Page 18 of On Everything
To be honest, Ant's apartment was a way better upgrade than mine in general. His bed was so soft, I felt like I was sinking into his mattress. Just thinking about the way his one bedroom apartment was set up had me wondering what Ant really does for a living. That and his visit from the notorious Hov had me side eyeing this whole personal trainer thing. Unless he is Hov’s personal trainer too, and if so, I would love to see those two work out.
The bell chimed at the front of the store, and I thought nothing of it until I heard yelling up front.
“Give me all your money! Give me your fucking money now!” My eyes went to the large circular mirror in the top corner that showed the reflection of the entire store. There were two black men in black hoodies and surgical masks over their faces with guns pointed over the register. Fuck, really.
“Hold on with yo’ broke ass!” I heard Silvia talking shit back to the robbers because this wasn’t the first time this store had been stuck up. Robberies were becoming more and more common in this area, but up until now, I’d never been caught in the middle of it.
I stood idle in the back of the store, hoping that they hurried up and got the fuck out of here. Who robs a deli? And especially one that is a staple in your hood? Everyone knows Silvia and Papi and to us they family. Down to the cat by the door that the hood gave a name.
“Give me everything you got! Empty the register and the safe! Hurry up! Put it in the bag!”
“Yeah, put it in the bag now!”
“Okay mutha fuckers. Give me time!”
They continued antagonizing them. The fact that Silvia and Papi weren't coming up off of the money easily, I knew how bad this could turn.
“I give you everything we got. Fuck out of here!” Silvia’s feisty attitude wasn’t funny right now because I needed her to give these dummies what they wanted. My legs were shaking like the city buses, and I could feel the sweat trickling further down my forehead every second that went by.
When I glanced to my left, the exit sign over a side door caught my attention. I knew if I slid out of the back, I could run straight to my building from here. I’m not trying to be caught in whatever crossfires they have because a shootout in this small ass store was definitely going to leave me leaking. Fuck that, I’ve already been through too much shit.
I abruptly ran towards the door, causing commotion after knocking the end cap of chips down.
“Yo, get their ass. Who is that!”
I burst into the alley on the side of the building, running to the main street as quickly as I could. My heart was throbbing, feeling the presence of the man chasing me from behind. With every stride I took I felt like I needed to run faster.
“Help me! Help! Please help me!”
There were other people on the street, but no one jumped to my rescue. They probably figured he was chasing me because of domestic violence, or I stole something from him. This is New York, so civilians don’t get involved in other people's shit. You are taught at an early age to keep your head down and mind your business. There are people out here, but I’m pretty much alone.
“Slow down! Wait!”
The person yelled from behind me, and I was winded now and my heart was throbbing faster than my legs. They were moving as fast as they could, yet I felt like I wasn’t running fast enough. Looking back behind me, I saw that he was still on my trail but once I turned back around, it felt like I ran into a brick wall.
I instantly started to scream when I felt arms go around my body. It wasn’t until I finally looked up to his face that I stopped screaming when I saw that it was Hov I'd ran into.
“Calm down. Calm down! What you running from?”
“This boy robbing the Bodega up the street. I don’t know why he’s chasing me. I was just trying to get the fuck out of there!” I spoke in between my labored breaths.
“Alright, go inside your spot and lock the door. I’m about to check this shit out.”
Hov pulled his gun from his waistband and then walked off before he yelled at me.
“Hurry up and go inside! The fuck you just standing here for?”
His deep voice and the way he looked at me was a command that I didn’t think twice about taking. I ran back to my building and because the handle was broken, I got in easily.
I ran up to my floor, only stopping to breathe once I got to my door.
“Shit, shit.”
I fumbled with my keys in my pocket.
“Girl, what’s wrong with you?”
My neighbor Keisha asked as she herded her three kids past me in the hallway.
