Supreme finished the rest of his juice before speaking. “I’m killing everybody. I thought I told you this. You thought I was fuckin’ around? I’m being real careful. I’m real strategic in everything I do. You know this.
Mark looked at his longtime friend. He could tell Supreme was losing it. “Yeah, a’ight. Well, go clean yourself up. You look a fuckin’ mess.”
Supreme chuckled. This was the first time in a while that he’d actually laughed. It felt good.
“I’m about to go take a shower right now then head back up to the hospital.”
“Cool,” Mark said as he walked over to the refrigerator and helped himself to drink. “Hurry up. I’ll go up there with you.”
****
When Bear got in the house, he decided to call Rosco. He hadn’t spoken to him in weeks and he was curious to know what happened with the job he had instructed him to do. Rosco’s phone rang twice before he picked up.
“What’s good?” Rosco asked when he answered.
“Ain’t shit,” Bear said as he got comfortable on the couch. “I ain’t talked to you in a while.”
“Yep, been real busy lately,” Rosco said.
“How that go? You know that situation I had you take care of for me? You ain’t never get back to me on that.”
“Oh yeah, I took care of the mommy duck and baby duck like you told me.”
“Good,” Bear said as he stretched out on his couch. “I figured as much since I haven’t heard from shorty.”
“While we’re on the subject, I do need that bread you promised me for the job.”
“I got you nigga. I’m glad you handled that for me. London had to go. I didn’t need her telling Supreme I was the one who tried to off him in front of Mr. Charlie’s. She just knew too much. Just for handling that for me, I’ma give you an extra G.”
“Cool! Hell yeah!” Rosco was excited as he thought of the money he was about to receive. Rosco got real quiet before speaking again.
“I can’t believe you had me off your baby duckling.”
Bear’s thoughts went to his first born, his son Lil Quan. “That lil duckling would’ve been a problem in the long run. Plus, I never wanted any ducklings anyway so the lil duck had to go. It’s better this way, but anyway, where are you? Give me about two hours and I’ll drop the money off.”
“I’ll be at the King of Diamonds. They got that boxing match between the strippers tonight,” Rosco said.
“They havin’ that shit tonight?” Bear asked excitedly. He was ready to see some ass and titties flopping around.
“A’ight then nigga, I’ll see you there then,” Rosco said before hanging up.
Bear got up and went into his room to pick out his clothes. He didn’t even think about taking a shower. As he browsed through his clothes, he smiled when his thoughts drifted off to Choice. He wanted to see her face. He would be sure to go up to the hospital with Supreme to visit her.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll just ask the nigga if I can tag along. Maybe I’ll take her some flowers or something.”
****
Mr. Charlie sat in Choice’s room quietly as he watched TV. He was distraught. The doctors had given him a hard time about seeing Choice. When he had begged and pleaded to see her, they agreed to let the old man see her briefly. The doctors hoped that Supreme wouldn’t be too upset with them about it. Supreme had given them a list of people that were allowed to visit Choice and the old man’s name wasn’t on the list.
On top of that, he’d also paid cash for Choice’s stay and they didn’t know how much pull Supreme had in the hospital. They were scared to lose their jobs. But the old man had looked genuinely upset so they had agreed to let him see her.
Mr. Charlie looked over at Choice. He started contemplating in his head the things he had to say and the things he needed to tell her. These were the things that had been running rapidly in his head since he had found out about her being in the hospital. He had to tell her the truth more than ever now, a truth that would either bring them closer together or tear them apart.
Mr. Charlie brought her hand up to his mouth to give it a kiss then bent his head down to say a silent prayer for Choice. When he was finished, he sat back down in the chair in looked over at Choice and smiled. She looked so much like -.
Mr. Charlie’s thoughts were interrupted when Supreme walked into the room with another young man. He noticed Supreme grimace when he saw him in the room with Choice. He hoped there wouldn’t be any trouble.
