Page 87 of Stay Dangerous

“I wasn’t aiming for her–”

“Well, you hit her friend, who she trusted enough to call about it. And I know before you came to your senses, you came at her sideways. Wynter doesn’t need time, nigga. She done witcho ass, and I’on blame her.”

Fredo stood suddenly, knocking the chair back. “She prolly done with all of us, and I’on blame her. And if you really care for her, you’d leave her alone, like Pooh should have left Ma alone.”

His parting words did nothing for me. Snow couldn’t be done. I wouldn’t let her. She just needed time, like I did. I was almost a father, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.

Part of me wanted to murk Tiny, but that would do more harm than good. It wasn’t worth feeling better momentarily. Nah, I’d just go to the clinic and get on the up and up. Give Snow some time. Let the noise from the shooting die down, and reassess in the new year.

That was a couple months away. Plenty of time.

Nodding to myself, I grabbed my phone to look up the number to urgent care.

“Can’t believe that bitch walking around like that. Whole hood prolly burning off her,” I grumbled.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Wyn

TheblogsreportedonTrippy getting shot for weeks. Their album was postponed indefinitely, and there were rampant rumors that he was really dead and the Get Money Crew were lying about it.

But he was alive. And would make a full recovery. The timeline of that was just way longer. That’s what Grimey told me.

Before I stopped replying.

A radical pro-life group took responsibility for shooting the windows out of the clinic, but I knew the real, just like PC did. Trippy was shot because of me. The right thing to do would have been to leave them alone, so that’s what I decided to do.

My room became my refuge. Especially after I locked my window and painted over it.

Weed became my boyfriend. Wiz Khalifa crooned in the air about everything being better when you’re high, and I agreed, smoking as much as I could every day after school, until I was so high that all I could do was sleep.

Auty left me alone, as she should. I wasn’t surprised she told my business, though I didn’t think Rico would go as far as to shoot at me.

But then again, I wouldn’t have thought he would cheat on me, either.

School had let out for winter break at noon. I came straight home, and took an entire blunt to the head, before I turned on the fan I got to air out my space.

Three weeks without school to distract me from how fucked up my life is. Three weeks of smoking, my room, and watching every DVD in my dad’s collection.

My mom came home one November day acting like her version of normal, so for once, there was food in the fridge. She was in the living room, painting her toenails while I made some spinach dip for myself. Dad was out of town on a work trip for the weekend; a real work trip, not him combing the casinos along the coast.

As my life imploded, they seemed to figure out I couldn’t run the house, and stepped up. Mom was gaining weight back. Dad was home at night, and even speaking to Auty.

Mom delighted in the fact that I wasn’t, and I’m sure that was why I got away with smoking in the house.

Not that I would have stopped if she asked.

I needed it. I needed to be numb so I wouldn’t think about Rico, how much I missed him, or how much it hurt that he thought our baby wasn’t his.

“Are you making enough for me?” Mom called from the living room.

“Nope,” I called back, mixing the dip together in a glass bowl. My chips were already in my room, along with some Hennessy and lemonade.

It was going to be a grand Friday night.

The front door snapped open, before shutting just as slowly. Auty stood there, chest heaving as she tried to pull her backpack back on her shoulder.

Mom stood and grabbed her nail polish. “Bitches love to slam shit in a house they don’t pay no bills at. Wynter! Tell your sister she better keep her fast ass in that room all break or she can get the fuck out my house!”