Page 19 of On Everything
“Nothing, I'm fine.”
“Mm, okay then.”
My chest caved up and down until I was finally stable enough to put my key into the lock to go inside.
I turned the doorknob and then stepped inside the dark apartment feeling nothing but dread entering the place I hadn’t spent much time in since the murder.
It wasn’t until I flicked on the lights that I saw that my apartment was cleaned completely, and that wasn’t even the best part.
In the living room was a new couch, a new bigger t.v. up on the wall, and new end tables on both sides of my sofa. The wall was fixed and painted a nice cream color, and the wall behind my couch even had new artwork that didn’t look cheap whatsoever.
“Wow, is this for real?”
My heart started to beat just as fast as it did when I was running for my life just a few minutes ago. Why would Hov do all of this for me and what could I possibly do in return to pay him back?
He's completely transformed my apartment and doesn't even know me.
Chapter 5
Hov
“What’s your name, dummy!”
I punched him in his stomach, making him collapse to his knees. I was winded as a muthafucka having to chase this nigga about ten blocks before I caught up to him.
“What the fuck is your name?”
“I’m Marke-ke.”
I punched him in his face again because his name didn’t come as fast as I needed it to. I didn’t need the nigga name for anything important. I just like to formally address the niggas who I reprimand on the block. My dad always taught me growing up that in order to gain control of a city or an organization, you have to build rapport with the niggas working for you. So, in my opinion, you need to build rapport with your opps too. Calling them niggas by their weak ass names while stomping their heads makes them think I hate them personally. It’s worked to my advantage many years in the drug game.
“Now what the fuck is your name!”
“Markelle! I’m Markelle.”
He finally spoke and spit blood from his mouth onto the concrete. I kneeled down next to him because his voice was weak, and I was way too tall to hear his punk ass.
“Markelle, why the fuck are you chasing my bitch?”
“I didn’t know that was your bitch, man.”
I punched him in his stomach again taking all the air out of his chest.
“Watch your mouth.”
“Sorry, man. I'm sorry.”
He was coughing so hard, it sounded like his ass was about to throw up blood. Shid, I’d made niggas puke up their insides before with just a few punches. I spend a lot of time in my gym because I can’t control the block if I can’t run and chase a nigga down.
“Why were you chasing her?”
“She was in the store when we were catching this lick, and she ran out the back. My homie Durk told me to go after her.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know! He just said don’t let her get away. So, I chased her. I figured out who she was mid chase, and that’s when I was just trying to stop her to calm her down. I swear I wasn’t trying to hurt Ciara.”
Ciara was on my mind from the moment I saw her earlier up until now. Shit, I was back on this side of town to see if she liked the renovations I had done to her place. That’s when she ran into me with this bitch ass nigga behind her and made me want to kill his young ass. I feel like he was chasing something that belongs to me. Someone I needed to protect.
