Page 78 of Kissed By the Trillest Thug 2

“Babe, I’m gonna be right back.”

She looked up from the couch.

“Okay.”

I could tell that she was trying to see into the phone, but he was quick to get out of the way. He stood and disappeared down a hallway before bringing the phone back to his face. His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Ghost… don’t do no stupid shit,” he pleaded.

“We can end this right now,” I urged.

Trigga had no idea what it was like every single day wondering if a muthafucka was going to pop out of the bushes and end it all. I had too much pressure on me. I had Reemo and Ryan it was starting to become suffocating. I could take care of one of my problems, the other took more time, more thought, more skill that I didn’t have right now. But Reemo? This was street shit, and that is all I know. I looked back toward Reemo’s house.

“Pull up. We’ll handle him together.”

It was so silent that I had to look into the phone to make sure that his ass didn’t hang up on me. Trigga looked at me for a little minute and then slowly shook his head.

“I can’t.”

My jaw tightened, and I was about to curse his ass out, but he finished talking.

“I told you. I made Mr. Browne a promise. I can’t go back to the streets.”

I looked out the windshield.

“So, it’s fuck me?”

I was fuming. This nigga really wasn’t trying to have a nigga’s back.

“It ain’t like that,” he quickly responded.

“It feels exactly like that.”

He looked off to the side, I’m sure, to see if Maliah was eavesdropping on his conversation before nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m not saying don’t protect yourself. I’m saying I can’t be the one standing beside you while you do it.”

Neither one of us spoke, and then finally he sighed. I was hoping that he was about to change his mind, throw on that black hoodie he loved and meet with me, but when he opened hismouth, I knew that this would probably be the line in the sand that separated us indefinitely.

“Just… be safe, bro.”

The call ended.

I stared at the dark screen for a long moment before tossing my phone onto the passenger seat.

“Fuck.”

My fist slammed against the steering wheel. The horn blared through the quiet neighborhood, and I froze. A porch light flicked on across the street.

“Damn.”

I sank lower in my seat until the light clicked back off. After another minute passed, I reached into the backseat and grabbed the ski mask. Trigga wasn’t coming, so that meant I was on my own. I pulled the mask over my face, opened the car door, and started walking toward Reemo’s house. I kept low as I crossed the yard. Every step I took was measured.

The neighborhood had gone quiet. There were no barking dogs and no passing cars. It was just the sound of my own breathing beneath the ski mask. The porch light cast long shadows across the concrete. I reached the front door, and when I wiggled the knob, surprisingly it was open.

By the time I stepped back outside, my pulse was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. The front door slammed behind me. I didn’t look back because I couldn’t. I hurried across the yard. My footsteps carried me toward the street as fast as they could without turning into a run. Halfway to my car, I looked down, and that’s when I saw it… Blood. Dark stains were splattered across the front of my hoodie.

“Damn.”