Page 39 of Lucci

“I know. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ending the call, I sucked down the rest of the alcohol in my cup and stared into space. She was dead. My mother was dead, and I’d never know why she didn’t like me. I didn’t care to ask her while she was alive but knowing that she was dead…that shit hit different.

“Hey. You good boo?” Lauren came over with a look of concern etched on her face.

I continued to stare straight ahead. “My father just called me. My mother died.”

“Oh my God, Breezy. I’m so sorry. Do you need me to drive you back to Diamond Cove?”

I reached for the bottle of alcohol on my passenger seat. “Nope. I’m good. I’m about to keep drinking and watch these races. I hope they fry some fish tonight. My ass is getting hungry.”

CHAPTER 17

LUCCI

Everybodyaround me was walking on eggshells. Since getting shot, I hadn’t been in the best mood, but the way Kiandra was crowding me was annoying as fuck. Even when she irritated me in the past, being mean to her didn’t feel right because she was so sweet and innocent. I knew she meant well, but how many ways did a nigga have to tell her, I didn’t want her? It wasn’t her job to be by my side and nurse me back to health. If I voiced that, however, I’d be deemed the asshole. From the moment she got to the hospital, Kiandra had been there every day. When I was released, she insisted on being the one to take me home. I was in bed, propped up on two pillows, watching Breezy have the time of her life in Crescent Falls while I was shot the fuck up.

Caring was some stupid shit to be doing, but I was doing it. My annoyance with Kiandra started when she was all in my personal space at the hospital and Breezy saw it. When I came out of surgery, my parents, a few other family members, and Kiandra was there. My mother had to get home and take her blood pressure medicine, and I had assured everyone that I would be fine. Everyone left except for Kiandra.

It was déjà vu all over again. I do dumb shit, get shot, and Kiandra stopped her entire life to nurse me back to health. Hadthe bullet to my side been a few inches to the left, I’d be carrying around a shit bag. I was still alive, however, and I still had the two mil. Maino wasn’t as lucky as me. He was still alive too, but his injuries were more complicated. He got shot three times. In the groin, the knee, and the chest. The chest shot almost took him out. Maino was in ICU for five days. Even though he made it out of ICU, he was still in the hospital. He no longer needed the help of a ventilator to breathe, but too much physical activity or even talking too much left him breathless.

The moment he could talk, he apologized for bringing the robbery idea to me. I told him he was my brother, and he never had to apologize to me. He didn’t make me do anything that I didn’t want to do, but I’d never again in life take shit that didn’t belong to me. I was done robbing before I got shot, but being shot for the second time in my life and still living to tell the tale had to be a wake up call for my stupid ass. There was a time or two that I wished I had died. But I didn’t. I was still alive. That had to mean something. Tyler was gone, but I was still among the living. God had a sense of humor for sure.

Kiandra assumed the same person that shot her was the one that shot me. I couldn’t tell her the man that shot her was dead and that I’d robbed someone else and that was how Maino and I got shot. I had to be a glutton for punishment, but I wasn’t the only one. Aside from being downright cruel to Kiandra, I didn’t know how to get it through her head that we weren’t it.

“You need anything before I take a shower?” she entered the bedroom, and I hadn’t even realized that I was looking at my phone with a scowl on my face. “Something wrong?”

“Nah, I’m straight. Listen, you don’t have to stay here with me. I’m good. Go home.” My tone was gentle, but I knew her feelings would be hurt.

As I expected, her face fell. “It’s your first day out of the hospital. Why do you want to be alone?”

“Because I don’t need a babysitter. I’m good.”

“Is it that you want somebody else here with you?”

I was so perturbed my lip twitched. It was taking everything in me to keep my cool. Kiandra couldn’t love me that fucking much. Not so much that she ignored the warnings of her parents and friends. She listened to me tell her that I had love for her, but I wasn’t in love with her. And she was still ten toes down for me. I for sure got the loyalty that I thought I wanted.

“I’m not answering that. I told you that you don’t have to stay here with me, and that’s what I mean. That’s the only explanation that I’m giving.”

Kiandra’s lips set into a hard line as she glared at me. After a brief stare off, she stood tall and looked me in the eyes. “Say no more. I’ll see myself out.”

I looked at the phone I was holding. Refreshing the page, I saw that Breezy had posted a video. Shorty had a bottle of Don Julio in hand, and she was having a good time. She did make the effort to check on me. I guess anything after that, she wasn’t obligated to do. I couldn’t blame her for not sticking around despite her telling me that she’d wait for me. Attempting to get out of bed to go to the bathroom had me wincing from the pain that radiated through my side the moment I turned my body.

“Two million fuckin’ dollars,” I mumbled. Was it worth it? I wasn’t dead, I could walk, talk, and go to the bathroom on my own. Maybe it was worth it because I was up two million. The best part was, I found a house that I could buy for $65,000. I wouldn’t even have to touch any of the two mil in order to buy the house. I would definitely have to dip into it for the renovations. I had already estimated that I’d spend around $70,000 renovating the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. That included putting in new floors and windows. If I could sell the house for $300,000, that would be a nice profit. The housecould have easily gone for $100,000 even with all the work that needed to be done. The house had been vacant for three years.

A woman died, and her next of kin lived in Maryland. He had no desire to move in the house or to pay anyone to keep it up. The house sat unattended, and he was desperate to get rid of it. When I told him I’d pay him cash, he jumped on the deal. Maybe by the time I sold the house, I’d be in the headspace to get back in a real estate class. Flipping houses was cool, but I wanted multiple streams of income.

I went to social media to try and find some DIY home improvement videos. The more I could do meant the more money that I could save. Before I could get to the search bar, I saw a flyer for an upcoming event.The Five Hundred Families Gala.The Hellcat Barbies had a gala coming up in a few weeks. The goal was to raise money to be able to help at least five hundred families during the holidays. It was a black tie event, and from the flyer, it looked like it was going to be a classy event. Clicking the link, I saw that tickets were $100 each. I didn’t have a problem with paying especially if it was for a good cause. The ticket price covered entry into the gala, food, and an open bar. Inside the gala, there would be an auction where biddings would take place to raise the funds.

I almost hit the button to purchase a ticket, but I decided against it. Maybe I would change my mind and grab one. Only time would tell.

The next day, my mother had just got done changing the sheets on my bed when I inched out of the bathroom. A nigga was still walking slow, and I didn’t like that. But at least I could walk. My mother had vacuumed, swept and mopped floors, cleaned thebathrooms, and the kitchen. She had my apartment smelling like pine sol and bleach, and I appreciated her for that. With a sigh, I eased down onto the bed and positioned my back against two pillows.

“I made some pasta. You want a plate right now?”

“Right now, is good. Thank you.”

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