Hungry for the Paper

by Hood Rich

  I frowned. “Fuck all this talking. What you gon’ do with that gun raised like that? You gon’ shoot, or you gon’ keep saying shit to me that don’t mean nothing?”

  Paper stepped alongside of me with his guns raised. “Get the fuck out the trap, Jamie. This yo’ last chance. We ain’t have shit to do with yo’ son getting killed, and muhfuckas don’t want shit to do with you. Now, step. Now!” He ordered, cocking his hammers.

  Jamie swallowed and slowly walked backward. “A’ight, it’s good. I’m just gon’ go on about my business. Act like this day never happened. Y’all don’t say shit to me from here on out, and I won’t say shit to y’all.” He continued to walk backward toward the door until he was going down the steps and out of the house after Paper opened the door for him, so he could retreat.

  Looking back at this day now, I see that it was one of the worst mistakes I had ever made because I underestimated this man. I allowed for my anger to cloud my judgement. When all of this happened, me and Paper should have killed him right then, because if we had then Jamie wouldn’t have had the opportunity to cause us so much chaos, heartache and pain.

  Shirley came out of the room as soon as she heard the backdoor slam shut. “Y’all should’ve kilt that rapist son of a bitch. I’m telling you this shit ain’t over. Y’all should’ve never let him walk away like that. He’ll be back. Trust me when I tell you this. That nigga will be back for blood, and he ain’t gon’ stop coming until somebody kill his ass.” She shook her head and took a rock off of the table without asking for it.

  As much as I wanted to feed into what Shirley was screaming, I ignored it to a fault, and twenty minutes later I pulled away from Paper’s trap, so I could go to Andrea’s house and take a shower. My mind was all over the place as I rolled to the crib. I was thinking about the words that had come out of Shirley’s mouth, and I knew that I had made a mistake by allowing for Jamie to walk out of there. Especially after finding out that back in the day he’d raped Shirley on multiple occasions. I felt sorry for her and I hated him even more because of it. Even though she really wasn’t any kin to me, I still didn’t like imagining her going through something so traumatic. Nobody deserved that. Then on top that off, Jamie didn’t seem like the type that would take a loss without crying foul or getting back at the person as hard as he could. Me and Paper had to murk this nigga. There was no way around it. Our lives depended on it.

  Even though I had that whole situation on my brain, I couldn’t stop thinking about Aaliyah. I missed her, I worried about her, and I felt like I just needed to be around her a little more. She made me feel so normal because of all of the things that she and I had been through separately. I felt like I had somebody in my life that finally understood my pains and wouldn’t judge me for my poor decisions. I felt a need for her, and I couldn’t deny the attraction because it was so strong, and it surpassed the physical aspect of want.

  I shook my head and rolled my window down, so I could get some good old fresh air. It was one of those days outside where it was real sunny, but it wasn’t too hot or unbearable. I let the wind blow into my face as I tried to get control of my thoughts. By the time I pulled on to Andrea’s block, I was as cool as a fan and had concluded that Jamie had to go that night after Shirley’s party, and that I would explore something deeper with Aaliyah, even though I didn’t know quite what it was.

  So, I was calm and collected with a clear head until I got about four houses away from Andrea’s and spotted Ken’s truck parked in front of our house. My first thought was that he was there looking for Aaliyah, and I knew it was about to be some bullshit because I couldn’t control my temper around this bitch nigga. I curled my lip as I pulled up behind his truck and threw my car into park. I looked all around the block and saw that there were plenty people out on their porches, on the sidewalks jumping rope, sipping cups of lemonade and all sorts of other things. The last thing I needed to make was a scene, so I took a bunch of deep breaths and calmed down as best I could before opening my car door and stepping out of it.

  At the same time, Ken’s passenger’s door opened, and imagine how I felt when Keyonna stepped out of it before she closed the door and he pulled off with his system banging loudly. She looked over to me and her entire face flushed red before she smiled weakly and made her way up the stairs to Andrea’s house, wearing a Prada skirt so short that it rose nearly to her hips by the time she was on the top stair.

