Page 24 of Just Listen
“And what’s that?” He snapped.
“I want somebody who loves and knows me like the back of their hand. It’s been three years and you still don’t know what I like. I tell you that I feel like I need more from you, and you run to the mall. When really all you had to do was slow down and pay attention. You never come over and watch TV with me. We never take rides, just because. And I refuse to be something that you just check off your to do list.”
“Rides just cause? Jaylah, come on. You forget that we don’t live in the same realities. You literally set for life, while I gotta get it out the mud. If I don’t hustle, then I don’t eat. So, nawl, I don’t always have the time to give you a whole day of nothing. But I try, baby. I wanted us to live together, but you wouldn’t even do that, for real. The smallest irritation, and you run back home. Then you constantly remind me that you don’t need me for nothing. This shit goes both ways, and you don’t be willing to meet me halfway.”
“And if you wasn’t talking to your ex bitch, then you might have a valid argument. But now, I aint trying to hear that shit. But not just that. I’ve had to question you too many times. I don’t trust you. And—”
The ringing of my cell interrupted my rant. Glancing down at my hand, I saw that it was an unprogrammed number calling.
“Who is that?” Zae gritted.
“I don’t know—” I barely got out, before he abruptly pried my phone out of my hand.
“Hello?” He answered the call on speaker, while locking eyes with me.
“Yeah. Damn. I’m trying to figure out if I got the right number.”
Zae frowned. “Who you looking fo?”
“Shit, I’m looking for my Big Baby. She’s about 5’7, brown skin, thick as fuck. You seen her?”
Zae seemed momentarily speechless, as his jaw dropped.
Nervously, I licked my top lip. “Can I get my phone—”
I flinched, as Zae hurled my phone into my TV, creating a sizable hole.
“Zae, what the fuck—”
Fuming, he yoked me up by the hoodie I was wearing. “So, you was really somewhere fucking another nigga?”
I slid my tongue across my teeth. “I’m single.”
“And I should break your fucking face,” he growled, before shoving me back. “Let me get the fuck out of here,” he grumbled, as he stomped around the room, snatching up his belongings.
When he was fully dressed, and had his keys in hand, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not because I was afraid. Nope, that wasn’t it. It was because I didn’t hate him, and I would hate to make that call. But I would, and I knew that his mama wasn’t trying to bury her son. So, he did us both a favor when he jogged downstairs, and then out the front door.
~~~Chapter 5~~~
Malice
I was coasting down the street, thinking to myself. I had been running around all day, and was now headed to another spot to ensure that shit was copasetic. Sadly, this was the only time I had to myself. Moving dope was profitable like a muthafucka, but it was taxing is so many other ways. Normalcy was abnormal as fuck ‘round these parts.
For me, I knew that this street shit wasn’t what I wanted forever. In fact, my run in the game wasn’t even supposed to last for as long as it had. I’d started off as a small-time hustler, when I went away for college. I was out in the middle of nowhere, for real, and needed extra money. Naturally, my mama did what she could, but she still had four other kids to provide for. So, with limited resources at junior college, I needed the extra bread.
Pushing weed and pills was how it all started. It wasn’t long before I realized that I had a real knack for hustling. Soon after, I was making so much money that I lost focus on the original goal.
I wanted to play ball, but after a few bad decisions, I’d lost out on some scholarships and called myself taking the junior college path to redeem myself. The hope was to eventually transfer to a university with a powerhouse team, and eventually make it to the league.
I definitely believed in myself, and I still felt that if I’d stuck with it, then I could’ve made my b-ball dreams a reality. The problem was that I loved instant gratification. Plus, I was anumbers’ man, and knew that statistically the odds were stacked against me. So, once I was bringing in well over 10K a month, I decided to take a break from school. Still, til this day, I was one of the main suppliers of recreational drugs for that campus.
With money in my pockets and eagerness in my heart, I returned to Houston with a plan. I was going to carve out a space for me in the game. And I’d done just that. Within three months, I was addicted to the money and the life that came with it. Now, at twenty-five, I had been there and done that, but I wasn’t quite ready to walk away.
The allure of the game had long ago faded, but the need for that money was still the motivation to keep going. At one point, I thought that after I touched a certain amount, then I could walk. However, with inflation and the cost of living, the end goal was constantly being readjusted. With the lifestyle I lived, five million wasn’t enough. With the wrong investments or unexpected strife, I could find myself broke. So, I needed five times that amount to even consider a retirement from the game.
If you asked me, my plans made perfect sense, but that didn’t mean that I had everybody around me convinced.
My cell ringing on Bluetooth knocked me out of my thoughts. Seeing the name on display, I smirked, before answering. “Yeah?”
