Page 147 of The Coldest: Stay Dangerous Part 2

My piercing swipes across my tongue as my thumbs tap on my screen.

@RicoSuave: u cant either bitch ass nigga

I send a baby picture of Mars just to fuck with him, before I turn off the ringer of my phone.

You’re poking a bear, Fred.

I feel Fredo’s eyes on me in the darkness of the back seat. The warning is valid. If it were someone else, I’d be saying the same thing.

But it’s me. BB Luney from Tower Two. And can’t no nigga put fear in Luney’s heart, especially a nigga I put on myself.

Rico

So, Ty-Ty is still mad.

Not mad enough to square up, but still pissed nonetheless. But that nigga will fight and ask questions never, so him not squaring up on sight is still monumental.

Give him time.

“I am,” I grit, picking myself up off the ground. Snow’s been ignoring me since I posted Gianna on IG. And truth be told, I’ve been giving her space, opting to follow her on the lowkey just to see what Slime will do.

Imagine my surprise when I see Pooh and Mars picking her up, and my father dropping both of them off at Haze’s crib.

Haze was so familiar with that nigga. Any other time I woulda hopped out and demanded she stop this bullshit, but something is stopping me.

Haze has always reminded me of Ma, if I’m being honest with myself. Especially after that bullshit in the towers, she has this look in her eyes. Not necessarily as suicidal as Shad, but if she was ever in a life threatening situation, she wouldn’t fight to live.

The look in her eyes has changed. Now, she looks like she’s one move away from burning the world down. Turk and Patience wouldn’t let her go nowhere near a drug, but whatever they’re doing to get all her excess energy out isn’t working anymore.

Baby girl is a ticking time bomb. But it’s not my problem. I can’t put her above Snow, not ever again. And that includes keeping my thoughts to myself, because I was serious about not letting Snow lose herself to save her sister.

“Ricky! Why are your pants dirty?”

I stand straight, ignoring the phantom pain in my hip, and motion for him to get in the backseat.

Snow walks behind him toward me. “Thought you got rid of this car.”

“I did. Get in the car.”

She rolls her eyes, but I know she’s missing me as much as I’m missing her, because she gets in and hands Mars his backpack.

“Put your headphones in, Marzy,” she tells him as I get in and turn the engine over. I glance up, meeting Auty’s gaze just before she goes back inside of her house.

“How was your visit?”

Snow sighs, turning from the passenger window to the windshield. “She’s pissed at you for knocking out Dad and mouthing off to Mom, but other than that, she’s spiraling. Being evasive…”

I go for her hand, but she snatches it back, scoffing. “Don’t pretend like you care. She told me you haven’t reached out at all.”

“Haze told me she was done with me.”

“Oh, since when has that ever mattered to you! You’re petty enough to make her eat her words, but you’d never be cool off Auty. Why are you making her stand on it?”

I glance in my rearview mirror, confirming that Mars is in his own world. It’s a cool night out, and I already ordered some food for us, but it’s in the hood, a little ways from Snow’s place, so we have time.

“I…” My throat closes so fast I can barely stick my tongue out to wet my lips. My hands squeeze the life out of my steering wheel, and my eyes begin to water. Snow waits patiently. Not comforting me, on account of still being pissed, but holding space nonetheless.

“I… don’t like the way she treated you,” I mumble. We pull into the drive thru, and since it’s long, I put the car in park and turn toward her. “Shit was foul.”