was no way he could have done it. With his murder going unsolved and being chopped up to another Miami murder, I’d never get my closure, and I was actually okay with that. As long as I had my man and my family, I’d be okay.
Pat hadn’t been too happy about my abrupt move either, but he’d been visiting me twice a month since I’d left and promised to continue. Our relationship was growing stronger than ever, especially, since he’d taken care of Myeisha for me. A part of me felt bad that he’d had Blue kill her, but the other part didn’t give a damn. Her sheisty ass probably had it coming anyway.
Overall, our move had been exactly what my boo had needed. Hanging with Logan and Yeshi every day had helped Egypt really find himself, and I couldn’t be happier. For him to have hated the ground that Yeshi walked on, they’d been like brothers since we’d been here. Egypt was always venting, and Yeshi was there to listen and give advice. I was happy he had him because just like there were some things I preferred to tell Zebrina and Logan, he preferred the same with Yeshi and BB.
“How you feel?” Yeshi asked Egypt as we approached them.
Egypt smiled widely. “Free.”
They all smiled at him as Logan jumped up and
down once while clapping. “That’s because you are. Free from all of your sin and pain.” Her eyes watered again. “Mommy would be so happy.”
Egypt wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her into another hug while we all stood around smiling at them.
“Well, hopefully, now I’ll see her again, and I can tell her all about it.”
“Yes! In Heaven!” Logan yelled dramatically before crying.
Being that Zon was still holed up in my belly, preparing to come out any day now, I was still a ball of emotions, and it took nothing for me to cry.
“Girl, have that baby!” Logan’s friend, East, yelled. “I’m sick of you and all this crying.”
Logan looked at me while wiping her face. She waved East off with a laugh and grabbed my hand then smiled at me.
“You know you’re next, right?”
“Next for what?” I feigned ignorance.
“To get saved. Don’t run from it. Salvation is life.”
I smiled at her then at Egypt.
“Will that mean we’ll be together forever then?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
“Forever.” He winked.
That was all I needed to hear. Egypt was my soul mate. He and I had found each other at just the right time and held each other down through it all. I loved him to death, and if I had to go to God to be with my man, then so be it. I’d give my entire life over to the Lord as long as I could have Egypt in return. He was my love and my happiness; surely one lifetime wasn’t long enough for us. We needed eternity, and since God specialized in leading us to the golden roads of forever, I was in it… forever.
…Sincerely, A’zayler
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