“Hey son, I was just leaving. I hope I haven’t caused any trouble for the doctors here. I pleaded to see her so they let me come back here briefly. I don’t mean to cause any harm.”
Supreme looked over at the old man and smiled. “You said you just got here so why are you in a hurry to leave? I know how much you care about Choice and how much she cares about you. Continue your visit. I’ll go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat,” Supreme said as he walked over to Choice’s bed and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I really appreciate this son, I really do. You’ll never know how much this means to me.”
“No problem. Come on, Mark. Let’s get something to eat. I know you gotta be hungry,” Supreme said as he walked out of the room. “I gotta call Petey anyway.”
Mr. Charlie sat back down in the chair and finished the one-sided conversation he was having with Choice.
CHAPTER THREE
Petey sat in his Eldorado in front of Karen’s apartment puffing on a Graycliff cigar. He’d been sitting outside of her apartment for twenty minutes in deep thought. He knew Karen didn’t have a clue that Choice was lying in a hospital bed. If she did, she would’ve been up there with her. Petey knew how Choice felt about her Mom. He knew she wouldn’t want her Mom coming up to the hospital. Karen would make a big scene and embarrass Choice but he felt that this was something she needed to know. It was only right.
Petey turned down the YG song he’d been listening to then finished off his cigar. He let the last bit of smoke escape his mouth before stepping out of his car. It was raining lightly but Petey ignored the rain as he swiftly walked up the stairs. He would just let her know what was up with Choice and then he would leave. Petey knocked on Karen’s door. He could’ve sworn he heard movement on the inside so he started knocking with force.
“Yo, Mrs. Karen, it’s me, Petey. Open up,” Petey yelled as he relentlessly pounded on the door.
“Yo Petey!”
Pete stopped knocking and looked over the railing to see who was calling him. It was Granny, Karen’s neighbor. Pete was surprised to see that the older lady had come out of her apartment and into the rain to address him.
“Wassup. Have you seen Mrs. Karen around?”
“No, I haven’t seen her around lately. The last time I seen her was two days ago. She was going into her apartment. She looks real bad. I guess the Eddie’s death is getting to her. I haven’t seen her leave so she gotta still be in there.”
Petey looked back at Karen’s door. He was sure he had heard a noise coming from the inside. Maybe Karen didn’t want to be bothered and all he could do was respect that.
“I’m the eyes and ears around here. I would’ve seen her leave,” Granny said trying to convince Petey even more.
Nosy ass, Petey thought to himself. He couldn’t stand nosy muthafuckas. “Well, if you see her, tell her to call me. She got my number,” Petey said as he walked back downstairs.
“I sure will. Hey, tell Choice and Kyree that I said hi,” Granny said as she closed her door.
Petey turned around with a confused expression on his face. He wanted to tell her that Kyree was not with Choice and that she should’ve been with Karen. Instead of doing so, Petey turned back around and got into his car. He looked up at Kyree and Choice’s bedroom window. He hoped Kyree was okay but Petey found it odd that Granny would say that. At the moment, Petey couldn’t dwell on it because he already had too much on his plate to deal with.
Things with Ashl
ey weren’t right. If things with Ashley weren’t right that meant home wasn’t right and that was a big problem. Then there was the situation with Choice getting raped. That shit was mentally draining. He would even have nightmares about the way he had found her. Petey was determined to find out who did that to Choice. When he did, Petey would make sure that they died slowly.
If that wasn’t enough, he had to worry about the niggas he broke bread with on a daily. They weren’t as tight as he thought. Shit wasn’t adding up with certain niggas. At this point, everybody was the enemy.
He pulled up to Platinum Plus. It wasn’t as fancy as King of Diamonds but it wasn’t the worst strip club either. It was a laid back small establishment with a small crowd. Petey walked in and went straight to the bar to order a bottle of Cuvee Annamarie. He looked at couple of strippers walking around before taking a seat in front of the stage. Drake’s 305 was on full blast as two strippers danced up on stage together. Petey enjoyed the show that the strippers were putting on for him. He bobbed his head as he sipped on his Cuvee. He picked up the stack of fifties and twenties and walked over to the stage. He made it rain on a stripper while the other one climbed up the pole then slid back down the pole into a split.