  I slammed my car door and shot up the stairs so fast that I almost fell on a few of them. Before she opened the door, I grabbed a hand full of her hair and forced her ass into the house. It was the first time I had ever did anything like that, but in my opinion, it was warranted.

  She snapped her head backward and tried to remove my fingers from out of her scalp. “Let me go, Rich, what’s your problem?”

  I tightened my grip and got to walking through the house with her, leading her to her bedroom. We passed Kesha who was sitting at the table doing her homework, and Andrea, who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. They looked at me with eyes wide open but didn’t say a word.

  Soon as we got to Keyonna’s bedroom, I threw her inside and closed the door behind me. She wound up falling on the bed, on to her stomach, letting out a yelp. I took my pistol off of me and put it into her top drawer, then slid my Gucci belt from around my waist. “Keyonna, I’mma ask you one time and one time only, and you better tell me the truth. What were you doing in that truck with Ken?”

  She turned over to face me. I noticed that her skirt was pulled all the way up to her waist, exposing her lace, red boy short panties. That pissed me off even more so. She neglected to pull it back down as she explained herself. “That wasn’t Ken, Rich, that was his son Kendell, and I’ve been going out with him for three months now. Why is it all of the sudden a problem?” she asked, looking terrified.

  I pointed. “Pull yo’ skirt down, Keyonna, and tell me that you ain’t been that careless the whole time you been wearing it.” I said, feeling myself becoming heated.

  She laid on her back and wiggled her body as she pulled the skirt down her thighs. “No, I haven’t. I was so scared right now that I didn’t even notice that.”

  I exhaled, ran my hand over my waves and shook my head. “I don’t want you fucking with Kendall no more. Him or Ken. Both of them niggas is foul and I ain’t about to have them around you. That’s that.” I pursed my lips and flared my nostrils, heated from imagining anybody from Ken’s bloodline all over my sister. I knew I was gon’ kill this nigga now. I had to take my anger out on his ass.

  Keyonna blew air through her nose and crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking away from me. “You don’t even know Kendell like that. He’s nothing like his father. He goes to church and everything.”

  “Look, Keyonna, I’m not about to have this conversation with you. Now, it’s over between you and dude. I don’t wanna catch you with him no more. If I do, I’m gon’ whoop yo’ lil’ ass like I’m supposed to; you hear me?” I asked, walking closer to the bed with my belt in my hand in a threatening manner.

  I didn’t know if I would actually whoop my sister, but at that time I was mad enough to do so because I felt like she was in danger and was too naive to actually see that. I knew that more often than not, pimps used younger boys and girls to recruit their prey, and I felt like Ken was using his son to do just that, and I refused to let my sister fall victim to that process. I loved her way too much and I wasn’t going for it.

  She was quiet and pouting at the same time. “I love him, Rich. I love him so much, and it’s not fair for you to keep him away from me. He’s been nothing but good to me.” She turned on to her stomach and cried into her pillow loudly.

  Andrea knocked on the door and opened it without getting permission to do so. “What’s going on in here?” She asked looking from me to her. She stepped further into the room and made her way toward the bed. She sat on it and rubbed Keyonna’s back.

  I held up my hand. “I’m handling it, so you
good. She heard what I said and I’m not playing.” I felt my heart pounding in my chest. I had to get out of that room or I was going to whoop my sister’s ass.

  She turned over to face Andrea with tears in her eyes. “He wants me to stay away from Kendell because of what his father does, and it isn’t fair. I’m a grown woman and my brother treats me like a child.” She stuck her head back under the pillow and continued to cry while Andrea shook her head and rubbed her back.

  “Rich, maybe you two should get an understanding. I mean, she is a grown woman now, and we have to trust her more. What do you say?”

  Keyonna turned over with tears running down her cheeks to see what I was about to say, and I know I crushed her soul when I waved Andrea off and frowned. “What I said is final. If I catch her with that nigga again, I’m tearing her ass up. That dude ain’t right, whether she can see it or not.”

