Page 53 of On Everything 2
"You heard me, Ciara. Me and Jessica have been hiding the fact that King is my son for almost three years, but now that her nigga dead and you are dead to me, we are about to be a family."
"Oh, so this is Jessica, the one who got her husband killed sleeping with you. Makes sense. She looks like the type. Go to hell bitch ass nigga."
I grabbed my luggage and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door back and saying fuck the heat.
Now I would rather be outside Pernelle's door waiting for her to get into another scuffle. What the fuck is going on with my life now? Everything around me seems to be in shambles, and I can't take this shit.
After leaving out of my building, I hit the corner to go to Pernelle's house dragging the suitcases that felt like a hundred pounds behind me.
When I got close to their building, I spotted a crowd with a few people screaming for someone to call 911. The closer I got to the commotion, the better I saw the distraught looks on everyone's faces as they looked towards someone on the ground. It wasn't until I saw a silver bike with pegs and silver spokes on the ground that my heart sank into my stomach. That is Princeton's bike.
I forced myself into the huddle and dropped down to my knees when I saw Nancy Diaz applying pressure to a bleeding wound on Princeton's chest.
"Stay with us, Princeton!"
"What happened to him!"
"Someone shot him around the corner, and he managed to ride his bike over here. There is blood from here to around building six!"
There was so much chaos I couldn't think.
"Oh my God. Princeton, I'm here, baby, I'm here."
Tears streamed down my face as I held his hand and tried dialing Pernelle with the other. My calls went unanswered, but I wasn't leaving Princeton's side.
"You got this, baby, keep fighting. Keep fighting."
He looked up at me and started to move his lips, but nothing came out but blood. The feeling in my heart and my stomach right now isn't one I would wish on my worst enemy. He didn't deserve this shit, and my poor best friend will be heartbroken if he does not make it. Shit, we all will be.
This is Princeton, not some random person getting shot in The Bronx.
Chapter 14
Hov
A couple of hours later.
I figured it was best to give Ciara a little space to calm down before I approached her. I wanted that conversation to happen face to face and not through a phone call or some long ass text message. On my way to the Bronx, I went by Marine’s flower shop on Flatbush Ave. From the moment I stepped inside, the air shifted from smug to an earthy scent. I love coming inside of places like this because it was nothing but fresh air.
The first thing I spotted when I walked inside was a bouquet of pink flowers that were perfect for Ciara. I grabbed them from the display table and took them straight up to the counter.
“Great choice.”
Marine smiled and instantly started to wrap them up in brown paper.
I then glanced to my right, and the potted sunflowers on another shelf caught my attention, reminding me of my grandmother. It would make her day if I took her these flowers, and hopefully, I could get a meal in the process. I haven't eaten since I ate that donut this morning.
"Is this all I can get for you today?"
"Let me get this sunflower pot too."
She happily rang the shit up and took my money with a smile on her face like she wasn't committing daylight robbery with these prices. I left the store, scoping out the scene from the bodega next door to the bookstore in the opposite direction. After carefully sitting the flowers in my car I started my engine and drove over to my grandma's spot as my first stop.
When I got outside my grandma’s house, there were a few cars parked out front, including one that I knew belonged to the pastor. I turned off the engine now second guessing going inside. I couldn't stand his hypocritical ass, and sometimes I want to send a bitch with a big booty and a fat pussy in his office just to see how easy he folds. My grandma and the congregation think the world of him, but just like Councilman Davis, I'm sure he was a snake, too. After all, them niggas are blood brothers.
I heard that Pastor Davis is the reason Carl ever wanted to help out with the youth and the community, because, from what I hear, the old teenage Carl Davis was getting in trouble before his brother stepped in and pulled him into the church. The nigga ended up getting a degree, started mentoring kids, and then had so many people admiring him that it pushed him into politics. They used to say that Pastor Davis wanted to run for office, but felt he was committed to the church and couldn't leave if he wanted to. It sounded to me like that nigga was bound by faith and not in a good way so he put Carl up to the job.
I was sitting across the street, minding my business while waiting this shit out, when Scotty's uncle, who was working on the house, spotted me across the street.
