Page 28 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
“You touched her on her inside parts,” Nia sarcastically huffed as she walked away, the box under her arm.
Markus followed. “First of all, don’t be putting my business out like that. If I fuck with someone, they know how to keep that shit low.”
“None of the bitches you put your little dick in know how to keep shit low. They think it gives them a pass to be fuckin’ mediocre. Fawn told the girl she didn’t fit the vibe therefore we weren’t hiring. All the while, the store was getting robbed by three teenage girls and some old bitch who couldn’t afford edge control. And let’s not point out the obvious – Neveah. Not justmediocre and useless, she’s costing me money daily. I have a whole shop I can’t make money out of because of you.”
“Me?!” Markus asked, pointing to himself. “I didn’t tell that bitch to be a fuckin’ hoe and fuck with a bottom of the barrel ass nigga.”
“And you didn’t tell her not to. What kind of pussy did she have to make you turn a blind eye to her bullshit?” Nia challenged, stopping to look up at her brother. “How high are you?”
“I’m not fuckin’ high, I’m in pain,” Markus corrected.
“How many pills do you have left?” she asked, glaring into his eyes.
“A couple. That ain’t why I’m here.” Markus pulled out the money from the hair shop and handed it over. “We never made this much off that spot in a day.”
“Not too bad for a mute huh?” Nia sassed, taking the money out of his hand and roaming to the safe. “You need to slow down, Money.”
“I got control of it. I told you it’s just until this shit heals.”
Nia grunted, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him. “You say that until some shit pops off and it becomes a crutch. You know how this ends.”
“I ain’t that nigga,” Markus objected.
Nia looked her brother over. She didn’t remember much about her parents, but she remembered major things – her father’s anger, her mother’s screams and the bruises after every fight. “You starting to look like him. You can’t be that nigga. You can’t lead these niggas if you high off your own shit, Money.”
He swiped his hands down his face and groaned, the motion alone reminding him that his shoulder was still healing. “I hear you, Nia. I said I got it, I got it. Don’t I always?”
“I don’t know. Right now, I don’t trust your track record. Maybe I’ll have more hope if you keep your dick away from mygirls. In control, right now? No. And you need to get in control. One bad move, all of this is up in flames.”
“I heard you. I’ll be back tomorrow to get your shit,” Markus stated before turning around.
“On time? Be on time. I have an early morning of full books,” Nia replied, watching her brother’s back move away.
The weight on Markus’s shoulders had always sat like a boulder. It shaped the way he thought, the way he moved. But as of late, the pressure of the boulder seemed impossible to carry. Unaware of the impending storm set to further mold him. He sat in the passenger seat in pain, eyes closed, Nia’s words dancing in his mind along with all the other things he’d never put words too.
Parting ways with Svyn, he roamed into the house and looked around. Silent, empty and cold. There was no love here. No laughter from his boys. Nothing screamed home, love, nor safety. He’d never even looked for it. There was a void. Something else he needed besides ruling the streets.
“Fuck,” he blew. The thoughts becoming too loud, the words off Nia’s lips too true. “I ain’t looking like that nigga.”
His grumble echoed through the emptiness of the house. Neveah’s presence gone as if she’d never even filled a corner of this space. Everything outside of the streets and his family had been a void filler. Meaningless things taking up sacred space. The anger housing his demons turning him more and more into the man he hated.
He dropped down onto the couch and pulled the pill bottle out of his pocket. Two to take the edge off and one to put him to sleep so the noise he’d been able to ignore all this time could go silent.
Morning came in with a wickedness, ripping sleep from his being and filling it with reminder. Markus groaned, lifting his head from the arm of the chair. The stiffness in his bodyaccompanied by the knocking against the front door, caused his head to pound more.
“I’m comin’,” he grunted, getting up off of the couch.
At the door, Svyn wearing a scowl. “B and Angel need their asses fuckin’ beat, you know that?”
Markus groaned, turning away from the door. “They still grumbling and bitching about being out on the blocks?”
“That and fuckin’ up the traps like they never had to hustle out of one. I almost put Brantley’s ass through a fucking wall. Anyway, I’m dropping this off for you to take to Nia. I can’t deal with them and her in one day.”
Markus nodded. “Good lookin’ out.”
Svyn buzzed. “You sleep, nigga?”
“Barely,” Markus admitted. “House too fuckin’ quiet.”
