Page 10 of Our Mother's Sons

“Aye,” I shot him a warning glare.

I didn’t trust this nigga. Anybody that was buddy buddy pal pal with Tony was just as fucked up as his ass was. With my brother and I, it was strictly business when it came to these clowns, but I couldn’t say other muhfuckas shared our same sentiments. I wasn’t about to tell Slater shit. I damn sure wasn’t about to tell him that Tony could be talked about in the past tense because that niggas remains had been oxidized by flesh and bone eating acid. Yes, we had dirt on these niggas if they ever decided to turn on us but I wasn’t taking no chances.

“Very well,” he cleared his throat.

“We can also discuss surgeries.”

“Bye, Doc.”

I lead his ass out of my home and watched as he hopped in his Benz and left. The rain had finally let up, and the sun had appeared. On days like this, I would be tearing down the mall, bending some shit over on the balcony of my condo or cruising Ocean View drive. But, here I was in the fucking house. Once I could no longer see the tail lights of the doctor, I closed the door and turned on my heels.

“What the fuck!”

It wasn’t too much that could spook me, but seeing a one foot tall figure sitting in the middle of my entry with her head cocked, eyes bucked, and plaits spiraling in different directions had me clutching my chest. I had the ears of a fucking bat but, I hadn’t heard her little ass coming up on me.

“How the fuck you get down here so quick?’

Looking past her, I checked the surroundings like I expected a muhfucka to pop out. She was dead asleep during her examination, but suddenly, she was sitting on her now dry pamper. I wanted to lay the doctor out when he removed her pissy pamper but had to remember he was only doing what I paid him to do. He’d showed me how to change it, but I wasn’t comfortable with that shit at all.

Standing over her, we both stared at each other while I rubbed my chest. She was still in my faded, oversized wrestling T-shirt that had the Rock on it. I used to be crazy as fuck about wrestling growing up. I’d nearly broke one of the neighborhood boys neck once trying to mimic his moves and got my ass beat by my Grams for it too.

“So, can you walk? Or did you damn near bust your knees up crawling in here?”

Carpet and sand didn’t mix; since my home sat directly on the beach, all my floors were marble. I wasn’t a fan of marble myself because the shit was too fucking slippery if you asked me but, with all of the moisture in the air, wooden floors would have shifted and cracked over time since they can’t expand. That fake floor shit was also out of the question.

Girl didn’t answer my question, so we stared at one another. When I saw her on the mattress in that building, I wanted to body every motherfucker in there. A strong tough ass black woman had raised me and even though I didn’t have any parents, my grandma did the best she could with us. Even then, I still had my big brother to lean on. A child that couldn’t even talk being thrust into the fucking black market had my big grown ass knees buckling. I had a fucking soft spot for children, always have. I didn’t have any of my own and made sure I double strapped my dick up so these hoes wouldn’t slip me up but I still loved the kids. When I first saw my nephews outside in that yard, I wanted to curse Rainah’s ass out but I wanted to kiss her ass on the forehead too. Kids were the most precious things in this fucking world. I didn’t know how Girl came to be a part of the fucking trafficking ring but I could guarantee she would never have to worry about that shit again.

Figuring she was hungry, I scooped her up in my arms. She still smelled like my grandmother’s home, which was comforting. My heart was beating fast as hell as I held her, just as it had done when I first spotted her. With her head reared back, she stared at the side of my face as I carried her into the kitchen. She wouldn’t be eating that cold ass Pluck it today. I didn’t have much in the fridge because I ate out most of the time, but my Grams ensured we knew how to cook from a young age. I could throw down when I wanted to, but I didn’t have the time to do so, as I was always on the go. It was ridiculous because I’d put so much money in the local restaurant’s pocket. With her in my arms, I opened the sub-zero stainless steel built-in refrigerator door. It didn’t make sense how I had a kitchen designed for a sous chef and maybe eight groceries in this fridge. Even with the skills my Grams taught me, it was nothing I could do with a bottle of hot sauce, spoiled milk, ketchup, apple juice, and an old carryout container that was no telling how old from Morton’s steak house.

“Fuck it, let’s head to the pantry.”

Again, my pantry was too damn big to be so damn empty. I grabbed two packs of Ramen noodles beside a box of expired cereal and headed to the stove. Crumbling both bags up, I put on a pot of water and waited until it came to a boil before adding both noodles. Standing over the stove, I observed our meal so as not to overcook it. When they were just right, I seasoned them with onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, and the chicken seasoning that came with the pack. When the juice was pissy yellow, I transferred it to two different bowls and grabbed the hot sauce and apple juice from the fridge.

‘You like your shit spicy?” I asked Girl as I sat her on top of the bar. Dropping an ice cube in her noodles since they were way too hot, I poured her a cup of apple juice and stuck a fork in her bowl. When she didn’t respond but looked me upside my head, I shrugged and sat at the bar. I liked my shit scolding hot so, after drenching my bowl in hot sauce I was ready to eat before it cooled down.

“Whew! Shit fye!”

Girl continued to watch me as I ate the noodles. Feeling my mouth grow too hot, I twisted the top of the two-liter apple juice and took it straight to the head. My refrigerator must’ve been up too high because it was so cold and slushy going down. When I was satisfied, a long burp erupted from my chest. Girl was still eying a nigga.

“Pick up the fork and eat. I know you hungry.”

Again, she just watched.

“Look.”

I placed my fork down and slurped up my spicy noodles. I grabbed her hand and stuck it in the lukewarm noodles. Looking at her fingers, I paused. When I first spotted the beautiful baby, I couldn’t understand why they’d had her for so long. According to one of the Hispanic women we’d rescued, she’d been with the Russians since she was weeks old. She was nearing a year old and the prettiest baby I’d ever seen. But, she handt been sold.

Ding Dong.

“What the fuck bro.”

An unwanted visitor snapped me from my thoughts.

Letting Girl’s hand go, I stood and pushed away from the bar.

“Ima get the door. Don’t fall and eat.”

Instead of replying, she cocked her head as if to say,nigga who you giving orders too.

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