Page 44 of Stay Dangerous

The longer she gazed up at me, the more her smile fell. “Something really bad happened, huh? That’s why you came. You said you’re hurting.”

Flashes of Ma’s room flew by my mind’s eye, but I still shook my head. “I was, but you made it all better.”

She didn’t believe my lie, but she let me make it anyway, and eventually fell asleep. I was too scared to follow her there. Too scared I’d have a nightmare, and then I’d have to tell her what drove me there foreal.

So I just watched Snow sleep. And when Fredo called me an hour later to tell me the coroner picked up Ma’s body, I slipped out of her front door, and went back to my own bullshit life.

The first and last time I smoked weed was at Ma’s funeral.

None of us wanted one, no one except Pooh. But because he “needed to pay the ultimate respect to the love of his life,” hepaid for and arranged the most elaborate funeral the Birch had ever seen.

The whole Birch came out to Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Everyone, from fiends, to Tiny herself. Politicians, a few mobsters–clients of Pooh of course. Older Honeybees, old hoes of Pooh that aged out paid their respects, telling me and Fredo old stories that weren’t funny, before propositioning us.

I didn’t hear much of it.

Besides the combined weed and liquor making me feel like I was in an underwater tunnel, Snow decided to come pay her respects, and sit in the back with my niggas and her sister.

I never got around to telling her what happened, so I damn sure didn’t tell her when and where the funeral would be.

Yet there she was.

In a black dress and sweater. A forest green headband that kept her hair out of her face. She and Autumn sat in between Set and Turkey, which bothered the fuck out of me.

I couldn’t stop staring as muthafuckas I didn’t know told me how sorry they were for my loss. She must have felt it, or maybe Set seen it, because after he whispered something to her, her eyes found mine.

She didn’t smile. She didn’t even look worried. She just peered at me, then dipped her head low, as if she was giving me permission.

The doors to the church opened dramatically. I felt Fredo grab me before I could tear my gaze away from Snow, but it took half a second for me to see why.

I was done with Pooh when he didn’t answer my call.

I was done with Pooh when Nan let it slip that he was out of town, which was why he ain’t answer.

I was done with Pooh when he insisted on throwing this bullshit funeral, open casket at that.

But seeing him walk into my mother’s funeral with another bitch on his arm. I was beyond done.

I was beyond pissed.

I took a step toward Pooh as Fredo gripped me tighter.

“Don’t–”

I turned around and pushed him so hard he bumped into Ty-Ty.

“Ricky,” Nan gasped, but I barely heard it. Not as I whirled around to where Pooh and that bitch were, feet away from me.

Perfect swinging distance.

I curled my fist and put my all into it. Everything that simmered deep inside of me came rushing out, and through my fist.

I connected with his eye perfectly.

He went down like a sack of laundry.

The entire church gasped, but I only heard my Snow.

She sat there, both hands covering her mouth as her eyes shifted from Pooh to me. When they focused behind me, I turned just in time for Fredo to sock me in my jaw.