Petey licked his lips as he watched the girl spread her legs and play with her pussy. He loved women, money, and anything expensive, but none of those things could ever compare to Ashley. She held his heart in her hand. He could hear his phone ringing in his pants pocket but ignored it as he watched the strippers do the freakiest things to each other. Pete would call the person back when he was done watching the freak show.
When the strippers were done performing, Petey took his phone out to check his missed calls. He had one from Paris and one from Supreme. He called Supreme back as he walked out of the strip club and to his car. Supreme answered immediately.
“Wassup fam?” Petey asked into the phone as he pulled out a blunt filled with kush. Pete lit the blunt then leaned his car seat back.
“Ain’t shit. Where you at?” Supreme asked.
“I’m at Platinum Plus. What’s up?”
“I want you to go over to Choice’s mother’s apartment and check on Kyree. I know Choice would want us to do that.”
Petey sat up and messed with his dreads. “You know what the crazy thing about that is. I already went over there. Karen didn’t answer the door but I did speak to their neighbor. She said that she saw Karen and that she had looked real bad. But Karen didn’t answer the door for me. I know she was in there somebody had to be, because I could hear movement coming from the inside. I started pounding harder and yelling my name but still no answer. I told her neighbor to tell Karen to call me though. But the lady did say something that stuck out. She said to tell Choice and Kyree hi.”
“That’s strange,” Supreme said. “Why would she say that shit? I hope Kyree is okay, I’ll stop over there. Maybe their mom will answer the door this time. if I have to, I’ll even take Ky and see if Nana can watch her I’m pretty sure she won’t have a problem with it. Anyway, I was calling you because I’m trying to get all the niggas together and about an hour or so at Da Cage.
“Enough said. You know I’ll be there.”
“Cool. I’ll see you there then.”
Petey hung up with Supreme then started up his car.
****
Supreme stood in the front of the room at Da Cage. He looked each of his boys in their eyes as they sat in their chairs waiting on him to speak. He took his time to think about what he wanted to say before speaking because the subject at hand was a very touchy one for him. Supreme cleared his throat then looked over at Bear who sat in the far right corner.
“Thanks for the flower arrangement you sent earlier today,” Supreme said.
Bear acknowledged what Supreme said with a head nod. Supreme continued on with what he had to say as he looked everyone in their eyes.
“This shit’s been eatin’ at me lately. I’ve been doing shit that I usually wouldn’t do, Shit I would usually pay the goblins to handle for me.” Supreme chuckled then shook his head. “The nigga that did this shit to my girl is still out in the muthafuckin’ streets. He touched something that didn’t belong to him. He violated. I gotta know who this nigga is and how he knew where I lay my head. Maybe he followed her home one night.”
Supreme stopped talking as he looked at his crew, his boys. “We haven’t found out anything yet? Y’all niggas ain’t got no leads? I got money on this nigga’s head and ain’t nobody got shit for me. It’s just a matter of time before I find out who did the shit. I’m goin’ to let my conscience be my guide with this one. I have to. That’s the only way I’ll be able to find the muthafucka because y’all niggas ain’t doin’ your job. When I do find out who this nigga is, its gon’ be a bloody one. So I guess this meeting is pointless because y’all ain’t got shit for me.”
“Aye boss, I do have a question though. Are we still trying to get at them niggas who kicked it with Spliff? You wanted all them niggas bodied, right? We took out Juicy. He got two more niggas he kicked it with. I got some info on them. Their names are Wise and Butter. So what’s up, Boss? You ready for us to take care of that?” Dylan asked.