  “Ahhh! I hate it here!” were the last words that were hollered pertaining to that subject.

  Chapter 13

  Paper came into the room and handed me a bundle of cash with a big smile on his face. “This seven bands, my nigga. Seven gees and the party ain’t even got started yet.” He hollered, “Let’s get this money!” He picked up a Ziploc bag and left out of his bedroom, or the room that he often slept in whenever he stayed a night in the trap.

  I took the seven bands and placed them within the safe that I’d picked up a week ago before closing it and snatching up my own Ziploc bag full of rocks. After they were tucked safely in my underwear, I left the room and placed the lock on the door and hit up the party just as twenty dope addicts were coming in through the backdoor. All of them with large bills in their hands.

  Shirley ushered them into the living room where we’d placed a bunch of couch pillows on the floor for them to sit for their comfort while they smoked until their money ran out. “Y’all, follow me and prepare to have a good old time. This is my day and I don’t want no bullshit. It’s all about having fun and celebrating me. Yesss!” she said, dancing to the Isley Brothers song that was booming out of the speakers.

  I watched the new group of dope heads take their place on the floor before Paper came up to serve them. They handed him their money and he handed them an ashtray and a package of magnum condoms.

  I laughed at that and started to make my rounds, serving as many fiends as I could, racking up thousands of dollars in just a few hours. I had a doctor’s mask covering my nose and mouth because the dope smoke was so thick in the air that it made it hard for me to breathe. Plus, I wasn’t trying to catch no contact from that shit.

  About three hours after the party had been cracking and everybody seemed to be smoked out, Shirley walked up to me with a beer in her hand, dancing to the Isley Brothers’ song Groove With You, stepping from side to side all cool like. She reached out and tried to take my hand, but I wasn’t with it. I had to keep my eyes on everything because Paper was acting like he had a contact or something.

  “You ain’t gon’ dance with yo’ Aunty on her birthday, baby?” She asked turning in a circle and sliding to the side.

  A male dope addict walked up to me and handed me five one hundred-dollar bills. “Do me right, baby boy.” He scratched his neck. “I been waiting all month for this day.” He smacked his lips together, took Shirley’s hand and started to dance with her.

  I reached into the bag and counted him off fifty dime bags and gave them to him while he held his hands together to receive them.

  Shirley wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Now you know you gotta make sure the birthday girl is straight. That’s the rule of my party, and that’s how it goes. Pay up, muthafucka.” She smiled, turned around and rubbed her ass all into his crotch.

  He held his dope over her head, turned his back on her and walked back into the living room while nodding. “Unless you giving me some of that wet shit, ain’t nothing happening. You owe me some pussy, you know it,” were the last words I heard before they disappeared into the living room.

  I walked all around the trap catching money and watching the hypes fuck and smoke until they were coughing up their lungs. They laughed and joked all loudly, while some played dominos and Spades. I went out and bought four big ass bags of KFC chicken to make sure that they ate, or at least it was available for them to eat, along with five cases of Wild Wood sodas.

  The party lasted until eight in the morning the next day, and after it was all said and done, we made a $110,000. That was after I deducted what it cost for us to supply them with food, drinks and condoms. I walked away with fifty-five gees, all of which I put into my safe that I kept in Andrea’s basement.

  ***

  Later that night, as it was raining harder than I ever remembered, I jumped into Paper’s whip with murder on my mind. He pulled away from the curb and handed me a black Glock that held seventeen bullets, and I intended on using as many of them as it would take to wipe Jamie off of the earth.

  He pushed in his car’s lighter. “My mother staying over my aunt’s house tonight because my aunty Kathy ain’t been feeling well. I know we shouldn’t body this nigga at my mother’s crib, but fuck that. It’s now or never and everything you said make sense. We’d be a damn fool to let this nigga keep on living knowing that we killed his son, and you just whooped his ass, to add insult to his injuries.”

