Page 106 of All The Smoke
“You know I been outside, mothafucka.”
We had cameras posted outside that caught every angel of the house and the monitor was right next to him on an end table.
“Right, I’m trying to understand why you sat out there for so long. Dramatic effects or some shit?”
“Bruh, shut the fuck up.” I shook my head as I took a seat on the couch.
“Aight, so now that I got y’all here…”
“Bino, now ain’t the time for your stupid shit.” Scoot frowned then looked my way. “Thank you for coming, bro.”
“Ain’t shit, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to formally apologize…”
“Ay, Scoot, for real, if the apology is going to be followed up with a bunch of fuckin’ excuses like it usually is, then keep the shit.”
He shook his head. “Naw, it’s not. I know I been saying that I was high as shit and drunk off my ass when I was falling through there, but above all of that, I was fuckin’ wrong. There ain’t no other way around it or no excuse for that. I just…” He paused for a second. “I’m sorry, man. I love you like my mama gave birth to you, so not talking to you and shit hurts, you feel me.”
My brows lifted. “We talking about hurt?”
“Naw, I know?—”
“Elijah, you know Bri. You been knowing Bri since we were little niggas. You know how conniving, manipulative, and nasty the bitch is for real, and you know better than anyone what she would do just to get at me. So for you to let her use you like that is insane. And you caught feelings for her.” I shook my head. “For my fuckin’ baby mama.”
“Aight, bruh I struck a few times but I ain’t got no feelings for her ass.”
“Shid, you gotta if you kept going back.”
“Look, bro, I fucked up, aight? I own that. Just, I don’t know, I want to fix it. Tell me what I gotta do to make the shit right and I’ll do the shit. Whatever you want.”
“I don’t know, Scoot.” I sighed and ran my hand down my face. “Ain’t nothing specific for me to ask you to do, bro, because hell there ain’t shit you could do other than not do the shit.” I chuckled. “But if I’m keeping shit a buck, I ain’t even mad at you.”
His eyes stretched some. “You not?”
“Naw, I’m not,” I admitted. “Hurt and disappointed, sure, because you are my brother, but naw I ain’t mad.”
“Word, I’m glad to hear that….”
“But that don’t mean I’m ready to fuck with you like that either,” I let him know.
“Oh.” He slumped back down on the couch.
“I need more time to sort through my emotions and shit and it’s gon’ take some time for me to even consider trusting you again.” He looked so disappointed hearing me say that shit, but it was what it was. He did me dirty, not the other way around. “But I do want you to come with B to the baby shower. It’ll mean a lot to KK.”
He nodded. I knew he wanted more from me and maybe expected to hear something different but I ain’t have that shit for him. Bino and Scoot meant just as much to me as Noah did, so I couldn’t let the disrespect go that easily, but I promised Kaori I would at leasttryto make amends before our baby shower. She had been crying and carrying on about the shit, and he wasbothof our friend, so I gave in like I always fuckin’ did. She was spoiled as fuck.
“Aight.” He nodded. “I’d love that and it’s a start.”
Chuckling, I stood to my feet, prepared to get the shit weed I needed to make my wax before I headed to Kaori’s. She wasn’t lying when she said buying a house was hard fucking work. We had looked at ten houses already. All of them were fly as fuck but all lacked some shit we both thought was necessary since this would be the home we’d raise our children in.
Shit was crazy to me that I was planning my future with my girl. A year ago, a nigga knew I would be living the rest of my life as a bachelor, but since meeting her, spending time with her, and building with her; shit’s changed. I literally couldn’t imagine life without her for real.
“Aight, I’m up,” I announced. “Kaori got a nigga house hunting and shit like a bitch.”
Bino approached me with a blunt in his hand. “You don’t want to stay and smoke?”
“Naw.” Maybe if it was just him I would have, but I wasn’t there yet to be posted with Scoot. “I’m already high and need to get to my girl.”
