Page 33 of Quasim II: King Inferno

She said she needed me. I used to make her ass beg for me and she did. Shit used to have me feeling like the man. No matter what we went through, she told me as long as my key still worked, that we could work it out.

Bitch lied to me.

Zoya put on a pair of Celine sunglasses, flipped her hair over her shoulders and held a folder in her hand.

“How are you, Tyshawn?”

I looked up from my black and mild at her standing in front of me. Zoya smelled expensive, and she had me feeling real down on my luck, wearing all her labels, the two men behind her daring me to make a move.

“The fuck you want?”

“I’m here on behalf of my client. You’ve been ignoring the papers we sent to the prison, so I decided to come to you and get this handled. It shouldn’t take more than five seconds, and I can get the hell away from this block.” She looked around my grandmother’s block with her nose in the air.

I snorted. “You always been a stuck-up bitch.”

“Yeah, well, I’m glad you know me… can you sign these papers so I can go on and be a bitch elsewhere?”

“Tell Blair to come see me if she wants those papers signed. I’m not signing a damn thing, and those bitches behind you ain’t going to make me.”

Zoya looked at me and then pulled her glasses down. “Absolutely not. She has signed the papers, and you are the one playing games. I’ve been nice by sending you the documents and even putting money on your books to sign it.”

“Three dollars, bitch…” I flinched at her, and she didn’t move, not even a little bit. Blair would have fallen back onto the sidewalk had I done that to her.

She was so fucking sexy when she was scared. That bottom lip would quiver as the tears filled her eyes, and she begged me to stop. My dick was getting hard just thinking about the shit.

“It wouldn’t let me put thirty cents, because I think that’s all you’re worth. I’m not going to continue going back and forth. You can sign or die.”

“Bitch, the fuck you said to me?”

She smiled. “Sign or die. All I have to do is tell him about a problem and he handles them. The way you just flinched at me would send him over the edge… might crack your neck for something like that. It’s his quiet hour, Tyshawn… he hates being disturbed during his quiet hour.” She paused and looked at the Cartier watch that I’m pretty sure called me broke and then turned her attention to me. “Welp, then I guess you like things the hard way. Make sure your grandmother’s lights work… when they go out, it ain’t the electricity company.” She shrugged and turned to head back down the steps.

“I’ll sign the fucking papers.” I called behind her, biting my tongue in the process because I didn’t want to sign the papers.

I wanted to keep Blair attached to me forever. There was a time when I would ask if she loved me and she would tell me yes, and then I’d ask if she would ever leave me and she would tell me no. I could always tell that she answered those questions in fear, and she never truly meant them.

When you were high as shit and asking those questions while she was on the floor from you whipping her ass, you’d believe anything. I wasn’t high right now and even I knew not to push Zoya’s luck because with the way she acted, she probably would tell her brother that I slapped the shit out of her.

The Caselli family were the last people you wanted to cross. Menace Caselli was a fucking ghost, not too many knew what he looked like, and when you did find out, it was never good.How the fuck could I go against someone I couldn’t identify? I was stubborn, not stupid.

She handed the folder to one of the men she arrived with. He opened the folder, took a pen from his pocket, and showed me exactly where to sign before looking it over, then handing it to Zoya. “My girl is finally free from you. I know, Tyshawn, it hurts to think of King Inferno taking your wife… but I can promise he will make a better husband, and I know he wearing my girl out. I believe you couldn’t keep it up because of all the damn heroine you be shooting, right?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Bitch, you don’t know shit that you speaking about. Fucking Inferno brothers wanna be like the CVs so bad.” I flicked my tongue; the signature move of the vipers.

Zoya busted out laughing. “That shit look gay… a bunch of men flicking they tongues at each other? Tyshawn, you got bigger fish to fry than worrying about my girl.”

I tasted blood with how hard I was biting the inside of my cheek. She waved and got back into the car, then pulled away with the cars following behind her.

“You think money gonna fall from the sky? Trying to be peaceful gonna have your ass broke. Your people starving and them niggas eating more than everybody.” Polo’s annoying ass voice brought me back to reality.

The reality of me sitting on my grandmother’s couch, looking at the TV court shows while she took her afternoon nap. I sneezed, looking down to see her damn cat rubbing against me. Living here was my only choice because my baby moms cut me off, claiming I was moving funny.

Bitch, I’m always moving funny when I’m high. The fuck she wanted me to do, give up getting high? With my reality, I wasn’t about to stop getting high because that shit helped me cope with everything.

Polo stood near the TV, looking down at the fur covered armchair and declined to sit down. “That nigga has made it clear he will kill my fucking grandmother. My family will never forgive me for my grandfather, but my nana? Nigga, I minds well get in the casket with her.”

“Money means protection. You acting real pussy now that you home. Was talking all that big shit and let those niggas shake you up.”

I looked around my grandmother’s house and then at Polo. “Nigga, do you see where I’m living? Those bitches wiped out nearly all my crew, and the other half been on my neck because they need money. Shit is on my fucking back to figure out, so nah, I don’t want smoke unless I can guarantee that I walk out untouched!” I raised my voice.

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