  I cocked the Glock and placed it on my hip. “Exactly. We should’ve murked that nigga the same night we slayed his kid. We gotta remember that we can’t be leaving no lose ends. That’s tacky and that’ll get us fucked over, quick.” I shook my head. “We starting to get money now. The last thing we need is this muhfucka being a problem.” I rolled up my window all the way because it had been open a crack and some of the rain was leaking onto my face. I wiped it away and looked over at Paper as he took the car’s lighter and lit his cigarette. I didn’t want to smell that shit. I hated the smell of cigarettes because it always made my head hurt.

  He took two pills and popped them, then chased them with the apple juice from his cup holder. “I got us some lil’ young niggas to work the trap, too. These lil’ niggas thorough. I just copped two more spots that we can hustle out of, and I want to open them up right away. One on Twenty-Eighth and Chambers, and the other one on Twenty-Ninth and Concordia. The fiends in both of those hoods pay up, so we need to expand out in those directions, nah’mean?”

  I nodded and looked out of my window. I still had murder on my mind and I was trying to get myself prepared to take a life. For me that shit wasn’t as easy as they made it seem in the movies. It was a mental battle that took some time to overcome. “Where you meet these lil’ dudes at?”

  He shook his head and pulled off of the square. “They from around the hood. The lil’ homeys go to Auer Avenue school. I think they like eleven or twelve. Either way, they know how to get money and I’m gon’ use they lil’ ass to help us get rich. They juveniles which mean that they can’t do no jail time. It’ll mostly be slaps on the wrist, and all we gotta do is buy they ass a video game and they’ll stay in the trap all day hustling for us. Shit, all we’d have to do is collect, and ain’t that what it’s all about?” He pulled off of the square again and blew the smoke out.

  I felt like I was ready to throw up all over the dashboard. That smell of his square had me nauseous. “Bruh, put that stankin’ ass cigarette out. That shit killing my head.” I felt dizzy and all type of shit.

  Paper rolled down his window and threw the square out of it. Rain splashed into the car until he rolled it back up. “You so damn dramatic, that shit is almost comical.”

  We rolled in silence for the next twenty minutes. I assumed that we had so much on our minds that it was a struggle to keep focused. I felt the butterflies in my stomach, on top of it was the feeling as if I had to take a dump. My stomach was doing somersaults. I tried my best to calm down by taking nonchalant deep breaths and blowing them out slowly. I just wanted to get this night over and one with. I had such a bad feeling in my gut.

&n
bsp; We wound up parking a block away from Paper’s mother’s house. Paper turned off the ignition, exhaled loudly, took his guns and cocked them before putting them back on to his waistband and sitting back in his seat. “You ready to handle this business, nigga?” He asked, looking over at me.

  The steady sound of rain pouring down onto the hood of the car and windshield was causing me to get lost in its rhythm for a while before I regained my focus. “Yeah, let’s do this, bruh, and get it over with so we can get back to chasing this cash. I wanna take my sisters on a vacation this summer. You know, spoil them a lil’ bit. They deserve it, nah’mean?”

  Keyonna’s face popped into my mind. The last time I’d seen her, she was giving me a look that said she hated my guts and that she’d never forgive me. I knew that she thought that I was just trying to control her and not looking out for her best interest, and I just prayed that in time she would understand. Until then, I would continue to love her and protect her with everything that I was.

  Paper nodded. “Yeah, that sound like a plan. Maybe we’ll hit up Hawaii or something; leave the hood for a while.”

  I liked the sound of that. Five minutes later, after we gathered ourselves, we were running down the alley while the rain attacked us violently and thunder roared in the sky, followed by flashes of lightning. By the time we made it to the side of Paper’s mother’s house, I was drenched and so was he, but never the less we were focused.

  Paper had purposely left his bedroom window open for us to climb into, and it’s just what we did, one by one— first him and then me. We fell to his carpet and rolled to stand. I took my pistol off of my hip and looked him over, waiting for him to take charge because it was his house. That was until we heard a loud smack, followed by a scream and the sound of dishes breaking. My ears perked up on high alert.

  “Please! Don’t do this, Jamie! I’m sorry!” Another slap. This time, louder than the one before it.