Page 13 of Honey's Special Roux

“Next time, I won’t stop until he stops breathing. Do not fuck with me because I will kill y’all. Stupid mothafuckas.” I spat at his other two friends, who had done nothing but watch in horror as I beat their homie up.

One of them wanted to charge at me, but his other friend grabbed his arm. “C’mon Gee. We gotta get him some help.”

“Listen to your friend before yo’ mama got to plan a funeral and yo’ cousin got to Photoshop you in front of them lame ass clouds.”

They lifted their unconscious friend down the block and disappeared around the corner. I grabbed a towel out of the back seat to wipe the blood off my hands. It had been eerily quiet. My eyebrow lifted in question as I examined the faces of my friends.

“What?”

Mouse remained silent as he shook his head. TK looked scared to speak.

“Man, what’s wrong wit’ y’all?” I asked with irritation coursing through my veins.

“Marq, you got some issues. You almost killed him,” Mouse explained.

“Yeah? So? The nigga talked about my mama. I ain’t ever been the type to let the disrespect slide.” I defended my actions.

“You gon’ beat up the wrong person and get locked up, dawg. If you enjoy your freedom, you might need to get therapy or something,” TK suggested.

“Therapy is a scam. I’m not confessing my crimes to a bitch to send my ass to jail.”

“Something needs to change, though. You are tripping.” Mouse rubbed his hands down his face.

“Facts. If you don’t chill out, you putting all our freedom at risk, and I’ll be damned if I get locked up behind your bad ass temper.” TK shook his head.

“You think I’m afraid to get locked up? You think I’m afraid to die in these streets? I have nothing and no one to live for. If I died tomorrow, no one would really mourn the loss of my life.” I snapped at them. My immediate family was gone. I was a charity case for Uncle Chance and nem.

“That’s why you need to speak to a professional, Marq. Shit doesn’t have to be this sad,” Mouse explained.

“Man, whatever. I’m gone.”

I dapped them up and walked across the street to where I parked my car. As I brought the engine to life, my mind wandered. They didn’t know what I’d been through. My anger was justified. I had to get the enemies before the enemies got me. The streets weren’t nice to anybody. It was a dog-eat-dog world.

* * *

Swish!

The basketball went into the net. I stepped back and dribbled between my legs. I got into my shooting position, pulled up, and followed through.

Swish!

Basketball was effortless for me. I would have joined a team if I had gone to a decent school. The district enrolled me in an uppity ass school full of lames. I wasn’t about to participate in shit with them. I skipped school so much I was sure Aunt Dee and Uncle Chance would get a truancy notice soon if they hadn’t already gotten one.

The sound of a door closing brought me out of my trance. I looked over to see Honey walking down the porch steps in my direction. She wore blue jeans and a spaghetti strap tank top. I licked my lips when her scent greeted me before she did.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“What’s up, Honey?”

“I’ve been thinking about the kiss since it happened,” she confessed.

Me too.

“Yeah? What about it?”

She frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. You know you came over here with a script memorized. Say what’s on yo’ chest, baby.”

---