Page 8 of If I Gave You My Heart
She just smiled before closing my room door. I took off my jeans and shirt and tossed them onto the plush gray carpet before getting into the bed. I told myself I would unpack and shower when I got up from my nap. Talia was right. The ride had definitely taken a toll on me, and the only thing that I wanted was to sleep. I couldn't get much shuteye on that bus because my nerves were too bad.
I took off the necklace on my neck, held it up, and glared at the pendant for a while before placing it on the nightstand. I sighed because that would probably be the last time that I ever wore it. Now that I was in a comfortable space, I was about to sleep like a newborn baby who had just had its first cereal-filled bottle. I had a lot of shit that I needed to sort through, and I knew there was no way that I could figure anything out with how I was sleep deprived. Once I was comfortable enough in the bed, I pulled the comforter over my shoulder and welcomed the slumber that was taking over.
Adonis
That little one thousand dollars I had when I left Ohio did not go far. I tried my hardest to start my life over on the straight and narrow, but it was hard when family members like Dom were getting to the bag, and here I was with a cell phone that was turned off. The only thing I had to my name was my vehicle, and I was blessed that I had paid it off in full when I got it. Had I not done that, I wouldn't even know how I would have been able to pay for the note every month. The four months I had been in Georgia were rough as fuck, and my hands itched badly for a quick lick that could put me back on top.
"You stuck in ya head nigga. Did you even hear anything that I just said?"
I looked at who Joy said was my cousin and then started to listen back to this whole game plan he was trying to put in motion.Dom had definitely come out to Ohio probably once every summer when we were kids, but most of those times, I was either in a detention center or doing my own thing. I had always been the distant kid of the family, but everyone fucked with a nigga the most. When it came to me and my siblings, I was David Ruffin, and they were The Temptations, and everyone knew it.
"Go ahead, gang, I'm listening now," I said, giving him the attention he needed.
I leaned back in the chair that sat on his front porch and let him get to it.
"Okay, so I got this thorough little bitch that works down at the post office, and she said that when people take vacations, they put their mail on hold. Now, hear me out. I say we run in they crib and do a clean sweep whenever they are on vacation. If we hit the right house, we gone be set for a bit."
I stroked the hairs on my long beard as I listened to him.
"She ain't gone get in trouble for some shit like that?" I asked.
"Nah. I ain't saying we rob every muthafucking house that's on vacation, but just enough. I even got a nigga that can crack a safe real good."
I'm sure he could see the uncertainty plastered all over my face. It did sound good, but I had already done a bid for an armed robbery, and I wasn't too hyped up about participating in anything similar, especially on unfamiliar turf.
"This is the era of Ring cameras, Dom. I don't know about this."
"Man… we can scope the shit out before we agree to anything. This is a dope ass opportunity, and the little bitch on me really bad and don't want shit but dick."
I thought about how I couldn't go back to Lima, so I had to find some source of income quickly.
"Okay, cool… I'm tired of sitting on my ass anyway," I finally gave in.
"Aight, cool. Lemme make that call to shorty and see if she got anything for this week. Labor Day is right around the corner."
I watched as Dom went back into the house. I had spent my thirtieth birthday broke as shit, and I hated that for myself. Last week, I spent the entire day in the bed. This year just didn't seem celebration-worthy to me. When I was up, I was the kind of nigga that treated my birthday like a national fucking holiday. I couldn't do my big one this year, but I promised myself that next year, I had all intention of big stepping. I appreciated the family Joy had put me in tune with since moving to the Peach State. I didn't have to worry about room, board, food, or any amenities because, as Joy would say, "I'm with family and family looked out for one another."Still, being the man that I was relying on the next nigga for me to eat did not sit well with me.
Still tapped in with the city, I had little bitches from back in Ohio Cash Apping me money from time to time. That's what had been getting me by, and I couldn't wait to put an end to that shit. I had damn near five different situationships because of it. When I didn't feel like being bothered, I turned the Wi-Fi off on my phone so that no one could reach me. Joy had Dom's number, and that's the only person I cared about who knew if I was okay or not. Being that I hadn't had my phone on since my birthday, I connected to the Wi-Fi. As soon as I did, the shit started vibrating in my hand. I looked down and saw that one of the women who had been holding me down was FaceTime calling me. I ignored the call and then sat in silence on the front porch. The area that Dom lived in was medium ghetto. It was Lawrenceville that was borderline Dacula. Now if his ass lived on the side of Lawrenceville that was toward the airport, I'm more than sure that I would have put a hot one in a nigga my first week down here.
The end game for me is I wanted to live where those big houses were. At times, when I had a bit of extra gas in my car, I would drive through towns like Dacula, Buford, and Winder just to look at the beautiful houses. Starting over was some bullshit, but I knew with this minor setback, an even better comeback was on the horizon.
"Aye, bruh, we got one."
I turned around and gave Dom my undivided attention.Damn, that was quick,I thought to myself.
"Are we taking ya car or mine?" he asked.
I already knew I didn't want to use the last of the gas in my car.
"We can go in yours."
"Okay, cool."
He started walking down the stairs and headed to his black Charger. I followed behind him.
"Where are we headed?" I asked once I sat in the passenger seat.
"Winder."
