Page 31 of This is Law

“Motha fucka, I was out of town handling fuckin business. I told you that shit!” he roared.

“Business with Tee, right?” I was setting a trap for him in the way that I’d asked him the question, trying to reel that nigga in, seeing what he was going to say.

Tee was another one of my pops, and Dutch’s homeboys.

“Yeah. I told you that man,” his voice calmed down a little bit.

“You told me that you was out of town on business with Darryl,” I called out the truth that had been told to me years ago.

I remember him telling me that when he went out of town on business, Tee didn’t go with him because his girl was nine months pregnant, and he didn’t want to go on the road with him, and she went into labor, while he wasn’t there. He told me that Darryl had gone with him, but Darryl died by the time that I was twelve, so it wasn’t like I could hit that nigga up and ask him if what Dutch was saying was the truth.

Seeing that he’d just got caught up in a lie, it caused him to laugh, pull on his chin hair, and he came closer.

“Ima leave. I feel disrespected. I expect one of these lame ass niggas out here to try and pin Knox death on me, but I never in a million years thought that you would do that shit to me, man. Knox was my motha fuckin brother. I raised you like my son, Law. This probably fucked up of me to say on so many parts, butsometimes I feel like I love you more than the very same nigga that came from me. You’re a real man, Law. You got traits about you that any man would want to see in their son. I can look at you, and see that the hard work, and the time that I invested in you paid off. I don’t know what kind of dirty, green ass nigga you take me for, but I don’t know what would make you think that I would kill my own brother, and then be so low down, that I would raise his son. You wild for that one,” he sounded hurt.

Before he walked away, he looked at me for a few more seconds, and then he walked out of the office. Maybe I had fucked up. Maybe I let my mama get in my head, and I took that warning the wrong way because again, I didn’t know what it was that she was accusing that nigga of, so I just assumed.

Dutch was right. He loved my pops like a brother. It’s no way in hell he could ever do that green ass shit to his own brother.Or could he?

Chapter Fourteen

SORAYA ‘YAYA’ CRAWFORD

I ran up the stairs, with my phone in my hands, and my airpods in my ear, ready to barge into Creed’s room, and curse his ass out. It was Friday morning, and he was the only child home with me today. There wasn’t any school, and because the job had been kicking my ass, I decided that I would take the day off as well. Legend wasn’t here. The STEM organization that he was a part of at school, they were going away for the weekend. It was some weekend camp that was taking place in West Palm beach.

With him away, it left just Creed and I in the house, and the second I woke up this morning, I immediately started cleaning up. I tackled my bathroom, cleaned my bedroom, washed the bedding, and I dusted in the guest bedrooms that were upstairs. Before I started cleaning, I’d already told Creed to take the trash out downstairs, and to wash those dishes that he’d put in the sink this morning when he made him cereal for breakfast. I’d just come downstairs, and I saw that he didn’t do any of those things, and I was literally racing up the stairs, ready to let his ass have it. Mind you, there was gospel music playing in my ear, but there wasn’t going to be anything Godly that was going to come out of my mouth.

I stormed to his bedroom door, that he had closed, and instead of knocking like I usually would because I was that mom that would give my kids privacy, I just barged in. I barged in, and he had shoes laying around, so I trampled over a big ass Timberland boot that was near the door, and I fell on my ass. Not only did I fuss at him about taking out the trash, and washing the dishes, but I told his ass to clean his room, and to take his bedding off, so that he could wash that as well, but he literally didn’t do shit.

He was sitting on top of his bed, with his shirt off, wearing just his gym shorts that he was sagging low in. His headphones were over his head, and he was locked into the game that he was playing on his big, flat screen TV that mounted to the wall. Dirty clothes were on his bed, that was supposed to have been sorted out for him to do laundry. I mean, this room was a mess.

“Ma, chill out. Ima clean the room,” he stood up, controller still in his hands, paying attention to the TV, but still stealing glances at me, as I was still on the floor. It’s like his ass wanted to help me, but I’m sure he didn’t want to lose whatever dumb ass game that he was playing.

“Turn that fuckin game off before I lose my mind! I told you to take out the fuckin trash, and you didn’t do it. I told you to wash the dishes that you left in the sink, and you didn’t do it. That was three hours ago, Creed! I even told you to clean up your room, and you didn’t do that either!” I yelled, picking up my airpods from the floor because when I fell, they flew out of my ear, and my phone fell out of my hands, too.

As if I was the one that was in the wrong, he sucked his teeth at me.

“Ima do it, ma. Hold on. You be spazzing, ready to run your blood pressure up for no reason. It’s only 11. I don’t leave to go with pops until after six. I got all the time in the world to do my chores!” he had the nerve to say.

The game held his attention, and that just sent me through the roof. He had no kind of urgency to do what I told him to do, and because he didn’t, I walked over to the wall, where the game station was mounted, and I just started unplugging shit, not giving a damn what I was unplugging, not even knowing what I was unplugging, but I wanted that game to cut off, so that he could do what I told him to do.

“What the fuck, man!” he snapped, and I walked over to him quickly, and I pushed him with all my might, but my son was solid, just like his father, so he didn’t move. He looked angry. Like, if I wasn’t his mom, I’m sure he probably would have tried to hit me.

“Watch your fuckin mouth before I slap your ass in it! You think I care about that fuckin game, when it’s shit in this house that I told you to do from well over three hours ago? You got all these shoes on the floor, to the point that I almost broke my damn neck. These dirty ass clothes on the bed, and you haven’t started one load of laundry. Do the shit now! The next thing is going to be me throwing that game out of the fuckin window!” I yelled.

“Aight bruh,” he snapped, aggressively pushing past me to the point that I stumbled back a little bit, but I was able to catch my fall.

“You not going to have me in jail today. I’m about to call your daddy. I bet he’ll handle it,” was all that I said, right before I walked out of the room.

I loved Creed to death, but Creed was that child of mine that was going to try me, and I would find myself having to slap his ass down. He thought that he was grown, and he hated being told what to do. Before I had to tackle his ass, and attempt to knock his teeth out, I was going to call his daddy and let him handle it.

As I was walking out of the room, I could hear him mumbling shit up under his breath, but I didn’t pay it any attention because I was already going to Law’s contact in my phone, dialing him, as I made my way back down the stairs.

“What’s up?” he answered on the second ring for me.

“Call your son and talk to him before I slap all of his teeth out of his mouth!” I got right to the point when he answered the phone.

“What he did?” Law barked, already ready to tackle Creed without even knowing the details.

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