Page 3 of Dionysus
Confusion rested on my face. “What do you mean?”
He ran his hand over his dark distressed jeans, then squeezed the brim of his hat. Keith was cute; he was taller than I was, but he was shorter than Dio. He held caramel colored skin with artwork inked into his perfect complexion. He wore designer clothes and smelled like a million fucking bucks. “Yo crazy ass daddy shot up, Bishop’s spot.”
I plopped on the bed, “First, he’s not my father, andwhat?” I yelped.
Chevy was a different breed. I studied him when he was around the house. I could tell he was smart, had a past, and was very passionate about things, but he was very calculated, so to hear him on a shootout sounded far-fetched. “I don’t believe you.”
Keith leaned forward. “No lies. That nigga doing too much. Bishop is ready to air this bitch out. It’s only a matter of time before one of them niggas are dead, and I got my money on Bop.”
Before I could respond, the sound of a motorcycle coming up the block made me shoot up from the bed. I rushed to the sliding doors to ensure it wasn’t Chevy. I didn’t have time for his bullshit. To my surprise, it was Sasha. I had briefly met some of the women. They had asked Zaria who I was, and she kept it cute. She had never exposed that I was some random stray from New York on the account of Dio.
Whatever type of relationship they had was a solid one. Dio needed someone like that in his life, and with her being loyal to him as she was; so was I. I hadn’t shared what I had experiencedwith Dio because if I did, he would never forgive me; however, I prayed like hell they truly knew him and knew he needed help. I turned to Keith, “Are you thirsty?”
He looked confused. “Nah,” he said dryly.
“I think you are. I will be back,” I said as I left the room.
I strolled down the hall and peeked into Chevy and Zaria’s bedroom before going down the steps. She sat on the end of the bed, staring off into the distance. I could tell something was wrong, but I refused to ask. I knew if I did, she would expect me to share things with her, and right now, I didn’t want to. I rushed down the steps and glanced out the window at Sasha storming up the block from next door toward the house. I moved quickly to the kitchen. The way Sasha banged on the door made me realize something was up.
I thought about answering the door, but the footsteps alerted me that Zaria was coming down to get it. The conversation was a bit mumbled until they came to the living room. “Sasha, I need you to calm down. Stop yelling in my house with my plants. Now let’s go over there and talk. The tea you will fucking drink,” Zaria told her.
I shook my head because it was something about plants with these people. I slightly poked my head out of the kitchen to see them sitting on the couch. Zaria had that look again, and it saddened me. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but you’re my girl. They all left for New York; it’s Dio,” I heard her say.
My stomach dropped, and the glass fell from my hand onto the floor. I tossed my hand over my mouth.Dio!It all made sense why he hadn’t called or texted me back. Tears streamed down my face, and all I could do was run back upstairs. As soon as I closed my bedroom door, I dropped to my knees and wailed. I didn’t know what happened, but it had to be something bad if they left.
Keith rushed over, lifting me and embracing me in a hug. He stroked my back as I cried in his arms. I needed this, but I would have much rathered it be Dio.
“I love you, Dionysus,” I whispered as sobs left me.
ZEUS
At the gas station, my phone vibrated, alerting me that the ring camera had gone off. I watched Freckles on my porch banging on my fucking door. I watched her concerned face peer at the camera, screaming my name. I could see the hurt in her eyes, but the sad part was that she couldn’t see the hurt in mine. I wanted to talk to her I did, but this shit with Dio was much more important.
By the time I was done pumping and getting ready to ride, my phone went off again, “The fuck?”
I opened it to see she had broken into my crib. I began switching my cameras as I watched her make her way through my shit like it was hers. That’s how I wanted it to be. I wanted her there to be around all the time, but from what I saw it didn’t look like that shit was going to happen. I switched cameras again to see her in my room picking up the engagement ring off the floor and putting it on her finger.
Could a nigga be wrong? Could what I have seen been a mistake?Then I thought about her pressing that button in my face when I called her. I stood outside that fucking shop and watched her intentionally ignore me while that nigga Pierre was in her face. Call me selfish, but it was just something I didn’t think I could look past. I clicked out of the camera as she climbedinto the bed we once shared and cried herself asleep. I was going to address her, but not until after I knew Dio would be ok.
We had been riding for the last few hours, only stopping to get gas. The entire time, I could only replay Dio’s and my last phone call in my head. I had cried so many times under my helmet that I lost count. I felt sick every time I thought about reaching New York, to find out my brother was dead.
We had finally made it to New York, and I knew the guys were tired, but I didn’t give a fuck about sleep. I called the number back from the doctor who had reached out, only to hear the hospital’s name. I entered it into my GPS. “I’m going to the hospital. I can give you the address to the condo, and I will meet you guys there later,” I said into the helmet.
“Zu, nigga you know we don’t move like that. We ride together. Dio is our family too,” I heard Diamond say.
I looked over at Chevy, who hadn’t said anything the entire ride. I knew my nigga. He was brewing like I was, and our first instinct was to set the muhfucka on fire. He slowly nodded, and I took off. The directions to the hospital said twenty minutes from where we were, but that shit felt like eternity.
We parked our bikes in front of the hospital entrance when we finally arrived. The security came running out, “You can’t—”
“Nigga get the fuck out of the way!” I barked as I pushed past him.
Here I was again in a fucking hospital. Each time I stepped my foot in one of these muhfuckas, I felt like it was a sign.Was it I who would end up here at some point?The sinking feelingin my stomach took over, and those tears I tried keeping locked away began to emerge. Chevy took the lead as he walked to the front desk, “Dionysus Jackson and ma’am before you say some shit you know is going to destroy me; don’t.”
I watched behind Chev as she pecked at the keyboard, then glanced at him and me. “Floor seven,” she paused and cleared her throat. “Umm, just go up there.”
I pushed past him and ran to the elevator. “Damn nigga, wait for us!” Foe shouted.
We had all entered the elevator, and the silence was killing me. I could see them all looking at me. Foe elbowed Diamond, and Diamond elbowed Preach. Chevy dropped his head and shook it before stopping the elevator. My head shot his way, “Fuck are you doing,” I gritted.
