Page 28 of Dionysus
“Yeah, shit straight.”
“Cool, cool. What you busy or something? I hear a lot of shit in the background.”
Keith eyed me. “I’m with a shorty. You should see her brudda she’s one of the pretty ones,” he winked.
“Oh yeah? Bet. Well, I will call you when I’m able to get more bread on a nigga’s books. You stay the fuck out of trouble and hopefully soon we’ll link up.”
Right then, the light in Keith's eyes was gone. Not having his brother around affected him. It was written all over his face. “Ayo Kareem, I’ll put money on it for you. Just give me a few days.”
I stepped away as they finished their conversation because I could tell that Keith needed those minutes with his brother. I stood back and watched the group of people interact. Some of them wore TSU sweaters and shirts. A bit of me felt envious because I had gotten rejected.
Keith had now jogged over to where I was. “You good?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I lied as my eyes were glued to the crowd.
He pointed to them. “Those are my people. Come on, let me introduce you,” he said, holding out his hand.
I wanted to run. I wanted to hop back in my car, drive home, and lock myself in my room. However, I thought about Zaria’s words. I wanted to try, and this was the only way. I smiled and nodded at Keith. This was the first night I was moving on and leaving the past in the past, which included Dionysus.
ZEUS
My eyes shot open to Foe staring in my face. “Nigga you good? I ain’t never seen you move like that.”
I glanced around seeing Diamond and Preach, staring at me as well. I was in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm. That’s when I noticed they had patched me up. I had forgotten that I had been shot. My adrenaline was so high that the last thing on my mind was a bullet flying through my arm.
I knew I was becoming out of control and didn’t know what to do. Dio hadn’t made any progress, and I didn’t know exactly who had done this to him. I was moving solely off emotions, and they were taking me through it. If he made it through, what type of care would he need? I still didn’t know if he was suffering from the same things as our mom, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. My girl and I were going through the motions, and I was emotionally drained.
I was coming to a point where I didn’t want to give up, but I was on the verge. I lay my head back on the bed and closed my eyes. If someone had told me this is what my life would look like, I would have called them a bald face lie.
The tap on the door made my head shoot up. “What up nigga? How you feeling?” Chevy asked.
“Like my life is all over the fucking place.”
“It is, but we all have to go through something.”
“Better preach Chevy,” Preach said.
Chevy came further into the room, and just by how he was standing, I knew he was about to give us a daily dose from the hood bible.
“Look Zeus I don’t want to take away from the shit you’ve done. You have to try a little harder. We’ve got your back on whatever moves you make, but accountability is the first thing. Own up to some of yo shit. With Dio, we all dropped the ball. Those signs were there, and they were ignored. Was New York the best option? No, but we’re here, now what?”
I knew everything my nigga was saying was true. I didn’t even know where to start, but the only thing I could do was try. Before I could even respond, someone tapped on the door. All of our heads snapped that way. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” he called out in a Spanish accent.
“Wrong room,” Preach snapped.
A ugly ass laugh fell from his lips. “No, I think I have the right one. My daughter, Bianca?”
I hopped out of the bed as Chevy moved toward him. The guy held out a cane, pointing it at Chevy. “Aht, Aht.”
Chevy swatted at the cane, “If you don’t get this dumb ass cane out my fucking face I’m—”
“Ju going to dowhat!” he shouted. “Kill my people? Ju already done that. I could have you all arrested if I want to. I come in peace.”
“Peace my ass,” Foe chimed in.
The guy eyed Foe. “Which one of you is related to the boy?”
“He got a name nigga! It’s me,” I moved closer as the IV was slowly being pulled from my arm.
