Page 121 of Search My Soul
“No! No! Please!”
“Oh my God!”
I heard various voices screaming, but my eyes zeroed in on the black Tahoe speeding down the street. There were so many people in the front yard, but I noticed three bodies on the ground. My heart knew before my brain could process the sight before me. Pooh lay there on the ground, covered in a pool of blood. All of this happened in a matter of minutes, but time seemed to be moving in slow motion as I raced over to him. Sirens could be heard in the distance, but I couldn’t focus on anything else.
“Pooh!” I roared, pushing everyone out of the way to get to him. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I checked for the entry of the bullets. His girlfriend Jayla wailed on the other side of him as I removed my shirt. From what I could see, there were two or three bullets. The one in his chest was pouring out blood like running water. Using my shirt, I pressed it into his wounds.
“Don’t you fucking die on me! You hear me?” I shouted, applying pressure to the wounds as best as I could. His eyes were locked on mine as he choked on his own blood.
“Nicholas! Oh my baby! What happened to my baby?” Mama Lynnette screamed as she finally made her way outside. She raced over to where we were, taking Jayla’s place. She fell to her knees, alternating between praying, telling him she loved him, and begging him not to leave her.
“Don’t try to talk. The ambulance is on its way. Hold on for me, bro. Keep your eyes open, okay?” His bloody hand reached up to touch my arm as tears dripped from his eyes down the side of his face. His body began to convulse as the ambulance pulled in front of the house. The EMTs jumped out and immediately began to assess the victims. When I glanced back over to Pooh’s face, I lost my damn mind. His eyes were wide open, but there was no longer any life in them.
The voices around me became muffled, and everything seemed like a bad dream. Mama Lynnette cradled his head in her lap as she let out a blood-curdling scream that tore my already damaged heart to shreds. Leaning down, I hugged my little brother for what I knew would be the last time.
“Baby, please! Don’t leave me! You promised me. Pooh, please. I can’t do this without you.Please. Please!” Jayla screamed hysterically as her friends tried to pull her up from the ground. She fought them until she no longer had any energy left. They wrapped her up in their arms as she sobbed.
“I love you, man. I’m so fucking sorry.” I never cried in public, but in that moment, I lost myself. God must have really wanted to punish me because there was no way this was the way things were supposed to end.
The EMTs cleared the path to get to Pooh. I held Mama Lynnette in my arms while she violently sobbed. My tears stopped as anger and rage began to take over. I didn’t have the answers right then, but I was going to get them.
“They killed my baby, Soul! They killed mybaby!God, why!”Icouldn’t bring myself to say anything, so I simply held her in my arms. It took some time for the coroner to arrive. Once I was sure Mama Lynnette was somewhat settled and Pooh had been taken care of, I prepared to leave.
“I’m out of here, mama. You don’t need to worry about his arrangements or anything. I’ll call the funeral home so they canhave my card on file. Whatever you want, that’s what you will have. I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked at the end. I needed to get out of here before I completely lost my composure. Kissing her forehead, I turned to head out.
“Soul,” Mama Lynnette called out with a whisper. I turned back around to see her reddened eyes on me.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I need you to make me a promise.”
“Anything for you.” I stood with my hands in front of me, waiting for her to make her request known.
“I want them dead. Don’t let them get away with what they’ve done to my baby.” Her voice was weak from crying, but I could hear the underlying anger in her words.
“I don’t break promises,” was all I said before heading to my car. Duke, Huncho, and Pure had been blowing me up for the last hour, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to respond to anyone. Once I got inside my whip, I sent a 911 message to the crew. I wasn’t going to sleep until those mothafuckas were dead.
My crew hit the ground running, and they were able to locate every single one of the men who were involved in the shooting. It was seven in the morning, and I hadn’t closed my eyes yet. I wasn’t sure if I ever would.
“I feel like I’ve been having this conversation with you more and more lately, but you know you don’t have to do this, right? We can handle this for you.” Huncho stared at me with concerned eyes. I appreciated the fact that he was always ready to step in when I needed him, but there was no way I wouldallow anyone to handle this besides me. This shit was beyond personal. They had destroyed the last piece of my heart that I had left.
“As long as you’re standing by me, that’s all I need.”
“Always. We’re ready whenever you are.” I nodded toward him as I lifted the liquor bottle to my lips. I hadn’t been this drunk in a long time, but I needed something to get my emotions under control. The pills I popped were beginning to set in, so I decided to get started.
“You can go ahead and line them up. This won’t take long.” Tears fell from my eyes, but I was too far gone to care. Losing my son broke my heart, but I found peace because he had never been tainted by this ugly world. Things were so different in this situation. Pooh’s future was full of promise and success. He deserved the chance to live out his dreams. They senselessly killed him over some bullshit, and I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from this.
I took another swig from the bottle before I headed over to the other room. My gun was already on my hip, but I made sure to grab a knife as well. Taking a deep breath, I allowed the darkness inside of me to take over.
When I stepped into the room, I observed the scene before me. Four men were on their knees with black hoods over their heads. My jaw flexed and I could feel myself spiraling out of control. Rage was the only identifiable emotion I could acknowledge. My crew had never seen me like this, and I could tell they were worried. Fresh tears poured down, but I didn’t give a fuck.
“Which one was the shooter?” I asked Ammo, who stood on the left side of them.
“This one.” He pointed to the taller boy on the end. Without another word, I pulled out my gun and shot the other three in the head without blinking. He was the one I really wanted.
“Take the hood off,” I instructed. My breathing was becoming erratic, but I played it off. My chest felt like it was about to burst, but I couldn’t worry about any of that.
I tucked my gun back in my waistband since I no longer needed it. I twisted my knife in my hand, but I realized it wasn’t enough for me.
