Page 6 of Cove City: Vol. I

“You wouldn’t happen to know about the war between Parkside Cove and Lake Hill, would you?”

She stared curiously before walking over to me. She pulled a pen from behind her ear, jotted something on a piece paper, and handed it to me. “Be there at eight sharp. My son knows all about it,” she winked.

I didn’t have time to meet her son. She said her ass has been here for twenty years; she could have given me a hint or something. Instead, she wanted to be best friends. I ploppeddown in the chair, staring around. I didn’t know how I was going to pull this off, but I had thirty days to figure it out.

“Why are we meeting with this nigga?” I asked Bishop.

We sat in the living room of his mother’s home. Whenever I came to Angela’s house, it was as if darkness rose. Angela’s ass was bat shit crazy and to know Bishop was probably on some fuck shit made a nigga want to throw in the towel.

Bishop sipped on his cognac as he glanced at his watch. “Because only this nigga knows where my mother is. I know it.”

Since Bishop had been back, we hadn’t heard a peep from Angela. It was as if she fell off the face of the earth. If you asked me, let her ass stay gone, but Bishop, he needed an answer. As long as I’ve known him, he’d always sought some approval from her. I think he knew he would never get it, but it had always been that small piece of hope that lingered no matter how fucked up in the head his mother was.

We were meeting up with Avery. When Bishop gave me the rundown that the guy was his dad, it all made sense because he acted just like him. Leek tried putting me on game, but I couldn’t believe it. It was only moments before Naheem Avery’s voice boomed through the foyer. “Bishop!” he called out.

We both stood. Naheem came around the corner, eyeing both of us. I could immediately tell he wasn’t expecting me to be there. The streets knew him as Big A, but I knew him as Unc. I hadn’t dealt with him much. I only interacted with him when he sent Bishop and me on missions. Naheem had always beena suave ass nigga. He had decorum, grace, style, and pure king status. It was much like Bishop. I was the opposite.

I’m hood, chill, ghetto, gutta, and all the above. Most joked at me because when they met my family, they didn’t understand. Leek had always been popular, but he had also gotten into trouble, the kind that had gotten him where he is now. My sister was spoiled, and I was the Outcast. They didn’t know how I had become the way I did. The answer was simple: trying to fit in. I had become accustomed to hanging with what people considered the spoiled kids. The ones whose parents barely gave a shit about them, and Bishop, Bleek, and Franco were those kids. My brother Leek would come around from time to time, but I stayed around them all the time.

The only difference is those niggas grew up with money. My family wasn’t poor, but they didn’t have two hundred dollars to spend on sneakers, let alone half a million to buy a home. I was never the girl’s first pick nor was I the nigga that outshined the next. It took years to build the confidence I have now. I hustled my ass off to start my own business. I didn’t believe in handouts I did some wild shit to get to where I am, and the source of that income had come from Naheem.

I glanced at my phone because time was ticking, and I had somewhere to be. I wanted to stop by Sasha’s shop, check on her, and see how she was doing. I hadn’t talked to her since she walked away from me. She had been dodging a nigga, and I wasn’t feeling that. I only knew how and what she was doing because of Quinton and Orange Hub. I made sure to follow her ass. With each tweet I lurked. I wanted to know who she was talking to and what nigga I was going to catch slipping so I could beat his ass.

I could hear Naheem talking, but I was so hot that Quinton baited this nigga, and Zeus was responding, which led Sash to do what she does best: protect the nigga. My thumb began movingfaster than my brain because before I knew it, Zeus and I were going back and forth.

The sound of Bishop’s snap made me raise my head. “Earth to P! Did you hear anything this nigga said?”

“Nah, my bad. What’s the move?”

Bishop looked at me curiously, “Sup with you? Is it Sasha?”

I ran my hand over my head and slid my phone into my pocket. “I’m straight.”

“Nigga I know you. You’ve always been crazy over her ass. What’s up?”

Naheem stepped closer to us. “I don’t have time for all this shit. Bishop, we need to talk about some other things. Shit that’s more pressing than what the fuck he’s going through over some bitch.”

I snapped. I rushed Naheem hemming his ass up against the wall. “Watch your fucking mouth. Just because you’re some dog ass, old ass nigga who don’t give a fuck about a bitch don’t mean you can say what the fuck you want!” I barked.

Naheem sinister laughed boomed. “Nigga if you don’t get your crusty ass hands off me, I’m going to break them muhfuckas and feed them to you. I never understood why Bishop had your ass around in the first place.”

Bishop came on the side of Naheem, practically sizzling at the mouth. “Naheem, we’re not even on that type of time. I don’t fuck with you like that so watch your mouth or that frog you been waiting on gone leap.”

I let Naheem go as he grilled both me and Bishop. He straightened his suit jacket. “Like I fucking said. You’re worried about abitchthat isn’t worried about you. That’s the problem. You niggas out here chasing pussy. I’ve been there and know what it leads to:death!” He paused as he turned to Bishop. “Son, like I said, the Merciers are here. You know the girl you’re in love with grandparents. Their grandson has arrived, and I’ve done homework on him and his crew. Keep watch. If not, you’renot going to have to worry about protecting a name or being the Prince of the Cove because that nigga will be crowned fucking king! And Pierre,” he laughed. “You’re not going to be shit just as you always been.”

I didn’t have time for his bullshit. I turned to Bishop, dapped him up, and left. I knew if he needed me, he would hit me up. I had a more pressing matter, and it was my baby Sasha. I wanted her back and wasn’t stopping at nothing to make that shit happen.

After leaving, it took me about forty minutes to get back to the Cove. I’d pulled up to Sash’s shop, and to my surprise, the parking lot was empty besides her bike. Every time I came to this place, it made me proud. I remember when she first openedInked By Me. She smiled the entire day and to see she still had this bitch thriving was good.

When I stepped inside, she was cleaning up her area, not noticing that I had come in. My eyes surveyed her body. Her thick legs that use to wrap around me so tightly, to her fat ass that bounced on a nigga so perfectly. Sasha was bad, and there was no denying it. She gave a nigga a chance. The nigga that everyone thought was unattractive, the nigga that was considered a no good gutta ass dog. The one thing she wanted, I couldn’t give her.

I moved closer behind her. I cleared my throat, startling her. “Still fine as fuck,” I said.

She jumped, turning to me. Her eyes widened. “Shit! Pierre, you scared me. What are you doing here?” She asked, taking a step back.

The fact that she was acting scared triggered me. I reached out for her hand, but she pulled back. I nodded as I glanced around her shop. “So, what you scared of a nigga now? Huh?”

She continued cleaning, trying to avoid eye contact. “I’m not scared of you. I’m trying to figure out why you’re here.”

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