Page 48 of Grown Folks Confessions: Black Lush

The knife was still securely in my shoe, but it didn’t take long to realize Marvin couldn’t fight worth a damn, and even though Layla hated him, I didn’t think she wanted her parents’ blood on my hands.

So they weren’t dying.

Today at least.

While I was play fighting her dad—since that’s what the shit felt like we were doing—Layla had gotten into an altercation with her mother. Even though Layla seemed like she was trying to defuse the situation, it was clear to see that Patty was trying to steal her purse on top of it.

Layla was holding her own though, as I knew she would. But this was stupid. I wasn’t about to spend the next half hour fighting some low-level criminals.

I punched Marvin square in the face to get his goofy ass to stop hopping around in the grass like we were in a boxing ring.

He went down fast.

“Listen the fuck up, Marvin,” I alerted, pulling him off the ground by the collar of his filthy shirt. “You know my family, so you already know my uncles got dirt on you. You may think I ain’t on shit, but I bet you remember the summer of ‘92 in Detroit.”

His eyes only slightly widened before he masked it.

“You had just got out around then, right? What was it, your third time going to jail? I may have been a young buck back then, but I was there when you blew up that restaurant that killed those innocent people, including the current mayor’s sister who was dining with a friend’s family.”

I studied his eyes until I saw the emotion I was looking for.

Fear.

“Do you remember that kid who had been hiding a building over?” I asked, my voice lower. “You know, the one who shouldn’t have been out playing so late, but he was there. And you knocked him over on the sidewalk as you ran.”

“Bullshit,” he grunted, tugging at my unmoving hands that only grew tighter.

“Oh, I saw some bullshit that night. That’s for damn sho’. And I gotta admit, I thought you were gonna kill me too that night. But my guess is yo’ scary ass hadn’t known who was in the restaurant when you decided to light it on fire. By the time you realized you’d fucked up, it was too late. Children died that day. Innocent kids.”

“You can’t prove shit, and no one gives a damn about shit from the nineties.”

“The mayor might be interested to know how his sister was killed,” I reminded. “And in case you think about coming at me or my woman again, I should remind you that the Hoods don’t give out chances. You went away for the longest with an attempted murder charge for an unrelated case, but they couldn’t prove shit. Best believe, I got the proof for the restaurant though. When I told my uncles everything that happened back in the day, they looked into it and got all the proof we needed. Matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that’s how they blackmailed yo’ ass a few years back, am I right? So let’s make a deal.” I slightly loosened his collar since he was losing color in his face. “You stay out of Layla’s life for good and your secret stays with my family.”

“And if I don’t?” he asked.

I smoothed out his collar, before tightening it again. “Now, Marvin, you ain’t a dumb ass muthafucka. You know how it ends if you break the rule.” Hard eyes met mine. “Do we have a deal?”

He ran his tongue over his teeth, mumbling some words.

I roughly grabbed his jaw. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Deal,” he slurred through clenched teeth.

I let him go slowly, still watching his every move.

Marvin spit right over my shoulder, smart enough to avoid my face. “Everyone who was killed in that restaurant deserved it,” he spat.

This piece of shit.I punched him again. “That’s for being heartless.”

Then I glanced at Layla who had her mother pushed up against the car.That’s my scrappy baby.Looking at her made me punch Marvin a third time, knocking him and a few teeth out on the last one. “And that’s for being a shitty father to my princess.”

As much as I hated to admit that I almost lost control, the approaching sirens were the only reason I didn’t punch him a fourth time just because.

“’Layla, we’ve got company,” I yelled, as she released her mom who then clawed toward her face, which in turn caused Layla to push her to the ground. But Patty popped back up and went to slap her in the face, only for Layla to dodge her hand and beat her to it, causing Patty to fall to the ground again.

“Damnit,” Layla yelped, rubbing the palm of her hand. “Why did she keep coming at me? I was trying not to hit her.”

“I know, baby,” I told her, removing my knife and tossing it into some bushes.

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