Page 9 of Stay Dangerous

“Shoot her.”

My head twisted to my left, eyes stretching as far as they could go. Set was the picture of calm. His eleven year-old hand almost too small for the cannon he carried.

His body too young for all the shit he’d done.

I turned my head back to the front, aimed at the woman in the bed, and squeezed the trigger.

I wasn’t ready for the recoil. My hand shot back, so the shot landed in her shoulder, instead of her chest, where I wanted it. Her body shook, and she screamed before her other hand reached up to touch the wound before she thought better of it.

“You got ‘til the end of the weekend to get the fuck up out the Birch, nigga. Lucky you caught me on a good day.”

We kept out guns aimed as we slowly backed away. When I glanced at Set, he nodded, and my lips spread before facing the couple again.

This time, I was ready for the recoil. I braced myself, aimed where I wanted, and fired.

This bullet struck the woman in the middle of her forehead.

The nigga next to her gasped. Fredo snorted.

He took the gun from me and put three into the nigga’s chest, not taking his eyes off him until he slumped over.

“Well, damn. I mean, y’all both needed y’all stripes anyway. Luney Tunes.”

We both looked at Set, who showed all thirty-two of his teeth.

I cut my eyes to Fredo, before throwing up the Birch. We all cackled as we bounced out the apartment.

My hands itched even more, and though my fear came true, it wasn’t dread I felt at the realization, even if my first kill was a woman.

I enjoyed shooting a gun. I enjoyed taking someone’s life. And I couldn’t wait to do it again.

Loneliest Number

Wyn, age 12

Everynight,whenIsaid my prayers, I would ask God to kill my mom.

Sometimes, I would just ask for her to die in her sleep.

When I was really mad, or when she was mean to Auty, I would ask God to make her suffer, to make her hurt before he did it.

When I was feeling sorry for myself, I would ask Him to give me the strength to do it myself. Or give me the courage to tell Pops, my neighbor, what would happen when no one was around.

He never listened. But that didn’t stop me from asking.

Mom hadn’t spoken to Auty in four years. I didn’t think such a feat could be possible, since she was our mom, but she did it. She successfully pretended like her daughter didn’t exist, and I was paying for it.

My sister hated me. She hated my stinking guts and I didn’t know what to do.

I’d made the mistake of asking our babysitter and her sisters for advice. That was when I found out they hated their brother, Auty’s best friend Turkey, and told me to basically wash my hands of my sister. They started separating us. I would go with Rain and Rian, while Renelle would stay with Turkey and Autumn. It wasn’t because she wanted to; her boyfriend would have killed her if she went all over the city with her sisters. They and their friends thought I was cool, and cute, and I became a sort of mascot for them as they tried to show me I didn’t need Auty.

But I did need her.

So when no one was looking for me or paying attention, I asked Pops, who happened to be Rain, Rian, Renelle, and Turkey’s grandfather and guardian.

He told me that Auty didn’t hate me, which was a lie, but then he told me to do something nice for her, to get back in her good graces.

That was easy.