“Nah Dylan, it’s good to see that you ready to take care of business but let them niggas breath for now. Keeping your ear to the streets to find out who did this shit to Choice is our number one priority. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to put them niggas down to sleep. Hold up, what are their names again?” Supreme asked.
“Wise and Butter,” Dylan said as he made eye contact with Supreme. Supreme knew he’d heard the name Wise before; he just couldn’t figure out where he heard it.
“Yo fam, let me holla at you real quick,” Petey said as he stood up.
Supreme and Petey walked over to a corner to speak and private while the rest of the crew talked amongst themselves.
“When you went to Mrs. Karen’s, did she answer the door for you?”
Supreme shook his head. “No, but I hope everything is good with her and Kyree. I know Choice be having problems with her mom and shit, but you know she wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, especially since she got Ky.”
“Kyree is Choice’s pride and joy so I’m hoping that they are fine,” Petey said.
Supreme’s phone started to ring so he took his phone out of his jeans to see who was calling him so late at night.
“Hold up,” Supreme said as he held up his hand to Pete. “I gotta take this. It’s the hospital.”
Supreme rested his right hand on the top of his head as he listened to the doctor. The room was quiet as the crew waited for Supreme to let them know what was going on. He had their full attention.
“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” he said into the phone before hanging up.
“She’s awake. They just told me Choice is awake.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Choice opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurry and her eyes started to hurt from the bright lights. Her mouth was dry and pasty and her tongue felt heavy. She fought through the pain as she tried to focus on items in the room. Her vision started to become clearer as she looked at the doctor standing by her bedside checking her vitals. Choice tried to speak but she couldn’t. Her throat was scratchy. It felt like she had swallowed a whole bunch of rocks. It was painful to speak. She cleared her throat and tried to speak.
“Excuse me,” Choice spoke low. The doctor turned around and smiled at Choice.
“Hold on, my dear. Let me get you some water. This should help with the discomfort that you’re feeling. “You haven’t used your voice in nine days,” she said as she poured Choice some ice-cold water. “Here drink this.”
Choice took the water from the doctor and drank all of it. She gave the cup back to the lady for more water. The doctor giggled as she poured Choice some more water. Choice looked at the lady’s nametag. The doctor’s name was Dr. Melissa Ralph.
“How long have I been here? Did you say nine days?”
&
nbsp; “Yes, Miss Little, you’ve been here for nine days.”
Choice squinted her eyes as she looked around the room. She tried to remember how she had gotten there but she couldn’t. Choice put her hand on top of her stomach. She gasped when she remembered she was pregnant.
“Is my baby okay?” Choice asked as she tried to sit up a little but it was difficult and painful.
“Your baby is fine,” the doctor said as she smiled at Choice. “Your boyfriend David has been sleeping up here every night with you since you’ve been here.”
Choice’s heart leaped in her chest when she heard his name. Supreme had been up here every night that little information caused her to smile.
I’ve called him to let him know that you’re finally awake. He should be on his way.
“Can you help me to the restroom?” she asked the doctor.
Choice’s bottom was so sore and she had no idea why. The doctor took the catheter out of Choice then helped her out of bed. Choice’s legs felt like Jell-O as she struggled to walk to the restroom. It felt like her legs were going to give out with each step she took. When she got in the restroom, the first thing she did was look at her reflection in the mirror. She had a couple of small cuts and bruises on her face. Other than that, Choice looked fine. She washed her face then brushed her teeth. When she was done in the restroom, the doctor helped Choice back to her bed. She grimaced from the pain when she sat on the bed.
“If you’re in pain, I can get you something.”
Choice nodded her head. “Yes please,” she said as she got comfortable on her side.
“I’ll have the nurse bring you something for the pain. “ Feel free to press the red button on your bed if you need anything.”
Choice smiled at the doctor as she left the room. She flicked through the channels as she tried to remember how she ended up in the hospital. Ten minutes later, the nurse brought Choice something for the pain and Choice gladly took it.
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